We still haven’t seen what we’d call “hot” weather, but wet wading season has arrived. Overnight temperatures aren’t as cold and afternoons are pretty warm. Couple that with reduced stream flows where you don’t wade very deep and there’s not much reason to wear a full set of waders. This allows anglers to hike in […]
Fall Fishing Season Draws to a Close
Somehow we’ve looked up and it’s almost Thanksgiving. It’s been another year with long weeks but a short season. We still have some trips on the calendar but our busy season is behind us. This fall was exceptionally colorful with some great weather. The biggest drawback came in the form of low water conditions and […]
Population Sampling in the Smokies Reveals Lower Brook Trout Populations and Larger Sizes
We’ve done some volunteer work with fisheries biologists in the Smokies. We now have concrete evidence of what we suspected. Two consecutive years of massive winter flooding has had an impact on native brook trout in the Smokies, but it’s not all bad news. Action seemed a bit light on our favorite brook trout streams, […]
Back on the Water in the Smokies
The national park has been open for about a week now with restrictions, but we’ve guided a few trips and have more on the calendar. It’s good to get back in the park and guiding again, but here’s what you can expect. Only the main roads in the park are open at this point. That […]
The Latest Update From the Smokies About the Park Status
It’s pretty ironic that we live within mere minutes of some of our favorite trout streams, but because of the national park closure we have to drive about 90 minutes to go fishing. Things are pretty quiet and we’re firm believers that’s a good thing! It doesn’t look like the pandemic got much of a […]
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 […]
R&R Fly Fishing Showing Up in Print
We’ve had a bit of a flurry of activity lately when it comes to the press. Feel free to dismiss this as bragging, but we’re pretty proud of what’s been happening. First of all our daughter, Willow, had an article published in Dun Magazine about her experience at Tennessee Trout Adventure Camp at Tremont just […]
Congressman Burchett Fly Fishes the Smokies
Back in April we hosted Representative Tim Burchett who represents Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional district which includes Blount and Knox Counties plus a bit more. We took the congressman on a short fishing trip in the Smokies where we got to know him quite well. It wasn’t exactly your typical guide trip as there was a […]
Winter Thaw
While it hasn’t been as cold a winter as we’ve had in recent years, we have had plenty of cold weather and a bit of snow in the Smokies. The coldest weather was late in January and early this month but that was immediately followed by exceptionally unseasonable warmth. We crushed a daily temperature record […]
Newsletter from Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries Department
The fisheries department at Great Smoky Mountains National Park has started a PDF newsletter to communicate what they do in the Smokies. Most of us instantly think about trout and brook trout restoration but their job encompasses even more than that. These are some great folks doing great work. This newsletter does a great job […]