January was a cruel month for those of us who enjoy spending time outdoors and on the streams of the Great Smoky Mountains. While we didn’t see record cold or unprecedented snowfall, we did experience a lengthy cold snap coupled with roads closed for icy conditions. And that was AFTER an extremely rare high water […]
Fly Fishing in the Smokies Slows Down with the Cold Weather
It’s officially the slow season here in the Smokies. It’s nearly 8:00 AM when the sun peaks up over the mountains and it’s dark shortly after 5:00. Overnight temperatures here in Townsend are regularly in the 20’s and 30’s but much colder up on the crest of the Smokies. Water temperatures have been hovering somewhere […]
The Wet Gray Cycle of Winter in the Smokies
This is among the toughest times of year for us. While we’ve had an admittedly mild winter, the fishing opportunities have just as intermittent as you’d expect from January in the Smokies. There has been a rolling cycle of mild and wet weather broken by clear and cold weather. As result the mildest weather is […]
Looking Forward to the New Year
We’ve just emerged from what will likely be the coldest weather of the season and landed in some remarkably mild conditions. Rivers and streams in the Smokies were frozen over for the better part of a week during Christmas. Fortunately our weather has warmed up quite a bit and we’ve been able to get out […]
Winter Has Arrived in the Smokies
We’re at the end of another fly fishing guide season here in the Great Smoky Mountain of East Tennessee. It was my 26th and Charity’s 19th and we’re glad to say we’re still plugging along with gas still in the tank. Today is the Monday after Thanksgiving, the day we usually look at as the […]
Simple Steps to Better Winter Nymph Fishing in the Smokies
Fly fishing with nymphs has always been a little bit of a mystery for anglers. You cast a fly you can’t see to a fish you can’t see, so it’s completely understandable when the concepts are hard to master. The most basic element to success when fishing with nymphs is finding the appropriate depth. There […]
Tough Fly Fishing Conditions Around East Tennessee and the Smokies
It’s that time of year when everyone seems to be busy with any number of things, but fly fishing doesn’t seem to be one of them. In our case our children have been in some holiday productions including chorale concerts and the Nutcracker. Between rehearsals and shows we’ve been coming or going somewhere nearly everyday. […]
Winter Fly Fishing Sets In
Oops! I put the wrong link in the newsletter that was emailed on December 4. Click here for the post I meant for you to see. There are still plenty of days on the calendar in 2018 and there are some great days left to get out on the water, but the season has pretty […]
Winter Fly Fishing Forecast for the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee
Every year it seems like we’re just coming out of spring fishing, going into summer fishing, then we look around and find that the fall season has come and gone and winter is at our doorstep. Guiding keeps us busy wading and floating rivers all over East Tennessee, but with our children getting a little […]
Tough Winter for Fly Fishing in the Southeast
If you’ve been waiting for a good time to go fly fishing this winter in the Southeast you’ve probably had a tough time making it work out. That’s been made even more ironic by the admission that we’ve had some pretty good weather moments, but unfortunately there were enough high water events to negate the […]