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Shook Branch to Watauga Dam Overlook

I am a little late with this post as usual.  We actually made this hike two weekends ago.  I guess it is better now that not at all.  We started out at Shook Branch on Watauga Lake with the plan to hike around the end of the lake to the Watauga Dam Overlook.  The hike is about a three-mile hike with most of it following the shoreline of Watauga Lake. 

The participants of this hike were Misty, Jordan, Colton and I. We actually had to tie Colton up and lock him in the trunk to get him out of the house.  Ok, well not really, but I did threaten him with it.  It was a beautiful day to be out hiking, especially with family. 

We had not gone far around the end of the lake when we came upon a very nice camping spot right along the shore of the lake.  We hope to get back there soon to camp overnight and do some fishing.  While at this spot, we decided to pull out our backpacking stove and cook some ramen noodles for lunch.  While we hung out here eating, a couple of friends of Jordan’s came by to do some fishing.  After a short while, we decided we had better head on down the trail.  Jordan had to be at work later in the evening and we knew that if he were to make it we needed to make up some time.

After we had hiked about half the distance of the trail, we made it to the Watauga Lake shelter and decided to veer off trail to it for a few minutes.  Just before reaching the shelter there is a small creek that crosses the trail.  Jordan and Colton had already gone ahead to the shelter while Misty and I were lagging behind just a bit.  In her attempt to cross the creek, Misty slipped on a wet rock and jammed her foot down between two rocks, giving her best attempt at breaking her ankle.  Without a doubt, I give her an “A” for effort, although the ankle was only lightly sprained and not broken.

We rested at the shelter for a few minutes while Misty soothed her sore ankle and pride -- we did have to make fun of her a little after all.  Once we were all ready, we set off down the trail again.  About a mile from the end, we managed to find the geocache that was located on this trail.  Jordan was the one that climbed up the side of the hill to retrieve the cache so he was given the pick of the swag and chose a carabineer with a retractable end on it for his fishing vest.  We also found a track able item in this cache that we took out so that we could move it along to its destination.  After returning the cache to its hidden location, we continued down the trail on our way to Watauga Lake Overlook.

With the overlook in sight, we passed over Watauga Dam.  After all the years of living in this area this was the first time I had ever walked across the top of the dam.  The views from atop the dam were spectacular well worth the easy hike out to see them.

From the dam, we made it up to the lookout with just enough time for us to retrieve our car from the starting point and for Jordan to get to work.  Once again, we created a few memories that we will hold onto for years to come and had a great time do it.

⇒ Click here for an album of pictures from the trip. ⇒ Click here for a slideshow of pictures from the trip.

A trip down Watauga with A & S Outfitters

Well the TVA Recreational Schedule is finally in effect.  Saturday morning we met up with Sean from A & S Outfitters of Elizabethton to take him down in our Kayaks.  It would be his first time down Watauga in a Kayak.  You might say that he was a little excited.  I offered Sean the use of my Flex Vertex 85 Kayak.  So a little before 8:00 AM we were at our normal put in just down from Siam Bridge.  Before getting into our trip too much I do want to mention a little about a particular piece of the equipment that was being used.  I did not get a good picture of it however you can see it on the side of the Vertex in the above picture.

Sean and his wife Angie are owners of a great new fly shop in Elizabethton that also makes custom fly rods.  Sean was using a pretty unique fly rod that I wanted to mention.  It is about a 5 foot rod that you are able to put either a spinning real or fly real on.  As an avid kayak fisher this really intrigues me.  As a matter of fact I am having one built by them as I type this.  Hopefully I will have a nice review of it up within the next few weeks.

So with that said lets get down to the trip.  Sean was the first to land a trout of the day.  It wasn't the biggest trout any of us had ever seen but first is first!  We had stopped in our usual spot at the small island just down from our put in at Siam Bridge.  The trout were jumping all around us so we new we were in a good spot.  Unfortunately Sean's trout was the only fish we caught from that spot.  In fact it was the only trout we caught until we were down past were Stoney Creek joins with Watauga.  This is another of our spots that we normally do well at and Sean and Jordan really started catching them here.  I think Sean finished up with 5 from this spot and Jordan with two.

Our next fairly productive spot was just below the Hunter Bridge.  There was a lot of folks in there but we were able to ditch the Kayaks on the bank and find us a spot.  I am not sure of the total number they caught but Sean and Jordan did pretty well here.  We also took a few minutes to eat a quick lunch.  In this picture here you can see the difference in Sean and Jordan's rod.  Jordan is the one in the distance and is using his 8 foot 5 weight and Sean is in the front with his little 5 foot rod.  I am not sure of the exact weight of it but Jordan nicknamed it the "baseball bat".  Whatever you want to call it though, it caught the most fish on the day.

The rest of our trip down the river was pretty uneventful and we didn't catch but a few more fish.  I didn't take any other pictures either.  I want to thank Sean for coming with us.  He gave up time away from his fly shop on a Saturday morning to do a little fishing with us and I really appreciate that.  I can't say enough about A & S Outfitters.  Sean and Angie are remarkable folks and I am glad to see them in Elizabethton.  I hope the business does well and is here for years to come.

