My Rabun County trout fishing trip. Overcoming a bad fishing partner and having fun

[TurkeyH90]

*my favorite turnpike song hands down! That humpback must hold a special place on Felker's life. He mentions it in more than 1 song. Good writings man

Yep, he does. I got a sweet sixteen I inherited and took to ND to kill some roosters with the year my grandaddy died. Cancer got him in his 80s. Little did I know it would get the lab I shot those pheasants over in a few months. It was a memorable trip to say the least.

 

[Danuwoa]

I made my back to the truck and asked my cousin if he was having any luck. He seemed a little embarrassed to tell me that he wasn’t. He told me he had a bite but didn’t land the fish. I explained that he ought to move around. Don’t stay in one spot. He said ok but never strayed far from near the truck. I changed things up as far as bait and went up stream. I waded back into the water and found some promising spots casting and thinking. I’m not a gear guy. I don’t see a thing wrong with buying things that prove useful but I don’t have to have the latest and greatest hunting and fishing gear. I’m not one of those guys who upgrades very often. Part of that is because I’m just contrary and stubborn but part of it is because my old man was one of the best hunters and fishermen I’ve ever known and he never cared about that sort of thing. I continued up stream but seemed to have gone cold without so much as a nibble. That was alright. I had had enough success that I was more than happy. And again, it was good to be back in this place. I fished on a while and as the sun started to drop behind the mountains I headed back toward the truck. We drove back to camp, I cooked supper, we ate and talked for a while. My cousin’s spirits seemed to lift some in camp. We went to bed before it was all that late and I was anticipating a day of fishing after getting some rest.

Some time during the night I woke up to the sound of rain coming down hard on the tarp that I had over my tent. I drifted in and out of sleep enjoying the sound. I woke up some time later and the rain had stopped but the nearby creek was noticeably louder.

Some time not long after daylight I woke up. I’m not as young as I once was and I’m not in the kind of shape I used to be in. I’m currently remedying that but either way I’ve put my body through a lot in my forty three years. Years of football and heavy weight lifting followed by time in the Marine Corps carrying a lot of weight on my back and running Lord only knows how many miles, then getting into long distance running, and working as an iron worker, lets just say after a night of sleeping on an air mattress that has gone partially flat during the night, I can feel it all. I stretched and popped in a few places but was feeling good. The rain had cooled things down a little and the sun was shining. I went to work on breakfast. For those who don’t know, a store bought biscuit may be just slightly less offensive to a Southern man than what passes for country music on top forty radio now days but in a pinch, Mrs B’s biscuits will more than get you by. I had grabbed some at the Wal Mart in Clayton. I had hoped to spot Billy Redden (the banjo player from the movie Deliverance who at least was working there until recently) but had to settle for just the biscuits. Soon my cousin heard me messing around and got up. We ate and loaded up. I told him I didn’t care where we went but two good options were the west fork of the Chatooga or a creek a little ways north of Clayton that I have never fished but heard good things about it. He seemed non commital and fussed about having no cell phone service. I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. I can’t imagine being in a place like that and caring about cell phone service or the lack of it.

We headed back toward town and he called home. I checked my phone and had some rather pointed messages from Mrs Danuwoa. In all of my excitement I had forgotten to call her when we got there the day before and she was a little worried. I called home and let her know I was fine. I made her laugh a little and we hung up. My cousin did not want to go to the creek north of Clayton. For reasons that I can’t understand he thought a few more miles of driving were too much after having driven four plus hours to get up there. I reiterated that the west fork was a good spot but he seemed to be angling to go back to Warwoman. I couldn’t understand this since he hadn’t had any luck the day before and had seemed put out about it. But I didn’t argue. He was driving and as ornery as I can be I’m not the type to try and force anyone to do things my way. He went through some sort of internal struggle and finally asked how to get to the west fork. I told him and we started that way.

