We’ve had a full week of fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee this week. Mild weather and good water levels have made for perfect conditions from the brook trout streams high in the Smokies down to the smallmouth rivers in the valleys.

One of our favorite things: Colorful specks in the Smokies

This is peak season for hike-in trips in the Smokies. While there are almost endless possibilities for this in the park, we have a weak spot for brook trout this time of year. We have our favorite fly patterns, but almost anything will catch them.

Mike Bryant casts a dry fly in a Smoky Mountain brook trout stream

This week we’ve been using Royal Stimulators, Parachute Adams, and Elkmont Ants in size #14. The only downer, if you could call it that, was we hooked into far more rainbow trout than usual. That’s really not a problem, but the stream we were fishing will only yield a few bows on a typical outing.

Not only is it peak season for specks in the backcountry, it’s also peak season for smallmouth bass. We’ve always wondered why smallies seem to be the redheaded stepchild of gamefish to many fly fishers. Heck, carp seem to get more respect at times!

Smallies are looking up and we're getting them on poppers.

Water conditions are great on Little River and the Pigeon River for smallies right now. The Pigeon was a bit off color last week, but it’s gotten quite a bit clearer this week. Little River is also fishing extremely well from Townsend down to Maryville as well. Most fly fishers bypass thes fish for trout higher up, but we’ll often skip the more crowded trout streams this time of year for more solitude (and stronger fish) further down the river.

Streamers are working well in the riffles right now, but we have a tough time taking the popper off. Use a bigger popper if you want to keep the panfish off, but they’re pretty fun too! We’re using #8-10 poppers most frequently, but moving up to #4-6 when we feel like some real mean smallies are in the vicinity.

After an oppressively hot weekend we’ve got some milder weather in the forecast this week. This should make for pleasant fishing in the Smokies where it’s already cooler than the surrounding area.

I took Randy Ball and his fishing buddy Dennis on a float on the Clinch last Saturday. The weather was hot and muggy but the fishing was pretty good. Most of our action came on #16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail Nymphs, but we also hooked a few fish on smaller midge pupa patterns. Overall, most of the fish were on the small side, but we netted several very nice fish and lost two that I would call exceptional.

Dennis hooked one fish on a nymph that ran upstream. He lost the fish after his stripping finger was line burned! Randy broke off a really nice rainbow that jumped right after he lost it. I’d put the fish in the 18″ range.

The Sulphur hatch is still going, but it’s really not happening in a way to benefit wading anglers. The bugs are coming off late in the day when the water is far too high to wade. We hooked a decent number of fish on dry flies Saturday afternoon.

Still looks like the weekend recreational schedules are the best bet for most anglers on the Clinch, but those who can get out in the mornings may find wadeable water around Clinton.

Smoky Mountain Streams

Water conditions are still perfect in the Smokies and just about anywhere you want to go should be fishing. We’re avoiding the lower sections of Little River as we always do in the summer. Sparse hatches and plenty of swimmer and tubers make this piece of water less productive than other spots.

All of the basic attractor patterns are fishing well and terrestrials are starting to come into their own. I caught several fish a few days ago that took an ant pattern with gusto.

Water conditions remain excellent for fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains. Recent rains are keeping streams at spring time levels. While dry fly fishing has been good in the medium to smaller streams, nymphing has accounted for more fish in the large to medium size streams.

Smallmouth fishing has been a bit erratic lately. Some days have been phenomenal while others have been slower. We’ve been spending quite a bit of time floating the Pigeon River near Newport. Poppers have been consistent in slower runs of water and streamers have produced more in the riffles and pocket water.

The same rainfall that has benefitted Smoky Mountain trout streams have made for some tough conditions on the smallmouth rivers. Many of these streams are relatively quick to get muddy and will take a few days to clear. The Pigeon has had 3 -4′ of visibility at Newport, but the water gets clearer as you move upstream toward Hartford.

We’ve got another busy week of guiding coming up and will keep you posted!

We’re certainly in the middle of a wet thunderstorm season here in East Tennessee, receiving heavy downpours somewhere everyday. This has kept the trout streams in the Smoky Mountains full and the fish are happy. We’re still experiencing water levels similar to March and April and it’s a nice change after two previous years of record drought.

We’ve had a good run on the Holston and Clinch Rivers, but that might be near an end. All this rain has filled the Norris and Cherokee Lakes and we expect TVA to continue generation from those dams. The Clinch has a good weekend schedule so we’ll continue to float there on Saturdays and Sundays, but it may be a while before we’re back on the Holston.

