Making the Most Out of Time Well Spent

I couldn’t have asked for a better day to fish the Sipsey this past Friday. The temperature was in the low seventies with overcast skies most of the day. You notice I said most of the day, which meant I was going to give it my best today for the six hours I was given. I feel every time I visit this place I am making up for loss time in trout fishing. As most of you know I only started fly fishing for trout some ten years ago on the Caney Fork in Tennessee with my son-in-law. Little did I know on this one trip that my fishing perspective would change forever for me? The fly rod now consumes 95% of my fishing experience. The trout on the Sipsey get all my attention now during the late fall and winter months, where in years past I would be fishing for bass on Smith Lake.

I have said this before but I will reiterate it again how I wish I had found the fly fishing passion when I was younger. So everyday I am “GIVEN” now is time well spent landing trout like this beauty with its colors all aglow for Christmas.

The water today was high when I arrived at mid morning. As the day unfolded it begin to reseed. Two generators would be running about an hour before I would leave late afternoon. I’ve learned especially for us older anglers that one doesn’t need to stand an entire wading trip. Snack breaks, fly changes, and a pause just to soak up the beautiful scenery can be excuse enough to find a seat. On the Sipsey those seats come in the form of numerous large boulders scattered up and down the gouge.

This image explains why we as trout fishermen love this sport so much. I could still see vivid colors on its gill plate as it swim back into the fast run it was taken from.

A complete contrast in color scheme here with this healthy bow; it inhaled the nymph so hard I thought I had hooked a rock. Current was the key to today’s trip; the trout were holding in small seams where there were structure such as rocks and fallen timber. One never knows how the trout will react from day to day on the Sipsey. Today numerous trout were in the mood to inhale a number of patterns I cast their way, which made the day special!!   

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