Midge pupa are an extremely important food source for trout, particularly those in tailwaters. Midges are among the most common of aquatic insects and they hatch year round. In many instances they are one of only a few insects that trout eat during the winter months. Many fly fishers and fly tyers are turned off […]
Advice From Guides
This is a new feature where we answer your questions. We answer fishing questions every day and realized we could help more people by putting those questions and answers in a place where people could see them. Have a question for us? Shoot us an email. We’ll answer your question via email and may use […]
Fly Fishing With Streamers – Advice From the Guides
Fishing with streamers is not only the best way to hook a big trout on a fly rod, it’s the most exciting way. Ian & Charity Rutter eliminate any confusion by presenting clear instruction in this book. Fly fishing artist Paul Puckett contributes beautiful drawn diagrams to illustrate the concepts. Big rivers, meadow streams, and […]
Fly Fishing for Brook Trout in Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Advice From the Guides
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a haven for wild trout. The Smokies are one of the last big expanses of wild country in the eastern United States. Native brook trout still flourish here and fly fishers can cast into pristine streams that are still the way things were hundreds of years ago. The best […]
Does This Look Like Little River to You?
We received more than 4″ of rain over the last 2-3 days. The weather has been pretty nasty even before that and we had other things going on when it wasn’t. We took a quick trip up the river after lunch yesterday to take a look around and get some fresh air. I knew the […]
Beginning of the End for the Drought?
We’re sitting here toiling away on our computers while trying to stay dry. We’re hard at completing two new books that we hope to have in print by some time in January. We’re in the middle of our second day of driving rain. The rivers and streams in the Smokies have risen dramatically and we’re […]
Cold Weather Persists, Creek Levels Improve, Tailwaters Still the Place to Be
The cold weather has continued here in the Smokies and we’re on the verge of a case of cabin fever. The weather hasn’t been so bad that fishing isn’t possible, but we’re working hard to get two books ready to go to print. We’ll keep you posted on that. I’d rather go fishing instead of […]
Changes in the Weather
Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone and the guide season left with it. It’s snowing pretty hard right now in Townsend, but nothing’s sticking. Regardless it’s a strong reminder that the guide season is essentially over. It’s always the same every fall. September is a period of relatively light guiding as the kids are back […]
Fishing Update; We Give Thanks
It’s been a little while since our last fishing report. The reason isn’t because we haven’t been fishing. In fact, we’ve been guiding almost every day and have had little opportunity to sit down and type up a report. Smokies Improving Fishing in the Smokies is getting better but cold weather will keep it mostly […]
Adventures on Guides’ Day Off; Rare Wildlife Sighting
We’ve had our usual slow down in guiding in mid-November. This has had us scrambling to get as much fishing in as possible while the weather is still pretty good. That may be up for debate as we’re looking at a week of weather that sure looks like it’s winter. Newfound Gap Road was closed […]
