Lately I have been tying a lot of streamers, poppers and dries for the Spring. It is hard to tie up flies like that because it gets me thinking about smallmouth slamming topwater, carp tailing in the shallows and trout sipping down emergers in the riffles, then I look out the window and there is 6 inches of snow on the ground. I started going crazy yesterday, don’t get me wrong, I love tying but every man has his breaking point. I took a break and drove up to the park to fish for a couple of hours.

I figured with the warmer temps and snow runoff, it would really put the fish down. To my surprise the fish were really active even though the the water was freezing. I got pretty close to the holes that I wanted to fish because the water had color to it. It was definitely worth getting out of the house for a couple of hours. I think all in all I ended up landing about 10 fish and lost a really nice fish that I had on for a few seconds. Keep your hopes up folks, Spring is almost here and the fishing will pick back up.

Most of the fish that were caught were in this range and were really pretty.

This was the biggest of the day and reminded me of a cuttbow from the Snake River in Idaho. Most of these fish were males and some of them milted on me when they came out of the water. I guess they can see Spring coming better than we can. Oh, did I mention I caught all my fish on streamers, I love it.

This guy surprised me on my walk back to the truck. He was hunkered down in the tall grass and it took me making every noise possible to get him to get up and pose like this.

Harris and myself drove up to Cades Cove Friday to do a little fishing in the snow. It was pretty chilly in the morning and didn’t think it was ever going to warm up. It was a beautiful morning and surprisingly enough, there weren’t that many other people out. Where there was a lack of people the deer made up for it. They were everywhere and the bucks were out and about moving around, along with a few turkey. We were pretty fired up about fishing because neither one of us has gotten the chance to go in about a week. When we got out of the truck and started gearing up Harris realized that he had forgotten his boots, so we had to run back into town to Little River Outfitters where they took care of us like they always do.

On the drive back up the mountain we noticed a lot more people going into Cades Cove, but we got back to the creek and didn’t see any other fisherman around. This time of year most of the folks going into the park aren’t getting out of their cars anyway so it is a really good time to fish or hike. We walked the creek trying to spot the fish first because with the water being lower and gin clear they can be really spooky. We noticed fish spooking but going right back to their runs which told us they were starving. We started with Pat’s nymphs and a BWO pattern that I tie. We had a few strikes but not enough love to keep them on. The fly of the day was a size 14 quasimoto pheasantail with some flash on its back. Hang it under an indicator about 24 to 30 inches with a small splitshot and you have a recipe for success.

Also stay low to the ground or try to hide behind something and move slow. I would also go with a light tippet but be delicate on your hook sets, you don’t want to break off. It looks like we are going to have some fare weather headed our way and it will be here for a while so get out and enjoy God’s work before the cold weather comes back, and it will. We are going to get some rain and the creeks might come up so watch out while wading. We’re glad that you could join us today and hope we could be of some help to you on the water.

Beautiful scenery, perfect weather, lots of fish and great folks are just a few ways to describe the trip I had with the Scarbrough family. We headed out late Monday afternoon to the park for some great dry fly action and we found it. The Caddis (Brown, October) are coming off really good in the afternoon, but anything dark in a # 16 will  work or orange in a # 12 or # 10 will do just fine. Don’t forget the BWO’s, it is a little early for them, but they are still coming off here and there. The fly that worked so well for us was a #16 peacock Caddis and a very fine leader, also a good presentation never hurts.

We hit one of my favorite holes in the park where there are always at least 10 good fish rising. To my surprise there was not a one in the spot, so someone must have beat us to it. The next spot we went to, the fish told us that nobody had been there, no I don’t speak fish but Wills got a few rises right off the bat. Wills saw that dry fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains can be frustrating, but hung in there and landed a fat Brown on his next cast. Wills is a great golfer so patience is something he has. Here is a shot of the first fish of the day.

We moved on after a short while, just a little higher up where we got into some more fish and some wildlife. As we were fishing I happened to look over and spot 2 doe cruising down the bank without a care in the world. After spotting a few fish Archie and Wills got into position and hooked up with fish only for them to get off. This happened a couple of times, but Archie managed to catch 2 nice rainbows about 10 inches a piece. Here is a shot of  Archie’s catch and of the deer we got to see.

I decided to take them a few miles down stream to show them some different water and how to fish it. We were fishing longer, slower pools in the early part of the trip and they were interested in learning how to fish the park so we went to some really productive pocket water and they picked it up quick. High sticking, mending and fast hook sets are what you need for this type of water and they saw it. We had strike after strike but the fish were usually faster than us and I explained that it was normal to miss fish in the Smoky Mountains. Anybody that fishes here will testify to that I’m sure.

We had a great day on the water and caught quite a few fish. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day and warm weather. Archie and Wills were great fisherman and super easy going guys and Kathy, the Mrs., was a super nice lady who came along to take photos and enjoy the fall weather. What more could you ask for with all of that. I look forward to fishing with these guys again in the future. Fishing in our area is great, so go fishing when you can and call us for any details about the stream, bugs or taking a trip. Later guys.

Sorry guys that we haven’t posted a fishing report in a while, but it has been busy and a little crazy for us. That’s not a bad thing though considering we have been fishing a lot. The fishing has been good everywhere lately and the weather has been great for the most part. We have been hiking into the backcountry for some Smoky’s trout and on the tailwaters with the boat for trout and smallmouth. We have even been doing a little carp fishing in between. Here are a few shots of the park and some of the fish  we caught while in the backcountry.

We have also been seeing some wild animals like deer and boar on the trail. I don’t mind to see the boar and bear as long as they stay their distance. I try to keep mine as well. The park is beautiful this time of year with all the colors and people have been taking advantage of it. This weekend was very busy and a lot of people were out fishing and hiking. I love to see everybody out enjoying Gods work, but I have noticed that people are not always cleaning up after themselves. Just remember to pack it out. The tailwaters have been fishing really good with healthy trout and nice smallmouth. Most the fish this year have been really healthy and have been very colorful. So far in 2010 the fishing has been exceptional and I hope that there won’t be anything that will change that. Every time the water starts to get low we get a row of showers that boosts it back to normal. Here are some pictures of  some trout and smallmouth from the holston.

Well I hope that you all get a chance to get out and do some fishing while the weather is nice because I think that we are going to have a hot summer ahead of us. Thanks for being with us and we hope you will join us on the water soon. Be safe out there and have fun. I just want to add that if you see an animal in the wild keep your distance and you can avoid trouble for both you and the animal. Later guys.