Post by Petey on May 1, 2006 9:55:28 GMT -5
Jay (Marmot) and I made our way for a section of the Smoky's that we have yet to fish. Actually that pretty much makes most of the Smoky's.
This was a place we had never been, and I was in the mood for some Brookie fishing. We made a stop by LRO and looked over the idea of possibly purchasing some new wading boots. The Chota's we each own are on their last respective legs, though we came to decide we were could get another wear or two out of our boots before we have to splurge. So I picked Daniel's brain for a bit at the store before we set out. Thinking we were dialed in we were on our way for a journey into new water. And a journey it became.
We studied the map, read our Smoky Mountain Guide by Don Kirk, referenced the map again and thought we had arrived at the right place to access Road Prong. We got out and rigged up, excited to hit the water. I had purchased a pretty little Orvis Trident 8'4" 2 wt from a friend a couple of weeks back and had been aching to take it on a test run.
Jay and I went full steam into the stream. Leaping each other and sharing runs. The valley became steeper and steeper and boulders grew larger and larger. Pools became blue and deep as we went. Several feisty bows were brought to hand along the way with beautiful color. This was also some of the most extreme wading I had done in some time. The entire time I was wishing I had unscrewed the cleats in my boots, because every rock was a huge slick gray back.
This little voice in the back of my head kept going back to something Daniel had mentioned. Some gorge on the West Prong that was a couple of miles long. The breaks between plunge pools and water falls were filled with noise from traffic from above. It soon became apparent we were not on Road Prong at all and that we had went head on into the gorge section of the West Prong of the Little Pigeon. Jay and I, while having a great time, came to decide that we needed to make an exit where one could be made so we could start trekking backing to the Jeep. We scaled the first sign of an exit we could see from the water. Straight up the gorge we went headed for the road. Grabbing root and tree, pulling ourselves to the top. On the hike back, the sound of Harley's and smell of diesel form tour buses filled the air. Which prompted Jay to yell back, "This is really messing with my Wilderness Experience". This brought back memories of Colorado, camping on the Bear River, the sound from a herd of sheep that didn't know when to sleep. Which in turn prompted a lady at the campground to write the local forest rangers in Colorado and let them know just how these sheep had ruined her wilderness experience.
Anyhow, if you are not of able body and mind, if you don't like physical wading (I was going to use extreme, but Jay felt that it can only be extreme if have to repel in) and you don't mind the bruises and scrapes that come from it, this is for you. If playing mountain goat is not your cup of tea, then I would suggest that you do not enter this section of water.
Here are some pics from the West Prong.
Me on the West Prong
View of the West Prong
Wanna get an idea of just how big and round the rocks are on the West Prong? Look for Jay and when you see him you will realize just how fast this gorge climbs.
This is looking down river on the West Prong. A breath taking view, but it also helps put in perspective just how fast in elevation you have to climb.
This a tree that stands in the middle of the riverbed. We took lunch here and plotted our escape.
Upon returning to the car, we studied the map and soon realized the error of our ways. Which wasn't entirely a bad thing. But I came for Brookie's and by golly I was going to catch some Brookies.
So we made the 2+ mile drive right back up mountain from which we had came to the trail head of the Chimney's. We had finally arrived at Road Prong. We geared back up and were hot on the trail. We hiked a good distance in before actually ever entering the water. The water wasn't right off of the trail, it took a little work getting to. I figured what we had just encountered in the gorge couldn't possibly be matched. Well, the part of Road Prong we fished wasn't as bouldery but it was nearly as steep. We climbed waterfalls, bushwhacked through Rhodo's and did the belly crawl in a couple of places to make it into the next set of runs. But we did find what we had came for. Beautifully painted Brookies brought to hand among-st the sound of moving water and window clear plunge pools. We spent the rest of our afternoon bringing to hand Brookies, that had been illegal to fish for the past 20 years. I am not sure some of these guys had ever seen a human, and they probably don't want to again. It was also nice to have my new little 2wt was baptized in the appropriate fashion. Brookie fishing in the Smokies.
Here are some pics from Road Prong.
Jay on Road Prong.
Me on Road Prong fishing a water fall.
Me holding a Brookie from the water fall on Road Prong.
A view looking down river on Road Prong.
A Road Prong Brookie
This was some of the prettiest water I have seen in some time. Both the West Prong and Road Prong. But there is a price to pay. My legs are a tad bit soar still today and there are couple of nice cherry bruises on my knees.
