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 Continues as the Season Winds Down
The bulk of fall color in the Smokies has passed, but there are still some good days on the water left in the year. We had a stunning autumn season with colors popping up high in early October and quickly filtering into the lower elevations as the weeks and days passed. We’ve had great water […]
Cool Fall Weather with Peak Colors in the Smokies
There’s no doubt about it anymore, fall is in full swing. Foliage is at peak color in many locations and the highest ridge lines have already shed most of their leaves in the Smokies. We will likely see our first frost here around Townsend this week as well. Fall is one of our favorite seasons […]
A Wet Summer Pattern Has the Trout Happy in the Smokies
Almost daily thunderstorms are keeping the trout streams well watered in the Smoky Mountains. Stream flows are running a bit above typical which is great moving into the heat of summer. Water temperatures have warmed up now so there’s no question about wearing waders or not. Cool weather lingered for a while and cloudy days […]
Ideal Summer Fly Fishing Conditions in the Great Smoky Mountains
We had a wet spring in the Smokies and that pattern has continued into June. This has set us up for a great summer of fly fishing. So far June has been warm but mild with an abundance of scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The Smoky Mountains are a rain forest, so it’s been nice […]
Warm Weather is Here to Stay in the Smoky Mountains
Spring is always a period of ups and downs in the Smoky Mountains. Warm days are followed by frosty mornings. Sunny days can give way to cloudbursts of rain. Blown out streams quickly rebound to just about perfect. Now it finally looks like things are settling down after a March and April full of roller […]
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 […]
Transitioning to Winter in the Smokies
It’s safe to say we’ve crossed the line from autumn to winter here in the Smoky Mountains. We’ve had to scrape frost from the windshield before taking our son to school in the morning. Our view of Thunderhead Mountain and the Smokies’ crest has been white too. We had a little snow up high last […]
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 […]
Late Summer Adventures Before Autumn Arrives
It’s been pretty hot and relatively dry here in East Tennessee, but things have been much more varied in the Smokies. While the Tennessee side of the mountains was extremely dry in July, the North Carolina side was wetter with more moisture from thunderstorms. Water conditions improved all over at the end of the month […]
