Spring Break Extravaganze 2008 Part I: wherein our hero finds himself fishless

Ahhhh, blogging from the road. My favorite kind of blogging when you get right down to it. I'm here in beautiful Brevard North Cackalack fresh off of two days on the Davidson River catching many trouts. But the trouts will have to wait. I will first regale you with tales from Cades (sic) Cove, the first of my three Spring Break Extravaganza 2008 destinations.

Cades Cove is a large, flat, mostly treeless valley in the northwest quadrant of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through this large, flat, mostly treeless valley runs Abrams Creek. It should also be indicated at this juncture that Cades Cove supposedly sits over predominantly limestone thus giving Abrams Creek an abnormally high alkalinity and more stable temperatures than other creeks in the southern Appalachians. This is all good for the trouts. What’s bad for the trouts is that there was a serious drought this past summer and the fish that took the hardest hit were rainbows below 2000’. Abrams Creek is mostly rainbows. And Cades Cove is below 2000’. This may be one reason I did not catch a single trout. Other reasons might be the high water and cold temperatures. And my lack of angling prowess should also be considered.

But Cades Cove is pretty. Here are some pictures. I think that's a coyote. Or maybe a fox? Red wolf? Stay tuned for the Davidson River, wherein our hero angled many fat trouts, and the impending backpacking trip through the Jocassee Gorges in search of the elusive South Cackalack steelhead wherein our hero will undoubtedly catch many fine and large fishes wrap-up from inside Sean's keg of Guinness.

Click some to enlarge.











Trout sneak peak.