After last week’s heavy rains across the Southeast all of the tailwaters in the region are running high. Wading is out of the question across the board but floating on the Watauga or South Holston is an option for those with a boat and an itch that needs scratching. Those rivers have flows that are […]
A Mild Start to Winter
This is the day of the year when we typically expect our guide business to drop like a heavy stonefly nymph with two BB shots. The Thanksgiving weekend is usually the last weekend of the year when we can count on being booked although the weather is never a sure thing. When people ask how […]
It’s Still Winter But We’re on the Countdown to Spring Hatches
There have been some relatively warm days over the past couple of weeks and we’re supposed to be coming into at least a couple more, but don’t let it fool you. It’s still winter in the Smokies and I honestly can’t remember the last time I didn’t see some snow on the high ridges. There’s […]
Winter Weather & Fishing Across East Tennessee
It’s not really news that the streams are cold up in the Smokies. It is January after all even if we’ve seen some mild weather in the Southeast over the past week or so. Plenty of folks will forget that the higher elevations and steep terrain that keeps the stream valleys shaded make the Smokies […]
Frigid Water in the Smokies
It’s been a seemingly mild period of early winter weather here in the Smokies. It’s easy to see hoarfrost on the ridgetops many mornings as mists have frozen to tree limbs, but most of the days have been pretty pleasant. By the time the clock ticks past 11:00 the temperature has usually been above 40 […]
Fishing Conditions Improve on Several Fronts
After heavy snow in the Smokies and temperatures that stayed down below freezing for an extended period we had all but written off any good opportunities for fishing the rest of the year. We usually expect things to stay pretty good up until around Thanksgiving but we were all but shut down well in advance […]
Now Is the Time for “Fishing”
We usually see spectacular dry fly conditions from October well into November but things were pretty well cut short this year. About two weeks ago we received an unusually early heavy snow in the Smokies and plenty of cold air to follow. The resulting cold water has kept the fish relatively sluggish and I started […]
Making the Rounds
It’s still February and the latest weather forecast shows plenty of wintry weather in store this week so it’s a good thing I made the most of the bearable weather and good flows available. Last week we made a trip over to the Holston. Over the weekend I also floated the Hiwassee and checked on […]
Tailwater Fishermen Rejoice!
It’s been a long time with only a few windows to get on the big rivers in East Tennessee, but this weekend things are going to change. TVA’s predicted flows for area trout rivers show that there will be wadeable flows on most rivers. The Clinch, Holston, South Holston, and Watauga will have the most […]
Fly Fishing in the Bitter Cold
Here in East Tennessee we’re in the middle of what is the coldest weather we’ve seen since 1996. We’ve had plenty of cold weather since then, just haven’t hit the lowest point on the thermometer since then. The winter of early 2010 was pretty cold and we can remember snow staying on the mountains for […]