Spring arrives today, and with it has come a hard freeze in the Smokies. That’s pretty typical this time of year. Sunny and 70 degrees one day, windy with rain the next, freezing the day after that…. All part of a Smoky Mountain spring.
We’re seeing the first real hatches of spring, sporadic as they are
The first good hatches of the year have started and seemed to take their sweet time arriving this year. The earliest hatches are always a bit unreliable. Relatively heavy one day and sparse the next. Sometimes the trout are really on them with only a few on the water while somewhat ignorant of their presence during some good hatches. Everything smooths out after a couple of weeks and the hatches tend to be a bit more reliable and the fish more aware of the bugs.
Fishing is still the best in the afternoons when the weather has warmed and the bugs begin hatching. Still, mornings are necessarily pointless. Just expect the fish activity to correlate pretty tightly with the overnight temperatures. Cold nights will feature slow fishing in the morning and mild nights will usually have a few active fish in the morning. Regardless of how the morning fishes you can expect better activity in the afternoons when the water is at its warmest.
A chunky wild rainbow trout caught on a dry fly during an afternoon hatch
There’s a real variety of bugs out there right now. Expect to see some Early Brown Stoneflies buzzing around as well as a variety of mayflies and a few small caddis. The biggest variation will be in the mayflies, ranging from the #12 Quill Gordons to the #18 Blue Quills or Blue Wing Olives. All will be pretty dark in color. A #12 Adams or Parachute Adams is always good this time of year along with traditional Catskill style Quill Gordon dry flies. Stimulators are also good because of the stoneflies and fish well with a #14-16 dropper nymph.
Just about any nymph you like in #14-16 will work pretty well right now, but the most basic ones seem to always be the best. Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears, Tellicos, and just about anything else you might like seem to work well. The super bright nymphs/eggs/worms used on the delayed harvest waters do work on the wild fish, but the more drab flies are much more in line with what they see and eat on a daily basis.
Our new guide book has finally arrived and we’ve been all consumed with signing and shipping them out. We still have a few 5×7 giclee prints of one of Ian’s watercolors that we’re putting in with all orders while they last. Furthermore, anyone who orders in time will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win a 8×10 print of Ian’s art. The drawing will be on April 1, 2024. Order the book here!
Kim Keith says
Received my book and couldn’t be happier! Wonderful updated info and pics of the part and other locations. I’ve fished with Ian three times now and am without a doubt a better angler for having spent a few days under his tutelage. I consider R and R Fly Fishing the best in the business for guides in the Smokies. I very much look forward to my next trip to the “peaceful side of the Smokies “.