Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report January

The fishing in January around the Great Smoky Mountains region has been fantastic so far. Winter is when we typically see great subsurface fishing and bigger fish landed. January is on point so far with one exception; Dry fly action! Yes you read the right, and no we aren’t crazy. Dry fly fishing in January makes about as much sense as screen doors on submarines right? For many reasons, most of which are boring and make us sound totally geeked out, we are seeing some great dry fly action. Hatches happening right now are Little Black Winter Stoneflies, Blue Winged Olives and lots of midges. It’s pretty special to be fishing for rising trout in the Winter months, so we’ll gladly take the opportunity!

Tuckasegee River Fishing

The Tuckasegee River is fishing incredibly well this month. Water tempratures are excellent and we’re seeing good numbers of trout on the surface taking small dry flies in the flat sections of water. At times we see upwards of three acres of river dimpled with rising trout! This leaves nothing but air and opportunity between you and your next best catch. This is especially true if you happen to be fishing from the comfort of a drift boat or raft. Cloudy, overcast and slightly rainy days have been fishing best!

Raven Fork Trophy Trout

The Cherokee Trophy Section on the Raven Fork has fished very well this winter. Water levels have been great and hatches are consistent from early morning until late evening. In the “Land of the Giants” you must have great presentation and the right fly or you can get left scratching your head. These big fish see the best anglers and best flies all day, making them a pro at snubbing your offerings. However get it right, and you may be wearing that big small all winter long!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report for January is pretty good considering the below normal cold for this time of year. The Smokies recieved a decent amount of snowfall this past weekend leaving roads temporarily closed and covering the landscape in winter wonderland. Little black winter stoneflies have been hatching all day long inside the park now. These little guys can be seen crawling over snow covered banks and for whatever reason seem to be attracted to your clothing. Trout go crazy for them splashing wildly after dries trying to escape the surface, and feeding aggressively underneath the surface.

It should be a fantastic week to be fishing the region. We’ll see you on the water!

Faith, Family and Fishing!