Multiple Species!

Jamie and I did a group trip today. Eddie Drilling, who has fished with me many times and Danny, whom I just met, were in my boat. Jamie and I laid out a few options for them for the morning and they chose to chase a big fish! So this morning we geared it up for big trout and big trout was what we got! Ed landed several really nice fish, but the last one he caught was probably 6 1/2 pounds! It was a monster! At lunch we decided we would be grateful for the big boys we caught, but go try another avenue of fun. We headed over to one of our favorite white bass spots and slipped in on those bad boys! We got on them instantly and it was a freaking blast!

AHH SUN!

Sunday morning I fished with Andy Rainer for the morning. The temps got warm and the wind wasn't blowing, so it was a nice change from the past few days. The Corps still had a little over one generator running around the clock. I think the fish had stabilized some since the front had moved through and we took a ride up river. Bam, our first drift we were hooked into fish. Our first few drifts it was non stop action! With each drift our bite slowed a little so we decided instead of banging the same water, we would search out some more fish. We stopped at a few other places with little success. After a rig change and some minor adjustments, we found our bite and ended strong. It was a great morning on the river with Andy and we had some good conversation about the public school systems in Memphis.

There she Blow's

Sunday was a second half of the day trip. It was a nice change of pace. The wind still continued to blow like it did Saturday. I took Paul Ridell. The last time Paul fished it was with Jamie about a year ago and the water was low... Boy did he have a change of pace with 1 generator and wind. I rigged him up a high water rig and we set out after them. We got into some fish pretty quick and managed to stay on a pretty consistent bite all afternoon. Paul flys crop duster's and after working in Alaska, I have a fascination with small aircraft. We really had alot to talk about. We caught probably 7 browns that were all a few years old. It is always so refreshing to see those guys in the water!

Clint "lacey"

Saturday I took Clint Lucy fishing. We had received a good bit of rain the night before and I was hoping the Corps would give us a window of low water. They didn't. A little over one generator ran around the clock and on top of that, we had 25 mile per hour gusts blowing us around. We tried a few different spots and picked up a few fish in all of them, but it sure was hard. That seemed to be the common theme when we talked to people. Clint did manage to catch his first chain pickerel, which he was pretty excited about. We ended up having lunch and a cream soda, calling it quits at a half day. The last fish Clint caught, we both got super excited about. Clint looked at me and said "some days, size just doesn't matter." It was a good day on the water none the less.

Dr. Burnett's Big Boys

Today I took Dr. Burnett fishing. It was our first time to fish together. I gave Doc some options in the morning as to whether he wanted to go for some numbers or the possibility of catching a larger fish. He was all about the big boy! So our quest began. We worked really hard and were rewarded. Doc caught several nice fish this morning. These are the two nicest fish. The sun got up and it seemed to turn the big rainbows on. After we enjoyed a chicken sammy, we traveled to a different spot on the river in quest for some more numbers. The fishing was tough, but we caught a few more fish and ended the day satisfied!

Now that's a slab!

Today I took Brad and Dick out fishing. They were part of a group trip with Jamie. The weather didn't look like it was going to be in our favor, but it ended up holding off almost all day. During lunch we had to take refuge and get out of the storm, but other than that the sun tried to poke out all day! The water was high but the fish were on fire! We caught alot of great rainbows today. The largest was 6 1/2 pounds! The boys did good and turned many a slab today. It was the kind of day that just makes me so glad to call this river my home waters!

The Lee's

Yesterday,I took Rollin Lee and his son Jacob,fishing. I have taken them a few times before. The first time we fished together, I set my bar pretty high. They are both great fisherman, so the high water didn't scare us. We hit it head on and caught lots of rainbows. After a while the boys wanted to search for a big brown casting streamers. Unfortunately, the big fish just didn't want to come out to play. They hit'em hard though. It was just one of those days. We went back to the nymph rigs and caught quite a few more willing rainbows. It turned out to be a beautiful day on the water and its hard to complain about that!

Trout Zilla!

Spring is finally here and the fishing is the best! It is as good as it's ever been! If you are not planning a trip anytime soon, you need to be. Yesterday I took Mason and his brother Jack. I have been fishing with Mason for about a year now. Yesterday he brought his brother Jack along for the first time for his birthday. We had 80% chance of thunderstorms all day. The fish gods smiled upon us and let the storms hold off. We had blue sky most of the day. The wind was blowing out of control, but other than that, it was a beautiful day. The water was low and bugs were in the air. They both managed to catch the biggest trout of their lives! Its an awesome feeling to watch that happen. I'm pretty sure Jack had a birthday he won't ever forget!