Still all in all, it was great to get out and explore some new water. I told myself earlier in the year, I was going to make it a point to fish the park more. So far so good.
Petey
This was a place we had never been, and I was in the mood for some Brookie fishing. We made a stop by LRO and looked over the idea of possibly purchasing some new wading boots. The Chota's we each own are on their last respective legs, though we came to decide we were could get another wear or two out of our boots before we have to splurge. So I picked Daniel's brain for a bit at the store before we set out. Thinking we were dialed in we were on our way for a journey into new water. And a journey it became.
We studied the map, read our Smoky Mountain Guide by Don Kirk, referenced the map again and thought we had arrived at the right place to access Road Prong. We got out and rigged up, excited to hit the water. I had purchased a pretty little Orvis Trident 8'4" 2 wt from a friend a couple of weeks back and had been aching to take it on a test run.
Jay and I went full steam into the stream. Leaping each other and sharing runs. The valley became steeper and steeper and boulders grew larger and larger. Pools became blue and deep as we went. Several feisty bows were brought to hand along the way with beautiful color. This was also some of the most extreme wading I had done in some time. The entire time I was wishing I had unscrewed the cleats in my boots, because every rock was a huge slick gray back.
This little voice in the back of my head kept going back to something Daniel had mentioned. Some gorge on the West Prong that was a couple of miles long. The breaks between plunge pools and water falls were filled with noise from traffic from above. It soon became apparent we were not on Road Prong at all and that we had went head on into the gorge section of the West Prong of the Little Pigeon. Jay and I, while having a great time, came to decide that we needed to make an exit where one could be made so we could start trekking backing to the Jeep. We scaled the first sign of an exit we could see from the water. Straight up the gorge we went headed for the road. Grabbing root and tree, pulling ourselves to the top. On the hike back, the sound of Harley's and smell of diesel form tour buses filled the air. Which prompted Jay to yell back, "This is really messing with my Wilderness Experience". This brought back memories of Colorado, camping on the Bear River, the sound from a herd of sheep that didn't know when to sleep. Which in turn prompted a lady at the campground to write the local forest rangers in Colorado and let them know just how these sheep had ruined her wilderness experience.
Anyhow, if you are not of able body and mind, if you don't like physical wading (I was going to use extreme, but Jay felt that it can only be extreme if have to repel in) and you don't mind the bruises and scrapes that come from it, this is for you. If playing mountain goat is not your cup of tea, then I would suggest that you do not enter this section of water.
Here are some pics from the West Prong.
Me on the West Prong
View of the West Prong
Wanna get an idea of just how big and round the rocks are on the West Prong? Look for Jay and when you see him you will realize just how fast this gorge climbs.
This is looking down river on the West Prong. A breath taking view, but it also helps put in perspective just how fast in elevation you have to climb.
This a tree that stands in the middle of the riverbed. We took lunch here and plotted our escape.
Upon returning to the car, we studied the map and soon realized the error of our ways. Which wasn't entirely a bad thing. But I came for Brookie's and by golly I was going to catch some Brookies.
So we made the 2+ mile drive right back up mountain from which we had came to the trail head of the Chimney's. We had finally arrived at Road Prong. We geared back up and were hot on the trail. We hiked a good distance in before actually ever entering the water. The water wasn't right off of the trail, it took a little work getting to. I figured what we had just encountered in the gorge couldn't possibly be matched. Well, the part of Road Prong we fished wasn't as bouldery but it was nearly as steep. We climbed waterfalls, bushwhacked through Rhodo's and did the belly crawl in a couple of places to make it into the next set of runs. But we did find what we had came for. Beautifully painted Brookies brought to hand among-st the sound of moving water and window clear plunge pools. We spent the rest of our afternoon bringing to hand Brookies, that had been illegal to fish for the past 20 years. I am not sure some of these guys had ever seen a human, and they probably don't want to again. It was also nice to have my new little 2wt was baptized in the appropriate fashion. Brookie fishing in the Smokies.
Here are some pics from Road Prong.
Jay on Road Prong.
Me on Road Prong fishing a water fall.
Me holding a Brookie from the water fall on Road Prong.
A view looking down river on Road Prong.
A Road Prong Brookie
This was some of the prettiest water I have seen in some time. Both the West Prong and Road Prong. But there is a price to pay. My legs are a tad bit soar still today and there are couple of nice cherry bruises on my knees.
Still all in all, it was great to get out and explore some new water. I told myself earlier in the year, I was going to make it a point to fish the park more. So far so good.
Petey
