Today was a great day to be in the park and there were a lot of folks fishing. I got there around 11:00 am and there was a good amount of brown stones on the water and some tan caddis on the banks. Nothing was rising to the bugs, but it didn’t stop them from taking nymphs. Around 1:00 pm the unthinkable happened and a Quill Gordon hatch came off on Feb. 3rd. This has been a weird Winter but I’m not complaining when #10 bugs are flying around.

This guy’s wings hadn’t dried fully yet and was a sitting duck.

Once I noticed that the hatch was steady I put on a #12 dry and on the next cast caught this nice rainbow.

The water was around 2.4 ft and though I didn’t temp the water, Quill Gordons usually start hatching at around 50 degrees. The air temp got up to 62 degrees so it was a very nice day to be out and I’m sure we will get a cold front at some point, but if you can, get out and enjoy it while it lasts. Last year I found a nice fish feeding on dries and I missed it 3 times and so did some of our clients, but Tyler caught it and redeemed us.

Today that same fish was in that exact spot feeding on dries again, but he didn’t get away this time.

It is really cool to catch fish on dry flies, but catching a big fish on a dry in the park is uncommon. With these big bugs hatching it is probably the best time of the year to do it. To most folks February is still too cold to fish and there aren’t many people in the park which is why the fishing can be really good. If you have cabin fever and need to get out and fish give us a call and let us show you the Smokies best hatch of the year.

It has been nuts in the Smokies for the past couple of weeks with temperatures in the 50′s and 60′s and we are getting several good hatches throughout the day. Not to mention the water levels have been perfect. I actually wasn’t going to leave the house today, because I needed to get some fly tying done, but with the sun out and warm weather I thought what the heck. When I got to the river there were a lot of grey midges coming off and the occasional small black stone, but nothing rising just yet so I started with nymphs.

My second cast of the day, this fish grabbed my nymph.

Later on in the afternoon the bugs really started coming off and there was a good mix of black stoneflies and black caddis. The fish were kind of selective at first, but after more bugs came off they were getting hungry. With the sun high and bright you will probably want to stay hidden. Around 3, Blue Wing Olives started coming off and the other bugs were pretty much done. The BWO’s were the thickest hatch for a while and the fish were loving it.

Two completely different looking rainbows that came from the same section of river.

Good dry fly fishing in January, it couldn’t get better than this. Pretty soon the Quill Gordons and Blue Quills will be hatching. They should start coming off in late February, but if the weather stays warm like it has been, who knows, maybe in a couple of weeks. I have heard from several people that they have seen a few Gordons on the lower stretches of the Little River. That is crazy.

I had to take a picture of this. A bunch of frog eggs in Elkmont.

Fishing streamers can be a tough game and it can wear you out, but it can also be a good way to catch bigger aggressive fish. Today the water on the Little River got up to about 4 ft. Now I don’t recommend fishing the park when the water is this high, but we try to fish spots from the bank so we don’t have to wade. The fishing was pretty slow this morning, but picked up after lunch when Joe caught the first fish.

Joe knows browns and is very good at catching them.

I am a nymph fisherman, it’s my favorite way to fish and is the most affective way to fish the park in the Winter. I suggest using bigger nymphs in high water and smaller nymphs on low water. Also, use an indicator and split shot because it will help you find the bottom and see the subtle strikes. Sometimes changing up methods is fun and watching a bigger fish chase a streamer is a rush. Joe has some really good looking flies and knows how to use them, so we get creative when we fish together.

These guys came out of nowhere and surprised me.

The water has been in the 30′s and 40′s for the past couple of weeks and today the temps got a little warmer, so we thought the fish would be fired up. They weren’t as active as we thought. Even though we didn’t catch a lot of fish, we were still pumped with the results. Either way, can you really have a bad time fishing?

Fishing the park this past week has been kind of spotty with high water here and there, plus the water temps have been jumping up and down. Usually when it gets like this we like to fish Middle Prong (Tremont) or Abrams Creek. Abrams is spring fed through Cades Cove so the water temps are a bit more stable in the Winter. Just watch where you wade, because the bottom is full of slanted ledges and slick rocks. I suggest not getting in over your waste.