Hiking, Camping and a little Geocaching - Part 2

As promised from Part 1 of this posting, I will let you know what happened to the trackable we fondly came to know as "the little yellow guy".  We set out Saturday, May 19, 2012 for Panhandle Rd on Holston Mountain.  Specifically we were headed for the fire tower access road on top of Holston Mountain.  The group this time around only consisted of Misty (the Wife), Abby and myself.  Brianna and Colton chickened out on going and unfortunately Jordan had to work Saturday night.  And yes to make sure that I point it out so that all 10s and 10s of people that read his blog will notice that Brianna (age 15) and Colton (age 12) were too chicken to make the hike out to the camp site.  Yet Abby (age 5) was a trooper and went with us.


I had hunted this area before with Jordan so I was somewhat familiar with the access road out to the fire tower.  The road was wide and a easy hiking although it does climb in elevation a little towards the end.  Normally this wouldn't be so bad but with Misty and I carrying loaded packs for out camp we were due a short rest by the time we made the close to mile hike out to the tower.  After a short rest we decided to check on one of the caches that are supposed to be near the fire tower.  While looking around for the cache we found this little guy right around where the cache should have been.  Not liking snakes very well I decided to let this cache pass until another day preferably when the weather cools off some and the snakes aren't out.


So we set out down the Holston Mountain trail (and yes there is a trail hidden somewhere in this picture lol) on our way to the Flint Mill trail.  The ground foilage was very dense for most of this trail so I kept a good eye out for more snakes while we hiked on.  The trail was a good hike and as I pointed out to Misty several times, was mostly down hill which meant tomorrows hike back out would be up hill most of the way.  She was not in the least pleased to here such comments from me so I decided to shut up before I found myself sprawled at the bottom of one of those hills.

By the time we made it down to the Flint Mill trail head we had been on the trail for a 2 to 3 hours and all three of us were ready for a break.  Abby was hoping to make our camp right in the middle of where Holston Mountain and Flint Mill trails intersect.  Not out of exhaustion though, she was just excited to be camping.  After a short break we set off up Flint Mill trail.  The trail was ab little over 0.5 miles to Flint Rock and we hadn't gone far when I heard Misty shout something from behind that I never really expected to hear.  As I was walking up the trail I heard her gasp and then shout "HORSE".  Now I know that people do frequent these trails on horseback, but maybe my mind just working a little slow at that moment because I about jumped out of shoes when I spun around to see a guy on a horse approaching us on the trail.

After we all got a good laugh and things calmed down the guy on the horse pulled a rattle snake rattle from his shirt pocket and said that he was a short ways behind us on the trail coming down Holston Mountain and that we had walked right past the snake.  On the return trip the next morning I came across the dead snake and man were we lucky.  It was about a 3 and half to 4 foot long snake and as a big around as a mans arm. I am just glad that something didn't happen when we went past it.

After that little jolt we continued on up towards Flint Rock.  About half way there we found a spot where others had camped so we dropped our packs there and hiked the rest of the way out to the rock.  Once we made it to the rock all we could really say was WOW what a view.  I have seen basically the same view from planes while I flew into Tri-Cities Airport but nothing quite like seeing it from the rock.  I think we could have spent all afternoon there but we still needed to find the cache and get out camp set up.

We started back down the train and found the cache on the way back to our camp site.  It was in great shape and after trading out a little swag for Abby we signed the log book and said our goodbyes to "the little yellow guy".  He was our first trackable and we were excited to send him on his way.

We got back to the site and set up our tent and got started on dinner.  I cooked some small pizzas on my MSR pocket rocket stove.  I am not sure if it was just the fact that we were all so hungry or not but the pizzas were some of the best I had every eaten.  After we ate and cleaned up the dishes we broke out some marshmallows and roasted them over the fire.  Abby was her typical self and ate her fair share of them.  We then straightened things up and did a little laundry before heading to bed.  We slept pretty decent aside from the occasional critter in the camp site that night.  Not sure exactly what they were but I did here several coyotes howling nearby.

We rose the next morning and made our trip out.  All-in-all it was a great experience and one we will remember for some time to come.

Here is the track of our trip one way to Flint Rock.

Flint Rock Hike / Camp

⇒ Click here for an album of pictures from the trip. ⇒ Click here for a slideshow of pictures from the trip.

Hiking, Camping and a little Geocaching - Part 1

I have been a little lazy on my posting so this will encompass events over the last two weekends.  To start off, on Saturday, May 12, 2012, we went on a hike out to a geocache in Dennis Cove.  It was supposed to be about 0.75 miles to the cache in a straight line so probably around 1.25 miles along the trail.  Although my wife and oldest daughter was along with us, Jordan and I decided we would hit Laurel Creek, which runs along side of the trail, for some brookies.

