A little cold weather blast to region the last couple days remind us that winter still gets the last word around the Appalachians.
Old timers here in the Smokies will tell you that we have 5 “Little Winters” And before you roll your eyes, let me tell you they are spot on correct too. This most recent blast is called Redbud Winter and is the first of the 5. Redbud Winter typically hits late March to early April and always catches you off guard because it typically follows on the heels of an almost Summer like warm spell. We typically get some snow with this one in the high elevations and winds that will cut you in half. We saw just exactly that this past week. Easter Sunday was one of the most beautiful days we have had in a really long time. Early week was also simply spectacular. But, by mid week, Redbud Winter blew through here with a vengeance, bringing with it heavy isolated rains, high winds followed by snow and down right cold temps. Thankfully we are going to warm up quickly and temps are expected to be back into the low 70’s by Sunday!
The second, more commonly talked about, “Dogwood Winter” happens in late April around the time the Dogwood trees bloom. With this one we can still get some snow in the high elevations and definitely some heavy frosts in the valley floors that will zap the blooms off trees and flowers alike. Locust Winter is early May, while Blackberry Winter is mid May around Mothers Day with Whippoorwill Winter coming in late May. Time will only tell if we have all five this year, but typically we do!
The fishing this week has been pretty solid. All week long, even despite the cold snap, we saw good hatches of Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, Stoneflies and Blue Winged Olives. Early week several of the streams in the Smoky Mountains National Park were actually fishing really good. Lower elevation creeks such as Deep Creek, Little River, Oconaluftee River and Cataloochee Creek all got the thumbs up. Of course once Redbud Winter hit, the Smokies streams shut down pretty quick leaving us with the Tuckasegee River which is not inside the park.
The Tuckasegee River continues to be the very best fishing we have time of year. The Dillsboro stretch of the Tuckasegee got stocked on the 1st and 3rd. The Bryson City section will get stocked on Monday the 8th. Literally thousands of trout per mile were added into the catch and release sections of the Tuckasegee River. Fish range from 12 to 25 inches, with some exceeding the 25 mark. These waters are controlled by hydroelectric dams upstream which provide consistent water temperatures and a variety of rich aquatic insect life. It is in these waters that we see the best insect hatches in the area.
Cherokee tribal waters are now fully open and fishing good as usual. Opening weekend was very busy and has seen a lot of pressure from the catch and keep anglers. The Fly Fishing Only Trophy section has fished pretty good this past week despite the mid week cold snap. Consistent hatches of Blue Quills have kept them looking up in the mid afternoons.
This weeks forecast looks pretty solid. Temps are getting back to normal and we do have a good chance of rain by mid week. We’re not expected to see heavy rainfall totals thankfully. Morning temps are expected to be in the low 50’s with highs reaching into the low 70’s. Chance of rain on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday combined with warm temps have us all thinking about big brown trout and streamer fishing. Overcast and rainy days always see the big Browns coming out in force to feed. Stripping some meat along the edges with that are adjacent to deep water always yield some nice sized fish.
Overall it looks to be a good week here in the mountains. We aren’t expecting to be as busy with tourist and spring breakers as the last several weeks. If you’ve been holding off on coming to the mountains, this will be a good time
We’ll see you on the water