This rainbow was caught on a dry fly during an excellent Sulphur hatch on the Clinch

The Sulphur hatch on the Clinch is the best we’ve seen in 10-12 years. The number of mayflies on the water was impressive, but the consistency of the hatch was even better. We’ve been able to expect the hatch to start around 2:00 every afternoon. The bugs would continue to hatch even as the water rose and some of our best dry fly fishing has been late in the afternoon when the river is full. The Clinch River with two generators running is not typically a good fly fishing destination, but we’ve done relatively well under these conditions when we would normally wrap things up and float on out to the boat ramp.

Smallmouth Bass

Fly fishing for smallmouth bass is the real sleeper during the summer months. Fly fishers who aren’t comfortable fishing the relatively tight confines of the Smokies should get out and cast for smallies.

Another nice smallie caught on the fly on the Pigeon River

Many of the best smallmouth rivers and streams are muddy right now due to the abundant rains, but anglers should not forget this overlooked resource. Virtually every trout stream in Tennessee transitions into a smallmouth bass river and these fish are the perfect target for fly fishers.

The Pigeon River and Nolichucky Rivers in East Tennessee are the best known bass rivers, but fly fishers should remember that other names they associate with trout have superb bass fishing. Tellico River, Little River, and the Little Pigeon River are very good for smallies and the scenery is very similar to what you’ll find on the trout sections.

Wading a long riffle on the Pigeon River

We got out on the Pigeon River over the weekend and found it relatively muddy around Newport, but visibility was good enough to pick up a few fish. Water is clearer up towards Hartford. Brown and Orange Clousers picked up several fish along with poppers fished in slower currents.

Took Alan Barnes to the Clinch today for a quick primer before he takes a Western fly fishing trip in a few weeks. Nymphing was excellent. Most fish ate a #16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail Nymph, but we got a pretty good Sulphur hatch and landed some fish on dry fly. Generation schedules on the Clinch remain good for both floats and anglers who are wading.

It's smallmouth time in Tennessee!

Had a phenomenal day of fly fishing for smallmouth bass on the Pigeon River here in East Tennessee. The river has miles of riffles, boulders, and aggressive bass. The float is beautiful as the Great Smoky Mountains loom in the distance.

It’s usually pretty hard to get us off of poppers, but the fish were really on streamers today. We did great with Clouser Minnows, but also picked up some fish on Wiggle Minnows and brown Zuddlers. I got around to fishing a popper late in the day and picked up some fish on that as well.

Doug Sanders caught this beautiful smallie on a Clouser Minnow

We had a great day considering the number of fish we caught and the size of the fish we caught. Doug Sanders and Caleb Abramson both probably boated a minimum of 30 smallies each, along with a sampling of assorted panfish. I even caught a sauger, a relatively rare catch on a fly rod!

Caleb Abramson with only one of many nice fish he caught today

We’ve been pretty slack about getting fishing reports up in a timely fashion. The reason is that we’ve been incredibly busy guiding. In fact, it’s been the busiest guide season we’ve ever had and we’ve been going almost non-stop since mid-March.

It’s been great to see all of our old friends this season, plus we’ve had a good number of new customers. Some have come from as far away as Michigan and New York.

Here are some of our favorite photos of Smoky Mountain streams and Tennessee’s tailwaters from the past few months. Looking back at these photos it’s hard to believe this only covers a few months. There’s been lot of water under the waders and drift boat. Enjoy!

Check the complete fly assortment

Wayne Stowers tight to a fish on Hazel Creek

John Emert caught this beautiful rainbow on a dry fly on a float down the Holston. Results may vary.

Beautiful colors on a Little River brown trout, Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park

Doug Sanders high sticks nymphs on Little River in the Smokies

Charity fishes Hazel Creek about 1/4 mile upstream of camp

Michael Kennedy hooked up during the Holston River caddis hatch

Colorful wild rainbow trout caught in the Smoky Mountain back country

A Little Yellow Stonefly, a.k.a. Yellow Sally, unfurls its wings on a midstream boulder

The Clinch River is back! Roundtree Collett shows off one of many nice trout he caught on a float.

Don't forget smallmouth bass! This is a nice 16" bronze back from the Pigeon River.

Perhaps Charity's best mayfly photo yet

Brook Trout in the water

Hazel Creek alarm clock. Gobblers along the creek early in the morning.

Hooked up once again on the Clinch

All alone several miles up the trail

Charity taught author Mary Alice Monroe the high sticking method at the Brookside Guides Women’s Fly Fishing School at Lake Logan, North Carolina

What’s size leader and tippet should I use?

This varies depending on which rivers and streams you’re fishing. For most water in the Smokies we use a 7 1/2′ leader tapered to 5X. This is probably the best overall leader for the Smokies. We’ll sometimes use longer 9′ leaders on larger streams like Little River. Ultra short leaders of 6′ and sometimes smaller are best for the tightest, brush choked brook trout streams.

We don’t use anything shorter than 9′ long when fishing nymphs or dry flies on the tailwaters. 6X is pretty standard on the tailwaters, but most anglers are surprised to see that 5X will work most of the time.

