We’ve returned from Yellowstone and it’s late September in the Smokies. There’s a bit of fall in the air, but the weather is currently more “late summer” than fall. However, the equinox is upon us and the nights are so much longer than they were in June. The mornings are very cool too, usually in the 50’s on the stream and maybe even down in the 40’s on the mountain tops.
We get a lot of questions this time of year concerning how long the fishing holds up, are dry flies good, and how to dress. First of all, fly fishing in the Smokies remains very good well into November. Every year it seems like Thanksgiving week is when there seems to be a significant slow down. That doesn’t mean fishing is bad, but it tends to go from very good to okay based on colder weather. Fishing will usually remain quite good as long as the weather remains mild. Mornings may not fish great, but afternoons usually fish really well.
The Smokies have an incredibly fortunate quirkiness…. The fish seem to eat dry flies about as well if not better than nymphs for a good chunk of the season. Autumn absolutely falls into this category. The trout are up eating a variety of midges, caddis and small mayflies off the surface. This isn’t a great time for large #12 dry flies, but #14 – 18 work very well. We often use a small dropper nymph in the morning but might cut them off in the afternoon when the fish are rising well.
Dressing in layers is very important in the fall. Expect mornings to be cool, but you will probably get pretty warm by the afternoon when the sun gets up over the ridgeline. Also be sure to remember how much you move and exert when fishing the Smokies. You’ll work up a sweat climbing around those boulders!
Everyone has a slightly different timetable for wearing waders. We tend to wade wet until water temperatures are down into the 50’s and air temperatures are in the 60’s or less for most of the day. If water levels are low and we’re hiking in, we might continue to wade wet since we won’t be in the water very often. Regardless, do whatever you’re comfortable with! We stand in cold water for a living and wear sandals in the winter, so you probably have a different personal thermostat.
Have you seen we’re heading to Patagonia in February? It will be summer in the southern hemisphere and trout in the Andes will active! Check out our trip and email or call us with any questions.
