I’m a tad reluctant to say fishing has been excellent. We’re in the hottest part of summer and still in the dry grip of a drought that just won’t seem to break, even steering a tropical storm around us. However, I’ve got to say that everywhere we’ve been fishing this week has been pretty good! […]
Fly Fishing for Brookies in the Smoky Mountain Wildnerness
Now that school has started back up there’s a bit of a lull in the guiding. That’s usually the way it goes, busy through spring and summer, a lull in mid-August, the rush of Labor Day weekend, then another lull as college football gets going strong in September. The cool weather and autumn color of […]
Backcountry Brook Trout, a Tailwater Float, and SNAKE!!!
It’s been an extremely busy week here in the fly fishing mines of the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee. We’ve spent several days guiding anglers in some out of the way streams in the Smokies, helped park biologists monitor a brook trout stream one day, and did a float on the Holston on another. I […]
Fly Fishing for Smoky Mountain Brook Trout
I was able to squeeze in a day of hiking a fishing between several days of guiding this week. I’ve been trying to fish as many of the formerly closed brook trout streams as I can. This has been something of a quest over the past few years since these streams opened. The vast majority […]
Fly Fishing in the Smokies Perks Up After Recent Rains
We’ve gotten thunderstorms with heavy rains 3 afternoons this week. This has allowed us plenty of time for fishing while bringing the stream levels up from a relatively low point. Overnight temperatures in the Smokies have been in the 50’s and this has also helped to perk up the fish. High temperatures on Friday remained […]
A Guide’s Day Off on Remote Brook Trout Water
Nobody has an office with a better view… It’s been a long season of guiding so far. I don’t think there are many tears shed for us while we spend most of our days on trout streams in the Smoky Mountains or floating the tailwaters in a drift boat. Still we don’t get to actually […]
Stream levels up after recent rains
Newfound Gap Road after a drenching rain I’m happy to report that this has been the rainiest few days in the Smoky Mountains I can remember over the past few years. It hasn’t been raining continuously but we’ve been getting some good afternoon thunderstorms. Stream levels inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Nantahala National […]
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 […]
Biggest Brook Trout Restoration Yet to Take Place in the Smokies
Fisheries biologists at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are planning the most ambitious restoration of native brook trout they have ever undertaken. Lynn Camp Prong, in the Tremont section of the Smokies, will be restored upstream of Lynn Camp Cascades. Brook trout will soon be common in Lynn Camp Prong near Townsend, TN Brook trout […]
Stop the Spread of Invasive Species Like Didymo & Whirling Disease
One of the biggest threats to our fisheries is the spread of invasive aquatic species. Whirling disease, the New Zealand mud snail, and Didymo have all either impacted trout fisheries or pose a potential risk to their survival. Tennessee’s trout fisheries are not immune to these invaders, but their spread is preventable. It requires action […]