I spent a few hours with a fly rod on Little River this afternoon. Fishing buddy and fellow guide Tim Doyle came along. It’s been an exceptionally cool August, and while I’m not exactly complaing, it’s put a crimp in our terrestrial fishing. Today was the hottest day we’ve had in a while, but I […]
Feels Like Fall Fly Fishing in the Smokies
It was in the 40’s along the peaks of the Smoky Mountains this morning and there was a slight chill in the air all day long. I was wet wading but waders wouldn’t have been out of order. A #18 Parachute Blue Wing Olive drew most of the strikes for the anglers I was guiding. […]
Smokies Stream Levels Don’t Get Any Better Than This in August
It’s been a kind of soggy week here in the Smoky Mountains but stream levels just don’t get any better in August. If I woke up one morning with amnesia and couldn’t find a calendar I’d think it was April or May judging by the amount of water in the streams. I’ve been on the […]
Tennessee’s tailwaters running high; Rain forecast for the Smokies
Weather has been pretty mild here in the Smoky Mountains and fly fishing conditions have remained very good. The biggest obstacle to fishing has been a rock slide on Little River Road. The road has been closed between Metcalf Bottoms and Elkmont Junction, the most popular section of the river for fly fishers. News reports […]
Three Days of Fly Fishing the Smokies in Cataloochee Valley
Charity and I noticed some blank days on the guide calendar and decided we needed to take advantage of the break. Even those of us who live in the Smoky Mountains like to take a few days to get away and do nothing more than camp and fly fish. After a quick scan of a […]
Biologists Count Trout at Tremont
Yesterday I helped electroshock trout on the Middle Prong of Little River at Tremont. We worked 200 meters of the stream on the section followed by the gravel road. We were about a quarter mile from the end of the road. There were a lot of biologists and volunteers involved. I helped net fish as […]
Fly Fishing in the Smokies Remains Good as the Heat Bears Down
It’s certainly August. We’re finally starting to see 90 degree temperatures here in Townsend, TN but the water levels in the Smokies are still good and water temperatures are excellent. Pop up thunderstorms are forecast every day this week. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will rain everywhere on every day, but there’s a good chance […]
Good Fly Fishing in the Smokies and the Clinch plus More Bear Pictures
Water levels are well within fishable, but look much more like April than August. Here on the Tennessee side of the Smokies Tremont is fishing really well. I’ve been fishing nymphs about three feet under a yarn indicator, but dry flies will tempt plenty of fish. Just be sure to cast dries to spots that […]
Unusually High Water for August in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains
Water levels are better this August than they were in the spring of 2007 and 2008. Abundant rainfall has created some high water in the creeks in the Smokies, but they are subsiding quickly. Large streams like Little River and Abrams Creek are difficult to wade, but are certainly fishable in many spots. Brook trout […]
Brook Trout Swimming in Lynn Camp Prong After Restoration
Fisheries biologists at Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently relocated brook trout from Cosby Creek into Lynn Camp Prong with the help of volunteers. About 350 brookies were put in the stream on July 14. They were placed in the stream in small groups that were dispersed up and down the creek. Lynn Camp Prong […]
