A couple of weeks ago, I headed south to go fishing with my son, Chris. Dave, our guide from Southeastern Fly Fishing, took us for a float on the Obey River, northwest of Knoxville. This little brownie started off my best day of fishing ever. Last fall, Dave guided us on the Elk River, where we caught at least 30 smaller stocked rainbows. This day was different. Many of the fish we caught were 10+ inches with a few in the 15-20 inch range. And my all-time best, a 21 inch beauty. The fish were fat and colorful, and spring was in full swing in Eastern Tennessee. Dave is a great guide and he was happy to answer all my questions about drift boats. He has a cool podcast, too:
Then it was on to explore another section of the Sheltowee Trace Trail near Laurel Lake, Kentucky.A nice place to have a houseboat!This segment of trail leading to Van Hook Falls was one of the most beautiful short sections of trail I’ve ever ridden The controlled burning of the undergrowth gave the lakeside trail a smokey aura. The Sheltowee Trace is a hiking trail, and some sections just aren’t rideable, but the hiking is just as enjoyable.
I stayed at the Bee Rock Campground near London: small, clean, well-maintained, and right alongside the Cumberland River. I took a morning hike to the Rockcastle Narrows Rapids, and for a moment, it felt like wasn’t in Kentucky anymore.
Kentucky came back with a vengeance, however, when I drove northward to check out another section of the Sheltowee. The sketchy remoteness of the forest service campground combined with the dog-on-duty pickup truck that blew by me and the (I hate to say it) general ugliness of the area kept me driving northward back home. I’m probably done with my Sheltowee Trace explorations, unless I go with other people. I’m not done exploring the rivers of Eastern Tennessee, though!!
Travels with Pops 