Right off we both started catching a few smaller trout. They weren't the big ones were hoping for but we hadn't gotten into the trophy waters yet. It didn't take long though and Jordan caught a few decent sized trout. Again they weren't the big trophy ones but on the ultra lite tackle we use a 12 inch trout makes for a nice catch.
As we continued floating down river we leap frogged back and forth with the various drift boats from hole to hole. From chatting with the guides none of them were catching much either. Shortly after getting into the actual trophy section of the float we got into a shallower were most everyone stopped and did a little wade fishing.
It was here that Jordan and I was casting into a waste deep area right around a small island that I hooked a pretty nice rainbow. It was a good 18-20 inch rainbow that gave an awesome fight. Once I landed it we started to wade back up river to the kayaks to take a picture when I lost my grip on it and lost the fish. I really hated not being able to get a picture of it as this was one of the most beautiful rainbows I had ever seen. We stayed in the area wade fishing for a couple hours and Jordan wound up catching quite a few 10-14 inch trout.
The rest of the float was fairly uneventful aside from a massive trout I hooked in a hole farther down river. Unfortunately I it came off before I landed it however Jordan and I both saw it surface and in the water. It was at least 24-26 inches and gave up a very nice fight for the little bit that I had him on my line. I would have loved to have actually landed this one and gotten a measurement of it to submit to the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency for a trophy fish award. I guess you can't win them all and there is always next time.
Watauga River Trophy Section
Here is a track of our trip. We put in at the River Bend boat ramp in Elizabethton, TN and put out at the CSX ramp in Watauga, TN. The trip was a total of 5.1 miles and took right at 8 hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment