Since we're less than two weeks away from y'all joining us here in East Tennessee, I wanted to update you on the status of the Townsend gathering and
provide a place for posting last minute queries/information.
CLASSES/PRESENTATIONS
After running an informal poll last week, I'd have to say that this year's gathering is definitely trending "informal," with most folks expressing a decided preference for an unstructured atmosphere of chatting, playing with one another's toys, and (occasionally) fishing. Right now, the only thing I have scheduled is Byron's Begley's presentation on "Fishing the Smokies" on Saturday morning at 10:00 for those new to the area. We might also bat around the idea of having a scheduled tackle "show-and-tell" out on LRO's casting yard one morning, but I will have to have those gentlemen with more extensive rod collections than mine to take the lead.
Also, if you'd like to schedule a meal together sometime Friday or Saturday evening, we'll need to know that in advance as well.
TRAFFIC
There are a couple of traffic issues that might affect some of you traveling to the area. First, for those of you coming through Knoxville, I-40 is shut down in the center of town. To get more information on the work-around, cut and paste this URL in your browser (Yuku is acting cludgy this morning and won't let me set up a hot link.)
http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/smartfix/jwp/
Secondly, Little River Road in the Park is going to be closed between the Townsend "Y" and Metcalf Bottoms. Here's the NPS URL with more info:
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parknews/little-river-closure.htm
Detours in both cases should be well-marked and not that much of a problem. For those of you new to the area, however, what will be a problem are the typical choke-points in the Smokies: Cades Cove Loop Road, downtown Gatlinburg, and the Sevierville/Pigeon Forge 441 strip. Life should be good in Townsend ("The Quiet Side of the Smokies") but if you're planning on roaming further afield that weekend, let me or one the other locals know and we'll try to come up with a good alternate route.
FISHING
While you might be lucky enough to catch a nice sulphur hatch that weekend, most of the bugs you'll see will be the typical freestoner mix of caddis and stoneflies (with Little Yellow Sallies being most numerous) with a few sporadic Isonychia thrown in. To be honest, a handful of attractor patterns like Stimmies, EHC's, and Adams in colors trending toward the lighter and more "yaller" ought to suit you fine--presentation skills will be much more important.
As to you where you might fish, there are two main areas that will allow you to spread out and maybe find some fresh water. Closest to Townsend, the "Middle Prong" of Little River has miles of both road and trail access; further afield, Little River above Elkmont campground has great trail access as well. (Of course, the main stem of Little River above Metcalf Bottoms is easily accessible as well.) Other options like the West Fork of the Little Pigeon along Newfound Gap Road (441) are certainly doable from a Townsend base as well, but other great streams like the Greenbrier and Bradley Fork might require a bit too much in the way of travel time. If you're up for a little walk, however, there are some other smaller streams in the area that might be worth your while--"back of beyond" might not be an option that weekend, but if you're anti-social like me, we can probably find a little solitude for you.
ODDS AND ENDS
I look forward to meeting all of y'all--if I can be of help, please shoot me a PM or email at barnesut263 <at> yahoo <dot> com. At any rate, I'll leave you with a few shots from this weekend--the dogwood won't be still in bloom, but it's still a beautiful part of the world...
CLASSES/PRESENTATIONS
After running an informal poll last week, I'd have to say that this year's gathering is definitely trending "informal," with most folks expressing a decided preference for an unstructured atmosphere of chatting, playing with one another's toys, and (occasionally) fishing. Right now, the only thing I have scheduled is Byron's Begley's presentation on "Fishing the Smokies" on Saturday morning at 10:00 for those new to the area. We might also bat around the idea of having a scheduled tackle "show-and-tell" out on LRO's casting yard one morning, but I will have to have those gentlemen with more extensive rod collections than mine to take the lead.
Also, if you'd like to schedule a meal together sometime Friday or Saturday evening, we'll need to know that in advance as well.
TRAFFIC
There are a couple of traffic issues that might affect some of you traveling to the area. First, for those of you coming through Knoxville, I-40 is shut down in the center of town. To get more information on the work-around, cut and paste this URL in your browser (Yuku is acting cludgy this morning and won't let me set up a hot link.)
http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/smartfix/jwp/
Secondly, Little River Road in the Park is going to be closed between the Townsend "Y" and Metcalf Bottoms. Here's the NPS URL with more info:
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parknews/little-river-closure.htm
Detours in both cases should be well-marked and not that much of a problem. For those of you new to the area, however, what will be a problem are the typical choke-points in the Smokies: Cades Cove Loop Road, downtown Gatlinburg, and the Sevierville/Pigeon Forge 441 strip. Life should be good in Townsend ("The Quiet Side of the Smokies") but if you're planning on roaming further afield that weekend, let me or one the other locals know and we'll try to come up with a good alternate route.
FISHING
While you might be lucky enough to catch a nice sulphur hatch that weekend, most of the bugs you'll see will be the typical freestoner mix of caddis and stoneflies (with Little Yellow Sallies being most numerous) with a few sporadic Isonychia thrown in. To be honest, a handful of attractor patterns like Stimmies, EHC's, and Adams in colors trending toward the lighter and more "yaller" ought to suit you fine--presentation skills will be much more important.
As to you where you might fish, there are two main areas that will allow you to spread out and maybe find some fresh water. Closest to Townsend, the "Middle Prong" of Little River has miles of both road and trail access; further afield, Little River above Elkmont campground has great trail access as well. (Of course, the main stem of Little River above Metcalf Bottoms is easily accessible as well.) Other options like the West Fork of the Little Pigeon along Newfound Gap Road (441) are certainly doable from a Townsend base as well, but other great streams like the Greenbrier and Bradley Fork might require a bit too much in the way of travel time. If you're up for a little walk, however, there are some other smaller streams in the area that might be worth your while--"back of beyond" might not be an option that weekend, but if you're anti-social like me, we can probably find a little solitude for you.
ODDS AND ENDS
I look forward to meeting all of y'all--if I can be of help, please shoot me a PM or email at barnesut263 <at> yahoo <dot> com. At any rate, I'll leave you with a few shots from this weekend--the dogwood won't be still in bloom, but it's still a beautiful part of the world...
Before you leave
your computers behind, though, I wanted to run a couple of ideas by you and get your feedback.
