Fly fishing and on to Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort

Well, Friday arrived and I was off to the Waynesville Fly Shop at 7:15 am to meet with Gary Mann and my guide. I arrived early, but Gary was there to outfit me with waders and wading boots. My guide, Jason Van Dyke arrived right on time and we departed in his truck for the fishing grounds. as it turns out, we were going to the Cherokee Indian Reservation to fish the trophy section of the Oconalufttee River, or more specifically, Raven Fork. To fish this river, one needs a permit from the reserve ($10 per day) and to fish the "catch and release" trophy section (about 2.5 miles long), one needs another permit ($25 for three days). I paid with pleasure imagining the joys to come.

We arrived at the river found an unoccupied drift. We got suited up and headed down to the river, which is not large, but quite scenic. I was told that fishers had caught and released trout up to 13 pounds in this section of water. Jason gave me some fundamental pointers and hooked up the flies and the first cast was made with great anticipation. A STRIKE, but it got off. After a few more casts and strikes, I figured out the technique and brought one to the waiting net. It was quite a nice fish. Picture taken, the fish was released unharmed, but probably wiser, back into the river to thrill some other fisher.

The first two hours were a repeat, cast after cast, strike after strike. We netted 8 or 9 lovely rainbow trout, hooked and lost several others, and missed a number of strikes. Jason remained on the beach providing valuable instruction and untangling the inevitable tangles of lines. He was a magician at untangling what looked like a hopeless web of leader. After around a couple of hours the fishing slowed so we tried a number of different flies - no luck. We then moved to another stretch of the river, but once again, a few strikes, but no luck hooking up. After nearly four hours of what I considered a great time, we packed it up and headed off to Paul's Family Restaurant in Cherokee (where Suz and I had lunch a couple of days earlier). Jason and I had lunch and exchanged stories. Then it was back to Waynesville Fly Shop to return the gear and settle up with Gary.

I had a wonderful time! I learned a great deal about fly fishing from Jason, caught some of the largest trout I have ever caught on a fly, saw a number of Palomino trout (bright yellow crosses between Rainbows and Golden trout) which are really hard to catch, and met two great guys - Gary Mann and Jason Van Dyke. If you are ever in Waynesville and need advice on, or equipment for fly fishing, go to Gary's Waynesville Fly Shop and take a guided fishing trip with Jason Van Dyke.

After a great day fishing, Suz and I decided to try a new restaurant for dinner our last night in Maggie Valley. Hurley's is on hwy. 19 just a mile or so from the RV park and specializes in steak, pasta and the like. To our surprise, it was great. Not only was the food excellent, but the drinks were inexpensive and the location, right on Jonathan Creek, was a delight. Suz and I sat outside at a table on the grass right next to the creek.

What a great site for our last night in Maggie Valley!

Saturday morning, we departed Maggie Valley at 9:00 am on our way to Galax, VA and Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort. We traveled across I 40 to Stateville, NC. There we stopped at the Cracker Barrel for lunch (one of the only spots where we can park a motorhome towing a car). After lunch we fueled up at the local BP for $3.77 a gallon for diesel! When you take 70 to 80 gallons, you get excited when the price drops from $3.89 to $3.77 - that's a couple of beers at happy hour!

From Statesville, we headed North on I 77 to exit 100 where we took NC 89 North to Galax. The road is narrow, but well maintained. We reached the NC/VA border and it was only a few more miles to Deer Creek. the Resort is owned and operated by Barry Poole, who I met at the RV Supershow in Tampa last January. He offered a three night stay to have a look at the sites he has for sale to large RV owners. The resort is very nice with large concrete pads, room for a small cabin and excellent other amenities. There is even a small 9 home par three golf course adjacent to the resort that is free for owners and guests. Best of all, Barry is a wonderful host. We are enjoying ourselves and meeting some very nice people.

Sunday morning, I got out all the gear and washed the coach. First the roof, which the birds in Maggie Valley had used for a "poddy post", then the rest of the coach and the car. Three-and-a-half hours later, the vehicles look great and now we are just waiting for it to rain! Hopefully not this time.

This afternoon, Suz and I went off with Barry Poole and looked at the lots he has for sale and gave some thought to how this might fit into our long term plans. The sites are attractive and reasonably priced, and the people owners seem very nice. I like the layout and the infrastructure. It is friendly, somewhat posh, but not overly ostentatious. All the owned lots have very nice, newer well maintained coaches on them.

Later today we headed head back into Galax to see what other amenities are available. We found an Applebees last evening, but it is the strangest Applebees I have ever seen and not one we plan to return to. They do have a Super WalMart though, and Mt. Airy is only 21 miles away! Barry told us about a restaurant called Macadoos in the old Post Office in Galax. We found it and it was wonderful. It is a sandwich and pasta restaurant, with a great bar. The theme is 50's and 60's with a Mayberry RFD overtone. Note the statue of Don Knotts as the deputy sheriff above the entrance. Knott all is lost in Galax!


On Monday, we have been invited to participate in the owners golf tournament and then join them for a Potluck dinner. Sounds like a good time and a chance to meet some of the owners. Until the next time, Cheers.

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog