Friday, July 26, 2013

Fishing Report

The Tellico and Hiwassee Rivers continue to improve through the season. The record rainfall we have had this year has really improved all aspects of our fishing. Insect life, water temps, fish activity and water levels have all been pretty darn good. This has been the best year for our fisheries in recent memory.

Tellico River

The Tellico has held on to great water levels and temps this year. The stocking has moved up to the section from North River to the state line only, which is a normal occurrence for this time of year. That's my favorite section anyway, so I don't mind at all.
Trout are being taken on almost any nymph pattern, as long as you present it well and aren't afraid to add split shot in the deeper sections. The BHPT and Prince nymphs continue to be about all you need to carry for a days fishing. If you are a streamer man like me, don't forget to bring some size 6 olive buggers along. Any color will work, as long as they are olive!
The wild streams continue to produce with large, bushy dries such as a humpy or EHC. The key here is a good drift with a fly that is riding high. This is the place, years ago, when I learned how important the dry fly shake is when fishing to wild trout. They will not look at a water logged dry fly! You have to shake it and make it ride as high as possible to fool them. Either that or keep changing flies to keep a fresh one in play.

Hiwassee River

The Hi has been phenomenal this year! Between the rains and the Delayed Harvest regs that went into effect a couple years ago, the Hi has really been able to keep some healthy, happy fish that are more than willing to bite a fly. Our water temps are in the lower 60's right now and insect life is crazy. Dry flies have been used exclusively on my trips over the last month or so. Between the caddis and isonychia naturals on the water, we've been able to fish dries from ramp to ramp with great success. That's hard to beat in our neck of the woods.
The standard nymph and streamer patterns mentioned above are working as well. People have reported good catch rates on just about everything they've tried. Of course some things work better than others. Just go with what you have the most confidence in and adjust accordingly.



No comments:

Post a Comment