The brief but significant snowfall in the Smokies last weekend has certainly cooled the water but the Blue Quill and Quill Gordon hatches are continuing with some of the best dry fly fishing we’ll see all year in the Smokies. Warm rains on the way will wash any snow away and bring water temperatures back […]
Hatches Continue in the Smokies; Meanwhile Winter Returns
Quill Gordon: The surest sign of spring on the streams in the Smokies Spring really has arrived early, at least from a fly fisher’s view. Here in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee we’ve already experienced about a week of afternoon hatches with rising fish. This doesn’t usually happen until early March or the last […]
Quick Pic: Smoky Mountain Brown Trout on the Dry Fly
I’m confident in saying the hatches have started. We’ve seen several days of consistent hatches and once they start don’t really stop. This brown came to a #12 Haystack dry fly fished on a 13′ Ayu Tenkara rod.
Spring in February
It’s been an extremely mild winter, even for the Southeast. Here in the Smokies we tend to get a more distinct winter season than neighboring areas in the Tennessee Valley. For instance, the last two winters were pretty severe and we had plenty of snow. In fact, almost six feet of snow accumulated on Mount […]
East Tennessee River Levels Improving
It’s been an exceptionally mild winter here around East Tennessee. There’s been a few cold snaps along with some snow high in the Smokies, but the weather has been more like late fall or early spring than winter. This would normally mean excellent fishing, but it hasn’t been as simple as that. We’ve had a […]
Latest Information from Trout Waters Around Tennessee
I went to the latest Tennessee Coldwater meeting in Knoxville. This is essentially a summit where biologists from TVA, TWRA, the US Forest Service, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park come together to share information with each other and member of the Tennessee Council of Trout Unlimited. This isn’t a public meeting where regulation changes […]
Starting out with Tenkara in the Smokies
Yesterday Charity and I took two new Tenkara rods out for the afternoon in the Smokies. We’ve been pretty curious for a while but finally pulled the trigger. Everything we’ve ever read about Tenkara touts its simplicity, and that is almost an understatement. There is very little to do in the way of set up […]
Red Sky in Morning Fly Fishers Take Warning
Yet another wet weather system has moved across East Tennessee and brought above average river levels even higher. That came after an exceptionally windy day. Here is a time lapse video from yesterday of the sunrise that foretold there was some weather on the way. You can tell something is up by looking at the […]
Quick Pic: Dry Fly Rainbow Trout in January
It’s been an unusually warm January. In fact, it’s felt much more like March. We’ve already seen some daffodils blooming and the extra warm weather has some rainbows looking up.
Quick Pic: Nymphing on a Mild Winter Day
Dragging weighted nymphs through a deep pool on a mild winter day in the Smokies
