Fat Tuesday with Fly Fishing the Smokies

What would be Fat Tuesday in most parts of the country that celebrates Mardi Gras , we have coined “Trout Tuesday”.

So on Trout Tuesday we guided a father and son, Jason and Jay, from Louisiana. We Floated the Tuckasegee River Delayed Harvest Section which is part of the WNC Fly Fishing Trail near Dillsboro and Sylva NC. Jason took advantage of the great deal with our Float Trip Special. What a great day we had! These  guys were easily some of the nicest folks we’ve had the pleasure of fishing with!

Fat Tuesday Rainbow Trout with Fly Fishing the Smokies

The morning started off cold, with a light dusting of what the old timers used to call Hominy Snow, which covered our fishing rig and cataraft. You never know what your are going to get with a Winter in the Smoky Mountains.  The day remained cloudy but warmed up to around 50 degrees. The water levels in the Tuckasegee River were low to start the morning off, with the generation flows from the upstream powerhouse reaching us around noon. The fishing was good and we had already boated several nice trout by the time the warmer water from the powerhouses reached us. Once the higher and warmer flows hit us, the fishing really turned on and we finished out the day cataching and releasing many Brook, Brown, and Rainbow Trout.  8 yr old Jay managed to capture a Grand Slam which is a Rainbow, Brown and Brook Trout. While a Brook Trout eluded his dad Jason the entire day, Jason was on fire catching rainbow trout. He caught several nice fish some of which pushed 16 inches. On two occasions Jason caught wild Rainbow Trout who were born in the Tuckasegee River. This just goes to show that the health of the Tuckasegee River is alive and well, and with the recent removal of the old crumbling Dillsboro Dam has opened passageway to many spawning wild trout who might have otherwise never have been able to travel upstream and complete their spawning runs.

In all, Trout Tuesday was a great day, and in non traditional Mardis Gras fashion, our gluttenous day of catching many trout on Fat Tuesday will NOT be follow by giving up any Fly Fishing vises that we may, or may not have. Bring on the flies and fish, its the Carnival Season!

Tight Lines!

The river’s name comes from that of a Cherokee village, Tsiksitsi (meaning “Crawling Terrapin,” for the sluggish movement of the waters). The Tuck is roughly 50 miles long and is a beautiful river. With it’s relatively slow moving current, emerald green waters, and many rock ledges, the fish here have a great place to live. Anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish in the Tuck. In the upper stretches of the river near the small town of Dillsboro, we have a Delayed Harvest Section of the Tuckasegee River which contains over 9,000 trout per mile. Action here is nothing short of incredible. As you move downstream towards the settlement of Whittier the river widens a bit and you begin to see Smallmouth Bass and some really big Brown and Rainbow Trout. Further downstream near Bryson City, we catch anything from Rainbow and Brown Trout, to Smallmouth, Walleye, and Muskie. Wading the Tuck is a great option, but the real fun is floating the river from a raft and cataraft.

We have floated the Tuckasegee River for over 12 years. in that time we have guided more float trips down the tuckasegee river than any other outfitter in the area. To say we have a good grasp on the Tuckasegee River might just be an understatement.

To fish this legandary river;

Call us at (828)488-7665 or send us an email to guides@flyfishingthesmokies.net and we’ll be happy to help get your trip booked and get you on the water.

Come and Fly Fish the Smokies with us, we’re sure you’ll create memories that will last a lifetime!

The warm weather today brought the trout to the surface feeding on a variety of dry flies and nymphs fished in the waters surface. Hatches of Caddis, Stoneflies, Blue winged Olives and midges kept us in constant action all morning long.

Hopefully this spring like weather is here to stick around for a while, we are getting spoiled!

Tight Lines

To book a trip with Fly Fishing the Smokies you can either click the Book Online! button

 or call us at 828-488-7665 or shoot us an email at guides@flyfishingthesmokies.net

The Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail takes you to 15 excellent spots for catching Brook, Brown and Rainbow trout. Whether you seek quantity or size, open waters or small streams, the WNC Fly Fishing Trail has it all.

