Recent flooding rains have subsided in the Smoky Mountains and left us with stream levels that we typically see in March and April. Yesterday I took two anglers for a day of fishing on the Oconaluftee River in the park because Little River was still a bit too high for safe fishing. It fished superbly.

Little River is back to a fishable flow, but still at a level that some fly fishers will find intimidating. We’re big fans of high water though. Fish aren’t as skittish and are eager to eat. This should be a great week to fish in the Smokies. Even better when you consider it’s August.

We had an unexpected dinner guest last night

We fired up the grill on the back deck last night when I noticed something big rustling in the brush. We have a monster blackberry patch out back that Charity is proud of. Not only do we have an abundance of berries, but we often have raccoons and a variety of birds that frequent it.

Last night we had the biggest visitor this season, a 175 – 200 pound black bear. We were quiet and he slowly worked his way through the patch over about 45 minutes. Once we got a little loud he disappeared into the woods and left.