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 […]
Dropper Rigs Keep the Action Fast and Furious in the Smokies
Charity and Shrish Rane teamed up to get this photo a few days back on Little River. Charity held the leader and acted as art director, instructing Shrish on the best way to get this underwater photo. Shrish was excited for the opportunity to do some dry fly fishing since he doesn’t get to do […]
Sure Signs of Spring
We have some undeniable signs of spring here in East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains. From a fly fishing point of view the fish are rising in the Smokies and TVA has cut flows from the dams. We can finally fish the Clinch & Holston any day of the week. But there are […]
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 […]
Quick Pics: Trout Under Water
We’ve gotten some new equipment that allows us to get some really nice underwater images. Here’s a brown trout and rainbow trout, both from Little River in the Smokies. The fish are rising quite well, even if the number of bugs seems to be diminishing. The Quill Gordon hatch usually gets started in a week […]
Things Are Tough All Over – Patagonia Edition
As you may or may not know, Charity is on a trip of a lifetime in Patagonia, Argentina. Since we’re full time fly fishing guides, you could say that this is work, to some degree. After more than 24 hours of travel from East Tennessee to southern Argentina you can imagine what it’s like to […]
Quick Pic: Mild Weather Returns Along With the Dry Fly Fishing
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: 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.