Eric Wetherington shows off a 16″ rainbow trout he caught on a float trip with a #16 Zelon Nymph. Things actually started off pretty slow and while we had a few rising fish, it wasn’t as many as I’d seen only a couple of days earlier. The afternoon session got pretty hot and heavy with […]
Get Bent (Rods)!
It’s that time of year for us. Imagine December at Macy’s and that’s the time of year it is for us in the fly fishing guide business. Fishing is great everywhere right now and anglers are coming out of the woodwork. With all the water we have here in East Tennessee it’s not surprising that […]
Quick Pic: Tailwater Rainbow Trout on a Midge
Now that fly fishing on the Clinch, Holston, and other tailwaters is an option it’s time to dig out the small flies. We were a little disturbed today when some dimpling trout easily resisted a #18 Zebra Midge, but all of them took a #20. One of the beautiful mysteries of fly fishing: fish not […]
Fly Fishing is Strong Everywhere in East Tennessee
If you haven’t gotten out on the water, what are you waiting for? Water conditions in the Smokies have been a tad on the high side, but fishing has been very good. TVA has cut generation significantly so river flows are superb on the tailwaters. We have some more time allotted to get on the […]
Tailwater Fly Fishers, Your Long Wait May Be Over
In most years TVA will start to drain reservoirs in August and we’ll see medium to high flows into December, sometimes early January. Then flows are typically a mixed bag, sometimes good and sometimes tough until spring when TVA cuts flows to fill the reservoirs. This year has been a tough one due to weather […]
The Latest from the Smokies plus Our Predictions for 2012
It’s been a long holiday season for us that began over a week before Christmas and went on into New Year’s. While it got a little tiring it was only because we’re blessed to have a ton of family to spend time with. Mild weather through the end of the year and some negotiable tailwater […]
Fishing Conditions Gradually Changing as the Seasons Turn
There isn’t any earth shattering change in the fishing conditions across East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, but for those of us who spend every day paying attention, the changes are noteworthy. TVA hasn’t been very cooperative this fall when it comes to generation schedules. We got out on the Clinch a few times, but […]
Mixed Fishing Conditions Across the Smokies and East Tennessee
Fly fishers around East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountain region are experiencing different conditions depending on where they happen to be. Sporadic thunderstorms have caused a variety of water levels across the Smokies and generation schedules on TVA tailwaters differ from one river to another. Right now we’re seeing water levels in the Little River […]
Quick Pic: Drift Boat + Popper = Nice Smallies
David Howard from Memphis shows off a nice Holston River smallmouth bass that ate a popper
Fishing update for late June
Water conditions in the Smokies continue to be pretty good as we see a number of sporadic rain showers and thunderstorms pass through. Water temperatures are excellent, particularly in the higher elevations around 3000′ and higher where waters have staying in the high 50’s to low 60’s. The steep nature of our streams ensures this […]