So as we hiked the trail Jordan and I stopped occasionally to try our luck.  Unfortunately however our luck did not go so well.  I did tell Jordan towards the start of the trail that fishing on small native streams like this one was much different than fishing stocked streams and rivers like he is used to fishing.  

Here is one of the holes we stopped at along the trail.  It was a beautiful spot that we all enjoyed.  Notice in the picture that Jordan was in his socks.  I am not sure if he was trying to use some sort of chemical or biological attack on the trout or not.  Maybe he was just trying to totally get "in touch" with the water.  I managed to get one or two to bite on my spinning rod here but never hooked any.  The hole was really a bit too tight for two to fish so I wound up dropping back and letting Jordan have at it.  He never even got a bite out of the hole.  Maybe he needed to get his water shoes out of his pack.

One of the next holes we stopped at was another beautiful spot.  The hole was deep and would have made a great swimming hole.  There was a giant rock roughly the size of a small van that we were able to crawl out onto.  Jordan did manage to get a few strikes out of this hole but again did not hook any.  I didn't fish much here and wound up letting him use my spinning rod some.  We spent a good little bit of time here at this hole just relaxing and watching Jordan get frustrated with not being able to hook any trout.  It's always enjoyable to watch others having trouble fishing.  At least it is for me.

We continued on down the trail and eventually came to several spots where we had to cross the creek.  As you can see from the picture Brianna is giving it a go at crossing this part using the wires stretched across.  She didn't make it far though.  I am still not exactly sure what the purpose of the wires were.  At all three crossings the wires were so far above the water that there was no possible way to wade the water and also use the wires for stability.  Not unless you were about 10 foot tall that is.  I also doubt they are there for a person to cross like Brianna is attempting.  The average hiker here would never be able to make it all the way across like that.  What ever the reason, the wires were there and gave us something to laugh about while at each of the crossings.  

After wading across the three sections of the creek, we managed to find our way to the geocache.  To our surprise we found our first trackable in the cache and liberated him.  Jordan also chose a fishing lure key chain.  I forget what we left in its place.  

The entire trip took about 5 hours and was maybe about 2.5 miles round trip.  We had a great time and saw some beautiful country.  In part two of this write up you get to see what happened to the trackable we got from here.

⇒ Click here for an album of pictures from the trip. ⇒ Click here for a slideshow of pictures from the trip.

Weekend Finds

Jordan and I went out for a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday to do a little detecting.  We have been trying a new spot that appears to not have been hit as hard as some of the local parks.  Yesterday we had about a dollar in clad along with this nice pendant.  It is a Saint Christopher pendant with Sterling and Hayward on the back.  After doing a little research it appears to be made by the W.E. Hayward Sterling Co.  They have been in business since around 1851 and is supposed to be the oldest jewelry company in America.  This pendant was probably made around the 1950s.  The quarter in the picture is there for a size reference.  We didn't really find anything else Saturday.  Pulling the sterling silver pendant out of the ground made up for the lack of anything else.

We decided to hit the same area today and I am glad we did.  Although we didn't find much clad, the day turned out great.  It was a bit on the chilly side, especially for an idiot like myself that went out in shorts.  I believe the temp was in the mid to upper 40s.  Anyways right off the bat I started digging wheaties.  We managed to pull a total of 5 wheaties on the day.  I also dug a very nice 1919 D Mercury Dime.  The highlight of the day came when I dug a 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar.  This is my second Walking Liberty half and forth half dollar I have dug with the E-Trac.

I can't wait to get back to this same spot as there is still a lot of ground that we have not covered.  I am confident that there are still quite a few silvers waiting to be found there!

Metal Detecting Equipment

I will start off my metal detecting posts with a description of the equipment that I use.  My detector is the Minelabs E-Trac.  For those familiar with metal detectors, you will know that this is one of the higher end and more expensive detectors out there.  I bought mine in March 2011 from Detector Depot in Knoxville, Tn.  They are great folks there and have amazing pricing and deals.  As for the detector itself, I couldn't imagine detecting with anything else.  It has found targets that other detectors of folks I was detecting with could not find.  It is hands down worth every penny that I paid for it.  I don't know that I would recommend it to someone who was just getting into metal detecting mainly due to it's price.  For most people the E-Trac costs a good deal and is more than they should be spending on a hobby unless they are 100% certain they will be sticking with it.  That said, for anyone who has been detecting for a while or is certain they are going to stick with it, then I would highly recommend the E-Trac.  In my opinion it can't be beat.

Aside from your detector, one of the most important tools I feel that a person needs is a good probe.  The probe is used to find the target in the ground once the hole has been dug.  It makes things so much easier and faster to have a good probe.  There are many out there to choose from.  I first used a cheap probe that got me by, but was difficult to use.  I then bought the Garret Pro-pointer.  This probe is by far the best stand alone probe on the market.  It has a depth of about two inches, is relatively small, light weight and comes with a great belt holster.  Although it is one of the more expensive stand alone probes out there I would highly recommend this for the person just starting out or someone who has been detecting for years.  I would not waste my money with other stand alone probes.

