Little Tennessee Rainbows

Since I've been working in Highlands, N.C., I finally broke down and purchased an out of state fishing license for a shot at catching some Little Tennessee rainbows.

The river is noted for smallmouth bass but I was told that some sections hold good numbers of rainbow trout, so I picked up some small ultralight lures and headed to a section of the river just outside of Franklin N.C. 

This section of the river is deep, relatively slow moving, and cold which is almost perfect for rainbows.

I found a dirt road next to the river which allowed me to park and rig up a small ultralight spinning rod with a small Little Cleo silver spoon that I thought would suffice for smallmouths as well as rainbow trout.

It took about 5 or 6 casts before I could dial in on where the fish were and get a hit.   A couple of casts later got me a brief hookup with something but the fish shook off the lure before I could determine what it was.

Two casts later got me a solid hookup with a nice rainbow of around 13 inches or so.

I took a quick pic of the fish before returning it to the cold water.

I almost wore out my casting arm before I hooked up with a second rainbow about the same size as the first fish.

The second fish put up a better fight on the 4 pound test I was using, but I managed to get it on the bank, take a quick pic, and release it.

I'd like to say I kept catching fish but I never got another bite on this stretch of river.

As I headed back up the mountain on Buck Creek Road, I considered the afternoon a good day.

I didn't get skunked and that's what counts.

Till next time, Hopefully in Florida,

Tight Lines.