The smallmouth fishing around East TN has been grade A and it has been all topwater flies. Streamers are still working well, but who cares when fish are leaping out of the water to get a popper. I had the opportunity to take Ryan Hicks, a Florida native, on his first fly fishing trip and it was one to remember. These guys were fired up about some topwater,which is great because Ryan got to see just how mean a smallmouth can get.

Shortly after we started fishing Ryan had a blow up on his fly and said this is a nice fish, he was in for a surprise.

After missing a few fish, Ryan decided to buckle down and get serious. It didn’t take long before he caught several more fish and some nice ones. Needless to say, he was the one that was hooked.

Smallmouth have eyes that are sensitive to light so when that sun gets high, they will find shade and cover to hide from it. This time of year when the sun stays out for a long time, the fish will spend a lot of their time in cover, making it hard to get to them and hard to see. Patience can be the key this time of year when it starts to get warm. Trust me, when you throw a fly in the shade and let it sit, something is looking at it so give it time to reveal itself. It could also hit it as soon as it touches the water so stay focused.

Ask Ryan about it he will tell you the same thing.

Tyler and I hit the water early today for some smallie action and it started with fish blowing up on topwater. This time of year the water temps are perfect and because of the constant chance of rain everyday, it keeps the clouds overhead which equals perfect popper action. The first 2 casts caught 2 fish, one being about 12 inches, the next being this guy.

Now normally I get worried when we catch fish right off the bat because of the first cast curse, but this time of year is peak time for topwater so Tyler and I smiled at each other and kept chucking bugs. Of course we have a rule between us that after a fish like this we switch positions, so after 2 casts I was already back on the oars. It wasn’t long before Tyler started ripping some lips too.

The topwater action was non stop all day long, which isn’t out of the ordinary for this time of year, in fact, if you are looking to catch a trophy smallmouth on topwater, now is the time. We have been working on some new topwater flies too and wanted to spend some time fishing them, so today was perfect. Tyler actually stuck a fish that would have dwarfed mine, but as quick as he was on he was off. All it took was a quick shake of the head and the leader snapped. With the hot days getting to be the regular thing, we focus a lot of time on these fish because they thrive in warmer temperatures. They are also very exciting to catch and can really get your blood flowing.

Not to mention gorgeous

You won’t find a freshwater fish that fights harder than these bad boys and the fact that they do cartwheels to eat the fly is incredible. If this sounds like your cup of tea give us a call and we would love to show you some of these heavy hitters. Have a great day and be prepared on the water with a rain jacket.

I have fished with Bob and Gail Dosser a couple of times and they are great folks. This time, Bob and Gail came up from Louisiana to get there hands on some smallies. The start of the float was pretty good and we had a lot of strikes, Gail even caught her first bass on a fly rod, heck on topwater, but soon after we started, the rain slammed us and the trip was ended. We did get to see a small fawn on an island on the way down, though. I look forward to taking them again for some of these hard hitters.

On the other hand, I took Jamie, Joe and Tom who are smallie fishermen from Kentucky into the park for some trout and they did pretty good. They grew up in an area similar to the National Park so they were right at home. Tom fishes a river in Kentucky that has class 4 whitewater during certain parts of the year and he floats it in a one man pontoon rig, so rock hopping in the Smokys was nothing.

Fishing the Smokys has been great with the fish really eating dries, especially terrestrials. When fishing bugs like beetles, ants, hoppers, crickets, and inchworms, stay focused on the fly because the fish tend to “sip” the fly more than blast it. With the air temps getting warmer, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find higher elevation streams and fish in the morning and evenings.

Tyler and I made plans to have a small mancation for 2 days of solid fishing and camping. We planned on floating for smallies 1 day, then driving up to the South Holston and night fishing, then floating the South Holston the next day on the 240 cfs. Our plans changed quickly when TVA decided to run every tailwater full blast all day long for 4 days straight and not run the South Holston at all. In this business, you learn to make lemonade out of lemons, so we traded the drifter for the raft and decided to float the Little for smallies, then hike up Little River trail the next day for some dry fly action.

