The weather is beautiful, fall colors are peaking, and the trout are rising. What else could anybody want from a day in the Smokies? We just returned from four days on Hazel Creek and conditions were absolutely perfect. There may have been a few fish caught on nymphs but we spent the bulk of our […]
Classic Fall Fishing in the Smokies
Now that the wet weather is behind us, the streams have fallen into shape, and the fall foliage is at its peak we’re seeing some classic fall fishing. So far it’s just like we remember; nymphs in the morning and switch over to dry flies once the sun gets on the water. The bugs hatching […]
Henry’s Fork 2014 Trip Summary and Photos
We made our annual September pilgrimage to Yellowstone Country by way of TroutHunter Lodge on the Henry’s Fork in Idaho. We’ve been going to the Yellowstone area since 1996 but this was the fourth year TroutHunter has served as our base of operations for fishing the Henry’s Fork, the Madison River in Montana, several rivers […]
Back to Great Fall Weather
We’re back to normally scheduled fall weather here in the Smokies. Last week we received well over a month’s worth of rain in about a day and our rivers and streams looked like it. We scrambled to reschedule guide trips that could be rescheduled and cancelled those that couldn’t. The Smokies saw some of […]
An Unusually Wet October
Directly on the heels of the driest September on record we’re in the midst of an unusually wet October in East Tennessee. Once again this proves my statistician friend, Doug Sanders, point that things tend to average out. We’ve already exceeded our normal rainfall total for October and we’re looking at some significant rain on […]
Fall Fly Fishing in East Tennessee and the Smokies
We’ve been home from the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone Country for just one week but it seems like it’s been much longer than that as we’re embroiled in our fall guiding rush. Autumn has arrived in the Smokies as we’re seeing more color in the park everyday and we’ve already seen the first frost of […]
Tailwater Flows Ramp Up As Autumn Arrives in the Smokies
It looks like the powers that be at TVA are cranking up flows on our tailwaters this week. Norris reservoir should start falling fast so hopefully flows will level off in a week or two. Meanwhile the weather is really cooling off in the Smokies. In fact there will be a few peaks where overnight […]
Fly Fishing Around Elk This Fall
Fall fishing is almost here, but so is the elk rut. Anyone who will be fly fishing over at Cataloochee or Oconaluftee this fall should probably take a quick look at this video posted by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. Honestly, it’s mostly common sense, but we’ve spent a considerable amount of time fishing around […]
The Slaw Dog: Gas Station Delicacy Adored By Fly Fishers in the Smokies
If you’ve spent much time fly fishing around Townsend there’s a good chance you may have eaten a slaw dog down at the Parkway Grocery. I’ve lived and worked in Townsend since 1994 and the place is a part of my daily routine. I get sausage or country ham biscuits there in the morning on […]
Damp & Mild Conditions Across East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains
The weather across East Tennessee has been in a rut lately. Almost daily it’s partly cloudy and rains somewhere. Some days rain coverage is widespread, but more often it’s a patchwork over the area primarily popping up over the mountains and the northern reaches toward Kentucky and Virginia. As far as late summer weather goes […]