A short trip

Roybrew

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East Tn
Took a fishing drift trip with my brother last week end. We left a vehicle down stream at the take out spot and drove up about 8 miles where we put the canoe in.
This river flows from a dammed lake in the North Carolina mountans, and runs into Tennessee. They weren't generating so water level was a little low. I haven't been on this river maybe twice in 15 years. We put in for a fun day of excellent small mouth fishing, we thought. We hit the first pool with a few bites and little sucess, and then continued into a shallow rocky streach for 60 yards into another calm pool.
And another shallow rock land fill
We grew tired of dragging and lining the canoe down through these shallow areas. We must've each fell three or four times on these slippery rocks. After 1 mile and 3 hours I had enough. We had another 6 miles to go. Time for exit strategy. My brother would cross the river to the road and walk the mile back up stream to get the truck where we put in, and I would continue down stream about a mile to a bridge where we could get the canoe out. I waited for him to cross to other side then tightened my life jacket, got on me knees in middle of canoe and took off
I took this picture when I got stuck in some rocks at the top of these rapids
After I pryed myself lose the canoe hit a few more rocks and swung me around sending me backwards the rest of the way down the rapids. I had a couple of gallons come over the stearn as I hit the calm pool below. I finally met up with him at the bridge. Once everything was loaded we drove to our take out location and to where we left the other vehicle. We put in and fished till sun set.
Below the overhanging bluff you could see the rock underneath the waters surface where the force of the river pried it free from the rest of the bluff many years ago. We caught a few smallies and a walleye, and salvaged a bad day of drifting a river.
 
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