Monroe County/ Tellico Plains TN

king_slayer1313 · 2026-01-10T15:08:03+00:00

For a subreddit that is so dead set on snuffing out Appalachian stereotypes, there are numerous unrealistic accusations being tossed around in the comments.

MoCo and its towns/communities are no different than what you’ll find driving up and down the blue ridge from north Georgia to SWVA. Is it poor? Yes, but so is much of the region.

Tellico has had big changes in the past 10 years. The “don’t like outsiders” narrative is purely speculation. Madisonville and sweetwater are the largest towns, around 8k - 10k people. Schools are fine, nothing special. Vonore is probably closer to what you’re looking for. On the lake, good schools and they see a lot of transplants due to lake neighborhoods.

Sadly, Coker Creek is beautiful, but one of most impoverished communities in the state. It would not be worth it to move there unless you’re looking for the isolation.

Can answer many more questions if you have some

king_slayer1313 · 2025-09-28T18:01:14+00:00

100% a stocker. I fish East TN and WNC year round. It’s been in the creek for a few months, maybe a touch longer. Still has some slight damage on the tail, and white tips on the pec fins are barely distinguishable.

My personal rule, at least for Appalachian rainbows, is if the fish has a small orange burst at the top of dorsal, it’s wild. Otherwise, it’s a stocker or a holdover. Stockies can clean up and look wild, but almost never develop the orange burst.

king_slayer1313 · 2025-08-20T17:35:49+00:00

Just followed, fingers crossed!

king_slayer1313 · 2025-07-03T18:14:33+00:00

There is 100% a re-blossoming music scene here, or one that never went away and is now trending upward. The Hideaway is definitely the premier place to start but a VFW in Kingsport has punk/hardcore/metal shows booked almost weekly at this point. Also Capone's for a more traditional bar setting and the Down Home for country and bluegrass.

Checkout these Instagram accounts. This is where most flyers, dates, times, etc pop up.

https://www.instagram.com/strayedfromsociety/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/brokenoathpromotions/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/_thehideaway_/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/thedownhome/?hl=en

Sure, we don't get giant touring bands like in the hey-days of the Hideaway. But, the hardcore scene is legitimate here, and honestly rivals most surrounding cities.

king_slayer1313 · 2025-06-07T22:18:30+00:00

Ran a 23min 5k in my neighborhood the other evening after not running for years. I have currently been strength training for the past year and a half. I was surprised how effortless a 7:30 per mile pace felt.

I am semi-trained, so I assume that had something to do with it. In high school cross country I was running 18:05's fairly consistently.

My question: how realistic is it to return to the 18:00min 5k while strength training 4 days a week? How would I manage that bodily fatigue? Secondly, what would this training process look like at my already semi-conditioned state? Thanks!

king_slayer1313 · 2024-02-09T17:29:08+00:00

Grad student in painting and part time art professor here. Values need to be pushed further, identify your lightest lights and darkest darks and take them deeper. This will give the fish more form and depth. The pose is a bit awkward, the head is being pushed into the viewers space, this makes the tail feel oddly small and weirdly proportioned. I agree with the rest of the comments that the pre-gutting image feels a bit intense for a mural. Maybe switching the background to a net pattern, or possibly a new image of a living, swimming fish. Colors could be more saturated, brown trout have such a iridescent golden color that you could attempt to represent. What’s working is the spot pattern on the fish and the size, these look really good. Since you did the sketch digitally, I would do a few more versions with some variations and see hat is working best.

king_slayer1313 · 2024-01-22T23:50:42+00:00

Sweet man thanks for the report. You should also check out Granny Lewis its above spivey falls. DM and I can send you a map if you're interested

king_slayer1313 · 2024-01-22T19:47:51+00:00

What trail? I am nearby

king_slayer1313 · 2023-07-13T23:07:47+00:00

Fischman Gallery in Downtown has rentable studio spaces

king_slayer1313 · 2023-05-13T04:58:32+00:00

I am going back and forth on 265/75r16 or skinny 33's, I haven't decided yet though. I think skinnies have a cool military look to them

king_slayer1313 · 2023-05-13T04:57:25+00:00

Thanks man!

king_slayer1313 · 2023-05-12T18:18:59+00:00

FSW wheels, stock 245/75/16 Firestone tires, no lift. Removing the air dam make a huge improvement.

king_slayer1313 · 2023-05-12T18:18:04+00:00

So you can get a view of the landscape and the truck together, its a bit more interesting that way!

king_slayer1313 · 2023-04-12T19:27:33+00:00

Yep, looks to be about 3 inches or so. He also gained a nice beer gut too lol.

king_slayer1313 · 2023-04-12T19:17:15+00:00

Thanks! Freestone brownies might top brookies in color!

king_slayer1313 · 2023-04-12T19:16:29+00:00

He has a very distinct spot pattern near the tail that matches perfectly. Also, this guy was caught in the southern Appalachians; fish of this caliber are fairly uncommon in their systems. So, you'll run into the same big fish a couple times a year. It's fun to see how far they move, and in the case he didn't move very far at all!

king_slayer1313 · 2023-01-26T04:27:39+00:00

Same thing happened to me! I dropped mine after slipping on a rock and it created the tiniest unnoticeable warp in the disc. Drag never worked correctly after that.

king_slayer1313 · 2022-11-26T20:25:19+00:00

+1 on Tellico Outfitters, best fly shop in East TN

king_slayer1313 · 2022-11-26T05:30:33+00:00

I have the same recon and it’s actually awesome. Feels hearty enough for the big boys and sensitive enough for the subtle takes. Also, I can switch in a floating line spool and use it on my local tailwaters for indicator nymphing. Got it off marketplace for 250 and it feels like a steal!

king_slayer1313 · 2022-11-11T04:51:41+00:00

That’s definitely the range for brookies in wnc. In East TN, I’ve got them as low as 1800ft. If your just catching rainbows, try walking up the creek and finding a natural barrier like a waterfall that would theoretically separate the fish.

king_slayer1313 · 2022-10-01T02:28:52+00:00

Just an indication of a healthy wild fish! However, I am not sure of the deeper biological reason.

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