Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/16/16

Posted on September 16, 2016 by eshuler

 

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/16/16

It’s 64 degrees here this morning in Bryson City and we’re expected to get somewhere near 80 today for the high. I wish I could say it’s pouring rain out of buckets, but that’s not the case. We did receive some rain in the area last evening around dark. Some parts of the Smokies got slight amounts around Raven Fork and Straight Fork. The Tuckasegee River watershed got a little rain also.

Streams in the Smokies are still low and clear. The fishing has really taken off on higher elevation streams above 2,500ft. Even though it’s hot like it’s Summer, the trout know fall spawning season and winter is closing in on them and they better start fattening up. We are happy to report dry fly action is really top notch right now in the park. Trout are crushing dries and terrestrials fished near fast oxygenated riffles and runs. Grab a double handful of black ants and beetles before heading into the park this weekend to fish.

Due to the low water and hotter than normal temperatures we have suspended our Hazel Creek Back Country camp for next weekend. Recent scouting runs to Hazel earlier this week made us think twice about bringing anglers here at this time. Hazel Creek is low and in need of some rain. The water was warm of course on the first several miles below Bone Valley camp and in our effort to protect this valuable resource we have decided to suspended this trip. It’s our fear that hook mortality could be high and that releasing fish was going to be way too much stress on the trout. If you’re headed to Hazel this weekend, please keep this in mind. If you do fish there, hike up above Bone Valley and land your fish quickly and don’t take them out of the water. This same rule should apply to Eagle Creek, Twenty Mile Creek, lower Forney Creek, and lower portions of Abrams Creek.

Often times we will be reporting on other rivers and streams in the Smoky Mountain region. We do guide on more than just the Smokies.

The Tuckasegee River is flowing very low this morning, 299cfs near Bryson City. That’s about as low as I’ve seen Bryson City in a long time. Of course water temperatures are fairly warm, hovering around 71- 72 degrees yesterday with no generation. When generation hits that temp comes down around 63 to 64. Smallmouth Bass action on the Tuckasegee River has been good. We’re catching good numbers of Smallmouth and Spotted bass with a few Walleye in the mix. Big fish love a slow easy meal. So work your offerings really slow and get them in the bottom of the deep oxygenated runs. We still have sections on the Tuckasegee River that we are running float trips on for bass. We are not fishing for trout on the Tuckasegee River at this time, only for bass.

Traffic is going to be a bear in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg this weekend. The Fall Rod Run comes to town and with it hoards of traffic. Expect heavy congestion and long delays late afternoon and evenings. Use back roads or take the long way around, it’s going to be much quicker this weekend. Or you can do what I do, grab a lawn chair and sit on the sidewalks of Pigeon Forge and enjoy the hot rods!

 

We’ll see you on the water!

 

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Great Smoky Mountain Fishing Report 9/13/16

Posted on September 14, 2016 by eshuler

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/13/16

The fishing inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is getting better as September is whizzing by. We had a heat wave the end of last week. Thankfully that appears to be gone and we’re starting to see temperatures drop back into high 70’s and low 80’s across the region. We have some much needed rain in the forecast each day for the next 15 days. While significant amounts of rainfall are not expected we can say without a doubt that any rain will help the fishing in a positive way!

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park streams are fishing great right now. We are hitting streams from 2,500ft and above with good results. Dry fly action is absolutely on fire right now. Mid morning until late evening we’re seeing lots of Caddis and Stones that are driving fish crazy. We’re also fishing terrestrial patterns such as beetles and hoppers on the edges of fast runs with great success. Trout will slam a small beetle dead drifted in the current without much hesitation right now.

Good bets for fishing this weekend are Goshen Prong, and Lynn Camp Prong in Tennessee. Noland Creek and upper Forney Creek are tops in North Carolina. All are fishing well and seeing good hatches. The streams throughout the park are low, so stealth and presentation are key!

