We’re just getting over a bout with the cold here in the Rutter household. Our daughter Willow picked it up at a birthday party a couple of weeks ago, Charity succumbed a few days later, and I held on until the bitter end when I got it. We all seem to have turned the corner […]

Where Have Ian & Charity Been?
We’re still around and I suppose we’ve got some explaining to do. It’s been quite a while since we’ve posted anything and we’d like to assure everyone that we’re OK. Thanks to all who checked in to make sure we were still around. Some folks have made the reasonable assumption […]

Generation schedules on the Clinch have been optimum for getting out on the water and doing some fishing while wading, but the fish have been a little less than cooperative. I guided a float trip on the Clinch on Friday and it was among the tougher fishing days in recent memory. There were some missed […]

Charity and I returned from our Western trip a couple of days ago and are gearing up for the busy fall fly fishing season in Tennessee and North Carolina. We intended to post a few reports from the road but a lack of internet access and an abundance of fishing opportunities kept us from getting […]

Dry Fly Fishing in the Smokies
We’re on the back side of Labor Day, the traditional end of the summer season. While it’s still pretty warm here in East Tennessee there’s a touch of fall in the air. Overnight temperatures on the mountain tops are beginning to dip into the 40’s and Townsend is shrouded in […]

I kind of feel like Garrison Keeler when I say it’s been a quiet week in my hometown, Townsend on the edge of the Smokies. I’ve been out on the water with folks a few days this week. Last Sunday I walked above Elkmont with Craig Ward and his son Anderson. Craig went to Hazel […]

Yesterday I took Kenny and Harry Macintosh for a float on the Holston River. Kenny was well aware of the drought situation and heat wave and told me to take them wherever the fishing was good. My suggestion was that we float the Holston and fly fish for smallmouth bass. Fishing with poppers has been […]

The hot, dry conditons continue to persist here in East Tennessee. However, all is not bleak. The tailwaters continue to fish well and better weather seems to be just around the corner. The weather forecast includes some rain this week and milder temperatures going into this weekend.
We had a pretty busy weekend. Charity was […]

After an intensely physical day of fishing high elevation streams in the Smokies I took Walt West and his son-in-law Michael for a day of fly fishing for smallmouth bass on the Holston River. As many of you know, this is a favorite pastime of mine in the hot summer months. I had the guys […]

Yesterday Charity and I trailered the drift boat down to the Hiwassee. It’s been several years since we’ve floated it, which is funny because we used to fish there quite a bit. The busy guide calendars of the past few years have caused us to carelessly overlook one of the prettier rivers in the Southeast.

Charity […]