We’re flat landers. Even so I guess I’ve spent enough time in the mountains and am just unwilling to be scared that I can drive these mountain roads more like the folks from there than a flat lander. Not my cousin. He oozed around those windy roads and cussed as somebody came up behind him and followed closely. It seemed to really be bothering him and I was glad when we eventually turned off the paved road onto the gravel leading up through the mountains to Burrell’s Ford. This didn’t do much to improve my cousin’s demeanor. He fussed about the road and at some point compared it to driving on a road in Bangladesh. I assume this was said in the abstract as he’s never been out of the continental United States as far as I know. I laughed even though he didn’t and didn’t say anything. Finally, thankfully we got to Burrell’s Ford.

As expected there were trucks and SUV’s parked around the bridge with people fishing near it. I explained that most of these people were lazy and weren’t going far from the truck and that we could hike up river and have it to ourselves. We grabbed our stuff and headed up the trail.

After we had gone a ways we found a good access point that was still difficult enough I knew the LL Bean boys and fashion show fishermen wouldn’t be around. We had to climb over a downed old bull pine to get to the water. We waded in and I pointed out what I thought looked like some good spots. I was wanting him to have some success. I waded farther you river but still in sight of him. I found a good looking spot and on about my third cast, wammy! I let out a “Woo! Woo-hoo! I told ya.” He seemed party excited and partly disgusted. I casted over bear a rock and Wammy! I grinned but didn’t say anything. I told him I’d move on up river some. As I worked my way up I eventually heard people. I was surprised there were fishmen already up this far but soon realized it wasn’t fishermen. It was people on the trail parallel to the river. As I stood there knee deep in cold mountain water I saw four people moving along the trail and could catch glimpses of them in gaps in the trees. When they got to a gap almost strait across and up above me they stopped. It was two older men and two women with dogs. They looked at me as if they were seeing Herbert Coward from Deliverance (“You shore have got a pretty mouth.”) and all but one of the men moved on. He stood there with his hands on his hips and stared at me as if he either wanted to say something or was in disbelief. These are the people that I fear will ruin everything eventually. They have more money than guys like me will ever have and will eventually own this entire state in my worst case scenario. He moved on without saying anything and I shook off the minor annoyance and fished on. I worked my way up river having a ball. I finally realized I had been going for a long time. I wondered how my cousin was making out. I made my way to the trail and headed back in the direction I had come. I kept on and knew I was far along enough that I was near where I had last seen him. Yep. There was that bull pine we had climbed over. He was nowhere in sight. I thought, “If he slipped on a rock and hit his head...”. I made my way toward the truck. There he was. Sitting in his truck drinking a bottle of water. I grinned and asked how he had done. He just shook his head. I told him I was going to go down toward the bridge and fish a while. He said that was fine but stayed where he was.

I worked my down around the bridge but there were too many people. I walked back and told him we could go back to camp.

Once we got there I fished the creek we were camped next to. No luck but that was alright. I had had a good trip. I fished down stream a ways and finally my stomach started growling. I got back to camp and he was drinking beer just sitting in his chair. I told him I would get supper started soon but we needed to go to town and get some more charcoal. Somewhere in that conversation I decided to mention just eating in town if he wanted to. He seemed to like that idea and we decided on The Clayton Cafe. I had fried chicken, pinto beans, and macaroni and cheese. He got hamburger steak but they brought him country fried steak which he fussed about. I was getting tired of his determination to be put out about something. My meal was good and after we had finished we headed back toward camp. I was driving now since he had been drinking. Well when we got back it had rained again and my cousin had left his tent unzipped. It had water in it. He was beside himself. I had finally had enough. I had been having a great time but he clearly wasn’t. I said, “Look, we are just going to sleep here and go home in the morning so would you rather just pack everything up and go back tonight?” He hemmed and hawed and said he didn’t want to be the reason we went back early. I told him it had been my idea and he still dithered around. The sun was fading from the sky and I said, “Well look, when the sun drops behind that mountain it’s going to be dark and it will be a lot less aggravating to break things down and load them up in the daylight.” He said he wanted to leave.

