Water levels have fallen on the mountain streams, but the tailwaters closest to us are still cranking. The Clinch and Holston are both running two or more generators. Even the Hiwassee which is pretty fishable in the winter is running hard. The South Holston and Watauga are the hot spots in East Tennessee right now. Not only are generation schedules favorable, but we’re hearing reliable reports of rising trout on the South Holston.
The rivers and streams in the Smokies are fishable, but cold weather is setting in fast. The water is frigid in the park and we only expect it to get colder. If this is the only time you can get out and do some fishing we suggest Abrams Creek in Cades Cove. Traffic is light on the loop road and the stream has a strong influence from subterranean springs so the water is almost always in the 40’s in the winter.
Charity prepares to wade in. Notice the high watermark on the right from last week's minor flood.
We got out on the water for only a few minutes today. We didn’t have much time and hit a spot close to our house on Little River in Townsend. Stripped some buggers in one of the pools where the state dumps a truckload of river chickens every so often. A few half hearted strikes, then we picked up the mail and went back to work.
We’re working on programs for fly fishing shows. We’ll be in Somerset, New Jersey in about a week and a half, Charlotte NC the week after that, and Cincinnati the following week. We’re also scheduled for appearances at Land O Sky Chapter Trout Unlimited in Asheville, NC and the Atlanta Fly Fishing Club later in March. We’re working on a couple of new programs for this year. One is about fly fishing with streamers and features content from our new book. We have another titled “Catch More Trout – Fly Fish Like A Predator”. We’re doing this one in Charlotte and Cincinnati and it features concepts we teach to anglers every day when we guide.