Smaller grey nymphs, pheasant tails and stoneflies are all good choices, but they won’t do you any good if  they aren’t on or near the bottom. The fish are really pretty up on Abrams, probably because of the limestone rich bottom. There are also a lot of good hatches including Green Drakes in the Summer.

TWRA stock trout throughout Townsend in the lower Little River. Along with the stockers there are a lot of hold over fish from the past few years. We like floating the Little for these fish in the Winter because the water tends to be slower and the stockers don’t seem to mind the cooler water. Flashy attractor nymphs are probably the best way to go. If the water is off color use a larger fly, but if the water is clear go a little smaller.

Here is Ethan with a nice bow he picked up off the bottom with an attractor pattern. Remember, just because it might be cold or the water might be on the high side there are still quite a few options to choice from. If you just can’t stand the cold you can always stay in and tie flies and pop in a fishing video. If you are getting cabin fever and have to get out and fish, give us a call, we would love to show you the best time possible. Have a great day and may the Lord bless you.

Here lately with home repairs and trips on our side and family and work on Tyler’s side it seems like we never get to go fishing on our own. Well last week we did and the fishing was great. It was really cold and the wind blew pretty steadily all day, but when Tyler and I fish together it’s always a blast. As soon as we got to the river, Tyler spotted a good fish sipping midges and black flies off the surface. We snuck down the bank and got behind the fish, but it went down. Tyler was patient though and waited for a good shot.

Patience pays off.

It wasn’t a day for numbers, but the average size was ridiculous. A fish like this one wasn’t uncommon to see. We slowly worked our way down the river, to some good looking shoals where we found some more fish rising. At that point the sun came out for a bit and a small caddis hatch came off. Again, long and thin leaders were a big help because they were picky and spooky.

I don’t see the nice weather staying around for very long, so if you can get out and fish, do it.

Recommended flies:

Parachute Adams#18-22

Black fly#20-26

Lime caddis#18-20

Olive caddis#18-20

Zebra midge (black/gold, black/copper)#18-24

The bigger rivers are still a hit or miss and the water in the park has just now come back down from flood stage. The Clinch river is running high and the Holston river is a hit or miss. Fortunately when Freddy called me for a trip last week we had a break in generation, so I loaded up the boat and we hit the Holston.

The fishing was slow in the morning, but picked up around lunch time. When the sun started to shine, the bugs came off and the fish were feeding. Don’t count on a splashy rise though, because you will miss a lot of fish. Every strike that we had, we could barely see the water dimple. A small caddis hatch came off for about an hour and Freddy and Billy D. had fun throwing dries for a while.

Plus you couldn’t beat the scenery.

Around 2 or so we got back in the boat and covered the rest of the float before the night got us. Along the way Freddy and Billy D. would spot a fish and take turns casting. After a while they were calling their fish like the Babe. The fish were really spooky and longer casts with thin long leaders were a big help.

The trip started off slow, but finished out strong which is just fine with me. This was definitely a trip I will never forget and I look forward to fishing with these guys again soon. I had to throw this picture in here because it was my favorite.

The weather channel is calling for a good amount of rain for the next couple of days so pack a rain jacket. Also keep an eye on the generation schedule before you make your trip to the river. If you notice the water coming up don’t take any chances, get out. Have a blessed day.

Recommended Flies:

Lime caddis #18-20

Olive caddis#18-20

Black fly larvae#20-26

Black and gold zebra midge#18-22

Parachute Adams#18-22

Bob and Gail are from Louisiana and come to East TN to fish with us from time to time. They love to float the bigger rivers, so with the leaves colored up and the browns moving around on the Clinch, it sounded like a good idea. The only thing is that TVA has been lowering the lake levels and blowing out our tailwaters, so floating was out of the question. I couldn’t let them go home without catching any fish, so the plan was to fish the park.

