It’s August here in East Tennessee and you can tell it from the weather as well as the flows on the tailwaters. It’s hot and that goes without saying. At least it’s not so hot as it was about the end of June nor so hot as many other locations in the country. TVA has […]
Sometimes You Have to Suffer For the Fish
All too often the magazines show pictures of anglers holding big drippy trout, but rarely is the real story behind the fish told. Let’s start with Tom Ellison’s hero shot of a 19″ rainbow trout he recently caught on a float with Ian. It really was the stuff of legend. The fish ate a #18 […]
Return of the Fishing Report
It’s been a wild and busy summer season for us here in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. As many of you know who have been following us for years, fishing reports can get few and far between during our busy times, but this year has probably been our worst yet. Ian’s view from the […]
Quick Pics: Recent Floats
It’s been a looooonnnnnnngggg string of float trips for Ian lately as he’s been on the oars every day for several weeks with the exception of Mother’s Day and TroutFest. Hatches have been a little off this spring, but nymphing remains good. These are some very nice specimens, but all the best fish pics were […]
Excellent Fishing on the Tailwaters and in the Smokies
We’ve spent the past week floating the big rivers and wading in several locations across the Smokies. For the most part we’ve had excellent success. Even on the days when things were a little tougher we’d manage to get on a hot streak late in the day. This angler couldn’t resist watching risers as we […]
Some Big Moments for Our Anglers
We’re in the full rush of our guide season and on the river almost every day. I managed to sit one out after 13 consecutive days behind the oars or wading the creek. It was a good to get a day in to recover a bit, but the fishing has been so good we’ve been […]
Peak of the Season on the Tailwaters & In the Smokies
It’s early May and we’re on the water almost every day guiding fly fishers on the big tailwater rivers and on the creeks up in the Smokies. It’s prime time as far as we’re concerned and we’re happy to say the fish are cooperating on most days. There have been a couple relatively tough days […]
Quick Pic: Big Tailwater Rainbow
It’s that time of year. Every day we’re on the water whether it’s up in the Smokies or rowing the drift boat on one of the local tailwaters. Dry fly fishing has been spotty on the tailwaters, but nymph fishing has been very consistent. Caddis hatches are spotty on the Holston and Sulphurs are primarily […]
Quick Pic: Scenery From the Drift Boat
Yes, the fishing this week from the drift boat has been phenomenal. It’s been one of those weeks when the fishing has been so good I know I’ll pay for it later when I’m having to massage a full day of fishing out of marginal generation schedules or labor through incredibly hot days when even […]
How Are the Tailwaters Fishing? Pretty Good…
It’s been a well known fact that fishing in the Smokies has been pretty good. Heck, it’s April, so it’s more or less a given that the streams in the Smokies should be fishing well. But the tailwaters? How are they fishing? Two fish in the net at once? That might be enough for most […]