Good Fishing, Few Bugs, & Some Bird Watching

We’ve spent a lot of time out on the water over the past few days. It’s that time of year and we have a full week of bookings next week.

Yesterday Charity and I were both on Little River. There weren’t many bugs hatching, but the fish would certainly rise to a good drift. There were some brown stoneflies laying eggs on the water throughout the morning, but for some reason these guys just don’t seem to get the fish up.

Parachute Adams and Haystacks kept the trout up for us all day long. I was upstream of Elkmont. The water is a little on the high side up there, but quite fishable.

This bald eagle kept vigil as we ate lunch today

Floated the Holston today and there was very little insect activity. It was a breezy day and it was a real challenge to keep the boat positioned properly while my anglers struggled to cast in the wind. Fortunately the fish were on nymphs and we were able to stay hooked up more than enough to make it worth the effort.

We saw a couple of bald eagles on the river today, but were able to observe an immature eagle at relatively close range while we ate lunch. I first saw the eagle when he swooped down on a lone Canada goose. The goose saw him coming and was able to make a last minute dodge to deter the attack.

The photos I was able to take were with a telephoto lens, but we were within 100′. Bald
eagles have this coloration until they’re three years old. After that they develop the white head and tail.

Keep checking in and we’ll keep posting reports and photos!