We usually see spectacular dry fly conditions from October well into November but things were pretty well cut short this year. About two weeks ago we received an unusually early heavy snow in the Smokies and plenty of cold air to follow. The resulting cold water has kept the fish relatively sluggish and I started […]
Changes in the Weather
We had a spectacular weekend of weather here in the Smoky Mountains and things will remain very nice here for a few more days but change is on the way. We’ve been seeing frosty nights in the mountains with warm, sunny afternoons but a big cool down is on the way. It looks like afternoon […]
It’s That Time of Year in the Smokies
It’s that time of year in the Smokies and we’re finally starting to see some spawning brown trout in our local streams. It’s likely that the sudden cold snap and melting snow that dropped water temperatures better than 15 degrees in about 24 hours caused a delay. It’s hard to tell from this since there […]
And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Autumn Weather
After an impressive early season winter storm in the Smokies it looks like this week will be much more in line with what we’d expect for early November. When you live in East Tennessee two feet of snow is a big deal, but it really hits home when one of your Western guide buddies who […]
A Snowy Weekend in the Smokies
We often joke that we watch the weather more than farmers since we make our living and spend most of our time outside. So it caught our attention a few days back when the forecast called for a dusting of snow in the Smokies. The weather man was very careful to advise people there was […]
The Peak of Fall Fly Fishing in the Smokies
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 […]
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 wildlife in the Smokies
Here’s another beautifully filmed piece from the Great Smoky Mountains Association. Take a two minute vacation to the Smokies to see bugling elk, black bears, and wild turkeys in the autumn. [youtube]http://youtu.be/Tu-pUpQE-oc[/youtube]