The calendar has turned to April and the mountains are beginning to get green. There’s no doubt that spring has officially arrived in the Smokies! Another way we know it’s spring in the Smokies is from the roller coaster of weather. We recently saw an 80 degree day followed by snow the next! It’s currently […]
Patagonia Trip Wrap Up, February 2026
We hosted a group of fly fishers in Patagonia, Argentina a few weeks ago. There were 9 days of fishing across 3 lodges and hundreds of miles of incredible landscapes. The variety of waters was incredible, ranging from impossibly small spring creeks, to large rivers, and a variety of lakes both small and large. The […]
Winter Fly Fishing Season Arrives in the Smokies
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 […]
