This article about fishing terrestrial fly patterns in the Smoky Mountains originally ran in the Summer 2006 issue of Fish & Fly magazine although it was originally scheduled to run several summers earlier. In any case this has been of the most popular articles we’ve ever had published. We’ve received comments about it ever since […]

This article is written with a foucus on the freestome streams of the Smoky Mountains and the tailwaters of Tennessee but the information is just as applicable to waters in other parts of the country.

Winter can be a tough time to catch trout in the Southeast. Hatches are sparse on most tailwaters like the Clinch […]

The main focus of this article deals with fly fishing streams in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, but the information is just as applicable to streams in other parts of the country.
It’s August and the temperatures back in town are forecast to be in the mid-90’s. It hasn’t rained in […]

This was first published in the August/September 2002 issue of Appalachian Life magazine. It is a short article that describes the natural history of brook trout in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina and the opportunities to fly fish for them.

As the sun rises over the Great Smoky Mountains, twilight brightens with […]

This article was first published in the Spring 2001 issue of Fish & Fly magazine. It chronicles a spring of fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina .

I always fish in a hurry this time of year. Our early spring hatches of Blue Quills and - with a little […]

(Originally published in Fish & Fly Winter 2001)
Winter days on the stream have a ritual completely different from spring, summer, or fall outings. The streams of Southern Appalachia have a distinct winter mood. Maple and poplar trunks appear bone white against the dark evergreen hues of rhododendron and hemlock. Boulders in the stream accentuate the […]

Originally published in the Summer 2003 Fish & Fly
Ask any serioius trout fisherman to name a region of the United States with top notch fishing and most would probably start their list in the Northern Rockies. The largest part of our nation’s population resides in the Northeast so it is inevitable that New York and […]

Originally published in the June 2003 Fly Rod & Reel
For years rumors have persisted about a great Kenucky tailwater. As a native Tennessean I grew up among fishermen that lamented the damming of the legendary Little Tennesse River while they caught large trout from the Clinch, South Holston, and Hiwassee tailwaters. These icy waters are […]

This was originally published in the March /April 2003 American Angler
Cold, clean waters splash over moss covered boulders. A few beams of light filter through the thick treetops. Streamside vegetation makes casting difficult but bright brook trout often rise to meet a fly that finds the water. High up in Southern Appalachian streams, brookies see […]

This article first appeared in Fly Fishing & Tying Journal. The tips found in this article are especially critical to a fly fisher’s success catching trout in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. However, these methods will work on small streams anywhere.
Most fly fishermen feel like there is more to fishing than […]