YEAH rain!!! So happy for the rain that came today.  The streams got muddy this afternoon after a heavy downpour this morning. Light rains continued off and on throughout the day. The forecast shows more rain through the week.

Thanks to Ian’s guys today for forgetting their rain jackets – that old rain jacket voodoo kicked in! (For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, we have a saying that if you forget your rain jacket, it’s sure to rain. It’s the “rain jacket voodoo!” )

Ian guided up in the park today after a few days of floating for smallmouth over the weekend. I took a few beginners up in the park over the weekend and we got into some greedy risers when we threw the Elkmont Ant at them. Got a few on nymphs before lunch while fishing a dropper rig.

All in all it was a great weekend and were off to another good week on the water!

Check out the link below to read more about the trip we are hosting in Montana this September. We only have two rooms left and would love for you to join us!

A colorful change from rowing a drift boat and pulling an anchor

We waded wet, but I still think it’s probably a little early in the season for most folks. Let me say it’s certainly a knee-deep or shallower proposition. Water temperatures are still in the mid 50’s on most streams.

Dry fly fishing is certainly the best way to go on mid to high elevation streams right now. The bigger streams will fish best with nymphs through most of the day, but expect great hatches of Light Cahills and egg laying flights of Yellow Sallies in the evenings.

Flows are beginning to change on the tailwaters. Waders should pay extra attention to generation schedules as TVA has started to kick up the flow on several rivers. The Clinch and Hiwassee will both see higher flows this week, but both should have good windows for waders to get on the water. The float scene will certainly improve on those rivers.

The South Holston  and Watauga Rivers both have ideal schedules for wading this week. Wilbur Dam is generating some water in the evenings, but there should be no impact for waders on the lower river.

Sunrise over the world headquarter of R & R Fly Fishing in the Smokies. That's the silhouette of Mount Leconte in the distance.

We can sum up the fishing pretty quickly – It’s excellent where ever you go right now. We’re glad to report that because our guide season really cranked up. We’ll have multiple guides on the water several days this week. Our wading boots and drift boat oars will both get a work out.

The recent warm up has the trout in the Smokies feeding really well now. Over the past few days we’ve seen a little bit of a slump in the dry fly fishing. It really had no where to go but down after a couple of weeks of good Quill Gordon hatches, but fish will certainly eat a nymph if you can’t get them to rise.

Miles Duncan of Knoxville shows off his first trout in the Smoky Mountains

It’s gotten to the point where we would even recommend fishing the backcountry and higher elevation brook trout streams. In fact, it will be downright hot a few days this week. The leaves haven’t sprouted on most trees yet so there’s no shade from the warm 80 degree temperatures we’ll see this week.

If you’re more of a tailwater angler, TVA has the schedule for you! Conditions are perfect for wading on the Hiwassee, Clinch, Holston, and Watauga. South Holston Dam is sluicing about 500 cfs right now while the generator is undergoing maintenance, but locals should easily find a few places to wade and the increased flow should make the trout less picky.

Keep an eye on the schedule on the Clinch. While there will always be somewhere to wade, there might be a few spots too high to wade during short periods of generation. Midges are still the main attraction, but fish #16-18 Beadhead Pheasant Tail Nymphs to imitate Sulphur nymphs. The Sulphur hatch isn’t that far away.

The real sleeper could be the Hiwassee. We haven’t made it down there this season, but we’re hearing excellent reports of caddis hatches and good dry fly fishing. Fish #16-18 Elk Hair caddis patterns or similar size beadhead nymphs.

On the other hand, it’s all come together this week in the Smokies. We’ve seen some excellent Quill Gordon hatches. Have a look for yourself. This was earlier in the week.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The weather forecast for the weekend is OK, but not great. Looks like Saturday will be the best day with more rain on the way on Sunday.

One of many rainbows caught by the Moak boys on dry flies

Hatches are still developing everywhere, but we’re seeing some great moments in the Smokies. Tom and Jake Moak went out on their first Smoky Mountain fly fishing trip last Friday. It was Jake’s first time handling a fly rod and there was one point when he hooked and landed five trout from one small pool. There were a number missed strikes, but both Tom and Jake caught a good number of rainbows on dry fly.

The tailwaters are fishing pretty good too

Saturday was clear and sunny when I took Buddy and Pam Leach for a float trip. Midges hatched sporadically through the day and like my last tailwater float, things were a bit streaky. We’d get into a few fish and then have relatively slow period. This cycle continued all day long. Pam caught the fish of the day on a #16 Beadhead Zelon Nymph.

Buddy also caught one close to this size on the beadhead, but experimented with streamers for about 30 minutes. Typical of streamer fishing, he had several swipes on the fly and hooked one large trout. The big one was a rainbow that absolutely crushed the fly. He had it on for a few seconds but the fish managed to free itself after only a few seconds.

This week is off to a wet start with a bit of a cool down but remember, rain is not a bad thing! Fish like water. This kind of weather is typical of March and even April, but the weather and fishing will only get better from now on!

