The warm, sunny days of autumn are behind us and we’re looking at the gray, cold days of winter here in the Smoky Mountains. That doesn’t mean our fly fishing opportunities are gone, but they certainly are limited. It’s no longer October when every stream on the map was fishing well. Anglers will need to […]
Fall Fly Fishing in the Smokies Upon Us!
We’ve returned from Yellowstone and it’s late September in the Smokies. There’s a bit of fall in the air, but the weather is currently more “late summer” than fall. However, the equinox is upon us and the nights are so much longer than they were in June. The mornings are very cool too, usually in […]
The Ups and Downs of Spring Fly Fishing in the Smokies
Fly fishing conditions have been up and down this spring in the Smoky Mountains. We came out of the winter season exceptionally dry with extreme wildfire risk across Southern Appalachia. Believe it or not, we had humidity readings that would be taken for the Arizona desert, not the Smoky Mountain rain forest. Fortunately, things have […]
Fall Fishing Plus News About Effects from Flooding
It’s been an exceptionally busy fall season for us guiding fly fishers here in the Smokies. It’s hard for us to believe just how quickly things have moved. It seems like only a few weeks ago we were hosting our group of anglers in Yellowstone, but that was in early September and we’ve barely rested […]
Summer Wet Wading Season Has Arrived in the Smokies
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 […]