I keep using the term "stand alone" probe and some might be wondering what exactly I mean by this.  Probes like the Garrett Pro-pointer can be used by itself for anything from metal detecting to looking for small metal objects like screws dropped into the carpet.  I eventually purchased and started using a probe called the Sun Ray X-1 Target Probe.  The X-1 goes in line between your coil of your detector and the detectors electronics.  It actually uses the detector to "probe" the hole you just dug for the target.  What makes this probe so nice is that this allows you to still see the target identification while in the hole.  When using a stand alone probe like the Garrett, you have no way of knowing what the probe is hitting on until it is out of the ground.  With the X-! you can still see exactly what the probe is pointing towards.  Although the X-1 is about twice the price the Garrett I would recommend this probe to anyone that is buying a higher end detector that is compatible with it.

The last two pieces of equipment I use that deserve to be pointed out are my headphones and digger.  The headphones that I use are the Sun Ray Pro Gold.  They are extremely comfortable and very durable.  Although you want to get a good quality set of headphones, I don't think that the brand is that important.  Just find a pair that is comfortable and works for your detector.  The digger that I use is the Lesche Model 85 made by Predator Tools.  I will freely admit that it is kind of pricey for a digger however after using several different gardening diggers bought from Lowes, Wal-Mart and various other big stores, the Lesche digger is worth every penny.  It cuts through the ground so much easier and makes a cleaner plug.

Although there are other pieces of equipment that I use while metal detecting these are the main items.  Hopefully someone will find this helpful and interesting.

New content on the blog

I have decided to add our metal detecting exploits to my blog entries.  At first I was going to keep this site for fishing, kayaking, hiking, etc; however, Jordan and I both love getting out there and metal detecting almost as much as we do fishing and kayaking.  I will also do some reviews on my equipment, which hopefully others will find useful.

Expect to see many new posts featuring this new topic!

Beaver Dam Creek

The weather around here has been great and we had a very mild winter. Jordan and I finally got the opportunity to get out and do some fishing this past weekend. It was the first time out this year for me however Jordan has been practically living on the creeks and rivers like normal.

I had wanted to hit Watauga for some wade fishing but unfortunately TVA was generating. We decided to head towards VA a little ways and try out Beaver Dam Creek. It has been quite some time since I had been there.

We started out the day at Backbone Rock.  We didn't have that much success there as only one trout was caught.  I did manage to slip while trying to get up the bank and twist my ankle pretty good.  Luckily my waders and the cold water kept everything from swelling for the remainder of the day.  Unfortunately I would hate life once I got home.  Gotta love getting older.

We stopped at a few places on the way back up stream and caught a few more trout.  Here is a shot of our big fish for the day caught by myself as normal.  I not only caught the big fish for the day but also out caught Jordan by 4:1.  I guess he was just trying to let me catch up for all the fishing I had missed out on this year.

This was one of the better looking browns I had seen in quite some time and also was a non-stocked fish.  It was probably somewhere around 14 or so inches.  For a small creek like we were on I will take it.

Unfortunately the water was up from recent rains and my ankle was killing me so we didn't get to fish as much as I wanted to.  Hopefully we will get to give it another shot before the summer is over.  I want to get a good bit of fishing in this summer as it is Jordan's last before heading off to college in the fall.

Be sure to check back as I plan to put up some reviews on a few things, one of which being the Trout Magnets by Leland's Lures.  I purchased one of the kits and plan to try them out this weekend.

First trip down Watauga for August (and short review for Berkley Gulp Baits)

It's been a while since Jordan and I have had a chance to get onto the water.  Due to some car trouble we have lost our vehicle we use to transport the kayaks to and from the river so it's been hard getting trips arranged.  We did manage to get out this past weekend for a short trip.

Jordan invited his friend Chris along for the trip and we let him use the Vertex Flex kayak.  Unfortunately though the kayak suffered a spill while in transit earlier this summer and sustained about a 2 inch gash right along the keel in the very aft part of the kayak.  I thought I had gotten it sealed well enough but after only a few minutes on the water it was apparent that the boat was taking on a good bit of water.  Our ride had already left us so we decided to head on down river and make the best of it.

Jordan being the good friend let Chris use his Kayak instead of the leaking one.  We tried fishing as much as we could however with the amount of water Jordan's kayak was taking on we were having to stop quite often to drain it.

We made the best of it as we could and caught some nice trout on the day.  Jordan was absolutely tearing up the trout while using the Berkley Gulp Baits we had decided to try out.  Even though he spent more time wading the shallows while his kayak was draining than he did actually floating the river he was catching trout left and right.

At our first normal stop where we have caught some nice trout in the past, Jordan managed to land three respectable trout.  I hooked what looked like would have been one of our largest browns on the year but lost it before being able to land it.  I did land several average sized trout.

