VolFan

2nd Creek where it empties into Ft Loudon main is a nice place to fish if you're short on time, but watch out for water quality warnings. There's also a creek down below the engineering building that empties in near the Crew Boathouse. I used to drive down to Ft Loudon dam and fish for stripers and smallmouth, very fun. There's almost always white bass below Douglas dam and willing smallmouth in the Little Pigeon in the spring/summer. Ton of fun on an UL or flyrod. If you want to get away, rent a canoe or kayak (or hike) and go up the Abram's Creek inlet from Chilhowee Lake into the GSM Park for smallmouth. Or just fish Chilhowee or one of the other Finger Lakes of the Smokies for trout and bass. Another fun trip is up to the Obed near Wartburg for smallies, with the chance for a musky (seriously). Finally, the Clinch below Norris dam has world class trout fishing, with an occasional striper as you get further away from the dam. There is a wealth of diverse fishing opportunities within an hour around Knoxville; the hardest part is deciding where to go!

I mainly use flies for the trout streams there, but if you're spinning, a 1/32 or 1/16 oz roostertail in grasshopper color is really all you need for either trout or smallies (or really anything else that swims). I sometimes put a shot a foot above to keep it down in current, and it helps with line twist. You can also use small classic rapalas or husky jerks. Little curly tails and/or trout magnets also work, but usually never get past the roostertail.

Fish the Little Pigeon in Sevierville/Gatlinburg. Look for access points near the bridges that cross it. This time of year it's going to be tough. Try finesse jigs with small trailers, trick worms weightless, small gold inline spinners, and/or senkos. Jigs and senkos in the holes, everything else in the riffles. In Bryson City, you can fish Fontana, which is an excellent smallie lake, but I would get a guide or some local advice.

X2 on the roll casting, also learn how to use the current to your advantage to load the rod.

With a flyrod, you're casting the weight of the line, not the lure. It's not about power, but more timing. When you're learning, peek over your shoulder and wait for the line to straighten out behind you before starting your forward movement; you'll pick up the timing and stroke faster. Keep everything as high as you can, but also level. Aim at the air a foot above where you want the fly for a softer landing. On a cast, when in doubt..duck...especially with big bead heads or streamers. Wooly buggers are your BFF.

I was wondering if anyone else saw that flag. I hate the Pats and Skins equally, and think Harrison's (Stiller) hits have no place in the game, but that was a clean hit on a guy just starting to go down. Totally assinine that got flagged, and it was a huge help to the Pats.

There's alot less flesh on a squirrel tail to rot. You can salt the flesh end for a few days; it'll draw out the moisture and the the tail will be fine. I used to do my own when I was growing up. If you're really worried, split up the tail with a small scissors, scrape the bones out with a teaspoon and salt/dry that.

The old standard, black with blue flake.

Out on the Potomac today. Was catching fish on a Northstar Jig with a Rage Chunk trailer, and a Delaware Valley Tackle rod. Reel was a shimano, just to keep the posse happy. Fish really came shallow with the sun this afternoon. Blue and purple in the jigs/trailers seemed to be the ticket, and the combo of hair/silicone in the jig really make for a natural fall.

Looking at the fins I would guarantee you that that is a recently stocked rainbow. They're fun; you should release them into lemon pepper and/or hot grease. There's not going to be a comeback or a viable, sustainable population there. It's solely a put and take fishery for 'bows.

I meant to get it in up there but they have been flagging what should be legal hits, seemingly because they were so violent. I don't remember who the Stiller was that got another flag and then fine, but the second one was totally fine. But there are a LOT of guys (James Harrison and Ray Lewis included) that lead with that crown.

They're trying to keep those millionaires you pay to watch on the field and healthy, even past their playing. It has become practice for guys to hit with the top of their head to the head of the other guy, especially when we're talking about receivers. That's just not OK, and it's not the way the greatest hitter of all time, Ronnie Lott, did it. You still get the great hits when you lead with the shoulder and "see what you hit". The tackling lately has been going to crap, both in the NFL and in college, with people going for the highlight hit versus a sure tackle. You're the type of fan that watches Nascar for the crashes.

If running hills is fun, you're doing it wrong.

and in less comfortable areas...

Just more life experience

As with most of the time, Franco is right on. XL is great line, especially for the price. Mono is good on ultralights, because the stretch gives you some extra cushion with the usually tiny hooks. XL is like a 30-06; it may not be the best, but it does everything well, it's dependable, it's cheap, and you can find it anywhere that sells line.

You sound like you're on the right track. If you see bait breaking, don;t be afraid to try topwater (spooks/chuggers). I love inline spinners (roostertails) in smaller sizes early in the season and gradually larger as teh season progresses. Look for current, and fish breaks in the current. I like to start with a fast steady retrieve and adjust up or down from there. Jerkbaits, both soft and hard, are usually worth at least some small fish.

If a .410 is what you have, it's what you have. Interesting thing that Micro brought up that most people don't realize: At in-home distances (20 ft or less, and 20 ft is a big room or loooong hallway), it doesn't really much matter what comes out of a shotgun, that patterns going to be somewhere between a softball and volleyball at 20 ft, unless you use some sort of spreading load. So some 7's or 4's make about the same hole as most buckshot. The smaller shot is less likely to carry/kill through walls or windows and across the street however. Just something to think about. PS - The other thing about a shotgun: if you've ever been on the wrong end of one being fired in your direction without hearing protection, that in itself will stall you.

Yep, what BirdDog said. I've had one since I was 8 (I'm 33), and never cleaned it until I was 22ish. It worked flawlessly. Lots of rabbits and squirrels from that gun, and countless aluminum cans.

Bama's running game is going to split your D like a watermelon at a picnic. Go Vols.

No, it doesn't make you less of a fisherman. To address the sensitivity issue: it would depend on what the fish does with the bait or how she takes it. Think of braid as a wound cotton rope and flouro as surgical or plastic tubing. A move of the bait towards you, the structure/density of the tubing flouro and you will feel the bite better than the cotton rope, where the weave cushions the feel of something moving towards you. With a fish moving away or to the side, the low stretch of the rope/braid well have you feeling the bite better. Stiffer flouros actually should be more sensitive than less stiff, pending memory issues. With bottom-contact baits, many times the fish just sucks the bait up off the bottom, moving it incrementally towards the fisherman; these are the bites that make the argument for flouro. In the end, I like braid, sometimes with a leader, because that's what works for me and that's what counts.

I would do one of the Cabelas. The XMLTi is a fantastic rod, and the Mag Touch is no slouch for $100, even better on sale.

IBTL!!!

I want to get several baits painted this winter. Any suggestions on who would I contact to get this done? MOstly jerkbaits and square bills. Thanks for the help.

What it sounds like to me right now is that you don't want to do the essay... Write it, and ask either your english teacher at school or one of the good writers in your class to proof it, then fix it, and repeat. There's no reason you wouldn't get into any of the schools you stated with a 30 ACT and a 2.8 GPA. If your parents are willing to throw down, take it; you'll have your chance to repay them later in life. Sack up and put some effort in now and you'll be much happier out the other end. And you won't have to watch JSU play Delta State, you can watch the Tigers play the Vols. All that said, there is NOTHING wrong with going to a community college to get your base course work out of the way. My first two years at UTK were fun, but I could've gotten that coursework most anywhere. And college Calc is no joke; I had to take Engineering Calc for my BCMB degree; it took me a few weeks before I realized how much work I had.