The Holston River has been fishing great and we are seeing sporadic hatches throughout the day. Dry fly fishing isn’t quite there, but we have stuck a few with them. Nymphs are still the way to go. Wednesday, Kevin from Detroit wanted to do a float so we headed to the Holston only to get there and see a river of chocolate milk and not the low fat kind, but the real stuff. Rescheduling for the next day sounded better. Thursday morning when we got to the river; the color was back to normal and fish were eating midges.

Kevin is a steelhead fisherman so throwing tiny flies for sipping trout took some getting used to, but it didn’t take him long. Fish like this one were caught fairly often.

This was a common sight from the bench.

The fishing was pretty good for most of the day and the bug activity was consistent. Again it was mainly midges, but plenty of them and no shortage of fish. Kevin is a great fisherman and I look forward to future trips with him. We have been dealing with a lot of rain lately and every day has had some chance of thunderstorms. We got through most of the float and didn’t see a single cloud and within minutes the sky was black and the rain was there. It’s like we have skipped Spring and gone into Summer.

One more shot of a very colorful male bow.

Have a great day and Happy Easter everyone.

The fishing in the National Park has been pretty good with March Browns, Hendricksons and Tan Caddis. We have been seeing a lot of Yellow Sallies, but haven’t noticed any on the water and no fish eating them. Also, the tailwaters are running good schedules and the fishing has picked up on them too. As for the smallmouth bite, it hasn’t quite picked up as much as we had hoped for this spring. It’s still really early and the water levels and temps have been so scattered, that the fish are kind of confused, heck so am I. This is one of the best times to catch a big fish during the pre-spawn stage though and fish the fly SLOW.

Ashley and I got out for a float last week before the T-storms got us.

As for the Park, it can be tricky one day and great the next. The water has been high for the last week and cool nights in the 40′s keep the trout on edge. If the previous night is cool, fish in the afternoon and if that’s not an option for you, get nymphs down to the bottom.

Here is a Big March Brown that got caught in an eddy. About a #12, but keep some #14′s on deck.

I hope the weather stays warm and the rain goes away for a while, because we could be in for some epic fishing this year. Oh yeah and we also got in some new gear for chucking big flies. The VXP series from Sage is an unbelievably smooth casting rod that’s really light with a price tag that’s easy on the the wallet. So no more ramen and beanie weenies.

For the past couple of weeks the weather has been really nice for the most part, except for the occasional cold front or storm. It hasn’t seemed to slow down the Quill Gordons or Blue Quills though. The hatches in the Smoky Mountains have been pretty consistent for the most part, even during the last cold front we saw bugs on the water and the fish eating them.

We are still catching nice fish on dries and wet flies almost every time we go out. It’s so good to see nice healthy fish throughout the Smokies, especially since the past few summers have been in drought stages. We don’t see the hatches ending anytime soon either, which means we could possibly see an epic spring. My friend Ethan and I even saw a couple of March Browns on the water the other day, which is kind of nuts considering they don’t show up until April.

The weather is kind of nasty today which was good for some vise time. We almost have our smallmouth arsenal fully stocked with all sorts of goodies. It won’t be long before we start chasing these ground pounders. Have a blessed day and thanks for reading with us.

A special thanks to Jayson Alexander for writing a great article in the Daily Times, our local paper. He talkes about the hatches and the great fishing that the Smoky Mountains has to offer this time of year. The article mentions our guide service and what we do. It is a great article and is well written, so you should check it out, it’s titled “March Madness” and is on 5B of the sports section. It’s so cool to see fly fishing getting so popular around here. Thanks again Jayson and way to go on the fish.

Tomorrow January 28th between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm we will be at Little River Outfitters in Townsend doing a fly tying demonstration on Smallmouth Bass flies, LRO is probably the nicest fly shop in the Southeast with a huge selection of tying materials and gear. The demonstrations are free and anyone can come by and watch us tie flies (streamers and topwater). We hope to see you guys out there and look forward to talking with you.

http://littleriveroutfitters.com/pages/fishing/report.htm

The weather has been kind of spotty lately with rain, but the air temps couldn’t be better for January. All this week it has been in the 40′s and 50′s and the park has great water levels. The fishing has still been pretty good, if you can get your nymphs to drag the bottom (a lot of shot).  Also use smaller patterns if the water is clear and go with a grey or olive nymphs. If the water is on the higher side like it has been the past few days use something a bit bigger and easier to see, like a stonefly pattern.

Also keep a close eye on your indicator, because the strike can be very subtle and you could miss a lot of fish. There are still some bigger browns trying to fatten up from the spawn. The will eat pretty much any nymph you put in front of them as long as you don’t smack the water with your line and indicator. Try not to go out and only focus on catching a pig, because you are missing out on a lot of really good fishing. I usually always catch my biggest fish when I’m just out having fun. If the water is higher when you get to the river, remember that you can usually go with a heavier tippet, just in case you do get that big one on.

