River Trip

One of the things that we enjoy most during the summer is getting out in the Gheenoe and exploring new waters and catching some fish away from the ski boats and jet skis. For those not familiar with the Gheenoe you ought to check the boats out if your interested in a boat that runs shallow and will take you places that the Triton bass boats won't run. http://www.customgheenoe.net/

A few days ago a good friend called who has a similar boat and asked if we would like to take a trip up the Calf Killer River. The small river runs primarily through White Co. TN and originates in Putnam Co. TN up around Monterey with a couple of dams and accumulations of drift around bridges making it impossible to travel the entire river.

The wife, two boys, and myself launched in the upper portion of the Caney Fork and after just a short distance took our swing into the Calf Killer and we were well on our way to exploring new territory with my friend in the lead with his wife and nephew. As we travelled along we passed under the remnants of a old bridge that had long since fallen down with the steel pillars still remaining but the decking only a memory. As I went by the old bridge I thought about all the mules and wagons and old automobiles that had crossed there in the years past. As we travelled a little farther, we came upon an old walking bridge that had been stretched across the river and wondered why it had been constructed, maybe because the river split a farm into or maybe it was for children to get back and forth to school back before there were school buses or even gravel roads in that part of the world.

The river narrowed down a bit and shallowed for a while but our Gheenoe never missed a beat. A few times our motor kicked up and a few times we had to wind through some tree tops that had fallen into the river. After we had gone as far as we could go, we stopped and waded a while on a gravel bar. The water was so cold it would nearly take your breath.

When everyone cooled off after the short wade we started our drift back with ultralight rods in hand and caught Redeye, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Shell Crackers. A good day indeed in a small river winding through the hills of Tennessee without a sign of a jet ski or a Mastercraft.