There’s no doubt about it. It’s the middle of summer in East Tennessee with hot weather, high humidity, and pop up thunderstorms. Fortunately the afternoon storms are keeping the heat contained, but the humidity out on the big rivers coupled with bright sunshine can be tough on a guy who rows a boat. Things are […]
Progress Report: Lynn Camp Prong Brook Trout Restoration in the Smokies
Last week Charity and I volunteered one day when the Great Smoky Mountains National Park fisheries biologists went to check on the brook trout population in Lynn Camp Prong. This stream was recently restored with native brook trout from other streams in the Smokies after all rainbow trout were removed from the stream. This is […]
Almost Too Much To Remember It All
It’s easy for us to know we’ve been guiding for months and on the water almost everyday. We can tell because we don’t know what day it really is. We know we’re supposed to meet Angler X at Location Y in the morning because that’s what the schedule says, but as far as what day […]
Scenes From A Day in the Life
We’re well into our “backcountry” fishing season here in the Smoky Mountains. Warm weather precludes the need for waders so it’s easier to hike in with only wading boots and a fly rod. Even as we really enjoy rowing the drift boat or instigating smallmouth bass to eat a popper, there’s something extra cool about […]
Wet Wading and Dry Flies in the Smokies
With the warm weather firmly in place here in the Smoky Mountain region we’ve been wading wet for some time. There was a day last week with scattered rain showers all day that we put the waders on since the cooler weather and lack of sunshine made for chilly wading, but we’re happy to feel […]
A Gray, Damp Week On the Water
It’s been a damp week out there, and that’s not a bad thing. As we always remind people, “Fish like water!” Unfortunately it’s been in short supply recently in East Tennessee so it’s nice to start seeing some rain. Charity and I were talking about it this morning that while we’ve not been particularly worried […]
The Summer Pattern
So far things are essentially what you would expect when fly fishing in June in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. We’re seeing they typical mid to high 80’s temperatures along with enough humidity to trigger afternoon thunderstorms. Most of East Tennessee has been pretty dry but the mountains have seen the bulk of the […]
Smoky Mountain Brook Trout And the Next Generation
Anyone who’s known us or followed us for very long knows we have a soft spot for wild, native brook trout here in the Smoky Mountains. These fish have persisted for thousands of years against everything Mother Nature and mankind has thrown at them. Even as their numbers have diminished significantly over the last century […]
The Back of Beyond
It’s about that time of the season when I look up and realize I’ve spent the past few weeks exclusively behind the oars of a drift boat and barely glanced at the Smoky Mountains in my backyard. This year I was well aware that this would happen and scheduled a backcountry death march backpacking trip with […]
Hit Or Miss Rain
They’re called “hit or miss” thunderstorms and showers for a reason. For the past week we’ve seen storms pop up all across East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, but we’ve largely missed most of them. That’s really nice when you’re in a drift boat and the alternative to sprinkles and thunder is crackling lightning overhead […]