Third Week in October...

Gold, red, and ORANGE. These are the colors of East Tennessee right now, as I'm sure many others are experiencing around the country. Could it get any better? Let me answer that for you...Yes. Toss in a fourth quarter victory over a storied rival like 'Bama, and it gets no better. If you feel the ground shake in the middle of the night, don't worry, it's just Bear Bryant rolling over in his grave...despite the fact that most Alabama fans still talk like he's alive. Honestly though, they would probably be more productive if they propped him up on the sideline, but I digress...

Anyways, after church and lunch with the family, I headed up to Tremont in the GSMNP for a few hours of solitude and trout fishing. The day was great (in the mid-60s, slightly overcast). I hit the water around 3p about one mile above the Institute (not quite sure what they do there, but I think it's educational) on the gravel road. I tried a couple different flies (Blue-Winged Olive and Copper John dropper) first, but nothing. I tied on a Parachute Adams after a while...still nothing (Hey, I said I liked to "fly fish" - but I never said I was good at it). After another half-hour, I tied on an Elk Hair Caddis and gave it a whirl. As soon as it hit the water, I had a trout take a slap ("slap" is a very technical term that only the highest-of-skilled fishermen use) at it, but I was unable to hook up. I threw the fly out there again to try to get another bite...one took it quickly and darted back to the bottom of the river. He was hooked for all of...oh...3 seconds before he got off. After a couple more attempts in the same hole, I continued on upstream. The rest of the afternoon was much like the beginning...a whole lot of nothing. Either way, it was great to get out and check out the leaves changing. There are a bunch of tourists in town this time of year to also get a glimpse Fall. Let's just say that my patience was tested, and that I was reminded that the Park is not here solely for me (even Congressman Duncan agrees - I asked). Oh well, here's some pics from the day. Thanks for stopping by... Apparently, there was a huge storm in the Park last weekend with 100+ MPH winds that took down a lot of trees and closed some major roads for a while. I'm assuming this was one of the casualties laying across the Middle Prong. It's interesting how a storm of that magnitude rolled through, and 30 miles away I had no idea...