Gear Review

Those of you that follow this blog know that I don't do alot of gear reviews here. No real reason why not, I just haven't had alot of requests from people to write about stuff like that. However, I just bought a new rod that really impressed me to the point of sharing my views with others.
I have been needing a new fly rod for striper fishing on the Hi for awhile now. In my usual fashion I kept procrastinating until I finally decided to pull the trigger and order one. And I will have to say that my procrastination finally paid off. The rod that I ordered hasn't been on the market long, so I am definitely glad that I waited. The "chosen" rod is the Temple Fork Outfitters BVK in the 9' 8 wt. model.
Those of you that know me know that I am a big fan of Winston rods. For trout fishing anyway. But I think that they are a little weak when it comes to throwing big, wind resistant flies on 300 grain sink tip lines. And this is obviously how we fish for big, river run stripers. So, I decided to give the new BVK a try after doing some research on it. I can sum it up in one word...Damn!
I had the rod shipped to the shop. When it came in I couldn't wait to give it a test ride. I slapped on my new Galvan reel with a 300 grain sink tip line on it and went out to play in the yard. To say the least, I was impressed!
The rod was stiff, which I like and expect in an 8 wt., and you could really feel the power in your hand. It layed out the line with very little effort as opposed to other rods in its class. It carried the line well in the air and shot it with ease. I looked at the reel, kind of a glance really, and noticed that I had very little of the 100' of line left on the reel. That really surprised me because I had just been playing around with it. Kind of "kicking the tires". I remember thinking that I could not believe that this rod only cost 250 bucks! Incredible! It was very accurate at all distances and was a real treat to cast. Lefty Kreh put in alot of time developing this rod and it shows. Great casters design great rods. It is just that simple. You know he thought it was special when he named it BVK. Those are his initials by the way.
I didn't mean to make this such a long post. It kind of got away from me. To sum it up I will say that you are "crazy" if you don't give this rod a try. Especially if you need an 8 wt. ( I haven't tried any other BVK rod ). I am sure that the other BVK's are great as well. In fact, I am going to order a new 10 wt. soon for some musky fishing this fall. For that price I know I can't go wrong. Not with this stick!

Fishing Report

The Tellico River continues to hold its own with water temps. You may have to fish above Green Cove to find the trout friendly temps, but they are there. And, so are the trout.
We have been catching fish on the typical nymph and streamer patterns. The best producers have been size 16 BHPT's and size 6 BH Olive Buggers. No doubt about it, these 2 flies will produce year round on the Tellico.
The smallmouth bite has been on as well. I have been going in the evenings and have had real good success with streamers and some top water flies. That's about all I can say about the smallies. I don't divulge alot of info. about them. Most smallmouth fishermen are tight lipped when it comes to talking about their smallie fishing. I am no different. Gotta protect those smallmouth!

Best Wishes

Here is hoping that all our neighbors and customers in Alabama made it through the awful tornadoes alright yesterday. We got hammered here too, but nothing like you guys did. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone that was effected by the storms.

Fishing Report

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. This is a very busy time of year for us. Between the fly shop, booking trips, guiding trips, tying flies, exploring new waters and doing a little personal fishing here and there, there's not a whole lot of time left for posting on the blog. I know that it's been awhile since I posted a fishing report, so I told myself last night that I would get this done ASAP today so here it goes.
The fishing on the Tellico and Hiwassee Rivers is red hot right now. Spring hatches have begun and we have some risers throughout the day, but the fish have still not really committed to top water yet. The caddis and quill gordon are here so it's just a matter of time before they start looking up. We still have some winter stones around too. Continue to fish the standard nymph and streamer patterns that got you through the winter until you see some rising fish. Then you can try your dry fly luck. Don't be afraid to drop a soft hackle off the back of that dry. Sometimes that is not a rise that you're seeing. It is a bulge from a trout taking an emerger just below the surface. If they are bulging, a soft hackle emerger pattern will usually work. By using a dry-dropper rig you have both your bases covered.
Sorry for the short report. Since I began writing this I have booked 2 guide trips. See what I mean by being busy lately? Not complaining of course. We love it! This is gonna be a GREAT year! Hope to see ya soon!

Pre-Spawn Action

Here are some pics of this year's pre-spawn bows. Very limited window on this action. Call now to book your trip!



The Wait is Over!

As you can see below the smallmouth bite is on! These fish are feeding up after a long winter in anticipation of their upcoming spawn.
We scouted an area the other day that we knew held plenty of these fish in hopes that the warmer weather had them moving up and feeding. We caught several nice smallies and it is only going to get better over the next few weeks. If you like fly fishing for smallies give us a call and book your trip now. We also do guided trips for spin fishermen. No matter the method we can put you on these fish.



