Was up at Blue Huron today with no luck. Saw a couple of guys using worms and minnows, no luck for them either. Water was falling but still high and clearing. Threw almost everything in my takle box with no results.
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Was up at Blue Huron today with no luck. Saw a couple of guys using worms and minnows, no luck for them either. Water was falling but still high and clearing. Threw almost everything in my takle box with no results.
It seems to me I read somewhere that you can do overnight canoe/fishing trips there. Is this true Coleman and if so, where can I find out about put in/take out spots. Thought this might be a cool trip for me and my son sometime, but don't really know the area. Any help is appreciated.
I absolutely love this run, I've ran it for the past 7 years on Memorial Day. It is a beautful, scenic run with some good runs. If you put in at Station Camp near Bandy Creek, and take out at Blue Heron, it can be a great overnighter. The first few miles are deadwater, which makes for some good fishing, especally smallmouth. The rest of the run is through the "Shoals", and it is about a 5 mile strech dotted with a Class II run about every 100 yards. The only major hazard on the river in this strech is Devils Jump. It is a rapid where the 100 ft. wide 10 ft deep BSF churns itself through a 4 ft. wide, shallow chute. It is either a Class III or IV, depending on level, and is characterized by the lookout on the top of the mountain. If you dont know much about canoeing, it is a MUST portage, otherwise, it is a great whitewater rapid.
If you go from Leatherwood Ford Bridge to Blue Heron, I recomend 3 days. More dead water, more fishing oppurtuinties, but another hazard, Angel Falls, which is a man-made rapid when the TNFWR blasted a strech of river in the 20s to try to make a dam. It is a hazordus Class IV that is a MUST portage for most paddlers. Again, a overlook on the cliffs characterizes the portage.
All in all, i think you will be pleased with the run. Small, in-line spinnerbaits drifted over shallow rocks near riffles produces the most fish, and I have always had luck fishing nightcrawlers at night for catfish while camping. If you want to learn more, you can email me specific questions at [email protected]
Hope this helps
Mighty fine report ..... sounds like a ball.
You can find more information about the area from: [url]http://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/tntrails.htm[/url]
Good luck, it's a great area to visit and enjoy.
Thanks for the info Coleman and condusivecranker. I have been in the area once, but only for a half day. I did fish Rock Creek for trout when I was there and it was good. I am going to make it a point to get me and my son out there this summer.
TimT--
I would keep a watchful eye about a week out of going. Get on the USGS website and keep an eye on the river flow out of Leatherwood Ford, TN. It is a fairy steep gorge with a rather large watershed, so flash flooding is probally the number one source of injuries on the river. I wouldnt run it any lower than 300 cfs, its a drag (no pun intended). 500-900 is good. Above 900 is a little hairy, especially for kids. The river has some huge rocks, some of which get submurged at that level, and the current can get very swirly. I remember being on it once around 1500 and got caught in something of a whirlpool where the river got a little swift around a slightly submurged rock. Slowly moving slackwater and we tipped over, never fun!
I've been on it as high as 5000, and that was a wild, wild ride. Devils Jump at that level was a terminal hole of death. Noone thought twice about going around it. So defeinetly make sure there are no major rains coming before or during your stay. The year I was on it at 5000, it started at 500, and went up to 5000 overnight, where we were camping, very little rain. A huge storm went just south with little notice.