Traffic in and around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge will be heavy this weekend as the Fall Rod Run comes rumbling into town. Use side roads such as Glade Road and Dolly Parton Highway to avoid the congestion. Late afternoon and evening will be the worst times to come through town from the Smokies.

Have fun this week, get out and explore!

We’ll see you on the water!

 

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Fall Fly Fishing 2016

Posted on September 13, 2016 by eshuler
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Fall Fly Fishing inside the Smoky Mountains

Fall Fly Fishing in the Smoky Mountains

Fall Fly Fishing in the Smoky Mountains is simply breathe taking! Fall leaf colors are popping everywhere as mother nature paints the landscape. While the leaves are at work turning more colors than a box of Crayons, the trout are also creating their own visceral spectacle.

Fall is the second peak for fishing in the Smoky Mountains. Literally every stream and river in the area will fish at its best again! If there ever was a time you wanted to try Fly Fishing, Fall is it!

Two locations to serve you best! Gatlinburg TN, and Bryson City NC

Rates starting at $87.50 per person!

For Reservations call (828)-488-7665 or book securely from our website!

 

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Southern Appalachian Brook Trout

Trout Fishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park fishes incredible for wild trout in the Fall. The park streams are the prettiest place we guide, and is home to the most beautiful fish in the region. The streams are full of Rainbow, Brown and rare Southern Appalachian Brook trout. You won’t find a more beautiful place to spend the day than inside the park. Dry fly action is on fire this time of year. Hungry trout smash your fly at over 40mph trying to get fattened up before winter sets in!

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Cherokee Rainbow Trout

Cherokee Trout Fishing

The Fall Fly Fishing in Cherokee North Carolina is spectacular! Cherokee has 30 miles of water that is stocked twice each week with Rainbow, Brown, and Brook Trout. Cherokee also is home to the Golden Rainbow trout as well! Cherokee has a Fly Fishing Only Trophy Trout section that is world class. Fly Fishing for these monster trout will put a huge smile on your face. Trout here grow to massive proportions, the biggest fish we catch are here in Cherokee on the Raven Fork. It’s certainly trout fishing like you dream about, especially in the Fall!

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Tuckasegee River Float Trip

 

Fall Fishing the Tuckasegee River

The Tuckasegee River is the hottest destination for fly fishing in the south from October through May! If you want to catch lots of fish, and big fish too, the Tuckasegee River is for you! Stocked heavily with Rainbow, Brown and Brook trout, the Tuckasegee River is a fisherman’s dream! With over 16,000 trout per mile in the Fall, this is one hot fishery! We offer both Wade Trips and Float Trips on this legendary river. Our guides have more experience on the Tuckasegee River than anyone else. Call ahead for availability, this one will fill fast!

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Fall on a Smokies trout stream

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Fall Float Trip Special

Posted on September 11, 2016 by eshuler

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Fall Float Trip Special on the Tuckasegee River

The Tuckasegee River is a 52 mile long tailwater that offers excellent year around fly fishing opportunities. From October through May you won’t find a better trout fishery in the South. Stocked heavily with Rainbow, Brown and Brook trout by the thousands, these healthy fish put up one heck of a fight! Trout count totals per mile exceed 31,000 trout per mile near Bryson City in the Spring! That’s more fish per mile than anything in US! You owe it yourself to fish this amazing river.

Fall is an excellent time to fish the Tuckasegee River. We see high numbers of fish put in the net as trout and bass both start trying to pack on fat stores in preparation for winter.

Our Float Trip Special is a 3/4 Day Float Trip during prime time fishing hours on the Tuckasegee River for only $225.00 per boat! Our Float Trip Special includes everything you need to fly fish or spin fish, plus an experienced guide at the oars. We also include food and drinks!

We maximize your time by floating the best hours for fishing!

Rates $225.00 per boat, one or two people

For Reservations (828)-488-7665, or book online

 

From April until early November the Tuckasegee River is an excellent Smallmouth Bass and Kentucky Spotted Bass fishery. We see lots of bass in the 1-3 pound range with several going into the 5lb class. Catch that on a fly rod and see if you can wipe the smiles off!

