The variety of strike indicators an angler can choose from can be dizzying, but many of them might not be the best choice for your nymphing situation. Yarn, foam footballs, putty, and dry flies can all be used as strike indicators. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. You’ll catch more trout on nymphs when you [...]

The Prince Nymph has been one of our favorite flies for a long time. We’ve caught lots of big trout with it not only in the Smokies but in Western rivers as well. We fish it frequently from the first cold snaps of fall through the winter and spring. We’ll continue to fish it in [...]

Fall is almost upon us and with it comes some great dry fly fishing. Rising trout in the fall are more difficult to coax to a dry fly than they are in the spring. Spring hatches are usually more robust with more bugs on the water. Additionally, the bugs are much larger.

Low water conditions in [...]

Fly fishing with dropper rigs is one of the most effective methods for catching trout with flies. First, it allows a fly fisher to fish two different fly patterns which doubles your chances of fishing the right fly at the right time. Second, it makes it possible to have a fly in two places at [...]

The Elkmont Ant is a fly I came up with a few years ago. I was doing a bit of guiding at Blackberry Farm where the fish were big and the water was small. A daily string of guides and anglers kept the trout pretty educated and even smaller fish became jaded by early July.
The [...]

Fly fishing on the rivers of East Tennessee and the streams of the Smoky Mountains has been excellent this spring. Our fisheries seem to have only suffered minimal impacts from last year’s drought and water levels are excellent this year. Tailwater fishing was as good as we’ve seen it this spring. We’ve already moved into [...]

Fisheries biologists at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are planning the most ambitious restoration of native brook trout they have ever undertaken. Lynn Camp Prong, in the Tremont section of the Smokies, will be restored upstream of Lynn Camp Cascades.

Brook trout will soon be common in Lynn Camp Prong near Townsend, TN
Brook trout were [...]

One of the biggest threats to our fisheries is the spread of invasive aquatic species. Whirling disease, the New Zealand mud snail, and Didymo have all either impacted trout fisheries or pose a potential risk to their survival. Tennessee’s trout fisheries are not immune to these invaders, but their spread is preventable. It requires [...]

2007 saw the worst drought on record for the Southern Appalachian region. Water levels were at historic lows throughout East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Many fly fishers wrote the park off as a disaster area and headed to other destinations. While we couldn’t blame anyone, we experienced great fishing [...]

There are some new regulations that have taken effect and should help provide better fishing in the future. These regulations apply to trout in the Clinch River tailwater below Norris Dam and smallmouth bass in several East Tennessee rivers.
Perhaps the most promising regulation is the new catch and release slot limit on the Clinch. The [...]