We didn’t beat the dark. The last twenty or so minutes of packing up we wee in the dark doing that by lantern. We pulled out of the campground and stopped in Clayton for gas. I called my wife and told her I was on the way home. She wondered what had happened and I told her I would tell her all about it when I got there. I drove through the night with him saying very little. Going through Atlanta I had two guys blow by me on either side at the same time that we’re going well over a hundred. He played some kind of horrible music and I finally told him somewhere around Macon that we had to do better. He put on the Black Crowes featuring Jimmy Page album. I could deal with that. Once we got back to my house I unloaded my stuff as fast as I could, went inside, took a shower, and got in the bed around three o’clock.

A quote from Dances With Wolves cane to my mind, “If it were not for my companion I would be having the time of my life.” There is a reason I’m particular about who I hunt and fish with. But I had been trying to get a family member out there to have a good time. It didn’t work out. But I still had fun and will do it again. I’ll just have different company next time.

The End.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Good story Brad, and good on you for trying. Some people just don't get it.
There are very few people that I will fish, hunt, drink, or pick git-tars with. You are one of those people. You need to get up here and camp and catch some trout.

 

[Danuwoa]

Good story Brad, and good on you for trying. Some people just don't get it.
There are very few people that I will fish, hunt, drink, or pick git-tars with. You are one of those people. You need to get up here and camp and catch some trout.

Right back at you my brother. Lets do it.

 

[livinoutdoors]

Good story! Thanks for sharing!
Those folks you saw on the trail are the only thing in the woods n water that scare me.

 

[Danuwoa]

Good story! Thanks for sharing!
Those folks you saw on the trail are the only thing in the woods n water that scare me.

They’re like locusts. And they feel entitled to whatever it is they decide they want.

 

[Danuwoa]

Hmmm. Seems your writing holds a candle to your guitar pickin'. Whodathunkit?

Looking forward to part 2.

Thanks, Dave.

 

[antharper]

Good times and a great read ! You have a lot more patience with your fishing partner than most ! To bad for him that he didn’t enjoy it more

 

[Danuwoa]

Good times and a great read ! You have a lot more patience with your fishing partner than most ! To bad for him that he didn’t enjoy it more

If I hadn’t known he had had trouble lately I wouldn’t have been as patient. I guess the outdoors just aren’t for everybody.

 

[crackerdave]

Good read!

I need to uproot myself from this recliner and get out more.
Are you planning to camp with us in October?

 

[Danuwoa]

Good read!

I need to uproot myself from this recliner and get out more.
Are you planning to camp with us in October?

It will all depend. If there is a mask requirement then definitely not.

 

[fredw]

Enjoyed the read. You have a talent with words.

 

[Danuwoa]

Enjoyed the read. You have a talent with words.

Thanks, buddy. Lots of typos etc. It could have been cleaner but it was a shoot from the hip, warts and all type thing. Thanks for the kind words and for reading it.

 

[crackerdave]

It will all depend. If there is a mask requirement then definitely not.

No masks outdoors...yet.

 

[Geffellz18]

Good Read. Thanks for sharing and glad you were able to get some time in the hills to reset your bearings a little even with having some distractions!

 

[hawkeye123]

Great writing! Got a family member that reminds me of your cousin, I too , am a flatlander but have no problem.driving those hills like a local..felt like I was there..love that area of Rabun co..if it was Tallalluh you were going too , you didn't miss anything, such a pretty spot ruined by the crowds!

 

[bany]

Thanks for sharing and for not leaving yer kin to the mountain folk. I enjoyed your trip!

 

[1eyefishing]

It's amazing how a thing so simple as attitude can make or break a day.

 

[1eyefishing]

An aquarium set up would be a great Christmas present for him.



Then he could fish from the couch.

 

[TurkeyH90]

Good read. I live fairly close. Lets go fling a flyrod one day.