This Blog has been temporarily suspended due to the raping and pillaging of the Caney Fork River.

Curtis

Pentax Optio w60

I finally received the new Pentax Optio waterproof camera. They were first available only in Japan and now released to the U.S. We now have the choice of two different colors, aqua blue and silver. Here is the link: http://www.h20camera.com/home

Anyone can read all the reviews and specs straight from the websites. But what I really wanted to know, is how it performs. Come on along and let's see what we got

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First of all, the w60 is small, lightweight, not a burden to take along anywhere you plan on going. It's easy to power up and operate with one hand, perfect for those grip and grin shots when noone's around. The included software is straight forward and easy to setup. Insert the cd and click a few buttons with the mouse. The pictures above were taken by a 7yr old on our first outing with new Pentax.

Did I mention how slim and light weight this camera is? It is somewhat difficult to take steady photos while holding a fish in one hand and the camera in the other hand. Even when using both hands, there's not much to hold onto to get a steady shot. The camera has a limited internal memory that will allow for approximately 10 pics at 10 megapixels. A 256 MB SD card will hold about 100 pics at 10 megapixels. I opted for an 8 GB SD card that will hold over 3700 pics at 10 megapixels. I wish the camera came with it's own SD card but I am satisfied to buy my own card and get the one I want.

To end on a positive note, the new Pentax is user friendly. It is not a DSLR and that suits me just fine. It will easily slip into the chest pocket of your waders or even a shirt pocket with a zipper. The allowed manual settings are straight forward as any other camera I have used. Where this little friend shines is in the compact size and lightweight, you won't mind taking it along with you.

However; I just couldn't make myself dunk this little gem underwater to test out the waterproof features. Stay tuned for the updates, that are in progress, with some great underwater pics with even some video features that take some time to put together.

Friday the 13th

The Caney is fishing awesome on low water, the pressure is picking up, but the fish are still cooperating.

Low water for wading has been scarce as hen's teeth for the last 6-8 months. With the repairs being made on the dam, the wheeels have been turning to release the water fairly steady during the day. This past week has opened up a wadeable fishing window that has provided a nice break from throwing heavy weights with streamers attached.

Everybody and their brother have been waiting for some good opportunities to get waist deep. Joshua and I floated the upper section of the river on low water this Friday. Navigating the river was a breeze, the 60 other obstacles in our way from the dam to the first good bend in the river was a little more challenging. The Caney was stacked like a rick of firewood. The obvious solution for us was get own downstream ahead of the masses.

Just before the first good bend of the river, we managed to find a parking spot for the canoe to get out and cool our feet off. It took me a few minutes to get my arm working properly, switching rods from an 8wt over to a 4wt, but once I worked the kinks out and actually got a good drift going with the fly, it was on.

The Caney is a typical tailwater and there are no big secrets to finding good fly patterns that work. Midges are productive and can be found hatching year round, sometimes with several hatches per day. There are some mayflies that come off at different times throughout the year and provide some real treats for the dry fly fisherman. Caddis too.

Overall it was an enjoyable day with my son. I was surprised he even let me bring my fly rods along for the float. See, this was his trip today, a make up trip from a couple of weeks ago when we were floating and some heavy storms blew in and I made him leave the river. He hasn't forgotten that one yet. He wanted to ride out the storm! Anyway, if you have ever floated in a canoe while fly fishing with the current twisting and the wind blowing, it can be pretty hard to control the boat, the cast, and the line on the water all at the same time. I was getting frustrated.

Josh's remarks before I shut up for the rest of the day and enjoyed some family time with my son," You sure take this fly fishing stuff too serious, after all, it's just fishing"

Snookered

April 16, 2008

I had the opportunity to float a beautiful little stream in East Tn with Rusty from Fly Drifters. We started out about 10:00 am by sliding a 16' Hog Island drifter from the bank. That's one of the great advantages of a drifter, you can slide it in just about anywhere, no launch ramp was necessary.

The smallmouth bite has been very good on some of the lesser known streams and Rusty had invited me over to float with him and John for the day. As it goes with fishing, there was a cold front that came through the weekend before that laid down a blanket of snow on the Smokies. This cooler weather, combined with clear low water flows, encouraged us to work hard for the smallies. The bite was slow to come.

