Fishing in the Smokies has been best in the afternoons and water levels are workable. Nymphs are the way to go in the mornings, but hatches have been coming off after lunch. Yesterday Charity got into a good olive hatch around 2:00 and fishing rose enthusiastically after that.

The caddis hatch on the Holston has been about as good as the weather. The nicer the weather is the better the bugs hatch and the better the fish rise. It’s been mainly a nymphing affair with some spotty dry fly fishing. One of Tim’s anglers, Brian Beech, landed a 16″ brown on a streamer from the drift boat yesterday.

Fortunately we’re looking at sunny, warm and dry conditions over the next few days. Early next week looks wet though.

The Scenery

Abrams Creek on a snowy day last January

Misty spring day on Newfound Gap Road

Daffodils at Elkmont in March

Rhododendron blooms on a remote brook trout stream

Rainbow over Rich Mountain, Townsend, TN

The Fish from 2008

A Little River brown trout fooled by a Haystack

A native brook trout miles from the trailhead

A rainbow trout feeds in the current in a Smokies stream

Charity with a 18″ Hazel Creek brown trout

John Switow shows a beautiful rainbow that he caught on a caddis emerger on the Holston

A nice Holston brown trout caught by Chad Plumly last May

A family float on the Holston

A smallmouth bass from the Pigeon River

A different view of a Smokies rainbow trout

Underwater view of a Smoky Mountain brook trout

The rare big brown trout landed on Little River

Another very nice Little River brown trout

A rainbow rises to an emerging caddis on the Holston River

The Wildlife

A bull elk along the Oconaluftee River near Cherokee, NC

 A bull elk in Cataloochee Valley

Ruffed Grouse along Little River

River otter in Little River

River otters on Calderwood Lake

Bear tracks at the mouth of Hazel Creek

Black bear eating cherries in Cades Cove

This timber rattler was sunning along the trail up Fish Camp Prong

Dry fly fishing is good right now. The basic Parachute Adams should work well, but downsize your fly if you get a few refusals. A #18 BWO will be the ticket in the weeks to come. Beetles and ant patterns should produce for a few more weeks. Switch to a #16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail or Hare’s Ear Nymph if you can’t get the fish to look up. In fact, this is a good way to go if you’re out early in the morning.

 Report from the Road

Wyoming’s state motto is no lie: “Like no place on Earth” Charity and I have been on the road. We’re now at the Slide Inn on the Madison River in Montana, but have come via Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. Of course we’ve fished along the way.

We set up camp at Gros Ventre (pronounced “Grow Vaunt”) Campground in Grand Teton National Park. The Gros Ventre River was about 150′ from our tent and the hoppers were jumping all over as we got our camp established. The hopper bite was still on in Jackson Hole and we did very well on the Gros Ventre.

It’s always been a goal of ours to float the Snake River through Jackson Hole. The scenery is incredible and it’s one of the last best big rivers with native populations of cutthroat trout. The float was everything we hoped it would be. The Tetons towered over us all day long and the cutties rose to hoppers along the banks. Rowing the Snake was an experience we’ll never forget!

Changing to a less chewed up hopper pattern on the Snake River

Just getting to the river anywhere in Jackson Hole puts you inside a postcard. This is one of those places that I’ve often said Stevie Wonder could take a great photo.

Our motto is “It’s all about the experience!” This is so true of our western fishing trips. We have a great time staying in the cabins at Slide Inn, but camping is a big part of it for us. It’s been 3 years since we’ve camped in Yellowstone country and we’re glad we did it again. Yes, it’s cold in the mornings. There was frost on the tent, but you can’t trade the experience of brewing a pot of coffee on a camp stove while a bull moose saunters by.

A bull moose behind our tent

From Jackson Hole we turned our sites toward Yellowstone Park and the Yellowstone River. I’ll post that in a day or so.

I took Ethan McClellan and Jared Rice out for a few days of walk-in fly fishing. Their main priority was to fish some water that is off the radar of the common angler. These are among my favorite trips to guide, especially in August. The water is cold, the surroundings beautiful, and the fish are eager. The guys also wanted to catch some brookies. The first day we hit one of my favorite brook trout streams, but one I rarely guide. Ethan and Jared are in great physical condition, probably better than me, so I had no reservations about taking them to a stream that required a bit of walk followed by a full day of bouldering.

