It’s been a phenomenal spring season here in the Smoky Mountains. The forest is greening up more and more everyday and the slopes are carpeted with wildflowers. Bears have gone from absent to relatively common. And of course, dry fly fishing has come on strong… Water levels have been very good. We’ve seen very little […]
Spring Fly Fishing Arrives in East Tennessee
Spring officially arrived this weekend and it sure felt like it under warm, sunny skies. Beautiful weather here in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains made for a great few days of fly fishing. The catching was anywhere from fair to excellent depending on your exact location, but the fishing was phenomenal after a long […]
Spring is Here! We’re Fishing with Our Sleeves Rolled Up
It’s been in the 60’s and we’ve been fishing without a jacket. In fact, we’ve had our sleeves rolled up. There are bugs on the stream, but the fish haven’t quite gotten on them just yet. Every nice run or pool has yielded a rise, but as of yesterday (March 9) we still haven’t seen […]
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 […]
Spring Hatches Kick Off; Excellent Stream Flows in the Smokies
Fly fishing for trout is pretty good all over East Tennessee right now. Streams inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park are fishing great, water levels are excellent, and tailwater flows are pretty good. In short, life is good. No doubt Tom at Trout Underground will believe those of us fortunate enough to live a in […]
Quill Gordons? Almost…
It was a beautiful weekend for fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee. Temperatures topped out over 70 degrees and we all have a big case of spring fever. Our guide season is officially under way, but we’re still fishing almost everyday to take advantage of the great conditions. We started fishing dry […]
Icy Weekend on Smoky Mountain Streams
It was a cold weekend; one better suited to ice fishing than fly fishing here in the Smoky Mountains. Overnight temperatures were below zero high in the mountains and daytime highs were only in the 20’s. Needless to say, fishing wasn’t worth it, but we went out to see the rivers and streams. Water just […]
First Snow in the Smokies, Great Dry Fly Fishing, & Good Fishing Continues on the Clinch
We’ve been on the water almost every day which is why we haven’t posted a report in a while. East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains have reached peak fall color and the fly fishing has been great for the most part. There was a lull in the fishing earlier this week after the first snowfall […]
Clinch River Fishing Well; Trout Rising to Olives in the Smokies
We’ve floated the Clinch a few times this week and it has been fishing very well. Both generators are down at Norris Dam and TVA is sluicing a steady flow of 420 cfs. That is, they have a gate cracked to keep a steady flow. The result has been great for fishing. While water is […]
Smokies Fishing Well; Fishing Report from the Rocky Mountains
Rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ike brought some beneficial rain to the Smoky Mountains without creating any flooding. A touch of fall is in the air now that overnight temperatures are sinking into the 50’s and afternoon temperatures are in the 70’s in the mountains. Dry fly fishing is good right now. The basic […]