 

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/10/16

Posted on September 10, 2016 by eshuler

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/10/16

The weather man finally got it right! There’s a headline you don’t read often…As I’m writing this, rain is pouring here in Bryson City and across the Smoky Mountains. We’re not getting big rainfall totals, most of it is supposed to be under a 1/2 inch. No matter we’ll gladly take it. Our streams have been low and every little bit will help.

Today’s highs reached 84 in most of the Smoky Mountain region. That didn’t put a damper on the fishing inside the park. Our guides are reporting fantastic action today on the higher elevation streams in both North Carolina and Tennesee. This time of year we are fishing 2,500 ft in elevation and above. The water tempratures are best here and the action is non stop all day with both dries and nymphs. We are seeing lots of rising trout from around 9:00am and continuing all day. Bring a double handful of tan Caddis in #14-18 and have yourself a blast!

A cold front is settling upon the area this week and will bring some slight changes for rain and of course slightly cooler tempratures. Expect the fishing to improve dramatically across the Smokies and the region. Over night lows will dip into the high 50’s and help lower stream tempratures on streams.

September is terrestrial time in the Smoky Mountains. No we’re not talking about ET, the little alien from the movie. We’re talking ants, bottles, inchworms, and grasshoppers. Food items that trout eat that are non aquatic insects are called terrestrials. Trout in the Smoky Mountains do eat these food items and they’re abundant along the streams in the early Fall. Rule of thumb, if the wind blows even a little bit, these food items will be the hot ticket! Even if there is no wind bettles and inch worms are a great idea this time of year. Bettles are all over the forest floor especially around dead logs and inch worms hang on their silk lines dangling from over hanging bushes and trees above the streams. Smaller sizes are the rule of thumb, inch worms #14-16 do well and black beetles #14-18 crush fish. Make sure your bettle patterns have a hot spot that you can see, trying to spot a small dark fly on the surface of a shadowy Smokies stream is tough.

Shades of the Past Rod Run traffic in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg was heavy as expected. Tons of wicked cars and trucks prowling the streets like its 1970 Woodward Avenue in Detroit Michigan all over again. If only! Told ya’ I’m a muscle car and hot rod geek. Finally after several years of looking I spotted the same old mean machine in Pigeon Forge that used to be my Dad’s pride and joy. A 1970 Dodge Charger 440 Six Pack, 4 speed. Only 347 of those cars were made and dad kept her shinning like a new penny. I remember in 1985, I was 10 yrs old and he traded her for a god awful yellow Mustang GT for my mom. I remember crying myself to sleep that night as our street beast was gone.

This weekend the Fall Rod Run will be in Pigeon Forge and again a traffic nightmare. To avoid the spectacle and congestion get out early and head to your favorite stream before 8:00am and just grin and bear it on the drive back home as you may be sitting there for a while. Back roads such as Glade Road in Gatlinburg are a good bet to travel between Gatlingburg and Pigeon Forge and avoid heavy traffic. Dolly Parton Highway in Pigeon Forge is also a good route to avoid a major chunk of traffic around town.

Looks like it’s shaping up to be a fantastic week in the Smoky Mountains!

We’ll see you on the water!

 

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/9/16

Posted on September 9, 2016 by eshuler

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/9/16

Looks like its gonna be another scorcher today in the Smoky Mountains. Highs are expected to be in the low 90’s across Gatlinburg and Bryson City. Of course the high elevations inside the park won’t be nearly as hot. Stream side you probably will only see high 70’s, so not too bad once you’re on the water. Night time lows were 58 inside the park. No rain last night although it looked almost like it was going to early evening. Fingers we’re crossed I promise you! Next week we are forecasted to have several days of much needed rain. I’m not sure how to do a happy dance, but I’m busting out with something resembling the “sprinkler” nonetheless!