To make matters worse a monsoon pushed in and the bottom fell out of the thermometer.

The water was on the high side and off color, plus the rain and wind filled the rivers with leaves so throwing tiny beatis nymphs was out of the question. Usually when this happens, what we do is put on bigger or darker flies with some flash, like a prince or flashback pt to get the fish’s attention. Also keep the flies out of the main current and into the pocket water. The fish will be there so they don’t have to fight the fast water.

That was the case for this trip and it produced a lot of fish. Leave it to a rainy day in the Smokies to turn the trip around. Plus Bob and Gail are awesome fishermen so that helped too.

I got a call from a guy for a trip up in the Smokies and as I was getting the info for the books he said, “my name is Mark Martin.” I said “like the Nascar driver” and he said “yeah, but I’m not him.” To be honest I never would have known anyway, I don’t watch Nascar. The trip started a little slow, missing quick strikes on beatis nymphs, but as soon as the sun heated up the water the bugs were coming off and the fish were looking up.

Now normally a Blue Winged Olive is known for being a tiny mayfly around the 18 to 22 range. This year though, they have been around the 14 to 16 range which is great for us, because that makes it easy to see the fly in the riffles when matching the hatch.

Mark showing us how it’s done with BWO’s

This fish came up and slowly sipped the fly off the surface, awesome. The fishing was great from then on and Mark caught quite a few more fish throughout the day. This is probably our favorite time of year to be fishing. The browns are spawning, you need a light jacket to fish and just when you think the water is too cold for any dries, you see a BWO hop across the surface and a fish smash it. The thing about fishing in East Tennessee, is that the fishing never ends. It doesn’t get too cold to shut down the fishing, just the fisherman.  So if you can handle it, the fishing is here.

Chris is from Oklahoma and came to the Smokies for some relaxation and fly fishing. It was his first time in a set of waders and I’ve got to say he wasn’t too shabby. The Blue Winged Olives have been coming off pretty good, which makes fishing in the park pretty awesome, even with the cold weather. The bugs haven’t been coming off until the late morning, around noon. That doesn’t mean that you can’t catch fish though. Nymphs have been working well in the earlier part of the day.

Not a trophy, but you couldn’t have convinced him of that. The smile says it all.

That went on for a little while until the bugs started hatching, then it was game time on top. Normally Blue Winged Olives are a really small mayfly, around sizes 18 to 22. Here lately though, the Smokies has been producing size 14 bugs and the fish are loving it.

Congrats Chris on a successful day on the water and looking forward to the next time.

We also have October caddis coming off and they are running in the size 12 range, an orange stimulator will do the trick. After the trip was over, Chris was asking questions about living in the area for the future. All it takes is a fun day on the water for most folks and they are hooked.

The leaves are still pretty colorful, but won’t be for long. With the days getting shorter, colors starting to fade out and the fishing as good as it gets, why wait any longer.

Dave from Harriman and I headed out for the park last week for some early fall fly fishing. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and the bugs were coming off like crazy. The morning started off kind of slow, just picking up a few fish here and there on nymphs, but after the sun came out, the river came alive. I had Dave throw his caddis across the current to a riffle running down a ledge and this is what was waiting on it.

Dave saw the sip and said, “I think this is a better fish,” just as I see it running down stream. What a nice fish and on a dry.

As the sun got higher, we started seeing several species of bugs coming off. Brown caddis, October caddis, a few isonychia’s, but the majority was a small sulphur which is unusual for this time of year. I had some in my box, so we put one on and noticed another good fish sipping emergers. A few cast’s later Dave hooked up with another good fish.

This one was a big rainbow.

For the next 2 hours it was about every 3rd cast, Dave would hook up with another fish. I told him that he would be spoiled from now on when he came to the Smokies. This is how fall can be in the Smokies, lots of bugs and hungry fish waiting for them to float by. This is also the best time to try to catch a bigger fish, because the brown trout are in spawning mode and fill up before they get on the redds.

Way to go Dave on all the quality fish, especially the brown.