There’s no doubt that it feels like fall in the Smokies. Overnight lows last night dipped into the 40’s in Townsend which means they were well down into the 30’s in the higher elevations. Water temperature on Little River in Townsend has even fallen down into the 50’s. Waders might even be necessary for the next few days even though we expect things to warm back up a little bit.
Dry fly fishing is great in the Smokies in the fall when fish feed on the surface
You can probably expect reasonably slow fishing in the morning until this cooler weather is more normal. Right now the fish are probably a bit put off by the chill and will be more active in the afternoons.
Water levels are a little high for September at the moment, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. September and October typically feature the lowest water of the year so a little extra can help out.
All the basic dry flies and nymphs will remain good. It will be hard to beat a Parachute Adams in #14-16 but expect to downsize to #16-18 as water levels fall and insects get smaller moving into October. Caddis will become more common over time and you may even see a sporadic October Caddis, a large peach colored fly.
October Caddis are relatively common from September through November
Right now we’re on our annual September sojourn to the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone country. We’ll meet our group at TroutHunter on the Henry’s Fork next week but are spending this week on the Yellowstone River in the general proximity of Livingston, Montana. We spent some time with our friend and noted artist Parks Reece. We took a hike with him and that allowed him to show us one of his favorite things, prairie rattlesnakes.
We done a bit of fishing the past few days but will really get things cranked up starting today. We’ll keep you posted!