We’ve been on the water volunteering with the national park fisheries biologists this summer. As always we try to pass on anything we’ve learned. One thing that is quite clear from looking at the fish populations is that winter floods of the past few years have had a noticeable impact. We participated in a population […]
Typical May Weather Producing Some Great Fishing
We’re at the point in the season where we’ve already seen a few hatches come and go, but we’re in the peak of insect emergences on our streams. We’ve had to cancel or postpone a few trips due to some stormy weather or high and muddy water, but that’s a fact of spring fishing in […]
Work In the Smokies to Be Aware of Before Heading to the Stream
There are a few infrastructure projects going on in the Smokies right now that could affect your fishing plans. Hopefully you can make plans accordingly. The most important will effect anyone heading to Abrams Creek in Cades Cove. The Abrams Falls Trail is undergoing restoration to repair severe erosion and will be close each week […]
Hatches and High Water in the Smokies
It’s been one of two very distinct stories when we consider how the fishing in the Smokies has been lately. The fishing is either on fire with incredible dry fly fishing or we’re blown out with high water. This is often the case with spring fishing, but has become increasingly common in recent years. Every […]
Spring Fly Fishing Has Begun in the Smokies
After several months of alternating wet, dreary weather or bitterly cold weather we’ve finally hit on a streak of warm, sunny weather here in the Smokies. We’ve started to see decent hatches of mayflies in the afternoons and catching some fish on dry flies. Expect most of the activity to occur in the afternoon, but […]
Winter Has Arrived in the Smokies
We’re at the end of another fly fishing guide season here in the Great Smoky Mountain of East Tennessee. It was my 26th and Charity’s 19th and we’re glad to say we’re still plugging along with gas still in the tank. Today is the Monday after Thanksgiving, the day we usually look at as the […]
Fall Fishing Starting to Cool Down
2020 has been a long year for all of us, but we have to say it was pretty good as far as fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains was concerned. Water levels never got low. In fact, our flow issues were related to high water, but fortunately they usually correct within a few days. Autumn […]
Feels Like Fall in the Smokies
There’s no doubt that it feels like fall in the Smokies. Overnight lows last night dipped into the 40’s in Townsend which means they were well down into the 30’s in the higher elevations. Water temperature on Little River in Townsend has even fallen down into the 50’s. Waders might even be necessary for the […]
A Wet August Sets Up the Smokies for Prime Fall Fishing
We’ve seen the typical heat and humidity that come with August in the Smokies, but with well above average rainfall. Most of this has come in the form of afternoon thunderstorms so it’s not like we’ve seen days upon days of dreary weather. While August hasn’t officially come to an end and there’s more rain […]
Daily Thunderstorms Keeping Stream Flows and Temperatures Optimal for Summer Fly Fishing
We’ve had an exceptionally busy summer guide season this year. After the park re-opened in May visitation has been very high and our guide calendar has been booked solid. Flows got a little skinny as July progressed but it seems we have moved passed that. The mountains have seen daily thunderstorms for a couple of […]