by Frank Baugh

Created on: August 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 12, 2009

In my Bio for Helium I chose a picture of me holding a fish that I had just caught out of the Harpeth River in a canoe.

Now, folks, that's living!

Yes, I canoe and fish the Harpeth River where it passes through downtown Franklin, Tennessee. The house that I live in backs up to the Harpeth River just down stream from Franklin, so it is an easy thing for my son and me to put our canoe in and paddle up through town. Once we go all the way through town on the river, we let ourselves coast with the current and fish all the way back home. Other times we coast downstream past the water treatment plant and Farmer's Bluff to where Spencer's Creek joins the Harpeth. There are some particularly good bass fishing holes in those locations.

This is a canoeing hot spot. We frequently meet up with fellow floating citizens with their canoes, rafts and inner tubes. Many do as we do and have an official canoe dog to bark at our official canoe dog. Ours is a Jack Russell Terrier named Wyatt.

But on to business - there is the business of fishing. What do son and I catch in the Harpeth River? We catch sunfish, crappies and bass of two types: large and small mouth.

For sunfish and bluegill fishing there are fly rods with mini tube worms or top water popping bugs for bait. I use a nine foot Pfluger fly rod with a Medalist fly reel. So far that combination has held up remarkably well in a tough environment. Many people ask me isn't it hard to fly cast from a canoe, particularly when there are two people doing it at the same time. The man in the front of the canoe, usually my son, has only one major concern: not to catch his dad on the back-cast. My job in the back of the canoe is to watch my fore casts and generally stay out of son's way when he is casting. Of course both of us have to watch out for the tree limbs overhanging the river. Some of the time we "bail out" of the canoe choosing to wade a fishing hole to seriously fish it, though this is not always an option since some of the better bass holes run deep. Also, wading tends to spook the fish whereas with a canoe you can sneak up on them.

The most action packed sunfish fishing is done with the top water popping bugs. This is the most pleasing of fishing because of the action. This is done by fly casting a top water bug out to a fishy looking spot, usually beside some cover for the fish. Let the bug sit for a few seconds to see if you get a strike. A lot of time the sunfish and bluegills will hit the bug the instant it

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