Any time we’re fishing with streamers we use a short and stout leader. We consider 3X to be light tippet and only use it on patterns smaller than #8. If we’re using a floating fly line we generally fish a 7 1/2′ leader that’s tapered to 1X or 2X. When we fish big streamers with a sink tip fly line we’re more likely to use a 4′-6′ leader. Those are usually hand tied with two segments: a butt of 20 lb mono tied to a 12 lb piece of mono.

When should I consider using a streamer?

Very few of the anglers we take fishing use streamers very often. Most are unfamiliar with the techniques and tend to steer clear of the method.

Streamers are most effective on the mountain streams when water conditions are high and/or stained. Not only is this the best time to fish with streamers in the creeks, it is sometimes the best way to fish under those conditions.

Spring and early summer are among the most critical times to consider using a streamer. Spring rains and summer thunderstorms create high are dirty water conditions. Most anglers reel up and leave when this happens, but we’ll often toss the tackle bag in the car and head for the stream. This is the best time to have a chance to catch a big brown trout in the Smokies.

While bigger pools and long runs are prime targets for large brown trout, don’t ignore the same pocket water that you typically fish with dry flies or nymphs. Brown trout and rainbows will both take streamers in these spots.

Keep your streamers relatively small to catch more trout, but fish large flies to attract bigger fish. A #10 Black Woolly Bugger is the most basic pattern that attracts the most fish. Bulkier patterns like Zuddlers and Double Bunnies attract few strikes, but the fish that do tackle these large flies are generally pretty big.

I’m not catching any trout in a pool. Should I change flies or move to a new spot?

This depends on the situation. If there is nothing going on and you’ve fished the pool thoroughly then we suggest you move on. Unfortunately the situation is rarely this clear cut.

Most anglers asking this question are wondering about fish they can see but can’t catch. If the fish are actively feeding you should keep changing flies until something works. Sometimes the same fly won’t catch all the fish in a pool. Some trout may eat a bushy fly pattern while others are only fooled by sparsely dressed imitations. We usually keep several imitations on hand for a hatch.

In the spring we use parachutes, Haystacks, and standard Catskill style dry flies for a variety of patterns to imitate the same insects. This way when a fish refuses one fly we still have other patterns to fall back on. If a really nice fish rises to a fly but doesn’t eat it, we never cast that fly right back to him. The fish made peace with the idea that the fly would drift away and never come back; just like anything else in the stream. If you cast the same fly back multiple times you stand a good chance of arousing the trout’s suspicion. Change the fly immediately to something similar yet different. The chances are very good that the fish will eat the new fly.

It’s not uncommon to fish over actively feeding trout and get a few dragging drifts. The more bad drifts you put over a fish, the less likely he is to eat that particular fly. The fish has seen the fly acting unnaturally multiple times so he is less likely to believe it’s real once it does drift properly.

Trout rarely resume feeding after you nicked them with a missed strike. However, if a hatch is particularly strong a fish may start to rise again, but expect the fish to be more discriminating in the future.

The more you fish a pool the more difficult the fish will become. There ia a point that even though fish are rising, you may do better to move to a new location with fish you haven’t already educated.

The big news is that the drought is officially over. In fact, we’re
currently running a rainfall surplus here in East Tennessee. This has not
only brought our stream levels back to normal, but also has implications for
fly fishing on the tailwaters.

Smoky Mountain Streams

Spring hatches started strong with Quill Gordon mayflies in the Smokies and
midges on the Holston, so the fishing was excellent. We’ve covered a lot of
water in the past three months. In the Smokies we’ve covered nearly every
inch of Little River from the Three Forks in the backcountry to the Townsend
Y. Greenbrier has fished well along with the West Prong of the Little Pigeon
River from the Sugarlands to the Chimneys.

Quill Gordon photographed by Julie Tallman on a North Carolina stream

Brook trout fishing started a little slow since we had a cool spring, but
that has come along nicely everywhere from Sam’s Creek to Road Prong.

Some of our best days have been on the Carolina side of the park. Our Hazel
Creek Creek camp was the best we’ve ever done. The weather was fantastic and
water levels were great. Dry fly fishing was a little slower than we
expected, but the nymph fishing was superb.

The Oconaluftee system has also fished well. We’ve seen some excellent dry
fly fishing on the the ‘Luftee as well as Bradley Fork.

Tailwater Rivers

Water levels were tough on many of the tailwaters this spring, but we didn’t
notice because the Holston was in such great shape. Fortunately our home
tailwater fished well and we didn’t realize most other rivers in the region
were blown out.

The Holston River was our primary float this spring

Recently our biggest problem has been trying to choose between the Clinch
and the Holston. Many anglers remember the glory days of the Clinch when
trout were abundant and big fish were common. We’re confident that those
days are back!

