We’re back home from the Rockies, but the weather is virtually the same as what we left in Montana and Idaho. Overnight temperatures have been down in the 30’s up in the Smokies with the highest peaks falling into the 20’s. Daytime temperatures are in the high 60’s or low 70’s so it’s the perfect […]
Dry & Cool on the Stream plus Update from Yellowstone
Conditions are dry but relatively cool across the Smoky Mountain region of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Fly fishing will be best on the Tennessee side of the Smokies and on the tailwaters. Cataloochee is at or near record low flows right now. The Oconaluftee is a little better, but still quite low. Little […]
Fly Tying: The Hi-Vis Parachute Blue Wing Olive
Fall is almost upon us and with it comes some great dry fly fishing. Rising trout in the fall are more difficult to coax to a dry fly than they are in the spring. Spring hatches are usually more robust with more bugs on the water. Additionally, the bugs are much larger. Low water conditions […]
Fly Fish With Dropper Rigs to Catch More Trout
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 […]
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 Video: Casting to Rising Trout
As promised in my post from the other day, here’s some video from our float on the Holston River here in East Tennessee. There are some beautiful clips of rising trout. Those of you have been with us and missed a good number of fish might really enjoy this. Charity hooks up more than I […]
Fun with Rising Trout plus a Few Smallmouth Bass on Poppers
 Yesterday Charity and I hitched up the drift boat and headed over to the Holston River. Our original intent was to focus our attention on smallmouth bass, but we were in a section of the river that has good trout populations in addition to smallies. We put the boat in the river and the water […]
Good Water Levels in the Smokies and East Tennessee
We had some soaking rains over the weekend and water levels are pretty good right now in the Smokies. Fly fishing last Sunday was a bit streaky as the morning started off rainy, weather cleared around noon, then a strong front with thunderstorms closed in during the afternoon. A number of runs were pretty stingy […]
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 […]
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 […]