Our latest installment of the Fly of the Month features a fly we use most of the year in the Smokies and is arguably our favorite fly. The Guide’s Choice Parachute Adams is a twist on the classic with a couple of changes in the materials. You’ll learn how we fish the fly and you’ll […]
Seasons Change to Summer on the River in East Tennessee
We’ve had a cool, wet spring season in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, but now it seems summer is upon us as we’ve had a pretty sunny week with warm temperatures in the 80’s. The Smokies are still fishing great and we’ve had at least one tailwater to chase trout. Sulphurs are showing up […]
Hatches in the Smokies
We’re sending this post out via the magic of scheduled posts as we’re hosting a group of anglers on Hazel Creek right now. Fortunately water levels seem to be hanging in there. A weak front with some rain and thunderstorms passed through on Wednesday and we were afraid we were on the verge of more […]
The End of the Season
Here we are on the Monday after Thanksgiving and things are just the same as always on this date. We’ve been guiding quite a bit up to this point, but it’s pretty well come to a screeching halt. Don’t get us wrong. We’ve truly enjoyed taking every last one of you fishing, but we’ll enjoy […]
Does It Get Any Better?
When the weather is this nice, the stream flows this good, and the fish are rising I can’t help but ask myself, “Can it get any better than this?” Of course, it probably can. The fish could be bigger, but how realistic is that anyway? And it that a piggish attitude when so much is […]
A Beautiful Week of Fall Fishing in the Smokies
All of the best things about fall are happening right now and they include great weather, beautiful surroundings, and dry fly fishing. Charity and I were both guiding in the Smokies this weekend and covered a good bit of water between us. The fish were very active and were certainly looking up, although it’s not […]
Rainy Monday in the Smokies
It’s a rainy Monday in the Smokies and I’ll be honest. We could use a little extra water in the streams about now. The creeks aren’t at crisis levels, but considering October is typically the dryest month of the year there are probably limited opportunities for more water. Here’s a firsthand look at water at […]
Fall Fishing Has Arrived
I’m writing this at my home in Townsend where it was 40 degrees on my porch this morning. Yesterday I did a float on the Clinch and I don’t think it was over 70 with clear, blue bird skies. The Smoky Mountain skyline seems to soften as the lower angle of the sun creates a […]
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 […]
Quick Pics: Dry Fly Brown Trout
Spring is here and the guide season has arrived with it. I did my first full day trip of 2012 and it was a good one. Fish were rising quite well and the few spots where we couldn’t rise a fish we often drew a strike on a nymph. We even managed to get a […]