The Smokies

The bugs are really hatching now and the fishing are rising to meet them. I saw the first really good hatch of Quill Gordons on Little River yesterday. It was obviously one of the first days of strong hatches because there were no birds perched along the stream to grab mayflies the trout missed. We usually see crested fly catchers and cedar waxwings fluttering over the streams or even waiting in anticipation.

Ray and Connie Jones both caught their first trout on dry flies on Little River yesterday. They have caught fish on nymphs and streamers, but never on dry flies until yesterday. After seeing fish rise to Quill Gordons for better than an hour I thought Ray might just explode from the sheer excitement. I think I’ve converted another one to dry fly fishing!

Tailwaters

I floated the Holston last Sunday and the Clinch on Monday. The weather was wet and cold on the Holston, but a thick midge hatch kept the fish near the surface. In spite of this we brought the streamers out on both rivers.

This brown ate a Woolly Bugger but we brought out the big streamers late in the day. Tim Masincupp hooked and lost a true beast, but small midge pupa patterns won the prize for consistency. Cherokee Dam hasn’t had the best generation schedule this week, but expect that to improve soon.

Mike Sikes caught several very nice rainbows on the Clinch. This river fished very good last year and I think I’m prepared to say the Clinch is back! The average size of fish is excellent right now and all are very strong.

The best way to describe the fishing on the Clinch was “streaky”. There were long periods of non-activity throughout the day that were broken up by periods of several good hook ups. It seemed like the unsettled weather had an effect on the midge hatch. I’m sure it was no coincidence that the fish were the most active when midges were also the most active.

Since I don’t have any new photos to share I’m going to post this priceless video from US Highway 129, also known as the Dragon. A rockslide on Sunday shut the road down about 2 miles south of Chilhowee Dam along Chilhowee Lake. Watch what happens when this driver looks at the news crew and police but not the road.

Sucks for him. Now on to the fishing…

There’s an old saying that it doesn’t rain on fisherman, it rains with them. Let me tell you, it sure felt like I was getting rained on! The sudden shot of cold air, wind, and rain put the hatches off in the Smokies this weekend, and just as they were getting started. There’s even fresh snow on the tops of the mountains and Newfound Gap Road was closed! The fishing should go crazy once the warm weather finally sets in later this week.

Water levels were excellent for fishing on the tailwaters the weekend. The Clinch River got a bit off color downstream of Coal Creek, but that should clear up quickly. The Holston started fish pretty good as well. We did best on midge pupa patterns as all rising fish were eating emergers. I couldn’t stand it and fished a streamer for a good bit of the day. Let me just say I don’t regret it. Long time fishing buddy Tim Masincupp hooked up with a beast but couldn’t close the deal.

He was obviously let down and all I could come up with was, “That’s a shame,” and took my turn casting.

We’re still waiting for the hatches to get started in the Smokies, but the rainbow trout are preparing to spawn. Here are a couple of fish paired up near Tremont.

We took a family trip this afternoon that combined a picnic, short hike, and some fishing. This is our daughter with her first trout of the year. She’s a bit of a veteran at four years old, but she still needs some help. She did the release all by herself though.

This was upstream of Elkmont and it was a really fun day. It was warm in the sun but there was still more than enough snow in the shade to have a few snowball fights.

This will be the week when things break out. Fishing was OK this weekend, mostly because we’re all tired of the snow and cold weather, but next weekend things should really be rolling. Generation on the Clinch, Holston, South Holston, and Watauga are all good for waders to negotiate. By next weekend the fish will have adjusted to the lower water on the Clinch and Holston and the fishing should be excellent with a variety of nymphs and midge patterns.

So far we’re seeing a few bugs in the Smokies, but nymphs have been the way to catch fish. Within a few days we’ll be nymphing in the mornings and fishing dries in the afternoons.

We’ll see you on the water!

Tailwater Hatches

It’s relatively easy to prepare for hatches on the tailwaters since there are relatively few bug species. Midges are the most prevalent insect on the large rivers. While they are tiny, about #18 to #24 and sometimes smaller, they are often the most important food item for trout. A fish may eat upwards of a thousand on days with long emergences.

Dry flies like a Griffith’s Gnat can work, but the most successful midge patterns represent larva or pupa. Flies like a Zebra Midge are among the most effective, even when trout are rising. Many trout rising to midges are eating insects just under the surface, but this activity still creates a rise ring.

The most important insect to fly fishers on the tailwaters in the spring is the Sulphur. These elegant mayflies begin to appear in April on most of the tailwaters. They generally peak in May on the Clinch, but late June into July is typically the peak on the South Holston.

Sulphurs are generally a #16 and a variety of fly patterns will imitate them successfully. A Pheasant Tail nymph is the most popular nymph pattern and it can be used in the hours before the hatch or during the hatch.

Parachute patterns can be effective, but flies without hackle like Compara Duns and Sparkle Duns seem to fool more trout in the smooth, slick currents found on the tailwaters.

Smoky Mountain Hatches

There is far more insect diversity in the mountain streams than there is on the tailwaters. There are literally hundreds of mayfly and caddis species in the Smokies. However, there are only a few insects that you need to focus on.

