Water levels have settled down in the Smokies and the temperatures have started to rise setting off the chain reaction of hatching insects and rising trout. It’s time for fly fishing!
Our son Boone fishes a dry fly on a recent beautiful afternoon.
March and April are wet months in the Smokies, but recent rains have been much more in line with what we typically see. The flooding rains we saw in February are hopefully behind us now. Our guide season has also kicked off so we’re starting to spend more time on the water. Here’s what you can expect to see:
Brown Stoneflies are buzzing about on most days watch for them to be dipping to the water where they are laying eggs. An Orange Stimulator or Mr Brownstone are good imitations for them.
An Early Brown Stonefly on a hemlock bough along a stream in the Smokies
Quill Gordons are hatching in the afternoon. These large grayish tan mayflies always attract attention from the trout. Our favorite imitations for them are #12 Haystack, Parachute Quill Gordon, Blue Dun, Parachute Adams, Adams, or of course, a Quill Gordon.
It’s that time of year!
Blue Quills and Blue Wing Olives are smaller mayflies that you may see depending on the day and your location. If you want to be really cool you’ll need to downsize to a #18 Parachute Adams or Parachute Blue Wing Olive. However, this is not all that necessary and we’ve found many of those trout will eat a #14-16 that’s much easier to see.
A Blue Wing Olive
It’s really hard to go wrong by fishing nymphs and there are many good ones to choose from. We’re most likely to tie on a Beadhead Pheasant Tail or Zelon Nymph, but there are many good ones that fool fish in the Smokies. Also consider Tellico Nymph, Pat’s Nymph, Prince Nymph, and Copper John among many others.
The tailwater scene is still out of commission in our neighborhood, but that may change in a week or so. Flows are too high for good fishing now on the Clinch, Holston, and Hiwassee. Keep an eye for TVA to reduce flows as they’ll start raising reservoir levels. We’re still not sure how that will shake out though, but the mountains will provide even if the big rivers don’t.