Ethan notified me that he was deathly afraid of snakes. In fact, he’s nearly fainted at the mere sight of a snake in the past. As usual, my response was that we might see a harmless water snake and sightings of rattlers and copperheads were quite rare. Our second day on the water took us up Fish Camp Prong, one of Little River’s larger tributaries. It’s primarily a rainbow trout stream with a few brown trout. There is a robust population of brook trout if you go far enough.

We had gotten into a good number of fish by lunch. Shortly after eating we decided to put a little more trail behind us before getting back into the fishing. After walking about a half mile this is what I saw in the trail.

I stopped so fast I think I left skid marks. I threw up my arms and yelled, “Turn around! Don’t look! Don’t look!” Ethan, bringing up the rear knew exactly what that meant and responded quickly. Jared, like myself, isn’t particularly fond of snakes but is curious enough to want a good look.

This photo is exactly the way we found the rattler and we left him just the same. Just like every other one I’ve seen in the Smokies it was somewhat docile, not moving, even after a few light taps with the tip of a fly rod. In fact, this individual was content to sun itself in the trail. We decided to back trak a little bit and fish around the snake rather than try to sneak by on the narrow trail. Again, the fishing was excellent. The guys caught mostly rainbows with a couple of browns thrown in as well.

Charity and I did a float on the Holston a few days back and it has fallen off dramatically. While water temperatures are far fom lethal in the high 60′s, the fish aren’t moving around very much. We only got a few fish to the net all day. The best success came on small nymphs fished extremely deep in relatively quiet water. Right now we’re discouraging trout floats since generation schedules on the Clinch aren’t favorable. Smallmouth fishing on the Holston is excellent right now. If a float is what you want in our neck of the woods we certainly recommend smallies. Popper fishing is great right now.

Brook Trout Monitoring in the Smokies

Charity and I helped park biologists with brook trout monitoring on Bunches Creek on the North Carolina side of the Smokies. We always enjoy doing this since you get to see exactly how many fish are in a stream and see how the different sizes of fish stack up to each other.

The North Carolina side of the Smokies seems to have less water this year than the Tennessee side, and the the biologists were concerned by the low water levels. However, the population doesn’t seem to be affected much. We sampled 100 meters of stream and I think we shocked up well over 200 brook trout.

On the way home we saw this bull elk along Newfound Gap Road near the Oconaluftee River.

We put the boat in the river and the water was around 60 degrees; excellent for a hot day this far down the river. Our plans of fishing poppers were put on hold when we saw pod after pod of rising trout. We finally rigged up a four weight, tied on a dry fly, and started casting to them.

The fish were obviously midging, but we decided to see if they remembered what a caddis was. Charity captured this superb sequence with the camera.

Yeah…  They ate the caddis emerger.

We finally got around to getting the bass rod out. We cast poppers for the duration of the afternoon. Honestly, the bass fishing was a tad slow. We would have done better to have stuck with the trout, but we still caught about 8 over the afternoon. It wouldn’t have hurt if we were further down the river where the bass are more prolific and the water warmer, but we couldn’t complain. Heck, we even caught a trout on the popper! Not a bad way to spend a summer day.

Check back over the next few days for more. We got some pretty good video from the day that we’ll post, plus I’m planning another trek into a remote backcountry stream for brook trout.

We had some soaking rains over the weekend and water levels are pretty good right now in the Smokies. Fly fishing last Sunday was a bit streaky as the morning started off rainy, weather cleared around noon, then a strong front with thunderstorms closed in during the afternoon. A number of runs were pretty stingy on upper Little River, but others were red hot. Nymphs consistently drew the largest number of strikes.

Our local tailwaters have been a little inconsistent regarding flows. Some days feature positively awful generation schedules that don’t allow much in the way of fishing while other days have great schedules. Right now the Clinch, South Holston, and Watauga have the best schedules for wading. The Hiwassee is in the middle of its summer schedule which is great for floating. Give it a try if you have a pontoon but be sure to wear a PFD. The river has a few dicey spots plus it’s the law on that river.

Mark Scarbrough of Southeastern Anglers advises a student rower how to negotiate the Stair Steps on the Hiwassee

I floated the Hiwassee in our Hyde drift boat this past Monday. Unfortunately the water was pretty stained from water coming in from the river bed upstream of the powerhouse. Fishing was as slow as I’ve seen it there, but those were just temporary conditions that I’m sure improved by the next day.

