Visiting Gatlinburg

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, CountryboyinDC said:

On the Pigeon River?  We stay in a place off 441 a mile and a half or so just south of Walmart, Longhorn, etc.  I've often looked at the river there and it doesn't look like smallmouth territory, of course we go in late August/early September.

The little pigeon yes. That’s not the best time of year but they can still be caught, sometimes they will be further upstream later into the summer. There will be far less fishing pressure though and the smallmouth are sometimes all the way up to the national Park boundary on both prongs of the little pigeon when it’s super hot outside. The one I caught a couple weeks ago pictured above was right in Downtown sevierville, the fish like to hang out in the eddies behind the shopping carts And piles of flip-flops

[rtwvumtneer6]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

, the fish like to hang out in the eddies behind the shopping carts And piles of flip-flops

I feel like there's got to be some truth to this...

[VolFan]

Shopping carts are true urban cover. I have caught smallies off them there in Sevierville, in Asheville, and in the Potomac near DC. That stretch of the little pigeon can be a ton of fun when it’s hot. I always caught the near grass beds with some current.

[TnRiver46]

28 minutes ago, VolFan said:

Shopping carts are true urban cover. I have caught smallies off them there in Sevierville, in Asheville, and in the Potomac near DC. That stretch of the little pigeon can be a ton of fun when it’s hot. I always caught the near grass beds with some current.

Until the bacteria gets into your open wounds, it’s all good!!!

[VolFan]

@TnRiver46 that bacteria probably came from me!

[rtwvumtneer6]

21 hours ago, VolFan said:

I have caught smallies off them there in Sevierville

Is it close enough to stick a rod and a couple baits in the car if the girls go into town shopping?  

 

Any bait suggestions?

[VolFan]

Yes, and I always threw trick worm or small stickbaits/flukes weightless and t-rigged, or Rapalas. Maybe an in-line spinner or two, but mostly the soft plastics

[redtnsv]

Going to be on Sevierville next week. My 6Yo son will be with me. Any suggestions? He prefers trigger senkos when fishing up north here in Michigan. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, redtnsv said:

Going to be on Sevierville next week. My 6Yo son will be with me. Any suggestions? He prefers trigger senkos when fishing up north here in Michigan. 

It’s not a great time of year to catch size there, I would use small grubs on jigheads. Senko is worth a shot , there are some monster gar 

[redtnsv]

On 8/11/2021 at 10:22 PM, TnRiver46 said:

It’s not a great time of year to catch size there, I would use small grubs on jigheads. Senko is worth a shot , there are some monster gar 

Thanks. Any place in particular which you'd recommend? Never been in this area. A local told me to go buy a rooster tail and take him up to gatlinburg to catch trout after they are stocked. Honestly for him of hes catching he's happy. 

[TnRiver46]

22 hours ago, redtnsv said:

Thanks. Any place in particular which you'd recommend? Never been in this area. A local told me to go buy a rooster tail and take him up to gatlinburg to catch trout after they are stocked. Honestly for him of hes catching he's happy. 

That’s probably as good of an idea as any. It’s probably a little crazy up there anywhere ya go. I’m not sure they stock trout in the summer but maybe 

[Bird]

Wife just informed me that we're headed to Biltmore, Cherokee then to the Smokies somewhere. 

Not sure what we're doing but she requested I not fish. Lol

[TnRiver46]

22 minutes ago, Bird said:

Wife just informed me that we're headed to Biltmore, Cherokee then to the Smokies somewhere. 

Not sure what we're doing but she requested I not fish. Lol

Well I was going to suggest we go fishing until I read that last part

[newbiedmv]

Ahh Ashville a weird NC island in the mountains. No words can describe it.

[TnRiver46]

Just now, newbiedmv said:

Ahh Ashville a weird NC island in the mountains. No words can describe it.

The words I would use are “heady, broooo!”

[newbiedmv]

Been through there twice now. Mine would be "OK, I don't get it". 

 

[rtwvumtneer6]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Not sure what we're doing but she requested I not fish. Lol

So you're saying we're going fishing?!

 

56 minutes ago, newbiedmv said:

Ahh Ashville a weird NC island in the mountains. No words can describe it.

My hair was too short, I didn't have a dog with me and I couldn't find a restaurant that served real meat.  Otherwise, cool town! 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, newbiedmv said:

Been through there twice now. Mine would be "OK, I don't get it". 

