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My dad caught this walleye over there last year. I wasn't with him that day, but wish I was. We go to a spot with an old train trussel, some place he calls "rankin bottom" if I'm saying it right. There's another spot you can actually see from the bridge on I40 that passes over the river near Newport. We go in on some backroad, and you can see the bridge from where we walk out to fish. That's in December when the water is down enough.
I think that's the trick. water was at 2.5, which for a large river is pretty rough.

I can sight fish at around 1.5-1.8 at Nolichucky.

Nice Walleye, glad you and your dad can do that. Never take for granted.
 
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I think that's the trick. water was at 2.5, which for a large river is pretty rough.

I can sight fish at around 1.5-1.8 at Nolichucky.

Nice Walleye, glad you and your dad can do that. Never take for granted.
I do wish I could get up there and catch some smallmouth, haven't caught one in years. There aren't any around here where I live in Georgia. Ton of spots, largemouth, but no smalls.
 
I do wish I could get up there and catch some smallmouth, haven't caught one in years. There aren't any around here where I live in Georgia. Ton of spots, largemouth, but no smalls.
N and or S Fork Holston. Surgoinsville or Kingsport. Even has Largemouth, Stripers.

Always best to have a boat.
 
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Catching up on a few hikes...

Return to Martin’s Creek a few weeks ago. We were there in May after a few days of heavy rain. Can really tell the difference in the falls and water level of the pool this time. F9B939F4-C5CD-48A8-8664-B3F0FF90F93F.jpegThen did Natural Tunnel State Park....8D6182EE-EBFA-4EB0-9E03-D520B9979D2A.jpeg5B175103-88FA-4213-A17E-5E48E4D2ECD6.jpeg
Returned to Devils Bathtub on a Monday for a much less crowded time. I think this was the last hurrah for playing in the water for the year 😢
16BC86DF-9F4F-47CB-AE9C-2C465505F2FC.jpegNot really a trail hike but we go to Skyrop Apple Orchard every year and hike about a mile and half around the property...66D4A7F6-2698-4C0E-BDC2-D39869AD73C7.jpeg
Finally, met up with some family for Craggy Gardens Trail off the Blue Ridge Pkwy this past weekend...E8ED7132-3AF4-40B6-98E3-8AF7CE4FF2EA.jpeg4E01BED0-0C4D-489E-BAC1-2BF6622D4005.jpegF7EDAA7C-7C08-412C-87A1-9AC6F3513C15.jpeg
 
Catching up on a few hikes...

Return to Martin’s Creek a few weeks ago. We were there in May after a few days of heavy rain. Can really tell the difference in the falls and water level of the pool this time. View attachment 312296Then did Natural Tunnel State Park....View attachment 312297View attachment 312300
Returned to Devils Bathtub on a Monday for a much less crowded time. I think this was the last hurrah for playing in the water for the year 😢
View attachment 312303Not really a trail hike but we go to Skyrop Apple Orchard every year and hike about a mile and half around the property...View attachment 312306
Finally, met up with some family for Craggy Gardens Trail off the Blue Ridge Pkwy this past weekend...View attachment 312308View attachment 312309View attachment 312310
Love craggy!
 
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Some of you who know me may be wondering, how am I parachuting from aircraft if my bum knee keeps me from hiking mountain trails?

Well, modern ram-air canopies allow me to glide in for a no impact landing. Usually, a step or two and I'm at a stop, pulling my parachute down so that the wind doesn't catch me up. Now, if I'm coming in hot, say a broken pattern and a downwind landing, I can just take it down and slide in on my butt. I'd rather be whole and dirty than proud and broken.

The past eight years, I've not been jumping much - a few times with my fellow old farts just to get some air. These days, I do something much more dangerous - touring rides on road bicycles. It's less expensive and doesn't require as high a level of activity to maintain skill level. Yeah, I groan and puff and labor on my bike after a layoff, but I can complete the route. Skydiving requires a bit more from participants.

Fair skies and favorable winds,
Tin Man
 
Arabia "mountain" down here in Atlanta. I knew it wasnt much, but even still was disappointed. You can take a stroller up it and around most of the area. Baby wont sleep thru the bumps but you can make it up top.

