This is usually our busiest time of the year for guiding, but we’re completely shut down. The national park is closed and Tennessee has mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses. We’re keeping busy with other projects. The kids have online school and are handling that exceptionally well. We’ve been staining our decks, a project […]
Fly Fishing, Wildlife and Outdoor Art
Very few people know this, but Ian dabbles in art. He draws quite a bit and works in watercolor as well. This has always just been strictly for himself with no intention of selling anything. In fact, he keeps a pad in his backpack almost all the time. When he’s alone on the stream or […]
Spring Fishing is Popping in the Smokies Amid Travel Concerns
We’ve heard it over and over, but we’re in strange times. We should avoid going out and stay away from crowds as much as possible. Our kids are on an extended spring break and our work schedule has absolutely been impacted. The annual Orvis Guide Rendezvous to be held in Roanoke, Virginia this weekend was […]
Wet Weather in the Smokies is Keeping Stream Levels Optimal for Fly Fishing
We’ve been in a bit of a wet weather pattern for over a year now. That’s had mixed results on the fishing in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. River fishing on the large tailwaters has been spotty at best because of high flows. Typically we’re in a pretty predictable pattern in June. We usually […]
Cool Wet Weather Keeping Fly Fishing Conditions Ideal in the Smokies
We’re coming off of a bit of a wet spell here in East Tennessee that kept us nervous about fishing conditions but it all worked out great. While some locations did experience heavy rains, the Smokies had nothing more than beneficial rain that has kept streams at ideal levels and temperatures excellent for trout. After […]
A Guide to Fly Fishing with Kids
We’ve been hard core fly fishers for a long time. There were autumn tent camping trips to Yellowstone with subzero temperatures when we had to trudge through snow to get to the river. There were many tarpon fishing trips on small skiffs in the hot sun. One of those was a multi night camping trip […]
Late Summer Fishing Report from the Smokies and East Tennessee
August is here and it somehow doesn’t feel quite like late summer. The kids started school this week, we’ve seen relatively mild temperatures with a few mornings registering 59 degrees on the porch, and it seems like TVA has really bumped the flows on the big rivers. It’s feeling more like fall than summer, but […]
Changes in the Weather
We had a spectacular weekend of weather here in the Smoky Mountains and things will remain very nice here for a few more days but change is on the way. We’ve been seeing frosty nights in the mountains with warm, sunny afternoons but a big cool down is on the way. It looks like afternoon […]
Charity Featured in Field & Stream Magazine
Now here’s something pretty cool… Charity was one of seven lady fly fishing guides featured the April 2014 issue of Field & Stream. So far there’s not an online equivalent for the article, but we’ll let you know when that comes around. It gives some great insights into what life is like for a guide […]
Today We’re Thankful For…
Anyone who follows fly fishing in the Southeast knows it’s been a rough year. We started out with high water, then progressed to outrageously high water earlier in the year. By the time we got to our big fall season we had a 17 day government shutdown keep us out of national parks and deprive […]