SHORT TAKES : Singer Didn’t Need Own Trout

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Country music singer T. G. Sheppard was afraid the fish wouldn’t bite during filming for a cable TV show--so he took a few extras with him.

Turns out he didn’t need to.

Sheppard brought some rainbow trout with him on the Little Pigeon River Thursday while filming the fishing show for the Nashville Network, but he caught his own fish and didn’t have to use them.

The singer dubbed the unofficial ambassador of tourism for this southeastern Tennessee city moved here in 1987 and owns a restaurant-bar and a bed-and-breakfast inn.

His recordings include the songs “I Loved ‘Em Every One” and “Slow Burn.”