Jordan was extremely hot though and he continued to out pace me all morning.  We continued on down river, having to stop quite often for Jordan to drain the water from his kayak.  We decided that once we reached the point where Stoney Creek and Watauga River converge we would call in the cavalry and make our retreat from the river.  With several deeper, long stretches down river from that spot we did not want to risk Jordan having to test his kayak's float bladder.

Once at Stoney Creek we made the necessary phone calls, ate our lunch and got back to some fishing while waiting on our ride.  We both caught several average trout from the area and our two largest trout on the day.  Jordan's trout is the one pictured at the top of this post.

Although we had to cut our day short I was very pleased with how the Berkley Gulp Bait performed.  We normally only catch one or two trout the size of the ones we caught this day.  We wound up with a total of five respectable trout.  I am confident that had we been able to continue on down river we would have had much better success.  I am normally a little hesitant to put out my hard earned money on baits and lures that may or may not produce but was very pleased with how these worked out for us.  We had two different colors with us, Smelt and Watermelon, and I plan to pick up some other patterns in the near future.

The Berkley Gulp Bait is definitely a welcomed addition to our tackle boxes.

Here is the track for our trip.

Siam Bridge To Stoney Creek

Night fishing on Boone Lake

It had been a long time since I had done much fishing aside from trout fishing.  As a kid I spent countless nights on the banks of rivers and lakes around Gastonia, NC fishing for catfish with my parents.  I have many fond childhood memories of those nights.  Then while serving in the US Navy during the mid to late 1990s I was stationed in Norfolk, VA.  I was lucky enough to have my sister and brother-in-law living close by.  My brother-in-law and I fished the coastal waters of VA and NC every chance we got.

So in hopes of allowing my own children to create some of those childhood memories of their own, my wife and I decided to plan a night fishing trip with the kids.  We took the three oldest of our children, leaving our youngest with my wife's parents and headed to Boone Lake after I got off of work Friday evening.

The TWRA, Johnson City Parks and Recreation and other donors have built a very nice fishing pier on Boone Lake at Wing Deer Park in Johnson City.  I don,t know the exact length but I would say it is several hundred yards long and runs from the park, under Bristol Highway to the TWRA boat access.  In the center is a very nice and quite large gazeebo.

We got to the lake around 7:00 PM and set up under the bridge.  We fished there for a couple of hours with little success.  Jordan and Colton did catch several bluegill while wondering up and down the pier.  As dark approached, the people that had been fishing in the gazeebo headed out so we decided to move into it.  There was a little rain coming so it all worked out for the best. 

Things didn't pick up until around 10:30 or so.  I wouldn't exactly say that we had a hot night of fishing but did have fun.  We wound up catching one small catfish, about 12 inches long and three striped bass, each about 10 - 12 inches long.  Everyone seemed to have a great time, even Misty, who didn't fish.  I definately think we will have to do it again sometime soon.  It may not be as much fun as kayaking but it was good to get out with most all of our kids. 

⇒ Click here for an album of pictures from the trip. ⇒ Click here for a slideshow of pictures from the trip.

Above the pictures from the trip and a slideshow of those pictures.

Kodak Easyshare Sport C123

Let me start by saying what I was looking for in a camera.  I wanted a camera that would obviously take above average photos, was waterproof, compact, yet buttons were easy to get to with wet cold fingers, had the ability to do video and was not too expensive.  The expensive part was the most critical for me.  There are plenty of cameras out there that I looked at online and in stores that met all of the above but were a little too pricey for me.  Price was such a major concern for me due to the fact that where this camera will be primarily used there is a better than average chance of it getting lost at the bottom of a river or lake.  I would much rather spend a little less on a camera and have to replace it due to loss than have to replace one that cost several hundred dollars.

That being said so far this camera has worked out very well for me.  The camera in question is the Kodak Easyshare Sport C123.  This camera was bought for me as a birthday present from my wife so that I could have a camera other than my cell phone while kayaking, fishing and doing whatever else we might do while outdoors. 

The camera came in the package with a standard wrist strap, USB cable, 2 AA batteries and user manual.  Unfortunately it did not come with a SD card or a floating wrist strap as some did.  I picked up a 4 GB Sandisk SD card for about $12 along with the camera and plan to get one of the floating wrist straps at some point.  Here are some of the specifications for the camera from the Kodak website:

Effective Pixels - 12MP (4026 x 3026)
Zoom - 5X Advanced Digital
Display - 2.4 in. 112K TFT color LCD
Dimensions - 3.6W x 2.6H x 1.2D
Weight - 6.2 oz with batteries and SD card

You can find the full specifications on the Kodak site at the link above.

The first time the camera was used was by my wife on our kayaking trip last week.  We were on the water for about 6 - 7 hours and over 180 pictures were taken.  The camera performed remarkably with no problems at all.  The pictures turned out great and some can be seen in my Kayaking Photo Album.  I was very impressed with how well the camera took action photos.  Several pictures my wife took of Jordan fly fishing caught the rod in motion with no blur or anything.  She also snapped a picture of some geese taking flight that looked like they just froze in midair. 

