New Member

[Neal Osborn]

This is getting interesting.

[Andrew Wright]

Fresh or Salt?

I am up for anything, but I am going to leave the location up to some of you veterans. Either way sounds like a win win situation to me.

[dusty montgomery]

Neal,
If we are going to do this, lets start a new thread to keep all of the info. centralized. You think we can pull it off?
D.

[paul_puckett]

I’m in
Dusty, you gonna make the trek??
I think you need to!

[dusty montgomery]

Paul,
Good to see you again, been a while. If we can get this off the ground, and I can manage getting away from the office, I’m in.
D.

[mike hill]

I am in, Dusty can I hitch a ride with you?

[dusty montgomery]

Of course. We’ll take the wife’s fuel-saver!
D.

[Zach Matthews]

As I have done before, I can probably party-barge two or so other anglers up from ATL if they need to catch flights.

We are leaving Georgia for a number of reasons.  Crowds are a big factor, as are good fishing opportunities.  I’d like to show people from outside the region a unique area like the Smokies if they are running up here.  Plus, this site and community are all about getting out in the distant places, which is why I am suggesting crossing Fontana.  There is a shuttle service that runs over the Lake (which is the southern border of the Smokies, btw).  I think the shuttle is kind of expensive but they might do party discounts.  That will take us into a relatively remote area on the south side of the park with some unique features I have always wanted to see.  Of course, in the fall, the area gets runs of brown trout out of the lake, and it can be somewhat more crowded.

Other alternatives in the region are Pisgah National Forest (the Davidson) in North Carolina, the Citico Creek drainage (Cherokee National Forest, southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee), and further afield the South Holston near Bristol, Tennessee (a tailwater), possibly even the Cumberland up in Kentucky.  Of those choices, the Smokies would be my selection.  

If we can’t rustle up the cash to cross Fontana en masse, we could certainly hit the Lower Abrams drainage (also gets runs of lake run fish in winter, during rain pulses), or the Metcalf Bottoms area of Little River on the north end of the park, in which the bigger brown trout reveal themselves around mid-October.

I would tentatively suggest that we make this a weekend trip in late October to maximize our chances of beautiful fall foliage, comfortable camping temperatures, cheap flights, running fish, and minimal rain.

[Neal Osborn]

Awesome.  I think your October time frame is perfect.  I also love the idea of Hazel Creek since that is on my list of Must-Fish sites.  The mountains are beautiful in the fall.

Here is a picture from Pisgah National Forest that Zach is talking about.  This was October last fall during a private lesson I arranged with Richard Bernabe from this site.  If we do this in the fall we could also have a photography session and maybe a photo contest (?).

[Zach Matthews]

Only issue with Hazel Creek that time of year is the crowding.

[kevin powell]

I’m in. I could carry 3 besides me.

[dusty montgomery]

Is everyone flying into atlanta, then hitching a ride or getting a rental? Or has this been decided yet?
D.

[Andrew Wright]

I can carry a few as well.

[paul_puckett]

Dusty,
make it happen man….i dont see why I couldn’t make this.
If you want to fly in the night before, your welcome to stay at out place, then we’ll hit the caravan to the park.

[dusty montgomery]

Thanks Paul, I appreciate it. If I come, I will have at least one other in tow, good people though. I just need to know the date, and then I can plan my strategy at the office. It is somewhat difficult to plan debilitating sickness 2 months out, but I will give it the college try!
D.

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