Weekend in GSMNP

[Mike Anderson]

BD and I headed to a new to us creek in search of Brook Troot :). These images are from an iPhone 5 with lifeproof case unedited.

The hike in is a moderate 1.5 mile hike on a well traveled trail with moderate elevation change. BD charged up the hill like Rocky Balboa. ;D

Our starting point

Here BD is fishing the first “Gawd Danged” pool of water he could find after our brisk walk.

We knew within a few casts that we had made a good choice in streams.

There were plenty of hiding places on this piece of water.

Cahill or Sulphur? Two or three tails… Who cares, just tie on something yellow.

And the fish approved.

The only thing that comes close to the beautiful fish in this place is the scenery.

I found this guy right after I stepped on a mossy spot on a steep rock and slid down a limestone slide several feet into the pool below. Glad that ended as well as it did…

There was promise of more of these ahead so we climbed over the falls again.

I was Resting in a pool waiting on BD so he could take the lead.

This place just kept challenging us with more and more tough obstacles to climb but each challenge was rewarded with this.

The pool this one came out of is etched in my mind forever. It was the most perfect little pool and we were able to approach it completely concealed. You just knew the little stimulater didn’t stand a chance.


BD working over a pool.

View above us.

This is the view behind us. Pretty steep little creek.

Typical pool.

This was a very tall falls with no real place to climb it. I was able to scale the big rock face but BD didn’t feel comfortable. He decided to fight the rhodo. Considering where we were and the consequences if you fall off that rock face,,, his choice might have been the wisest path.

Of course I didn’t heckle him the entire time.. ;D

View from on top of the falls

After climbing the falls it became apparent that the creek was getting much steeper and the climbs much more hazardous. I could see that the trail was just to our left but it might as well had been 10 miles away. There was a steep wall of limestone and rhodo preventing us from getting out. We had to turn around and go down the tall falls AGAIN, and it’s getting dark… If anyone knows this place from the images and can tell me where it intersects with the trail again I’d be very appreciative.

On the way out I found this mushroom. BD said it wasn’t edible but that you could suck the juices out of it. 😮

The ultimate end to the trip was a meal we cooked up at camp. Beef tenderloin, grilled baby portables, grilled squash, mac and cheese, and salad. We more then made up for skipping lunch!

[Zach Matthews]

BD said it wasn’t edible but that you could suck the juices out of it.

Hahahaha!

Great post Mike. Looks like you and Brian got on a really good stretch of water and wore them out. I love the high mountain streams like that; in some ways they are all the same but each one presents a slightly different challenge. Going from pool to pool is kind of like playing a new level in a game of Angry Birds or something–you know you can make it work, you just have to work out how.

Thanks for sharing.

Zach

[Roy Conley]

Congrats on a great day’s fishing.
Back when I used to do similar fishing, the kit for the day would be a 3 wt, some 5X or 6X tippet and half dozen #18 elk hair tan caddis. I would swear that on some days we caught every fish in some pools, at least once.

A great change from chasing big Ole bubba brown trout.

[Brian Greer]

Very cool. Great pics for being right off of the phone. I seriously need to upgrade.

I really like seeing those fish that no longer have their parr marks.

I spent a week there in May and had good luck. It’s a great place, though I do hate the thick foliage.

[Mike Anderson]

Thanks Zach. The iPhone impressed me. This was the first time I’ve used it for fishing. I resisted getting the lifeproof case for a long time but now that I’ve had it awhile my opinion is that it’s totally worth the cost.

There’ll be plenty of time to chase those Browns this winter Roy.

[Zach Matthews]

Mike –

I have no qualms about using the iPhone as a regular camera. You don’t get the lens interchangeability but the panorama feature is very strong and can make for some excellent printable shots for double-truck stuff. I have printed a lot of magazine photos using the iPhone. I shot a couple whole articles with is – nothing too technical, I think mostly about boat-building, but for ordinary photography it is just fine.

Zach

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