Fly fishing with dropper rigs is one of the most effective methods for catching trout with flies. First, it allows a fly fisher to fish two different fly patterns which doubles your chances of fishing the right fly at the right time. Second, it makes it possible to have a fly in two places at […]
Summer fly fishing forecast for East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains
Fly fishing on the rivers of East Tennessee and the streams of the Smoky Mountains has been excellent this spring. Our fisheries seem to have only suffered minimal impacts from last year’s drought and water levels are excellent this year. Tailwater fishing was as good as we’ve seen it this spring. We’ve already moved into […]
Weather Begins to Heat Up, Fishing Continues to Hold Up
It’s been another busy week of guiding here in East Tennessee. Again, we’re covering a lot of water from the Holston River tailwater to creeks in the Smoky Mountains. The weather has really started to heat up, getting in the upper 80’s. It’s not that warm on the stream in the Smokies, but still warm. […]
Dogwood Winter settles over East Tennessee. Fly Fishing Continues to Hold Up for the Hardy
We’ve entered that short time frame known around East Tennessee as “Dogwood Winter”. It’s the brief cold snap that always seems to coincide with the blooming of dogwood trees. There’s even a light dusting of snow on the crest of the Smokies while shades of light green are creeping up the slopes from the lower […]
We Take a Break to Fly Fish the North Carolina Side of the Smokies
Last week Charity and I looked at the calendar and saw that this was the last week we had with much time off. After this week we’ll be guiding at least 5 days a week. (There’s still some availability if you need a guide, but you don’t want to wait any longer before booking a […]
Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Small Stream Success
This article first appeared in Fly Fishing & Tying Journal. The tips found in this article are especially critical to a fly fisher’s success catching trout in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. However, these methods will work on small streams anywhere. Most fly fishermen feel like there is more to fishing […]