I’m not really sure how we managed it, but Charity and I realized last night that neither of us had anything on the calendar for today. We got up at the same time, filled the fly boxes, packed the cooler, and added our daughter Willow to the fishing gear. We decided on a family hike along a beautiful brook trout stream in the Smoky Mountains.

Charity working the water while I’m carrying Ms. Willow

We spent as much or more time walking and entertaining Willow as we did fishing. That was fine though. The fish were extremely active and we caught plenty of brookies even though we only hit the most accessible water. Willow was excited whenever a trout took the fly, but not enough to get too close to the fish.

How about that color?!

We reconfigured for lunch and had a picnic near Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in Tennessee.

The coming week features a full guide calendar. We’ll be on the stream in the Smokies and have a few floats scheduled as well. We’ll keep you posted!