The camera buttons were very easy to get to even with my larger hands.  There are not a lot of buttons on the camera to push which is a bonus in my opinion, especially how this camera is used.  It was easy to use and the menus were not over loaded with too many features to make them hard to get around in. 

The LCD stayed clear all day even with the heat of the sun and cold temperatures of the water.  It was also very easy to make out the display in the glare of the sun.  I was very impressed by this as most electronics like cell phones and such are next to impossible to read in the glaring sun.

The camera didn't spend a huge amount of time in the water but it was splashed several times and hanging from my wife's PFD it was submersed a few times when she got out of the kayak.  I also intentionally dipped it a couple of times just to see how it would react.  It never appeared to get any water or condensation into the camera itself.

One thing of note that the camera does that I have yet to try out is take underwater pictures.  There is a mode just for this.  I have read a few things online about this mode that says it works quite well.  Although we never used this option it does take pictures looking into the water quite well for not having a polarized lens. 

The only draw back that I found to the camera was the battery life.  As I said earlier the trip lasted about 6 - 7 hours and a little over 180 pictures were taken.  By the end the battery meter was showing half way.  this was with turning the camera off and on quite often.  I am sure that uses quite a bit of battery life so I will have to try it some time with just leaving it on the entire trip.

Overall I am very pleased with this camera.  At a price of about $70 it is well worth every penny.  There are better out there I am sure but at a much higher cost.  I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who is looking for one with uses much like my own.

Trip down for my birthday

My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday so I told her that all I wanted was two things.  The first was a new waterproof camera to take kayaking with me and for her to go down with me and Jordan.  So Saturday morning we set out from our normal put in below Siam Bridge.  Jordan and I were doing a little fishing as normal and Misty was was just there to enjoy the float and take some pictures with my new camera.

We started out slow letting her get used to the kayak.  She had only been in the kayak once before at Watauga Lake and that was only for a few minutes.  She was nervous but settled in fairly quickly.

We made most of our normal stops to do some fishing and to let Misty put her feet on dry land a little.  For some reason I wasn't catching any trout at all.  In fact I didn't start catching any until about half way through the trip.  That was alright though because it gave me a little more time to spend helping Misty get used to the water and Jordan was catching plenty for the both of us.

I will say this about Jordan.  He has been using his fly rod a lot while we float the river here lately and has gotten very good with it.  It's impressive to see how good he has gotten in such a short amount of time.  That boy loves fishing!

We stopped about half way at Hunter Bridge for a quick lunch.  Jordan and I took a quick dip in the water to cool off.  We tried to get Misty to get in but she complained about it being being too cold.  That's a woman for ya!

We had a great day and I think Misty really enjoyed it.  I was glad that she decided to go down with us.  I had been trying to get her to go with us since we first started last summer.  She had a lot of fun with my new camera also.  She wound up taking over 180 pictures with it.  I will have to do a write up on the camera later on.

Overall Misty did real well on her first trip down Watauga River.  She never dumped the kayak a single time.  I can't wait until the next time she decides to make a float with us.  I might even have to get her fishing license and make her start fishing some. 

We finished up the trip getting out at the bridge in lover's lane.  It was a wonderful day on the water and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.

Siam Bridge To Lovers Lane

Another trip down Watauga River

We set out a little before 9:00AM on Saturday morning to do a little fishing on Watauga River.  It was pretty overcast to start out the morning but I had checked the weather and it was supposed to be a nice day.  The fishing finally seems to be picking up as right off we started catching some trout.  Supprising though not many others were on the water this far up river.

We continued down river with out much happening.  In one of our favorite holes just below where Stoney Creek joins with Watauga River, Jordan caught his first trout using his fly rod.  It wasn't much of a trout but as we always say "A fish is a fish".  He finished the hole by catching 2 more off of his fly rod.  I spent a good bit of the time helping him and even caught a decent little rainbow with Jordan's fly rod while showing him how to cast a little better. 

We still hadn't seen anyone else on the river until we got to Hunter Bridge.  There were half a dozen people wade fishing in this area.  Once we got down past this section we did have a group of kayakers come down behind us.  They weren't fishing but were out just enjoying the river.  They were going fairly slow so we stayed fairly close to them for the rest of our trip down river.  We also met up with another group of two kayaks and 4 guys on pontoon float boats.  I am still amazed at the lack of people who kayak fish on the Watauga River. 

We had a great day on the water and the fishing turned out to be one of the better times we have this summer.  Can't wait to get out next weekend if the weather permits.

Watauga River, Siam Bridge To Blackbottom

Here is the track for the trip.

Watauga River Information

I felt it was time to add a little bit of information on where we kayak and fish. We spend the majority of our time on Watauga River in Elizabethton, TN. Although Watauga River starts in North Carolina, my only experience is with the sections within Carter and Washington Counties of Tennessee. The river starts as it flows out of Wilbur Dam and flows for approximately 20 miles until it converges with Boone Lake. There are two sections that we primarily float. The first section, which I refer to as upper section is approximately five and a half to six miles long. It starts just below Siam Bridge and stops at Riverside Park at the Elizabethton Twins ball field. The second section is the trophy section and starts at Riverbend boat ramp and stops at the CSX railroad bridge in Watauga, TN and is approximately four to four and a half miles long.

