Results of MTFF Fishing Derby to benefit CFR ($720 Dollars Raised)

 

Seven participants, three of whom were MCFGirls Shan and Susan H. were a team. MTFFC member Linda Cantrell and I were a team. Knowing that 80 MTFFC members would be fishing near the dam, and knowing that a large party of 25 locals were planning to party float, not to mention the outfitter traffic, I recommended we Kayak fish starting downstream at Betty's Island.

Linda had never kayaked, so she graciously agreed to hang at the dam with her MTTFC friends. By Friday afternoon, our group had grown form three to six. Shan and her husband Ed, Susan Henderson and her boss, James Privet, Angela Phillips drove down for her first Caney float and fishing experience and me. Thanks to my nephew, Brent, he hooked up Susan and Angie with some Jackson Kayaks. (Shameless plug for Brent and his outfitting business, Caney Fork Surf - $20 per boat and we tipped him for shuttle. Shuttle with your boats $20. Contact me and I'll connect you with him.)

To fish from Betty's Island to the Gordonsville boat ramp with lots of action in between was our goal. We had notice that the river at Gordonsville was very muddy from a week of rain. Two main tributaries enter the Caney between Betty's and Gordonsville, so when I saw how clear the water was at Betty's I suggested that we do most of our fishing above Sebo Wishy, which is where Smith Fork Creek runs into the Caney. We all tried a variety of flies, but all proved unproductive. Ed, Angela and I floated ahead of the others who were trying to repeat their success from the previous Saturday at the Kirby Road pull-off. When we arrive at the confluence of the Smith Fork, the muddy water and strong current had made an obvious line between muddy and clear water. We could see some sizable fish lingering in the knee deep clear water of the just upstream of the muddy line.

Angela, Ed and I pulled up on a gravel bar and waded in the narrow channel left of Kirby Island.  After trying a Prince with no success, I took a guess that the larger fish were hanging out deeper and on the clear outside edge of the muddy seam being create by the creek's current. So, I tried a cone head black wooly bugger, the biggest fly I had. I cast upstream, giving it time to sink and drift, then BAM! Got one. I reeled in a feisty rainbow and was one happy camper. Angela wanted him for dinner, so we secured him in cold water and anxiously went back to fishing. Well, we meant to anyway.

Much to my dismay, I had my first hook experience with the biggest hook in my possession. Well, no need to share the drama here. Lol. I kept my cool while Nurses Susan and Shan proceeded to work on the hook and Angela documented the event in pictures. Ha! Several minutes later, we took some group pics and decided the it was time to go. Soon, we headed back to the take out on the lazy muddy flow of the Caney.

The good news is that Angela had insisted we measure my fish which was 13 inches. When Shan and Ed returned to the campground and checked in, they discovered that I HAD WON THE GRAND PRIZE for biggest fish! Woohoo! A hat and nippers! :-) lol By the way, we only saw about 10 kayakers all day! Sweet day with great friends! Just not enough fish. :-) DP.