Fly fishers will be up against some pretty big obstacles this week in the Smokies and on the tailwaters. Water levels are still exceptionally low in the Smoky Mountains. There are, however, regular afternoon rain showers which are preventing temperatures from rising to critical levels. The best thing to do would be to head for […]
Water levels at normal levels in the Smokies (for now)
Hard to say how long things will stick, but water levels are actually quite good! We had some heavy rains in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Water levels had rebounded a bit by that time, but the big rain actually made things pretty muddy and made the water high. Little River was really chugging […]
Rain improves fishing in the Smokies
The Smoky Mountains are living up to their name thanks to recent rains. We’re thrilled to report that we’ve had rain everyday this week. Most of the storms have been relatively short, but there have been more widespread rains all week and some have been heavy. Stream levels have responded and while things are still […]
Guides’ Day Off in the Tennessee Smokies
I’m not really sure how we managed it, but Charity and I realized last night that neither of us had anything on the calendar for today. We got up at the same time, filled the fly boxes, packed the cooler, and added our daughter Willow to the fishing gear. We decided on a family hike […]
Fly Fishing Way Up Little River, Great Smoky Mountains
Yesterday I picked up Barry Greene at Elkmont Campground for a day of fishing in the Smokies. Barry has fished a number of times in the park with mixed success. Recent rains have brought the water level up a little. Still not perfect, but anything is better than what we’ve had. Somewhere between Huskey Branch […]
It rains on Tennessee trout streams while we fish for smallmouth
We got some rain in the Smokies yesterday and some more today. There is a decent chance of rain tomorrow as well. Unfortunately showers have been relatively short and remain localized so some streams have received more than others. Little River had a mild surge today with some color kicked up, but it fell back […]
Brook Trout in the Great Smoky Mountains Backcountry
What do you do when you’re a busy fly fishing guide with a day off in the summer? Head to water you haven’t fished in a long time. After several consecutive days of guiding Charity had a couple of side projects to tend to so I headed off into the backcountry alone. Beautiful water full […]
Fly Fishing the Pigeon River & French Broad for Smallmouth Bass
This is that time of year when we’ve been on Smoky Mountain trout streams and several of Tennessee’s tailwaters more than we can remember. It’s always about now when we start to fish new places for some variety and smallmouth bass are a fun way to still go fishing while doing something a little bit […]
Rain in Tennessee & Good Fishing in the Smokies
I met Claude Mayer and David Howell just outside of Pigeon Forge today and headed to the Greenbrier section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had some rain yesterday evening here at Townsend and from my deck I could see storm clouds from Thunderhead Mountain all the way north beyond Clingman’s Dome. I was […]
Low Water Conditions in the Smokies
Water conditions are low in the Smokies, not the lowest we’ve ever seen, but still low. We’re actually getting some rainfall several days a week. The Smoky Mountains shove warm, moist air high into the stratosphere where it condenses into thunderheads that provide brief showers. The problem is that the rain showers are relatively brief […]