The first insects to show up may do so even in January. The Little Winter Stonefly is quite small and of marginal importance. They migrate to the banks and crawl out of the water to hatch. While the trout will eat them, they tend to keep themselves out of imminent danger by staying near the banks. These bugs are small, about #18-20, but very tough. We’ve even seen them crawling around on snow along the stream.

Little Winter Stonefly

The Early Brown Stonefly is a larger cousin of the Little Winter Stonefly. We see these guys buzzing about the streams in March and early April, but trout are only occasionally interested in them. As with all stoneflies, trout are most interested in them when they are laying eggs on the water. Early Brown Stones are #12-14 and cause quite a commotion as the fly about and dive bomb the water to lay their eggs.

A good strategy is to use an Orange Stimulator and drop a nymph under it to imitate emerging mayflies.

Early Brown Stonefly

Little Black Caddis also emerge relatively early. While these insects rarely cause trout to rise reliably in the Smokies, they do work trout into a frenzy on the Watauga. In the Smokies we begin to see them in February, but they’ll continue to emerge through the spring.

Little Black Caddis

Like the stoneflies, these caddis tend to hatch along the edges of the stream. However, they do get in the water when the lay eggs. Small Elk Hair Caddis in #18 can bring trout to the surface, but wet flies and nymphs seem to be more consistent. This is probably because these bugs hatch when water temperatures are pretty cold and their emergences are scattered and inconsistent on the streams.

Perhaps the two most important insects to the Smoky Mountain fly fisher in the spring are the Quill Gordon and Blue Quill. We’ll go ahead and include the Blue Wing Olive as well, but most people can’t tell them apart from a Blue Quill. It’s very possible the trout don’t distinguish between them either since a fly pattern that works for one will also work for the other.

The Blue Wing Olive is also very important on the South Holston and Hiwasse tailwaters. They hatch through the winter and well into the spring on these large rivers.

The Quill Gordon is a large #12 mayfly that has a gray body and wings. They seem somewhat clumsy on the water and their large size and habit of flopping on the surface can put trout into a frenzy.

A Quill Gordon

This is our favorite hatch in the Smokies. Every year we’ll find at least one large brown trout up eating these spring time delicacies.

Basic nymph patterns will fool the trout, but an important piece of knowledge is to know that Quill Gordons hatch under water and ascend to the surface with the their wings  already out. This means that wet fly patterns are also effective.

For many fly fishers the Yellow Sally or Little Yellow Stonefly is the epitome of Smoky Mountain fly fishing. This perhaps the most consistent and largest emergence of insects every season in the Smokies. We begin to see the Yellow Sally in early to mid April, but it’s late April into May when things really heat up.

Yellow Sally

The most important thing a fly fisher can do is notice how the insects are flying around the water. If they are flying upwards, there isn’t much use in using a dry fly to imitate them. They emerged from the water to hatch some time ago and are now flying to the safety of streamside vegetation. In fact, this means you should have been fishing a nymph about two or three hours ago.

Things will get crazy when you see the Yellow Sallies flying down to the water. This means they are laying eggs and many will die on the water or drown while laying eggs. This manna from Heaven brings the trout to the surface in a chaotic frenzy. Watch for the Yellow Sallies to emerge and lay eggs around dusk. The action usually only lasts for about 30 minutes, but there’s nothing like it in the Smokies.

The weather last weekend was absolutely beautiful here in East Tennessee. Even better, TVA cut generation back dramatically at Cherokee Dam. Charity and I hitched up the drift boat and headed for the Holston!

One of a few fish we picked up on a weekend float

We should really know better by now, but I don’t think we do. Here’s the set up: It’s been cold and snowy in the Smokies and the tailwaters have been running water non-stop for months. A few days of warm, sunny weather come along and TVA cuts generation so the tailwaters are fishable. We all run for the rivers, but the fishing just doesn’t quite live up to our expectations.

Snow melt in the Smokies kept the streams as cold as ever and the fish were generally locked down. I did pick up a decent brown trout on a dry fly this Saturday and got cell phone video of the fish to prove it.

It was the first time in months that the water was off for any appreciable length of time on the Holston and I think the bugs and fish were just freaked out. I’m sure they got pretty used to holding in places at 14,000 cfs that were high and dry at 400 cfs. There were a few midging trout, but only a few seemed to be in a rhythm and even those fish shut it down if we put a fly anywhere near them. Here’s a quick look…

Click here to view the embedded video.

We picked up a few fish by keeping the fly in the water drifting into them with the boat. Late in the day we stripped streamers through a few favorite locations and had a real flurry of activity. None of the fish were very large but it was a great to feel the sun on your face and row the boat.

Of course, as the days go by we can expect the fishing to only get better. Nymphing in the Smokies should fish pretty good this week as temperatures will be moderate, yet still wintry. Winter stoneflies and Early Brown Stoneflies should start to appear and we’ve seen plenty of cased caddis moving around. Blue Wing Olives, Blue Quills, and Quill Gordons are probably two weeks or less from hatching.

Right now the South Holston, Watauga, and Tuckaseegee are the best big rivers to fish. Generation is favorable and the fish are eating.