It’s been a bumpy ride so far this spring. The weather always has its ups and downs along with stream flows. Fishing has been the same; some days spectacular and other days….. meh. But the important thing is spring is here and so is the fishing! We’ve had a few high water problems in the […]
Dodging High Water to Fly Fish in East Tennessee
It’s March in East Tennessee which means we’re on the weather roller coaster! Warm days, cold days, wet days, and maybe some snow in the mountains. It’s all something to expect around here, so grab a BINGO card and start marking them off as they come. We had a pretty good dump of rain across […]
Spring Hatches Will Begin Any Day
It’s been a busy not to mention bitterly cold winter here in the Smokies. While what qualifies as extra cold in East Tennessee would surely get a snicker in Michigan, Maine, or the Northern Rockies we’re not exactly used to long periods of time when the warmest days are in the 30’s. That didn’t leave […]
We Wrap Up Another Great Season
It’s hard to believe, but for the most part we’re at the end of yet another season of fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee. There’s still some fishing left in 2017, but most of it’s behind us and we’re at the time of year when most people’s thoughts turn to family and […]
Shaping Up to Be a Great Fall Season in the Smokies
We’ve had an unusually cool late summer and experienced a couple of weeks of early fall temperatures here in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. In fact, with water temperatures in the high 50’s here in Townsend you know it’s much cooler up in the park so we brought our waders out of summer retirement […]
A New Book On the Way! Trout Flies for the Great Smoky Mountains and Surrounding Waters
We’ve been working on a new book and it will be out soon! It’s Trout Flies for the Great Smoky Mountains and Surrounding Waters – Advice From the Guides. This book showcases approximately 50 flies used around the Smoky Mountain region, tells you how to fish them, the best times to use them, and has […]
Late Summer Fishing Report from the Smokies and East Tennessee
August is here and it somehow doesn’t feel quite like late summer. The kids started school this week, we’ve seen relatively mild temperatures with a few mornings registering 59 degrees on the porch, and it seems like TVA has really bumped the flows on the big rivers. It’s feeling more like fall than summer, but […]
Wet Summer Keeps The Fishing Good In The Smokies
Compared to last year we’re in the middle of a pretty wet summer, but as I look at the stats we’re really on target for rain. Aside from one big system back in the spring our rainfall has been where it belongs. And that’s a good thing for fishing in the Smokies. Water levels have […]
DrakeCast Focuses on Smoky Mountain Wildfires
Our good friends over at the Drake have started a podcast and the second installment was done here in East Tennessee. Charity and I showed Elliot Adler around last February and did an interview on the stream. He also interviewed biologists and employees inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as the great folks […]
Mid Summer Fly Fishing Looking Good Across East Tennessee and the Smokies
We’re officially into summer now and happy to report fishing is looking good almost everywhere you look. A wet spring season made fishing pretty tricky, especially on our tailwater rivers which ran high for a pretty long time. In fact, we lost more float days due to high water this season than we’ve ever lost […]