Last week started like this…
A particularly tough Monday morning
Then this happened at the end of the week…
Occupational hazard… Guess what… A crushed barb still has a little bit of barb.
And there was a little of this in between…
Now that’s what we’re talking about!
It was just a very strange March when winter just wouldn’t let go but there were constant teases of good weather and fishing along the way. In fact, this short video sums it up. Here are some blood root near our house that started to bloom but decided to call it off half way through.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/Doj3ocoLUdk[/youtube]
At the moment this week is looking better than last but with another set of issues. A quick look at the stream levels shows the creeks are more or less unfishable today. You can always find some spots to jerk streamers on the creeks, but that’s not the dry fly fishing everybody is crazy about in April.
In the plus column it looks like flows have finally stabilized on the tailwaters so anyone who has an itch to fish on the Clinch, Hiwassee, Holston, or others should find plenty of water to satisfy themselves.
Up to this point we’ve seen about an hour or two a day of some really good hatches in the Smokies but it seems like there were often more bugs than willing fish. This should change soon as the water will be much warmer this week than last. The same goes for the tailwaters where the fish and bugs should enjoy a more stabilized schedule.
Casey says
We sure had a great time on Saturday. +1 to R&R for the great experience. You put us on plenty of fish and did a great job getting the flies out of the trees when we were in pursuit. I’ve heard that this is an addicting hobby and am actually headed up today to get my fix. Hopefully the water level is cooperating. Thanks again, and I look forward to next time.