It’s been a whirlwind season for us up to this point. Our spring guide season was as busy as ever with the added wrinkle of Ian’s recovery from knee surgery. Charity handled most of the wade trips in the Smokies while Ian was relegated to strict duty in the drift boat until he was fit for wading again. Fortunately everything is back to normal and Ian is back on the stream in the Smokies as well as behind the oars on the big rivers.
We’ve been pretty slack about posting on the blog with all the guided trips plus our kids’ school activities clumping up as the year came to an end. It’s hard to believe June is almost here.
A hefty float trip rainbow trout poses for the camera before heading home
Eric Hustedt shows off a solid rainbow trout on a cool day last week
While we’re experiencing some low water levels right now, we have plenty of rain in the forecast. It’s just in the form of afternoon thunderstorms and most of them are missing the Tennessee side of the Smokies. The Little River watershed is actually coming close to record low flows for this date, but we’re not particularly concerned as it’s almost a certainty that our number will eventually come up with all the rain coming so frequently. We’re fast approaching what is the wettest time of year in the Smokies and that usually comes in the form of daily thunderstorms so we don’t expect these low water levels to last for much longer.
A particularly good looking brook trout in the Smokies
We’ve seen some great dry fly fishing in the Smokies and that has continued with the arrival of summer weather. We’ve been leaving the waders at home and been wet wading as it’s more comfortable, plus there’s something special about feeling the water run past your legs.
Ben Clark getting the drift on a backcountry stream in the Smokies