Slab Fest 2010

Friday Jamie and I did a group trip. I took George, Bill and, Nicki. We had a great day. After months of high generation, the water is finally down below pool and we have lots of fish who have not been pressured. The fish are getting fat and strong. The sun was out and Bill brought along his Ipod we jammed smooth jazz all day. Not to mention it was some of the best fishing days I have ever had on this river! March Browns where in the air, as well as a few caddis. Emergers seemed to be the ticket! These are a couple of the Slabs they brought in!

Good Times

Saturday the Corps had a little less than one generator projected all day. When I got to Lobo to pick up my clients, it was more like two generators. The guys wanted to buck up and throw big streamers in search of big fish. They fish just wouldn't act right though! We tried hard but they just wouldn't move for us, so we ran a little bit up river and got out some down and dirty nymph rigs and started turning fish immediately. In fact, I think the first three fish we caught on Nymphs were browns! We continued to pick on some rainbows and it turned out to be a great day! After I dropped the guys off at the ramp my friend Hays and I set off up river to do a little fishing. We got the streamer rods back out and fished the last few hours of daylight and caught several nice fish. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. Hays and I fished again the next day and We came up with a lot of the same results; not many fish willing to eat streamers, but lots of fish who wanted to munch on some nymphs...I guess the sun don't shine on the same dog's ass everyday.

It just keeps getting Better

Spring is my favorite time to be on the water. The fishing is excellent,the weather is usually excellent and new life is just blooming all around you. This year we have had a hard couple of months, starting in the fall with our weather and water. Saturday I had planned on taking John and his Son Dan to chuck streamers in pursuit of the big browns, but due to the massive storm we had move through on Friday night, the river was blown out! Instead we launched at the Dam, nymph rigs ready. The fishing was fantastic. The water was low and we caught more healthy rainbows than I have seen in Months. I mean it was awesome! I felt like I was catching rainbows that didn't belong in our river. They all had pink gill plates, a defined red stripe down their side, and had all of their pectoral fins! We caught several 16 and 17" rainbows, as well as some nice browns. We also caught a tagged Brown which was very cool. I think each day I have been on the water, the fishing just keeps getting better and I am looking forward to a great spring!

Craig and Carter

As a kid I remember many a fishing trip with my father. Last Monday I got the opportunity to take a Craig and his 7 1/2 year old son, Carter, fly fishing for their first time. It was a beautiful spring day we started out with some casting lessons and quickly moved to the water. Craig has been fishing his whole life but never with a fly rod. It didn't take him long before he was bringing them in left and right! We had new water coming at us so we continued to stay in front of the water. The trip was very rewarding for me and it kept me on memory lane with my pops all afternoon. I dropped them off at the end of the day and had a nice long boat ride back to the ramp alone to think about life and the pursuit of fish. I think both Craig and Carter caught lots of fish. It was always funny because almost every fish Carter caught he would reel backwards and he just giggled the whole time! What a great day. This is Carter's first rainbow trout on a fly rod!

The Brister's

Today I took Bo and Fred Brister. It was the first real day that felt like spring should outside. Temps got up into the upper 50's maybe even low 60's! We had the lowest water we've had in months and we had some active fish! Our fist hour we tried to make the fish eat some certain flies. We picked off one or two here and there but it just wasn't going to happen. I switched them over to some attractor flies that I have come to love and they started smoking them! They had several doubles throughout the day and had an absolute blast! We had new water starting to come down, so we keep pushing down. We stayed in front of the water all day. I saw some nice Bwo's and a few other bugs flying around. It sure was a good day to go to work!

Johhny Mac

Last Wednesday Jamie and I did a group trip. We knew we had water coming at us around mid day, so we started fishing down river trying to stay in front of the water for as long as possible. We fished until about noon and then the water hit. We decided these Medtronic guys and doctors would rather go fish the low water instead of fighting the current, so we pulled out and went to the dam. It took us a minute to find out bite, but once we did it was on. This is one of the nice rainbows John McLaughlin caught.

My World on the Fly: White River Feb. 2010: Part I

My World on the Fly: White River Feb. 2010: Part I