We still haven’t seen what we’d call “hot” weather, but wet wading season has arrived. Overnight temperatures aren’t as cold and afternoons are pretty warm. Couple that with reduced stream flows where you don’t wade very deep and there’s not much reason to wear a full set of waders. This allows anglers to hike in […]
Smokies Fisheries Population Counts Show Effects of Floods
We’ve been on the water volunteering with the national park fisheries biologists this summer. As always we try to pass on anything we’ve learned. One thing that is quite clear from looking at the fish populations is that winter floods of the past few years have had a noticeable impact. We participated in a population […]
Smoky Mountain Brook Trout Film Preview
We’ve been involved with a great crew of filmmakers based out of Nashville who are making a film out native Smoky Mountain brook trout. They still have quite a way to go before it’s complete, but we’re finally getting our first look. We’re biased, but it looks awesome! Have a look:
The Day We’ve All Been Waiting For
We just received a press release from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and even though we had a good idea it was happening soon, it’s still great news. Lynn Camp Prong, as well as every other stream in the Smokies, is now open to fishing. In fact, in the history of the park this is the […]
Quick Pic: Backcountry Speck
A colorful brook trout from the Smoky Mountain backcountry
Hiking & Fly Fishing for Brook Trout: A Change of Pace
After a solid week of float trips on the Holston and a weekend at TroutFest I scored a couple of days off. Besides sleeping a little later than I would if I was hitching up the drift boat, I spent some time with Charity and the kids. Yesterday Charity and I packed up the kids […]
A Look Back at Spring Fishing & Our Summer Fly Fishing Forecast for East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains
The big news is that the drought is officially over. In fact, we’re currently running a rainfall surplus here in East Tennessee. This has not only brought our stream levels back to normal, but also has implications for fly fishing on the tailwaters. Smoky Mountain Streams Spring hatches started strong with Quill Gordon mayflies in […]
Best Fly Fishing in the Smokies in Several Years
We’ve been hard at it, guiding almost every day. In fact, we usually have a couple of trips out on the river. We took a few days off about a week ago to put a booth in at the Townsend TroutFest, but other than that we’ve been on the water. Water levels in the Smoky […]
OK… Enough of the Cold, Dreary Weather
It’s been a couple of days of cold, gray, and wet days on the rivers and streams. The fishing has been decent, but more sporadic through the day than consistent. Fishing in the Smokies has been best in the afternoons and water levels are workable. Nymphs are the way to go in the mornings, but […]
Volunteer for Trout in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Here are a few opportunities to volunteer to help fisheries biologists in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and have a great time along the way. You spend time with people who are experts on Smoky Mountain trout and see some amazing things. We try to set aside a few days each year to help out. […]