Schedules on the Holston River have been great for smallmouth fishing. Fly fishing with poppers is great at this time of year.

“Make up!!!”      Ian at work?

This morning I met a small crew from Knoxville’s Channel 10 News. They’re in the process of creating a promo that incorporates a number of East Tennesseans at work. The commercial will begin airing the week of the Olympics and continue for some time after that. I think you’ll see me for about 2 seconds.

One last thing – We’ve gotten a few calls from folks looking for a used drift boat. Our old friend Chuck Robinson in the Nashville area has let me know he’s looking to sell his Hyde lo-profile. He’s asking $5500. Shoot him an email if you’re interested and he’ll give you the details. His address is crobins@rei.com.

Head into the back country for the best summer fishing

Smoky Mountain Streams

Summer always sees us migrating to the higher elevations in the summer to pursue trout. While there are plenty of fish around Metcalf Bottoms on Little River, these fish are always somewhat sluggish in the hot months. We generally go upstream of Elkmont or fish other streams at elevation such as the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River, the Oconaluftee River, and Porters Creek. While all of these streams are often harder to wade than Little River, there is always much more action.

Brook trout are often one of our main summer time targets in the Smokies. There are found in streams that always flow cold plus their aggressive strikes make for a great day on the water. Again, these streams can be rought to wade in many places, but it’s well worth the effort for anyone who wants to catch some beautiful trout in an incredible setting.

Head to the high country to find brook trout…

…and rainbows too!

General attractor patterns work well in secluded mountain streams, but be sure to bring some terrestrial fly patterns along as well. Ants, beetles, and inch worms are all extremely effective in the hot summer months and will often out fish commonly used attractors in more pressured streams.

Be sure to get out after thunderstorms as well. These short but intense periods of rain, common during the summer months in the Smokies, provide some superb fishing. Nymphs are often the best fly patterns. We like Prince and Tellico Nymphs in #10-12. Be sure to try some streamers as well. Black or Brown Woolly Buggers in #8-10 are great but tie on a #2-6 Zuddler for big pools on larger streams like Little River, Deep Creek, and the Oconaluftee River.

Tailwater Rivers

Floats for trout are generally less productive in the summer than the spring on the Clinch and Holston Rivers. However, we still catch some fish. Flows are often less predictable in the summer than they are in the spring so we will usually finalize plans for a float the night before. Most of the fishing is done with small nymphs, but there are often some dry fly opportunities. Stripping streamers with a sink tip or full sink fly line is one of our favorite methods on the tailwaters. This is always more work for the angler, but the average trout is always larger.

We’ll still see a few caddis on the Holston and midges are a constant on the Clinch. Be sure to keep tabs on generation schedules for the Hiwassee, South Holston, and Watauga. All of these tailwaters continue to fish well through the summer. Some of the best Sulphur hatches in the nation take place on the South Holston. Summer is an excellent time for beetles on the Watauga. Anglers can usually wade the Hiwassee in the morning before the generators come on. Fish midges, small caddis, and bead heads to stay in fish.

There are still some nice trout yet to be caught from the drift boat this summer

Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass

We’ve already cast some streamers and poppers for smallmouth bass on the rivers.  The Holston, Pigeon, and Little River are all places we frequent when we’re looking for bronze backs. Smallies are the red-headed step child of the fly fishing world, but we’re trying to change that. Last summer we introduced a number of our customers to fly fishing for smallmouth bass and everyone loved it. While conditions for trout are often less than favorable in the summer they can be perfect for river smallies. We prefer to fish on the surface with poppers, but will often cast streamers as well. The fish we catch are generally as long or longer than the trout we catch, but heavier and usually fight harder. The rivers we float are every bit as scenic as the rivers we float for trout and most of the fishing is visual so you see the strike.

If you’re heading out on your own you can probably find any number of quality rivers and streams to catch smallies. In Western North Carolina be sure to check out the French Broad, Tuckaseegee, Little Tennessee, and Cheoah Rivers. In East Tennessee look at the Pigeon, Little Pigeon, Nolichucky, Holston, Powell, and lower Tellico Rivers.

Our favorite flies are “chugger” style poppers that make lots of racket in #6-8 as well as Sneaky Petes. If you can’t get the bass to look up, try a basic Woolly Bugger in #6-10. Brown and orange Clouser Minnows fish extremely well in riffles and pockets.

