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.

Sorry everyone for the lack of fishing reports lately, but between trips, tying flies and buying a new house, we barely have any time to sleep. We have a few days of rest in between trips this week and we will put up more pics and reports. Greg and Mark have fly fished a couple of times before and wanted to try the smokies while they were here. Dry flies are about the only thing fishable  right now with the water being so low and it just so happens that the fish are looking up.

     

Here are Greg and Mark with their first Smoky Mountain trout.

The fish are very fast on the takes in the Smokies and that’s why they are smiling so much, because it took several missed fish before they landed one. Once they caught on to where the fish were sitting and how fast they were, the catching average went up. Right before we ended the trip, Mark made one more cast into a big pool that was churning around and hook and landed a nice rainbow. Unfortunately while trying to get a picture of the fish, it had planned out an escape route.

We promise it was this big.

With low water use lighter tippet and try to let the fly line land softly on the water. If you smack the water with the line it’s usually best to keep moving to the next hole.

Flies to use.

Rusty Brown caddis #18-#14

Adams #18-#12

October Caddis #12

BWO #18 -#20

Jeff is from Northern Ohio and does a lot of Steelhead fishing. When he called me for a trip, I imagined a trip targeting bigger fish, but that wasn’t the case. Jeff had never caught a wild brook trout and it had been bugging him for a while. The weather was perfect for some dry fly fishing, cloudy and sprinkles here and there.

You can see that wearing natural colors while fishing helps you blend in to the background.

The fish were very active and didn’t hesitate to eat a dry. Brook trout aren’t known for being the pickiest of fish when it comes to fly selection, so concentrate on attractor patterns such as an Adams, Thunderhead or smaller caddis for this time of year. This nice brookie fell for an Adams.

Mission accomplished!

After Jeff got the hang of these Smoky Mountain fish, I really challenged his skills that he learned and put him in some pretty tight areas.

Jeff using the “Bow” cast.

Towards the end of the trip Jeff said he wanted to try and finish out with a solid fish, two casts later he landed this nice rainbow which blew up on his fly. It was funny, because we were pretty high up on the mountain and that is when Jeff catches the biggest fish of the day. This fish had been gorging on bugs and was a fatty.

Awesome job Jeff, I look forward to fishing with you again in the future.

 

 

 

Sorry it has taken so long to put up a new fishing report, but here it is. Frank is from Chicago and fishes a lot out of western Wisconsin in spring creeks. Fishing the Smokies is always different from everywhere else, but Frank is used to fishing small streams, so it wasn’t  a huge adjustment. Frank is a great fisherman and a heck of a nice guy and we had fun. A small cold front had pushed through the night before and made the morning fishing a little slow, but once the sun came out, the fish were fairly active.

     

We hiked in just a little to catch a few brookies. This one was small, but what a looker.

We met up with some of the boys doing the Brook Trout restoration for the National Park Service and got to talk with them about the work they do for the fish. It takes a lot of work and heart to do what they do and I know we appreciate it very much. We are still seeing Isonychia’s and Stoneflies everywhere, but the bug that would draw the most attention was a brown or rust Caddis. The fish are very spooky so stay low and wear colors to match the background. Heck, wear camo and also bring a rain jacket with the transition of Fall.

Frank had what we call a Grand Slam which is when you catch a Rainbow, Brook and Brown trout in one day. Sorry for the lack of pictures but it seemed like every time we caught a fish it would be raining and didn’t want to ruin the camera.

Also be careful while fishing, because we have been spotting a lot of these on the banks. If you do see a bear never try to get a “good shot” of it. Getting close to a wild animal can be extremely dangerous and I know it sounds like common sense, but I see it everyday. We have had one trip after the other this week, so stay tuned for more fishing reports.