Our guides are all reporting great fishing inside the park yesterday. Trout were rising well to dry flies on the sides of the heaviest oxygenated runs. They’re also taking a wide variety of nymphs fished deep in the fastest water you can find. Streams are still low of course but that’s nothing unusual for this time of year. Just wear drab colored clothes and sneak up on them. You shouldn’t have any pronblems. Please be advised to fish above 2,500 feet in elevation as the water tempratures are better from that elevation range and up. Our wild trout don’t need the added stress of being caught and released in the warmer water down low.

Looks like it’s going to be a nice weekend in the Smokies. The Rod Run is happening on the Tennessee side of the big hill, so be prepared for heavy traffic and long lines in restaurants. I do believe I’ll make my way down to Pigeon Forge and take in the sights of some of the old muscle cars. Although I didn’t grow up in that era, my parents did, you can bet those cars strike a special cord in my heart. My dad was an old hotrodder from way back and always had something sitting in the driveway that would pin your ears back when the loud pedal got mashed. I enjoy the smell of burning rubber just as much as he did.

Be safe this weekend and catch and release please!

See you on the water!

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/7/16

Posted on September 8, 2016 by eshuler

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/7/16

Hope everyone enjoyed a much deserved Labor Day holiday and spent some quality time enjoying the outdoors. Unofficially Summer has closed to an end and Fall looms in the not so distant future. For some, this may be a sad time to see Summer pass,  for others the welcome sights and smells of Fall brings a renewed spirit and sense of adventure. Leaves change and colors bust forth all across our beautiful Smoky Mountain home. What I’m really rambling on about is the month of September that is often overlooked for one reason or another. Whether we try and hold onto Summer or look forward to Fall, it seems most folks forget the beauty and bounty that September brings.

September in the Great Smoky Mountains are a trout fisherman’s favorite time to visit. You see a dramatic decrease in the number of people on the trails and in the streams. You also get lower hotel rates and it seems everyone is offering a deal of some sort on virtually anything. In terms of fishing, the action can be nothing short of spectacular and often under-rated. You get some good hatches of many varieties of Caddis, Stoneflies, Mayflies and tons of midges. You see plenty of rising fish which lends itself to some great dry fly fishing often times rivaling the great hatches of spring. Brook trout and Brown trout will become increasingly active especially as night time air temperatures start to drop. They’re getting ready for spawning season as late October and November approach. We are already seeing Brook trout colors start to change and become more brilliant. We are also starting to catch more Brown trout than normal, especially on days where we have just a slight crescent moon.

Of course day time highs are still above normal for this time of year. We’re seeing mostly mid 80’s all week long in Gatlinburg and Bryson City with night time lows in the low 60’s. That’s fine by me as I enjoy wet wading, and  I’ll continue to do so well into the early weeks of October if the warm trend continues. Stream temperatures across the Smokies vary depending on elevation and which side of the mountain they cascade from. Large in part most streams have been from 54-65 degrees this week so far. That’s plenty cold enough for trout to be happy and active of course.

Rainfall has been nonexistent in the Smokies for several days, streams are low. September is a dry month for us typically and this year seems no different. With low water fish are a tad more spooky so wearing dull muted colors is a must. Sneaking up the streams like a Blue Heron is clutch if you want to catch a wild trout in the Smokies. Using a very light tippet will also increase those chances.

Weekend forecasts look promising for outdoor activities in the Smokies. Highs on Friday and Saturday hovering around 90, and dropping to 83 by Sunday. We have a slight chance of rain, roughly 10% Friday and Saturday and that chance increases to 20% by Sunday. In hillbilly terms, it either will or it won’t. Either way we will still be fishing!

See you guys on the water!

 

For Reservations call (828)- 488-7665 or book securely from our website! 

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Fall Trout Fishing Special!

Posted on September 7, 2016 by eshuler

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Fall Trout Fishing

The Fall Trout Special is a 3/4 day Wade Trip during the best time to catch Trout in the Smoky Mountains. The Smokies have year around trout fishing, however we have two peak seasons of the year, early Summer and Fall! Fall is the best time to catch numbers of fish and big fish!