The Smokies

We’ve hit that time frame when it’s finally warmed up enough to find consistent fishing in the higher elevations. Fly fishing for brook trout has hit its stride and will continue into October. You have to work to get on this water and the fish are generally smaller than other streams where you can step from your tailgate to the stream, but the fast action and solitude are worth it. You’ll probably want waders right now but it won’t be long before you can wet wade with comfort.

Things are really happening on the large streams as well. We’ve been into fish all day long. Some days are better than others on dry flies, but you can always get some action on a beadhead nymph. We’re seeing some quality fish on Little River.

Tailwaters

All we can say about the tailwater fishing we’ve seen in the past few weeks is “WOW!!” Excellent hatches coupled with some nice fish have made for a superb spring season. We’ve been floating the Holston more than anything but we’re also hearing some good reports from the Clinch and Hiwassee too.

Chad Plumley caught this beautiful brown trout on a #18 Caddis pattern

John Switow caught this beautiful rainbow from about 12″ of water on a #18 Caddis dry fly

You can probably tell from the photos that we’re catching some tremendous fish from the drift boat. The reels have been singing and we’ve even gotten an education as to just why we put backing on our reel. The best part has been that almost all of our fish have come on small dry flies. There’s just nothing like hooking a big trout on a small dry fly.

We’ve managed to sneak in a family float for ourselves too!

Don’t Forget the Smallmouth Bass!

In spite of the fact that the trout fishing is as good as we’ve seen it, we’re still sweaty to fly fish for smallmouth bass. I went down the Holston River last week with my good friend Rob Fightmaster. It was the first time we’ve ever fished that section of the river. We spent most of the day fishing poppers. The best action came in the afternoon but we expect this to only get better as the weather get warmer. There was one point when I think we boated three bass with about five casts. We even got a few trout even though we were miles downstream of “trout”water. There were a few huge bluegills too. The average fish was about 12″ long and powerful. There were a few larger than that, but we were both so thrilled to be on fish that we were having too good a time to pay too much attention.

Water levels started getting a little low for this early in the season and dry fly fishing dropped off noticeably. Our best fishing came from fishing nymphs. Pat’s Nymphs, Prince Nymphs, Beadhead Pheasant Tails, and a few other patterns I’ve been experimenting with have worked well. Fishing a #16 nymph under a #14 Stimulator has worked well throughout the park.

View of Rich Mountain from the Peaceful Side of the Smokies

We’ve been getting some good rain and the rivers and streams have risen noticeably without getting blown out. This is great! I fished Wendy Williams and Bill Boyd on Little River yesterday. Real diehards, they fished through a torrential downpour. We stuck with nymphs all day long. After the rain let up a little bit the river took on a slight amount of color and the fishing was incredible. Every run yielded multiple strikes on nymph patterns. Bill got a 12″ brown on a caddis larva he ties and another brown that might have gone 14″ on a #10 Prince Nymph I tied. Wendy kept the fish biting all day long too.

The Holston River has been on fire with caddis hatching in the afternoon. We’ve been catching good numbers of nice rainbows on small nymphs fished deep in the morning. By lunch time the bugs are hatching and we’re catching plenty of fish on #18 caddis patterns. We’ve actually had a hard time keeping track of all the fish we’re hooking! This should last for at least a month, perhaps a bit longer.

We’ve even done a little smallmouth fishing on lower Little River. The water is still a little cool for the action to be great, but we got several nice smallies on poppers along with several redeyes and some bluegills as well. It won’t be long before the big bass on the Holston will take a popper and we can’t wait.

Jim Gibson Jr. does a fine job of hooking trout on a dry and dropper rig in the Smokies 

While the dry fly fishing has been quite good, we’ve been using a good number of dropper rigs in the middle of the day and mornings. Backcountry streams are really fishing good right now. We’ve had a few slow times on Little River and the Oconaluftee, but they were interrupted by biting fish.

Yellow Sallies are hatching and egg laying flights are coming along in the evening. We’re also seeing Hendrickson mayflies and March Browns as well.

Little Yellow Stonefly, sometimes called a Yellow Sally 

The Holston River has been superb! Outside of a few days with oddball flows from TVA it has been fishing excellent. The caddis hatch has begun and should last into June. We even continue to fish caddis in July. We start with nymphs or streamers and are usually fishing dries by noon.

Charity rows anglers to more trout on the Holston 

Jim Gibson with a nice rainbow that ate caddis dry fly on the Holston