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Tony
Heading East
The past three weekends I have been heading East to the Caney Fork River in Tenn. Water flows over there have been much better than the flows in Arkansas. It's alot of fun to fish and guide on water that is relativley new to me. While I would rather be on the Little Red, I have to admit that the Caney Fork is a good river and one that is a lot of fun to fish.
One of the things I have liked the most about the Caney is the lack of houses jammed up against the water and NO DOCKS!!! The scenery is great except for the 4 or 5 bridges of I-40 that the river goes under... but beggers can't be choosers right?
The average fish isn't as big as the fish on the Little Red, but they make up for a lack of size with plenty of fight.
The main draw back to the Caney is the 4 hour drive on I-40. With gas prices being what they have been I have been driving clients from Memphis and splitting gas with them. Its been a different situation, basically guiding a day and 2/3 worth of fishing sandwiched between 4 hour drives. While there, this has been home for the last three weekends... it helps keep the costs down too!
So while its not what I could have been doing these past three weeks... it's alot better than nothing. I have also been building a few rods for some people and that has been going well also. I'm just glad I have fishy things to do while most of my buddies and normal co-workers are pacing back and forth waiting for the water to come down.
Maybe time to start building an Ark(ansas).
We actually got a break in the high water, but it was because of downstream flooding due to the monsoon that has been the month of March. I got in a day of fishing for my own sanity and three guide trips for my bank account. Sunday we got another inch and a half of rain, plus more last night so maybe this coming weekend will be the same way, but who knows at this point.
I saw some nice fish over these four days and had a good time with folks in the boat. Saturday was the best day by far. I had a gentleman who has been aboard my boat a few times and he brought his daughter in law with him who had never flyfished. Beginners luck doesn't begin to describe it. She caught around 70 trout and one was a 21" brown. It was just one of those days and it's almost a tease because of all the impending high water.
The lower pic was one that I caught on Thursday on a heavy sink tip and streamer rig.
Hopefully the water realeases will give us another great opportunity like this one sometime soon. There is a chance that relaeases will have to be cut back for many different reasons and it's possible that the lake wont get down to pool level until sometime near the end of Summer if this happens. Currently the lake is around 15 feet high and stil rising... we might have to build an ark soon and load it up with all the animals if the weather in April is as wet as May has been. Does anyone know an anti-rain dance?
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