We put you on the water during the best time to be out in the Fall! We start at 8:00am and fish til 2:00pm
No previous fly fishing experience necessary!

We supply a patient, professional fly fishing guide, all the gear you need including, waders, wading boots, fly rods, fly reels, leaders, flies, and tippet. We also bring a nice stream-side lunch consisting of deli sandwiches, chips, and drinks. We offer Catch and Release, and Catch and Keep Trout fishing trips. Our guides bring along cameras to get pictures of you with your catch!

Fall Trout Fishing in awesome in the Smokies!

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Fall Trout Special

Trip Details;

Our Fall Trout Special is a 6 hour Wade Trip fly fishing for Trout!  We supply all the gear you need, plus lunch, drinks, and an adrenaline filled day!  All you need is a fishing license and to dress for the weather.

Children are welcome on all of our trips, and we do have waders and gear to fit them!

Rates;

One angler $190.00

Two or more anglers $112.50 per person

For reservations call (828)488-7665 or book your trip online from our website

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Don’t miss out on Fall Trout Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding region!

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/4/16

Posted on September 4, 2016 by eshuler

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/4/16

Overnight lows in the low 60’s across the Smokies gave us a nice fog cover this morning. Beautiful scenes this morning around the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, all that was missing was the Elk. We saw those out grazing on up river near Tow String in the fields. The fog quickly burned off by around 10:30 am and everything is warming up nicely! Highs today are are 84 in Gatlinburg and 82 in the higher elevation of Bryson City.

Expect high traffic volumes near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge as the holiday goers enjoy the last few days of Summer. Gatlinburg at the Spur looked like a Chinese fire drill. It took about 45 minutes to get from Sugarlands Visitor Center down to the Aquarium. Give it a couple days and the congestion should start clearing up just in time for the Rod Run madness the next two weekends! No break in the crowds on the roads it seems. However you will notice a dramatic drop in the amount of hikers and people playing in the streams. Fisherman love this time of year as you have streams all to yourself for the whole month of September.

I’m seriously going to miss wet wading this year as cooler temperature loom about a month away. As much as I love Gortex for its capabilities, there’s no such thing as breathable in the humid Smoky Mountains during the summer. Nothing feels more refreshing than stepping off into a clear cool Smokies trout stream in just shorts and wading boots.

Our guides today all reported great success rates with both dries and nymphs. Water is low as normal all across the Smokies. Stay stealthy and move deliberately and slowly through the streams and success is only a good cast away. Presentation is key!

See you on the water!

 

 

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/3/16

Posted on September 3, 2016 by eshuler

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Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/3/16

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park fished very good today. High elevation streams produced great numbers of both Brook trout and Rainbow. Many of these fish fell for dry flies particularly in the afternoon. Nothing more fun than watching as a wild trout hits your fly at nearly 40mph!

Our guides are reporting better stream temperatures all across the park simply because the night time lows have came down a few degrees and has helped park streams drop overall water temperatures. We did pick up a slight trace of rain on a few watersheds inside the park, particularly on Deep Creek and Noland Creek. While this didn’t change the overall water levels, it’s our impression that every little bit helps! Rain also fell on Mt. Guyot for a brief time and raised the water levels on Ramsey Prong just a tad.

We braved the Labor Day weekend crowds and spent the afternoon at Cade’s Cove taking a few pictures and kicking around the streams. While there was several folks out for a drive and stopping along the road sides for a picnic, we didn’t notice many anglers on Abrams Creek which was a surprise. We only ran across two fly anglers both of which stated they had done well early on in the day. We managed several nice Bows to the net on small yellow Stimulators fished in the fast water in the afternoon. We’re working on a new nymph pattern that wrecked house on Abrams Creek today too. We’ve yet to release it, always more work to do!

See you on the water!

 

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