The WNC Fly Fishing Trail includes the following rivers and streams;

• Tuckasegee River
• Scotts Creek
• Small streams, Moses Creek, Mull Creek, Rough Butt Creek, Chastine Creek, and Piney Mountain Creek
• Tanasee Creek
• Caney Fork
• Panther Town Creek
• Raven Fork
• Whitewater River
• Scotsman Creek
• Fowler Creek
• Chattooga River
• Savannah Creek
• Greens Creek

Don’t miss out on fly fishing the WNC Fly Fishing Trail with the guides at Fly Fishing the Smokies.!

 We have a few options of booking your trip, you can choose to click the Book Online! link to the right of the screen or call us at 828-488-7665 or send an email to guides@flyfishingthesmokies.net and book your trip to one of the many great streams on the WNC Fly Fishing Trail today.

Plan ahead, and book now to reserve your spot for Guided Fly Fishing with the guides at Fly Fishing the Smokies!

Take advantage of our new Online Booking and Reservation system with Flybook. Just click the Book Online! button to the side of the screen, and follow the simple instructions. Our reservation system allows you to view our calander and make your choices for the many great guided fly fishing trips we offer. Just choose the trip that YOU want, and pick the date from the calander, it’s that easy. Our reservation system accepts all major credit cards and takes only seconds to book your trip. You’ll know in real time if the date and trip you have selected is available and if not an alternative date will be shown on the calander. Talk about a bunch of country boys gone Hi Tech!

So join us on the water this year and fly fish the Great Smoky Mountains with us. You’ll have a great time and experience a side of the Smokies that few ever see.

Fly Fishing the Smokies is a kid freindly guide service and outfitters. We have gear and rods that are sized for the little ones. As parents ourselves, we couldn’t think of a better way to spend quality time with your family than a day of guided fly fishing.

See you on the water!

your guides

Despite the current winter bite in the air, we stayed dry and happy aboard our cataraft. Gortex and fleece are your best freinds in these types of conditions. As the old saying goes, “no theres no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear” The cold air never stopped us today. Simms provides us with the best gear on the market and we live in our Simms waders and jackets all year long.

The trout were happy to see the sunshine out today and would take our flies as expected. The bite is a little more subtle in these conditions, but careful attention and you’ll be into fish in no time.

Barry and Fran are long time fly anglers and freinds of ours, and are no strangers to fishing in winter. They knew the drill and proceeded to stick trout after trout on nymphs fished deep in the main runs. Fran scored a Grand Slam today, and Barry lost his needed Brown Trout almost at the net. He did however land a monster Rainbow that put smiles on all our faces today.

It was a great day to be out on the river, even in the cold, you can still have a good day floating the Tuckasegee River near Dillsboro and Sylva North Carolina.

Tight Lines,

the guides

Last week saw a new fly fishing competition on the water there, and with it came a fresh 4,000lbs of trout stocked just add more fish for the event.

Fish size is exactly what you would expect, big aggressive Rainbow and Brown Trout hungry and fighting with each other for everything that hits the water and catches their attention.

We’ve been catching tons of big fish there this winter anyway even before the stocking for the event. This week so far has been a slam fest of big fish and plenty of smiles and laughter as fish after fish of a lifetime are being brought to the net. Local and visiting anglers alike are calling Cherokee one of the best new fly fishing destinations in the country. We couldn’t agree more.

If your jones’n for the fight of your life and the biggest trout you have ever seen, book a trip and come fly fish Cherokee North Carolina with us, you’ll be glad you did!

For booking a trip either call 828-488-7665, or you can email us at guides@flyfishingthesmokies.net

See you on the water!

Tight Lines,

the guides

The trout are now kind of confused as what to do. They know they shouldn’t be eating as much, but the weather and bugs hatching off have them feeling like its spring time, so when in Rome as they say.

We’ve been seeing steady hatches of Little Winter Stone Fly Nymphs, along with tons and tons of Caddis flies. Most are small and black to dark grey, but nonetheless the trout are keying in on them and we are having a ball.

The best time to fly fish the Smoky Mountains have been mid morning until mid afternoon. At times, you can fish solely dry flies. we know, dry flies in the Smoky Mountain winter, that sounds crazy right? But it’s true.

Old Man Winter may not be over by a long shot yet, but we are sure not going to sit around and wait him out either. We’re going to be on the water enjoying this mixed up crazy winter season we’ve been having.

Come on out and fish with us. We’ll be the ones out catching trout while others have dened up for the winter

For booking information call 828-488-7665 or email us at guides@flyfishingthesmokies.net

Tight Lines