Big Day Planned

Tying up some flies today. Got a big day planned tomorrow. Going to scout out some new water to guide on. If this works out like I think it will it will be the best float trip available in this area!

Link Updated

I just updated the link for the generation schedule on the Hiwassee River. For some reason TVA doesn't update the info. anymore on the old site.

Finally!

Good news! The new fishing licenses will be available on Feb. 18th. Why is this good news you ask? Well there are a couple new license options this year that will make it cheaper for residents and non-residents alike to enjoy some time on the water. A couple of the new ones that I am referring to are listed below, along with a short description. Keep in mind that when "All Species" is listed to describe a license, that means that trout are included.
Type 023- Resident 1 day fishing license - All Species $11.00
( This eliminates the need to buy an $18.00 annual trout stamp for just one day of trout fishing )
Type 083- Non-resident 1 day fishing license - All Species $16.00
( Previously a 3 day non-resident license was the least that you could buy )
As you can see, this makes it alot cheaper for our clients to buy a license for just that 1 day that they are fishing with us. These 1 day options are something that all outfitters have been wanting for a long time. Hats off to TWRA for listening and implementing the changes. Good job guys! 

Nantahala DH

Just a few pics from the Nantahala Delayed Harvest waters. The DH is still in full swing, so don't forget that we are still offering guided trips to that area. There are still plenty of 20 inch and better fish to be had there. And the scenery speaks for itself.        

Interesting Marketing Fact

Interesting study into how you choose your gear. This was posted on the AFFTA site and I thought some of you might be interested in the marketing aspects of how you spend your money. Click here to check it out.

Hiwassee River Generation

TVA continues to run 2 generators for most of the day through the weekdays, but seems to let up a little bit on weekends. That may be to allow some wading fishermen to get a quick fix on the weekends. I don't know for sure, but I like to think that they help us out when they can. Anyway, if you get a chance to go with favorable flows, take advantage of it. The fishing has been very good with lots of brown trout coming to hand lately. No really big ones that I know of, but at least they are biting. It's probably just a matter of time before someone lays into a nice one. This is the right time of year to catch one. So get out when you can.



Fishing Report

Fishing continues to be good on the area trout waters. The fish are cooperating, the weather is the problem. I don't mind fishing in the snow, but when the roads are as icy as they have been lately, you just can't get to the decent areas to fish. And you can forget about backing a boat down the ramp, unless you want to lose your truck in the Hiwassee River.
If you are going to catch good numbers of fish in the winter, you can't be afraid to put on some split shot. And a double nymph rig for that matter. Midges are also important. The same standard flies that you use throughout the rest of the year will work fine. You just have to get them down. Not just deep, but on the bottom.
I would stick with BHPT's and Princes for the most part. Using them on a double nymph rig is hard to beat. You can also use one of these as your lead fly and drop a zebra midge off the back. If you want to throw a streamer, I would go with a white or olive bugger. Probably an olive one in size 6. Hard to go wrong with that one.
This set-up will work good on the Tellico or on the Hi. Just be sure and wade carefully. This is not a good time to get water down your waders. But sometimes you just have to risk it in order to spend some time with these little guys.



New Look

Taking advantage of a dreary day here in East TN to do a badly needed update to the blog. Giving it a fresh new look. Haven't had alot of time to post lately, let alone update the look, so this is time well spent. Feel free to chime in with any ideas that you may have. I need all the help I can get.

Product Review

I don't normally post product reviews due to the fact that most people probably don't care about my opinion on gear. However, I have had some recent requests for this type of info. on the blog, so here it goes.
Back in November I bought myself a new Simms G4 Pro Jacket. I had been needing another rain jacket for awhile and decided to pull the trigger and order one since the winter season was upon us. This was my first G4 jacket, but not my first Simms product. I have used their stuff in the past and knew that I couldn't go wrong with this jacket. And I was right!
The quality that I have come to expect from Simms really shows in this jacket. From ample storage room in the pockets to built-in zingers, they have pretty much thought of everything when they designed it. It has hand warmer pockets, zippers in the armpits to let excess heat escape and even a fly patch on the left breast. It has everything that I need in a jacket and more.
There are other features on it that I have not mentioned here. Visit their website at http://www.simmsfishing.com/ to read about all the features of this great jacket. You can't go wrong with Simms gear. They have never let me down!