 

Hahahaha yup me neither. I’m still not sure what heady brooooo means but you used to hear it a lot over there. Asheville is only 90 miles from here and it’s always cooler and cloudier so it’s a fun place to visit but the roads going across the mountain are quite treacherous and I’d rather drive them (unless I’m going fishing, then I’ll scoot right across the ridge)

[redtnsv]

On 8/15/2021 at 6:06 PM, TnRiver46 said:

That’s probably as good of an idea as any. It’s probably a little crazy up there anywhere ya go. I’m not sure they stock trout in the summer but maybe 

Herbert Park is closed for sewer line repairs. Closed jntil Friday and not stocking fish this week. Oh well. Still took him to severiville city and mynatt. He didn't catch anything but had fun. 

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, redtnsv said:

Herbert Park is closed for sewer line repairs. Closed jntil Friday and not stocking fish this week. Oh well. Still took him to severiville city and mynatt. He didn't catch anything but had fun. 

Ha!!!! My buddy from college ran Herbert holt park for the last 5 or 6 years, he just worked his last day Friday . He shows up in my fish pics on here a decent amount 

[newbiedmv]

There is what seems to be a new big divided  highway starting near Johnson city. The scenery was incredible, but lots and lots of weather and incline warning electric signs. I wouldn't drive that road in fog or at night. For some reason the number 26 comes to mind.

If the weather, your brakes, and transmission are good I recommend the drive. There is a big elk heard at the NC line. For me it was worth it.

[TnRiver46]

25 minutes ago, newbiedmv said:

There is what seems to be a new big divided  highway starting near Johnson city. The scenery was incredible, but lots and lots of weather and incline warning electric signs. I wouldn't drive that road in fog or at night. For some reason the number 26 comes to mind.

If the weather, your brakes, and transmission are good I recommend the drive. There is a big elk heard at the NC line. For me it was worth it.

I-26 indeed goes through JC 

[newbiedmv]

@rtwvumtneer6 I'm pretty sure Google will take you to Cherokee on what I think is the great smoky mountain parkway. It goes around to other small towns. If you drive out to a shopping center with a McDonald's or burger King you'll see a sign(kinda hard to miss). Bryson to the right the rest to the left. It's a good drive. If the weather's good check out Bryson and fontana dam for a little while it was clear and worth it. I'd be hesitant to go off the road to the dam as there is very very little traffic and many right angle steep turns also no guard rails other than trees, turkeys, and the occasional bear.

Good luck and have a blast. Oh might be a repeat but if your lucky enough to get up the road to clingmans dome look out from the parking lot and you can see fontana. If there is a yellow ring it's been drained down 60 feet.

Thanks a lot, now I'm thinking of stopping in late September  ...seriously towing a boat ???

[TnRiver46]

9 hours ago, newbiedmv said:

@rtwvumtneer6 I'm pretty sure Google will take you to Cherokee on what I think is the great smoky mountain parkway. It goes around to other small towns. If you drive out to a shopping center with a McDonald's or burger King you'll see a sign(kinda hard to miss). Bryson to the right the rest to the left. It's a good drive. If the weather's good check out Bryson and fontana dam for a little while it was clear and worth it. I'd be hesitant to go off the road to the dam as there is very very little traffic and many right angle steep turns also no guard rails other than trees, turkeys, and the occasional bear.

Good luck and have a blast. Oh might be a repeat but if your lucky enough to get up the road to clingmans dome look out from the parking lot and you can see fontana. If there is a yellow ring it's been drained down 60 feet.

Thanks a lot, now I'm thinking of stopping in late September  ...seriously towing a boat ???

they drain it 60 feet every year in fairly predictable fashion (it’s 400 feet deep so the fish won’t escape). If they didn’t lower Fontana and about 6-8 other lakes 30+ feet in winter, a lot of homes and businesses from Knoxville to Paducah Kentucky would be underwater (in the words of Denzel Washington in training day, this is chess it ain’t checkers). You can walk from clingmans dome to Fontana! 

[Tennessee Boy]

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

You can walk from clingmans dome to Fontana! 

After seeing your post I looked it up on a map.  Looks like it's only about a 3-4 mile walk and a 4000 ft change in elevation!  That would make for a fun walk back to the car.