It's not about the catching, that determines a succesful day on the water. It's just about being there that counts for me. I really appreciate going to new places and meeting new fishing buddies. I am primarily a solo fly fisherman, and its a real treat for me to share a good stream with such knowledgeable guides as these two were. I definitely learned alot about the smallies and even a little bit about myself.

How sweet it is when you drift upon a fine looking run that you just know holds fish. A run that you could fish all day long even if nothing was biting. I have a few special places like that for me. Sometimes the fish cooperate but that's not really why I fish there. This riffle - run is one of those that you don't soon forget. John was first to put a bend in his rod. A beautiful fine smallie. I just knew it was my turn now. Fish on. What? John is hooked up again. And again. Just as I was about to rock the boat to a more favorable casting position, Rusty has a fish on! And so it goes with fishing. Here I am, snookered, in the stern of a drifter with an awesome run of smallies that are eagerly hitting the fly. It was awesome.

Just for the record, I ended up with the big fish of the day. It always feels good to get the skunk off. More importantly, it was about just being there. Few places I had rather be than floating on a fine river in TN. The new friendships formed that day are just a bonus. A very nice bonus for someone that fishes solo the majority of the time. And that's what I remember the most about this trip when I reflect back to it. Snookered, in the back of a drifter, with two new fishing buddies hooked up on smallmouth.

The caddis blizzard pictured above was phenomenal. I had never seen anything like it before. Now that's a real hatch.

Get out there. I'll see you on the water.

Smallmouth?

The Caney is still running generation around the clock and I have not fished it in over 6weeks. I hear the drift boats and jet boats have been doing well with the chuck-n-duck methods.

I am tying a new fly pattern for a streamer swap that I am participating in. I just had to try it out to see if it will produce. Since the Caney is running to high for me to wade, I had to resort to other species than trout.

This is my first smallmouth ever! The water temps are still too low for the top water action and this big girl was caught down deep.

I guess the fly for the swap works! This smallie was caught on an olive Bouface which is one of John Barr's patterns in his book "Barr Flies". I'm still practicing on some variations of this fly and look forward to testing them out in the next 6 weeks.

It may be time for a new setup. That 5wt Sage Launch almost jumped right out of my hand, but sure was fun to feel a good fight for a while. I apologize about the quality of the pics as they were taken from a cell phone.

Obey River, TN

Since the Caney is "blown out" with all the generation lately, it was time to hit the road and find some new fishing holes. The quest has landed me on the Obey River, a tailwater of Dale Hollow Lake. I also had to stop by and visit the hatchery while I was in the vicinity.

Now for the fishing report. It was tough as nails. Midges rising everywhere and only a few tugs on my line to show for it. In my defense, this was my first trip and all, but the fish made me work for them. The Cumberland River is "blown out" as well and the Obey has no where to go! The current is non-existent and I felt like I was fishing in a pond. Nothing wrong with the slow flow, it's just not the condition's I am used to and took some time to figure out how to trick 'em.

My biggest surprise of the entire trip is how friendly and unselfish the other fly anglers treated a new guy to their home waters. I met so many nice people on the water that were willing to share good fishing holes,"Johnson's Hole", and the patterns that were catching fish, that I literally came home with more flies in my box than I left with! That's hospitality the way it should be.

The Dale Hollow One Stop Market is a good place to put your feet on the ground and stretch your legs after some driving time. The staff inside definitely know fishing, but mostly they're into smallmouth. However; they are more than happy to point you in the right direction for the river and recommend some access points. The bbq I had there for supper is top notch and the scenery wasn't too bad either!

I will definitely be back when the weather warms up as the water temps were warmer than the daytime highs. I also picked out a good campsite next to the river for when we return.

Little Guys

I have a good friend that likes to rib me pretty hard about how I always manage to catch the little guys. I take it as a compliment. Not everybody works as hard as I do, and walks as far, to catch the little guys.

I consider them a little Caney treasure. The first one I caught in the small category was a tad over 4". It gives me hope, that maybe in some extraordinary miraculous way, that the trout in this tailwater do in fact have a succesful spawn. Now I am fully aware of scientific studies by doctorates at TTU that the fish don't reproduce.

I prefer to quote one of my good friends; " I spend more time on the water each year than they do, and I say the trout reproduce." I sure hope he is right. Nah, I know he is. I've had the pleasure of the little guys!