Byron from Little River Outfitters and I have been trying to get out and fish for a while, but during the fishing season it’s tough. Well it all fell in place this week and to the river we went for some popper action. The weather was nice and the fish were biting. When the sun was high though, the fish were pretty finicky and patience was a must. Here is Byron fighting a smallie that sipped a popping bug.

With hot days and cloudless skies, smallmouth can sit under a fly for a long time before they eat it, so stayed focused and wait. That was the case for most of the fish we caught today. Of course when you get used to that pattern, that’s when they blow up on it and surprise you. You’re never going to catch every fish that hits your fly, we didn’t today, but that’s part of the fun. In fact we lost some really nice fish today, but  that’s fishing. Byron had to keep reminding me of that, because I’m a pollock and can’t except it.

Our cicada that we have been tying produced a lot of fish, which was nice to see. I have a few more small changes to make on it, but I think we’ve got something. I think I made Byron a believer in it. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to fish with a good friend. Remember to stay hydrated and wear sunscreen out there in the heat.

So my in-laws came into town this weekend for some long over due family time and it was great. My father-in-law Steve is always on the go and loves to fish, but never has the time to. So we decided to go float for some smallies. Steve is from Idaho and has never been in a drift boat and we laughed because he had to come all the way to Tennessee to do it. Now this is his 3rd time fly fishing ever, so after knocking the rust off the rod we were in motion. It was a big transition for Steve, because I have only taken him trout fishing, so the flies and rods we used were all bigger and had to be fished differently. He caught on pretty quick.

Throughout the day the fishing got better and the fish got bigger, not to mention that it was all on topwater. Poppers and terrestrials are still our go to flies.

Now Steve went through some rough shoulder surgery last year and these fish fight really hard. After a few hours of catching these bruisers, he had to take a break, but not for to long.

After a long day on the water and in the sun we landed 2 more nice fish and called it a day. The float was a lot of fun and I’m glad that I got to spend it with family. Looking forward to doing it again.

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.