Watauga River is kept in the low to mid 50s all summer long due to the release of water from Wilbur Reservoir. During the summer kayak and rafting season the Tennessee Valley Authority maintains a fairly consistent generation schedule that can be found HERE with daily release info found HERE.  Normally you can expect the generation to begin between noon and 1:00PM, Monday through Saturday with Sunday being free from generation.  These times are subject to change if power is needed so always check the daily release information.

The river conditions themselves are fairly mild even for the new paddlers.  We were able to paddle the river, under generation our first time down with no experience at all with no problems.  When not generating, which is the best time to fish the river, it is a very easy and relaxing trip.

Siam Bridge to Riverside Park (Upper Section)
On the upper section there are no areas that would give any concern as long as you pay attention.  As with any thing done on moving water you need to always take caution and be prepared for accidents, however as long as you stay alert it is a great river to float and fish.  Our first few times down we did take a couple of spills due to getting caught on rocks and then getting the kayak turned in awkward positions.  None of these resulted in more than getting wet and having to drag the kayaks to the side to drain water out.  The biggest piece of advice I could give is keep everything you don't want to lease on some sort of leash.  I keep everything from water bottles to tackle boxes on lanyards attached with carabiners. 

Depending on the water level, which varies throughout the summer with rainfall, there are several areas which may or may not require you to have to get out and drag the kayak through the shallows.  The great thing is many of these areas are also nice spots to stop and do a little wade fishing.  There are several areas that are over a persons head but for the most part these sections are very calm and can be paddled through with ease.  Overall the upper section is our go to section for fishing and just plain having fun.  The fishing, even on bad days is excellent, usually resulting in a dozen or more trout being caught between a couple of fishermen.

One of the nicest things about kayaking this section of the river, especially for the inexperienced kayaker is that you are always in sight of houses and normally there are others on the water either fishing or boating.  If something were to happen, help is on hand.  There are several rafting companies located on the rivers edge as you head down river and on more than one occasion the weather has gone bad on us and each we were offered a spot to get off the water at these rafting companies.

Riverbend boat ramp to CSX Bridge (Trophy Section)
The trophy section of Watauga River is about the same as the upper section as far as the skill required to float it.  It is however a little deeper with fewer areas where you are able to get out of the kayak and wade fish.  It is also much more secluded, with areas where if something happened you would pretty much be on your own.

The fishing itself is on par with the upper section, with the main difference being the potential size of the trout.  As per the name the trophy section is stocked with larger trout than other sections of Watauga River.  With this in mind there are a different set of regulations that one must adhere to while fishing this section.  Check the TWRA site for the most current regulations. 

Overall both of these sections are a lot of fun to float and as long as common sense and a little caution is taken then you will have a great time on the water.  There is only one spot that I would not recommend the novice kayaker to attempt and that would be at Sycamore Shoals right before you reach Riverbend.  There is a drop off in the water that I will not even attempt yet.  This is why I do not paddle the short section between Riverside park and Riverbend.  Other than this one section I highly recommend anyone to give this river a shot.  The trout fishing is outstanding, the water relaxing and scenery breathtaking!

Feel free to check out the About Us page for how to contact me if you have questions or would like more detailed information.

Trip to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Our three oldest kids were out of town on a church trip so Misty and I decided to take Abby down to Gatlinburg, TN for the weekend. While down there we took a drive into the Smokies and headed to Cades Cove. The weather was great albeit a bit on the hot side. This was actually Abigayle's second time in Cades Cove, although her first time she was only a few weeks old. So I guess it had been five years ago give or take a week or so. Needless to say she didn't remember much about it, however if you ask her she will tell you all about her first time there (the one 5 years ago). Got to love the imagination of a five year old.

We spotted quite a few deer while in the cove and even got to see several bear with their cubs. We also hiked out to Abrams Falls which was a first for all three of us. Abby was a trooper and made it the entire 5 miles round trip with minimal complaining.  The hike itself was not the hardest Misty or I had made before but it had been quite a while since either of us had done any hiking.  I will freely admit that we were both wore out by the end and are feeling it today.  It was all worth it however.  Any time spent with the family like that is always worth every moment.  We saw some beautiful scenery and got some much needed exercise to boot.  Who could ask for more?

After the hike up to the falls we went back to the car and found us a nice spot to have a quick little picnic.  After that we finished the loop through the cove and headed back home.  It was a great little vacation and hopefully we will get a chance to do it again sometime soon with the rest of the family.

⇒ Click here for an album of pictures from the trip. ⇒ Click here for a slideshow of pictures from the trip.

Cades Cove Abrams Falls

Here is the track for the hike out to Abrams Falls.