My friend Ethan and I were supposed to go Musky fishing today or tomorrow, but everything is blown out right now and even though there is a chance to hook up with a giant fish on a 10 wt it’s just not worth it. Speaking of Muskies, the First Annual Musky Fly Fishing National Championships is going to be held here in TN on March 24th (http://zero2hero-aftonangler.blogspot.com/2012/01/first-annual-musky-fly-fishing-world.html). There are going to be lots of awesome fisherman there and really cool boats. A friend of mine Todd Gregory who owns Towee boats(http://www.toweeboats.com/) is one of the guys who is putting on the tournament and has invited us to come and fish it.

Check out Todd’s skiffs and the Musky championships it should be a fun event.

Book your trip now for your spot in the 2012 album.  Happy New Year!

It happens every year at the end of October/first of November, hunting season starts. There’s nobody on the rivers and the fishing is still really good. In fact, the Blue Winged Olives hatches can be very predictable. I guess everyone is in the woods with a gun or a bow. This time of year is also the start of our hunting season, the hunt for big browns. Now, catching a big brown in the Smokies isn’t  for some fisherman, it takes a lot of time and patience. Sometimes you don’t make a single cast all day, but having patience can pay off.

Tyler and I always seem to fish on halloween and we don’t plan it, but usually do pretty good. This past halloween the Lord really blessed us when we spotted this toad sitting on the bottom of a deep run. I love this time of year because it’s probably your best shot at catching a trophy. To be specific, pre spawn and post spawn are going to be the best times. While trout are on redds, they aren’t really concerned with eating, there’s too much on there minds. Plus you take a chance at snagging fish. As the trout finish spawning the females will take a few days to rest and then begin to feed heavily, to put on weight they have lost over the last month. Fish the riffles pretty good and make sure that if you do catch a female to revive her enough to where she swims off safely.

A lot of our clients talk about fishing in Patagonia and New Zealand for these fish and they can’t believe that a fish this big can live in the Smoky Mountains, but they do. Now Ashley and I have fished in New Zealand and it was great and there are huge fish there, but the awesome thing is that we have fish like this in our backyard.

Catching fish this size all day can be a blast too.

We try not to get too wrapped up in the hunt for big fish because we have our clients to think about and showing them a good time and putting them on fish is our main goal. Fishing is always fun no matter where you go and what you catch.

Flies for the Smokies:

Tellico Nymph #16-10

Pheasantail Nymph #18-12

Prince Nymph #14- 8

Beatis Nymph #20-16

Parachute Adams #18-12

Parachute BOW# 18-16

It hasn’t been easy to get on the Clinch and fish, whether you’re wading or floating, due to the mixed generation schedule and the constant changing of the weather. We have been keeping our eye on it about every day and looking for the water to slow down a little.

A couple of locals, J.J. and Caroline, wanted to float the other day and TVA gave us a break on the flows. The fishing was really good and the fish were very active. This was Caroline’s first time fly fishing and she did really well. She stuck a toad right above the takeout and after 3 jumps it was gone. That’s what makes it special.

Remember, if you do get out and fish on the Clinch, whether it be wading or floating, watch out for redds. The browns are still spawning so keep an eye out for nests around shoals. As long as you don’t step or drop anchor on one, you’ll be all right. Also keep in mind that if the females are done spawning they are going to be hungry and looking for an easy meal. They also are going to have very little energy so I probably would focus on slower water.

Be careful with the generation schedule, keep your eye on it and don’t risk it for a fish.

recommended flies

#18 pheasantail

#18 parachute adams

#18-22 zebra midges (black, olive, brown, grey)

olive or brown streamers

I know my dad would always take me fishing and hunting when I was young and I loved it, still do. It is fall break for a lot of kids and a lot of their families come to the Smokies for a weekend trip. We’ve gotten to work with several kids lately on fly fishing. Watching them have fun and getting into the sport is a pretty awesome thing. In fact seeing them with results and smiling is the best part.

12 years old                                                                         6 years old

A couple of days in the park last week. It’s never to early to start fishing with your kids and working on fundamentals.

We also got to do a seminar on fly fishing at an outdoorsman’s day at Island Creek Baptist Church in Madisonville, TN. There were sporting clays and instructors, Polaris was there with new ATV’s to drive, lost of good BBQ and we got to do some casting instructions and talk about fishing and the Lord. It was a pretty awesome day and I think everyone had a good time.

It was great to see so many kids interested in fly fishing. Heck most of them didn’t want to give up the rod to the next person.

I also had the opportunity to get up and share my testimony.

I forgot to mention that they had some of the top ranked pro’s on the FLW tour. I got to listen to their testimonies too and tips on bass fishing.

It was an awesome day, a lot of fun and hated to see it end. It’s going to be an annual thing down in Madisonville and we will keep you posted for next years dates.