This is why I love smallies, because they are gluttons.

We have spent a lot of the last week fishing for smallmouth, especially on the Little River and Holston. Both are fishing really good throughout the day with streamers and poppers, but don’t forget about our friends with claws because we have caught several fish with claws in their throats. Whatever you are into we have it and it is top notch right now. So if you are thinking about a trip, give us a call or shoot us an email. Have a blessed day  and see you on the river.

It’s unusual to get a Saturday off in this business, especially during fishing season and summer break, but we seemed to make the best of it. Ashley and I don’t get to fish together much, so it was nice to have a care free saturday to float for, you guessed it, SMALLMOUTH. The weather was great, the water temp and flow were perfect and the fish were fired up.

We caught most of our fish on streamers and missed quite a few on topwater. Clousers always work well in a variety of colors and sizes,but don’t forget about crawdads. It seems that most of the smallmouth we catch have claws deep in the throats. Ashley was getting in some rowing and I was explaining what run to take, when I looked at my fly and noticed a nice fish mouthing it, but I missed him. It was a great day and it was really nice to see Ashley landing some nice smallmouth, like the one in the photo.

Every bit of water around us is fishing great, the National Park is incredible in the morning and evening and floating for trout and smallmouth on our tailwaters  has been really good. We have also been hearing Cicadas in the Smokies so keep some on you just in case. Don’t let the heat shy you away from fishing, we just work around it and alter our days. Call or email us for one of these trips and don’t let the summer pass you by. I hope that you have a blessed day and catch a few fish, but be careful in the heat.

Today I had the pleasure of taking out Dick Rollins for some of our smallmouth action. The fishing was pretty good and the topwater action was  definitely on. Dick is from Virginia where he fishes for smallmouth all the time on the New, James and Shenandoah Rivers. I really enjoyed fishing with Dick and learned how the folks up in Virginia do things, and got to show him a few techniques of our own. I love fishing with folks from different areas, because I learn a lot about the fishing in different places.

I was really impressed with Dick’s casting, he could throw it a mile and drop it into a shot glass. He also had Ninja reflexes when it came to hook sets, which was pretty good considering he was 69 yrs old. Dick caught some really nice fish and a lot of them were on top. Here are some monsters he managed to get to the boat.

It was a beautiful day and even though it got a little hot we really weren’t thinking about it much, because we had other things on our minds. Catching these fish is very exciting and they fight extremely hard and get acrobatic when they are hooked. Smallmouth can be very addictive and could possibly end your trout carrier. Tennessee is known for it’s smallmouth fishing and it is what my dad raised me on, so they have a strong hold on me.

We would love to show you some of these beauties, so give us a call and book your trip today. Have a blessed day and be real careful with fishing in this heat.

The highs for the past week have been in the mid 90′s and even though the heat has been a little much, the fishing has been better than ever. The park is warm and a little low but the fishing is still good. With the water levels getting a low try to be sneaky around the water and stay low, so you don’t spook the fish. Also spend more time fishing in the mornings and in the evenings with yellow sally patterns, march browns, golden stones, and slate drakes (isonychia’s).

The tailwaters are also fishing great with the Caddis still hatching strong on the Holston and sulphurs hatching on the Clinch. We had the pleasure of taking out James and Josh from Kansas on the Holston earlier this week. We caught fish on dries, emergers and nymphs throughout the day. When the sun was right above us, the fishing slowed down some, but then picked back up on the back side of the trip. We caught a lot of fish and had a bunch of LDR’s. It was a great day and look forward to taking these guys out again.

We also had the chance to get out and play with some bass nearby the house. They are aggressive chasing down clousers and busting topwater. They might get slow in the middle of the day so fish slower, but just like the trout, the smallmouth will be more active in the mornings and evenings. Stay posted because we will be doing a lot of smallie fishing this next week, and will put up some pics. Here are some from the other day.

Heck we even caught a nice bow in the lower Little.