Every day that has gone by has seen the fishing improve a little bit. Today it was the warmest, sunniest day we’ve seen since last October with temperatures around 70. The water was a little high still and the morning fishing was still on the slow side, but every fishy spot you could drift a fly this afternoon was met with a trout.
Charity captured this beautiful rise this afternoon
Our spring hatches are starting a little late due to all the cold weather we had for the past month. Now that’s creating a little bit of a traffic jam with several types of insects hatching at the same time. We’re seeing Early Brown Stones, Quill Gordons, and Blue Quills. Right now our favorite flies are Haystacks, Mr Brownstone, and of course, Parachute Adams. Stick with Pat’s Nymph, Pheasant Tail, Prince Nymph, and Tellico Nymph while there aren’t any bugs on the water.
Mountain streams are falling every day and getting better all the time. We have some more rain in the forecast this Thursday and Friday but the latest forecast is downplaying the chances for any heavy rain. That’s not only good for the streams but the tailwaters.
A Quill Gordon rests after hatching while an angler fishes a dry fly in the distance
Right now the tailwater situation is pretty bleak but that can change very quickly this time of year. The main problem is that heavy rains coupled with melting snow filled up the reservoirs pretty quickly and we’ve just entered into the rainy season in the Tennessee Valley. TVA wants to lower those reservoir levels to be able to have some buffer to prevent flooding in the event of heavy rains. That means that the dams are pushing as much water as possible. Hopefully that won’t last much longer as we’re usually floating the big rivers by now.
We’ll keep you posted.