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.

I'm Back!

After resigning my post as Head Guide for another outfitter in the area, I'm pleased to announce that I am back! I hope I will now have some time to keep this blog updated, since before I was paid to keep theirs updated instead of mine. Well, no more! They are on their own and I'm pleased to start building my reader list again. Stay tuned for some fresh content and maybe even a FB page....if you guys are in to that sort of thing.

Fishing Report

Went to the Tellico River today in search of some big, love sick brown trout. Had some time yesterday so I tied up a few of these Hot Head Leeches that drive spawning brown trout crazy.

This is a great fly to use when trying to entice fish to bite out of pure frustration. Especially when you have cold, gin clear water like I had today. The river was a little low, but definitely fishable. Water temp was 45 degrees. I didn't notice any real insect activity, so a heavy nymph rig dredged through the deeper runs would have worked also. But like I said, I wasn't going after numbers. I was focused on big brown trout. After all, tis the season you know. Only problem was that these guys kept getting in the way. Caught several of these today but never laid eyes on any brown trout.



Today was one of the few times I can remember that I fished on the Tellico River without seeing any other fishermen. Saw a few hunters and campers drive by, but no fishermen. And as you might guess, that was fine by me. I enjoyed having it all to myself.

The delayed harvest section fished well today. Stealth is very important. As I said earlier, the water was gin clear and a little low. As you can see by the picture of Bald River Falls below, the water levels are still good, but we could use some rain.

Nymphs and streamers would be my choice on the Tellico. I didn't see any rising fish today. The only fly I used was the leech pattern, but the typical nymphs and woolly buggers would have worked fine. I just never had a reason to change. You can go with 5x tippet despite the clear water. You'll probably need it. These fish are strong. The ones I caught today were fat and averaged about 14 inches in length. I wouldn't go with anything less than 5x, especially with streamers.

The weather has been perfect. The rivers are not crowded. The fish are biting. Get out and enjoy!









Tellico River Report

The Tellico River Delayed Harvest section is fishing great right now. TWRA stocked the river last week for the DH and the fish are holding up their end of the bargain. They are biting!
Good size fish noted on my exploratory trip. Many brought to hand in the 14" range with lots of better fish caught throughout the day. It would appear that good times are upon us for a few months. Get out and enjoy the many great DH fisheries in the area. They should all be fishing great right now. Tight Lines!

Delayed Harvest Has Begun!

The delayed harvest program has begun on many of our area streams. This is some of the best fishing of the year. Many local fly fishermen anxiously await the change in regulations that brings on fresh stockings of fish and thins out the crowds. Get out and enjoy!