Wet Weather in the Smokies is Keeping Stream Levels Optimal for Fly Fishing

We’ve been in a bit of a wet weather pattern for over a year now. That’s had mixed results on the fishing in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. River fishing on the large tailwaters has been spotty at best because of high flows. Typically we’re in a pretty predictable pattern in June. We usually see low water early in the day and high water in the afternoons when generators turn on. Unfortunately we’ve seen almost nothing but high water for some time with only brief breaks here and there. Fortunately this has had a good impact on stream fishing in the Smokies.

A regular scene lately here in the Smokies

we’ve had very few complete blow out days in the Smokies since spring in spite of all the wet weather. Most of our rain has come in the form of passing thunderstorms which is quite normal during the summer. Several severe droughts over the past 15 years have left predominant memories of low flows during the summer. This isn’t the case this summer and fishing has been very good!

Dry fly fishing has been a staple for us as it often is here in the Smokies, but we’re using dropper rigs with #16 beadhead nymphs regularly. While most of the takes we’re getting are on the dry fly, there are enough takes on the nymph to maintain our interest. Furthermore, some of the best fish we’re hooking are coming on the nymph, even if them make up less than one in four strikes on most days.

A solid wild rainbow hooked on the nymph in a small stream

Our daughter Willow shows off a nice wild brown trout she caught on a dry fly

We’re having lots of fun this year getting our own kids out on the water. This has been a blast and it’s important for us to pass along a meaningful connection to nature to them.

We’ve had some small town excitement here in Townsend lately as we’ve seen our first elk pass through. A couple of weeks ago I saw a pair of bull elk near Newfound Gap just inside North Carolina. Charity saw them just a few days later. Last year we saw a pair of bulls at the Chimneys trailhead. They eventually made their way back to Cherokee, NC.

The pair of young bull elk grazing along Newfound Gap Road near the state line a couple of weeks ago

This pair made their way to Sugarlands Visitor Center just outside of Gatlinburg. That’s where they split up. One reportedly stayed in that area while the other worked its way over to Little River and moved downstream. There were reports of it near Meigs Falls one day and it showed up  just off of Wears Valley Road in Townsend the next.

We haven’t seen or heard anything else in several days, but are excited to see these large animals moving this way after becoming abundant near Cherokee. We expect to see more migrate from Cherokee as they moved there from Cataloochee as their population grew. The original herd of 52 animals re-introduced into Cataloochee Valley has swelled to over 200 and spread along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherokee and Bryson City, NC. There are spotty reports of them higher up also near the Appalachian Trail.