We often joke that we watch the weather more than farmers since we make our living and spend most of our time outside. So it caught our attention a few days back when the forecast called for a dusting of snow in the Smokies. The weather man was very careful to advise people there was […]
The Peak of Fall Fly Fishing in the Smokies
The weather is beautiful, fall colors are peaking, and the trout are rising. What else could anybody want from a day in the Smokies? We just returned from four days on Hazel Creek and conditions were absolutely perfect. There may have been a few fish caught on nymphs but we spent the bulk of our […]
The Last Dragons – Hellbenders in Southern Appalachia
Here’s a spiffy video with stunning underwater scenes of hellbenders in their natural environment. We see one or two every year on our local streams. [vimeo]https://vimeo.com/108512185[/vimeo]
Classic Fall Fishing in the Smokies
Now that the wet weather is behind us, the streams have fallen into shape, and the fall foliage is at its peak we’re seeing some classic fall fishing. So far it’s just like we remember; nymphs in the morning and switch over to dry flies once the sun gets on the water. The bugs hatching […]
Back to Great Fall Weather
We’re back to normally scheduled fall weather here in the Smokies. Last week we received well over a month’s worth of rain in about a day and our rivers and streams looked like it. We scrambled to reschedule guide trips that could be rescheduled and cancelled those that couldn’t. The Smokies saw some of […]
An Unusually Wet October
Directly on the heels of the driest September on record we’re in the midst of an unusually wet October in East Tennessee. Once again this proves my statistician friend, Doug Sanders, point that things tend to average out. We’ve already exceeded our normal rainfall total for October and we’re looking at some significant rain on […]
Damp & Mild Conditions Across East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains
The weather across East Tennessee has been in a rut lately. Almost daily it’s partly cloudy and rains somewhere. Some days rain coverage is widespread, but more often it’s a patchwork over the area primarily popping up over the mountains and the northern reaches toward Kentucky and Virginia. As far as late summer weather goes […]
September Is Looking Good
So far the hottest weather we’ve seen this year has come in September just about the time we expect to start getting a break from the heat. August was relatively mild with temperatures rarely getting out of the 80’s and several days that were very mild. In spite of the heat we’re getting regular fresh […]
Old Days at Elkmont
We’re always fascinated by photos of the old days before the national park. This video is a collection of old photos from around Elkmont and the Little River watershed. Even when we know the exact location in the photos, like the Wonderland Hotel and the Sinks, the scenes are completely unrecognizable. Most of these scenes […]
Signs of Fall
It’s still August and we’re looking at a couple of the hottest days of the year going into Labor Day weekend, but after spending a private day on the river yesterday we’re noticing signs of fall everywhere. First of all we were able to spend some quality time on the river after dropping both the […]