Short trip down Watauga River

We hadn't been on the water the last couple of weekends so Jordan and I got up late Saturday morning and decided to hit the river. We got everything loaded up and set out fron Hunter Bridge on Watauga River. We usually put in farther up river but since it was around noon when we got started and generation was to start at 1 PM we decided to make it a shorter trip.

Right away we started catching fish. There is a great little hole just past the bridge and between the two of us we caught 13 trout out of it. All of them were rainbows between 10 and 14 inches. We moved on to let some of the folks wade fishing get a little action.

The next few holes we normally fish turned out pretty hot just as the first one was. I finally got the chance to snap a photo of a trout as Jordan was getting the hook out. It seems like every time he catches one I am not able to get a picture and it's pretty hard to get a picture of one I have caught.

We didn't make it far down the river though when some storm clouds rolled in on us. We barely got out of the river and had my wife meet us where we were before the rain unloaded. It wasn't a long float but we had a good day anyways.

Short Watauga River Trip

Here is the track for the trip.

A birthday float down Watauga River

It's been a couple weeks since we made this trip.  I have been lazy and hadn't gotten around to posting it but here it is finally. 

I had taken a couple days off of work for Jordan and Abigayle's birthday.  We had Jordan's party at the lake on Saturday so we decided to make a run down Watauga River on Friday, which was actually Jordan's 17th birthday (happy birthday Jordan!).  Jordan invited a friend of his to go down with us so we all met at Riverside Park in Elizabethton bright and early Friday morning.  We left Aaron's car at the park and took our's to our put in spot up by Siam Bridge. 

This was Aaron's first time kayaking and he was using our spare Flex Vertex 85 Kayak.  We spent a little bit going over a few details before putting in and once on the water we went over a few more things.  Once I felt Aaron was comfortable we got to fishing. 

We made most all of our normal stops along the way and all of us caught several decent trout.  Nothing major happened throughout the day aside from Aaron dropping one of my ultra-lite rods he had borrowed into the water in a nice deep hole.  We tried getting it and although we could see it setting on the bottom about 10 feet below us we just couldn't get to it.  Alas it was only a cheap Wal-mart rod.

On a side note we had warned Aaron several time to put sun screen on several time, which he ignored.  From what I understand he was severely sunburned afterwards.  Maybe next time he will listen to our advice!

All-in-all we had a great time and I am glad the three of us got a chance to go down the river together for Jordan's birthday.  Hopefully we will get a chance to do it again soon.

Watauga River Trip

Here is a track of the trip using EveryTrail on my Google Droid X.

Two trips for Monday, May 30, 2011 and Tuesday, May 31, 2011

We made two different trips on Monday and Tuesday. The first trip was another float down the trophy section of Watauga River and the second one we paddled out to a large island on Watauga Lake.

The Watauga River trip was fairly uneventful. We hit the water by just after 8:00 AM. Caught a few nice trout and had a fun day on the water but nothing to speak of really. We did get to chat with a few more drift boaters and had a couple of rafters come by. One thing I do feel as though I need to bring up is etiquette on the water. Normally I try to be as courtius to others as possible and will give up good stretches of water if others are even near by. My thought is that there is always more spots down river somewhere. I very upset with the way the rafters acted when they came by. Jordan and I were sitting in a calm stretch playing with some trout when the rafters came by yelling, splashing and squirting water everywhere. Even when they got along side of us they were slapping their paddles on the water.

Without a doubt I know they saw us there because several of them even waved at us. I understand that they paid a lot of money to take that trip however a little common courtesy in a hundred yard stretch of water goes a long way with the others you are sharing the river with.

Well that's my rant for the day!

Watauga River Trophy Section

Here is a track of the float down the trophy section of Watauga River.

On Tuesday we headed out a little after 1:00 PM to let the kids play at the lake and to spend some time together as a family. We took all three of our kayaks so that Brianna, my oldest daughter, could try out the kayak some.

Once at Watauga Lake we got the kayaks in the water and started out. I let Brianna get used to the kayak and then took her out to an island not far from the swimming area we were at. The island is kinda small and has several older geese nests on it. Once I felt she was ready we decided to kayak down the lake to a large island we are planning a camping trip on. It was a good little paddle to it and all three of us were pretty wore out.

I had planned to paddle back to where we started but decided to call Misty to drive up the lake from where she was with our two youngest ones and pick the three of us up.

Watauga Lake

Here is a track of our trip on Watauga Lake.

All in all we had a great day and a great Memorial day weekend. Jordan and I went kayaking all four days I was off for a total of just over 20 miles of water time. We caught a good bit of trout with several of them being pretty decent. A man can't ask for much better of a time!

First time down the Trophy Section of Watauga River, Sunday, May 29, 2011

 

Jordan and I decided to head out early this morning and try kayaking down the trophy section of Watauga River.  We had wanted to give it a try all last summer after getting our kayaks but never did.  So just after 8:00 AM we were in the water along with several others in drift boats.

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.