Road Trip Part 1 (TN)

Back in April (before this blog existed), Nate and I planned a fly fishing trip near where he lives in Franklin TN.  Problem..... after years of trying to pay off student loans I did not have any fly fishing gear (sold it all to help the payoff) and Nate only had a bigger fly reel (8wt).  Luckily, the "Wife" and I had just finished our mission of paying off all the debts and I was able to nab Nate and I each a complete setup (Gear to be reviewed on a different post)!  The "Wife" and I decided that when we achieved debt freedom that we would each allow ourselves to go on a little spending spree and I appropriately picked fly fishing with Nate in TN as my trip.

After receiving the gear and finishing up a 12-hour shift, I took my beater truck all the way to TN.  I arrived in the middle of the night and crashed on the couch exhausted (little rest for the wicked).  We woke early the next morning, headed out his local fly shop for some last-minute supplies, and then to a couple spots on his local river the Harpeth.  It did not take long for Nate and me to get back into our groove of making fun of each other's casts and photo-documenting each other's repeated failures (snags and slips).  

The story from day 1 that sticks out the most is Nate falling into the river..... I had spent almost all of my money on the gear, so waders had to wait, which made for some cold fishermen! At spot number two, Nate and I were exploring a raised bank along the Harpeth (probably 8 feet higher than the water).  Nate decided that he was going to explore a little further down to my left and all of a sudden I hear "AHHHH" followed by a splash and there Nate is in the river.  Nate attempted to hold his rig above water and was struggling to swim and I told him "ya know, your reel can get wet?".  Dumbfounded Nate looks at me, and grabs a nearby branch to begin getting out of the water.  The funniest part of this situation was when Nate realized that I was still fishing over him as he struggled to get out.  The day yielded only (1) small bass for me and Nate caught the same section of beaver dam several times!  Enjoy the pictures!

D