Was still a nice day to get out and around last weekend.
 

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Arabia "mountain" down here in Atlanta. I knew it wasnt much, but even still was disappointed. You can take a stroller up it and around most of the area. Baby wont sleep thru the bumps but you can make it up top.

Was still a nice day to get out and around last weekend.
You should ride up to amicolla falls one weekend
 
Going to a local hemp farm with lake and camping ground this weekend to do some fishing. Nothing with beautiful sights but it's close and when you have livestock to feed it's hard to go far from home. Hopefully I have some pics to share tomorrow.
 
That looks like a good one. Is there much hiking to get to the falls?
It's not so much far to me as it is steep. You can drice to the top, or walk up, but it's steps. Beautiful up there.
 
Going to a local hemp farm with lake and camping ground this weekend to do some fishing. Nothing with beautiful sights but it's close and when you have livestock to feed it's hard to go far from home. Hopefully I have some pics to share tomorrow.
This trip was put off until next week due to weather.
 
I think that's the trick. water was at 2.5, which for a large river is pretty rough.

I can sight fish at around 1.5-1.8 at Nolichucky.

Nice Walleye, glad you and your dad can do that. Never take for granted.
For wading and smallmouth on the FB river, take hwy25 out of Newport toward Asheville to Del Rio. There are lots of places to pull off right on the river bank. Side roads run along the river all the way to the NC border.
BTW, Rankin Bottoms is considered upper end of Douglas Lake and not sm water. That was more likely a sauger than a walleye.
 
For wading and smallmouth on the FB river, take hwy25 out of Newport toward Asheville to Del Rio. There are lots of places to pull off right on the river bank. Side roads run along the river all the way to the NC border.
BTW, Rankin Bottoms is considered upper end of Douglas Lake and not sm water. That was more likely a sauger than a walleye.
We took River Road in HS about 3 miles down toward a pull off area. Polecat Hollow. Road winds around Private Property for miles with one NFS primative shelter.

Flow is large here with several creeks and rivers converging. Good striper/smallmouth water. With temps in 50's they may just be keyed in deeper runs, toward center of river getting fat.

Werent a lot of baitfish.

Ive fished big water before, less predictable in fact. Convergence of N and S Fork at Long's Island. (Reason Ive shed waders), got in a bad spot. Fished hand tied Sculpin pattern. Again could see fish.

My only thought is that the French Broad has apex fish like Walleye, Stripes, Musky, and whatver else, the Bass are likely pushed out or dead.
 
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We took River Road in HS about 3 miles down toward a pull off area. Polecat Hollow. Road winds around Private Property for miles with one NFS primative shelter.

Flow is large here with several creeks and rivers converging. Good striper/smallmouth water. With temps in 50's they may just be keyed in deeper runs, toward center of river getting fat.

Werent a lot of baitfish.

Ive fished big water before, less predictable in fact. Convergence of N and S Fork at Long's Island. (Reason Ive shed waders), got in a bad spot. Fished hand tied Sculpin pattern. Again could see fish.

My only thought is that the French Broad has apex fish like Walleye, Stripes, Musky, and whatver else, the Bass are likely pushed out or dead.
Musky on the NC side but not in TN that I know of except maybe a straggler and I've never seen a walleye, only sauger that run up from Douglas. The river fishes much smaller and easier to wade in/above Del Rio, except after rain of course. Even with rain, it's much clearer up there too as the runoff is from mountains and not farms like the Nolichucky. If you like float trips for sm and trout, try Holston below Cherokee dam. Sm fishing is good All the way to forks of the river, but first 5-7 miles has really good trout. Check the generating schedule and dont mess with if they are running more than 2 generators.
 
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For wading and smallmouth on the FB river, take hwy25 out of Newport toward Asheville to Del Rio. There are lots of places to pull off right on the river bank. Side roads run along the river all the way to the NC border.
BTW, Rankin Bottoms is considered upper end of Douglas Lake and not sm water. That was more likely a sauger than a walleye.
Thirty-something years ago, I pulled a sauger out of the Tugaloo River several miles upstream from Hartwell dam. Haven’t caught a sauger since.
 

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