January was a cruel month for those of us who enjoy spending time outdoors and on the streams of the Great Smoky Mountains. While we didn’t see record cold or unprecedented snowfall, we did experience a lengthy cold snap coupled with roads closed for icy conditions. And that was AFTER an extremely rare high water […]
Fly Fishing in the Smokies Slows Down with the Cold Weather
It’s officially the slow season here in the Smokies. It’s nearly 8:00 AM when the sun peaks up over the mountains and it’s dark shortly after 5:00. Overnight temperatures here in Townsend are regularly in the 20’s and 30’s but much colder up on the crest of the Smokies. Water temperatures have been hovering somewhere […]
The Fall Fishing Season Comes to a Close
It was a busy November here in the Smokies with a roller coaster ride of temperatures. We had several mornings of hard frost with lows waaay down in the 20’s, but the weather was quite pleasant overall. There were even a couple of days with record high temperatures near 80 in the afternoon. The big […]
Autumn In The Smokies Is In Full Swing
The Smoky Mountains managed to miss out on the extreme heat experienced by so much of the nation this summer, but fall has certainly arrived. This past week the tops of the Smokies received the first frost of the season and we’ve even had one wake up temperature of 39 on our porch in Townsend. […]
September Wraps Up Summer Fishing Before Fall Arrives
We’re on the backside of summer, at least as far as vacation schedules go. We’re still experiencing summer weather but that will all change soon. A few buckeyes and acorns have started dropping, but those aren’t the only signs of autumn. Bull elk on the North Carolina side of the Smokies have moved down from […]
Good Conditions Continue to Hold Up in the Smokies
Here we are in August and the good water conditions continue to hold up. August is generally the low point of the fishing season between spring and autumn. The best fishing in the Smokies is way up high during the hottest weeks of the summer. That’s the case this year, but good flows and relatively […]
Classic Spring Fly Fishing in the Smokies
It’s been a phenomenal spring season here in the Smoky Mountains. The forest is greening up more and more everyday and the slopes are carpeted with wildflowers. Bears have gone from absent to relatively common. And of course, dry fly fishing has come on strong… Water levels have been very good. We’ve seen very little […]
Spring Fishing Coming Along in Fits and Starts
March has given us a real taste of winter after an exceptionally mild January and February. We started seeing some mayfly hatches last month and really expected an acceleration into March. However, we saw a resurgence of winter weather and our view has featured white capped mountains almost daily. The fishing has been pretty good, […]
The Wet Gray Cycle of Winter in the Smokies
This is among the toughest times of year for us. While we’ve had an admittedly mild winter, the fishing opportunities have just as intermittent as you’d expect from January in the Smokies. There has been a rolling cycle of mild and wet weather broken by clear and cold weather. As result the mildest weather is […]
Fall is Around the Corner
To be clear, there’s not much difference between the weather we’ve experienced this week and numerous days last summer. Overnight lows here in Townsend have been in the 60’s and afternoon highs in the 80’s. However, there have been no high 80’s nor any sign of 90’s in the forecast and we’ve even seen a […]