Trout have been everywhere in the Clinch since last fall. Most fish are in
the 9″-12″ range, but we’re hooking up good numbers of 14″-16″ trout as
well. We’ve even seen some good Sulphur hatches with rising trout. Perhaps
one of the most memorable moments of the season was when we saw a 18″ brown
trout’s tonsils as he slowly rose to a dry on the Clinch. Unfortunately that
fish broke off on the second jump, but what a sight!

Fish like this are starting to show up regularly on the Clinch once again

Summer Fly Fishing Forecast

Mountain Streams

We seem to have a good pattern of afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains
right now and long range forecasts seem to show us in a “normal” summer
weather pattern. Normal summer weather in the Smokies includes pop up
thunderstorms. This is the best weather to have in June, July, and August as
the stream levels should remain quite good. Be sure to keep a light rain
jacket handy.

This is the time year when we begin to frequent brook trout streams. Most of
these require some kind of hike, but the resulting solitude is worth it.
Keep a fly box full of #14 Parachute Adams, Stimulators, and Thunderheads.
They’re always a hit with the specks.

Head to the higher elevations in the Smokies for colorful specks

Lower elevation streams like Little River and Abrams Creek should fish
better this summer than they have in several years. Nymphs fished riffles
and pockets should produce quite well, but don’t neglect terrestrial
patterns. The Elkmont Ant is our favorite terrestrial but inch worm patterns
are a favorite with many local anglers.

Tailwaters

The increased rainfall may make favorable tailwater flows a bit tougher to
come by over the summer. All of TVA’s reservoirs are full or even slightly more than full. With the long term forecast pointing to a normal, wet season TVA will have to generate to keep the lakes from getting too high. The hot summer months are also the time when power generation from area dams is crucial to meet the power demands caused by all of our air conditioning units.

Wading anglers will certainly have to keep a close eye on the schedules, but the Clinch and Watauga Rivers both have scheduling that anglers can rely on. The Clinch has a “recreational” schedule on weekends that considers fishermen.

Those fishing from boats will have more opportunities. The Clinch is often fishable from a boat when it can’t be waded. The South Holston should also have some excellent float schedules over the summer. The Hiwassee is best fished from a boat in the summer, but only those with experience on the river should attempt to row it in a drift boat. Personal pontoons can provide some excellent access to wadeable spots on this swift river.

Only experienced oarsmen should attempt to float the Hiwassee

Smallmouth Bass

River smallies are the forgotten gamefish in the Southeast. Most river fishermen chase trout and the average bass fisherman heads to an area lake, so smallmouth bass in rivers and streams are rarely fished. This is a huge mistake in our opinion since East Tennessee has some of the finest smallmouth rivers and streams in the country.

Many fly fishers live closer to the fish than they do trout. Even better, they are often active in the hottest months when the action on many trout streams slows down.

This Pigeon River smallmouth ate a popper and put up a spectacular fight.

The Pigeon and Nolichucky Rivers in East Tennessee are both standouts with good access, excellent fishing, and plenty of opportunities for wading or floating. The Tuckaseegee, Little Tennessee, and French Broad in Western North Carolina also provide superb opportunities for these hard fighting game fish.

You probably already have the gear you need to fish for smallmouth in rivers and streams. While a 6 or 7 weight fly rod is ideal, you can easily get on some fish with a 5 weight. Poppers are our favorite, but streamers also attract bass.

Summer isn’t even here yet but it’s already time to start planning for fall! We’ve set the date for our fall Hazel Creek fish camp. We do these camps in the spring and autumn and they’re always the highlight of the season!

Hazel Creek crew from Spring 2009

We provide all the necessities like large tents you can stand up in and padded cots to sleep on. You bring your sleeping bag, fishing tackle and personal items. We take care of the rest. We’ve taken all the hassle out of this trip. You only need to show up and have a great time.

The camp meals are incredible. In fact, many participants claim they gain weight on this trip!

BBQ Ribs over the open fire

Eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and pancakes are all made for breakfast in camp

Hazel Creek is one of the most legendary trout streams in the Great Smoky Mountains. Its location puts it in one of the most remote locations in the Eastern United States. On the far shore of Fontana Lake our camp is nearly 20 miles from the nearest road, but a short boat ride puts us on the creek without a long hike.

Hazel Creek is a large stream in the backcountry of the Smokies

October is one of the best months of the year for fly fishing in the Smokies. The weather is perfect for camping and trout usually rise to dry flies. Most trout are in the 6″ - 9″ size range with good opportunities for fish up to 12″, but occasionally larger one are caught.

Charity caught this brown trout right next to camp

You can either fish with one of R&R’s Fly Fishing Guides or just come along for all of the amenities of camp and fish on your own.

$900 per person with a guide

$600 per person without a guide

This trip is always popular and often books up quickly. Space is limited.

Reserve your spot today!