The view toward Bryson City, NC from Deep Creek Overlook on Newfound Gap Road in the Smokies
We’re back to normally scheduled fall weather here in the Smokies. Last week we received well over a month’s worth of rain in about a day and our rivers and streams looked like it. We scrambled to reschedule guide trips that could be rescheduled and cancelled those that couldn’t. The Smokies saw some of the highest water of the year and took a few days to get back in shape.
Our tailwaters will see the effects of all this water for the remainder of the season since TVA now has much more water to drain from the reservoirs. If you’re a fisherman this means higher flows on the rivers which were already high.
On the plus side the creeks are in great shape, the weather is perfect now, and the fishing is pretty good. We’re nymphing in the mornings and casting dries in the afternoons.
Higher water than normal for October means we’re fishing some of the bigger pools more than we normally would. This is usually the “dry season” in the Smokies with low flows but we’re seeing flows closer to what we’d expect in spring and fishing water that’s similar as well. We expect water levels to continue to drop as there’s no rain in the extended forecast at all.
Some of the best days of the year are right now so get out while you can before the cold weather sets in.
