Smoky Mt. Nat. Pk. (May 13-17)

Sunday - The drive was about 135 miles and beautiful. The roads are very curvy, making it difficult to make good time, so it took us nearly four hours to get here. We met three of our Trout Unlimited friends who had just gotten here and were setting up in a site a stones throw from ours. We walked over to the bridge and were able to spot several trout hiding behind a large boulder. It was getting late, so we opted to wait until tomorrow to fish. Instead, our friends, Clay, Ray (brothers), and John started a fire and invited us to join them. We alternated between sitting around the fire and under the awning as the rain dictated. It rained most of the way here and has been raining off and on all evening and into the night.
Monday - We slept great (man it gets dark here), arose early, ate breakfast, and took a coffee walk. Late morning we headed up Little River above the campground and fished the pools and runs we could get to for a few hours. The river was running fast and did not allow any of us to catch anything. Just as we got back to camp, the sky opened again and poured. We had dinner and went down by the bridge where we had seen fish yesterday. The big rock where they had been hiding was barely visible now. We all had some action, but Joan was the only one to actually produce a fish, a nice rainbow. Afterwards, we enjoyed a fire at our friends.
Tuesday - The rain seems to have mostly let up. We met up with the rest of the group, but decided the five of us would continue to fish together and not split up and go with them. We figured we would head up Jakes Creek which is also above the campground. This area is possibly the most beautiful area we have ever fished. Joan caught three, all rainbows and lost two. John caught one and missed two. A #14 yellow foam caddis was the best producer. We had dinner, checked in with the other group and got fishing reports (most were very good), then took a nice walk around the campground before the evening rain began.
Wednesday - Sunny today and no rain. Thank you Lord. We decided today we (Ray) would drive over past Sugarlands, towards Clingman's Dome on Hwy 441 and fish Walker Camp Prong. We pulled off two places past where the road loops. The three walked upstream and we walked back downstream.The bluffs were high for quite a ways, but we finally found a place to enter. This area proved too difficult for us due to the very large boulders and deep, fast water. We were getting frustrated and concerned, so we decided to climb out and try back a little closer to the truck. We found a spot where we could climb down and get in where the going was much more navigable. We each caught one small rainbow, then just before we were ready to get out, John landed a very nice rainbow. There were many visitors to the park who enjoyed watching us fish and taking our pictures. Maybe we will be famous. In the evening, we sat by a fire with the guys in the group area and shared fish stories.
Thursday - We took a final coffee walk, had breakfast, packed, and said so long to our friends. We had a great time despite less than ideal conditions. This is truly a wonderful place. God has richly blessed us to allow us to be able to spend time here in his awesome creation.

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Special Need Kid's Day at the Hatchery (May 9)

This is an event that we have done for the last three years that we love. We and our chapter of Trout Unlimited assist at the Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery with two hundred children with developmental challenges catch trout. Since many are in wheelchairs, they would not be able to negotiate the stream, so the are allowed to fish directly in the hatchery runs. The each can catch and keep eight fish. There challenges vary, but hearing them squeal and laugh when they catch a fish is very heart warming.

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Vet's Day at the Hatchery (May 8)

Today several from our Chapter of Trout Unlimited helped at the Chatahoochee National Fish Hatchery near Sutches, welcome Veterans in the area fish in the stream than runs alongside the Hatchery. The stream is well stocked with good sized trout before the event. We were impressed with how helpful and friendly all the Vets were with each other. After we all had hotdogs for lunch we both fished for awhile and caught plenty of trout for dinner, which was delicious.

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