Fly Fishing Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Alyssa and I visited Great Smoky Mountain National Park last week.  We fished the various streams on the Tennessee side and were pleasantly surprised at the number of wild brook trout that were willing to take our flies.   The primary streams that we focused our efforts on were located near Elkmont and Greenbrier. This area had a number of quiet trails that were secluded and lacked the volume of traffic seen in other areas of the park.  Much of the fishable water was limited to pockets, but those pockets were teaming with hungry trout ranging from 6 to 12 inches in size.  The most effective patterns that we used were pheasant tails, prince nymphs, and hoppers.  What I liked most about this area was the scenery.  The area was beautiful, the water was clean and clear, and our lines were tight….  It was a great trip.

Here are a few pictures taken on our trip!

Fly Fishing Evergreen Reservoir

Evergreen Reservoir has always been a fun location to fish for me.  It’s only about 30 minutes from the house, it’s well stocked, and there are no gas power boats allowed!  The only problem with the location is the street noise that can sometimes become excessive and the volume of shore fishing that can be witnessed on the weekends.   The easy solution to these issues is to fish the reservoir from a boat.  Launching a boat quickly gives you access to a lot of fishing real-estate not easily reached from shore.  Soon after you launch, you will often find yourself hooked into some nice trout which in turn replaces the background distractions with the excitement of a tight line.

Yesterday was no exception.  The day was warm and the wind was moderate.  We got lucky in that we didn’t spend a great deal of time experimenting with various patterns before we started catching trout.   We tied on a bugger and using a sinking line, started stripping it around the many underwater structures that can be found in the lake.  PAY DIRT!  We caught 8 nice fish (12 to 14 inches) in only a few hours. 

Fly Tying With Charlie Craven

I finished fly tying classes with Charlie a few weeks ago; however, I am just getting around to posting my thoughts about my time spent there in the shop.  Honestly, I couldn’t say enough good things about the experience.  Classes were well thought out, fun, and did an excellent job at building a good skillset and a strong foundation.  When I first signed up, I thought that I might get a little bored as I had already worked my way through most of his first book. This was not the case at all.  I find now that I have taken the class, the book provides a good outline of his tying techniques, but the class fills in all of the holes or gaps in the training.  There are lot of tips and tricks that Charlie discusses and demonstrates that will bring your tying skills to the next level.  I would recommend this class to anyone that is serious about tying great flies.

Check out my fly boxes now!

Fly Fishing Clear Creek

Connor and I took off up to Clear Creek Sunday around 11:00am.  Fishing was a little slow at first as I only brought three to the net during the first few hours, one on a prince and the others on a jujubaetis.  However, after 3:00pm, everything began to change.  The temperature dropped a little which inevitably triggered a nice hatch of mayflies.  It was at this time the surface of the river came alive.  Trout ranging from 10 to 12 inches began to rise consistently taking both adults and emergers from the slower pools of the river.  I strapped on a parachute adams and proceeded to cast into the madness.  We were not disappointed.  In only two hours Connor and I had landed about 15.  It was a fun day…   Just a light wind and we had the river all to ourselves.

Fly Fishing The Taylor River

This was my first time on the Taylor River. This time of year, the most productive fishing area was right near the dam in what the locals called the “pig trough”. The fish here are big and there are lots of them. My friend Tom and I fished Saturday. The winds were a bit high and the temperature was in the mid-40s with a water temperature of about 39 degrees. We caught a few nice ones (15 to 18 inches) on mysis and hooked up with a few larger trout that liked to break off quickly and swim away laughing. The only real complaint that I had about the area was the crowds and the lack of fishing etiquette. It was elbow to elbow for most of the day with many guys having no issue dropping in right on top of you and attempting to cast into the same run, presumably between each of your casts… annoying! I had a few words with one guy that came down and stood less than 4 feet from me, yet he seemed confused as to why I had an issue with it. Next time, I will certainly plan to be there on a weekday so I can avoid those types of issues. Overall, it was a productive day as we caught about 10 trout between the two of us. I look forward to this summer as I have already booked a camping trip on the Taylor for July. Oh yeah, those camp days will be during the week...

Here are a few pictures of the trout we caught that day -

Fly Fishing Eleven Mile Canyon

Canyon fishing was on fire this weekend.  I headed down there mid-morning and fished from about 11:30am to 4:00pm.  I could see a lot of small browns surfacing taking BWOs, however; the real action was deep within the countless pools that lay along that section the South Platte.  I started nymphing with a prince (size 14) and jujubaetis (size 18) casting into the riffles and allowing the rig to drop into the center of the pools… Strike after strike after strike! J I hooked up with some really nice fish Saturday, the largest of which was a 17 inch rainbow.  What was even more fun that day was watching Alyssa connect with a few trout herself.  Fishing with her is always entertaining because shortly after the hook-set comes frantic screaming and confusion as to what to do next.  She’s getting better, and with every new trout on her line, so does her interest in fly fishing!   

Fly Fishing the Big Thompson

Conditions were marginal today, but getting on the river before the front hit the area was the right thing to do.  Right away, the trout were in a frenzy as they appeared to strike at anything that may have even seemed slightly edible.  I was fishing with BWOs, pheasant tails, caddis, and baetis patterns, and all worked just fine.  We arrived around 9:30am, while it was still 60 degrees, and fished well into the temperature drop to 30.  While most of the activity did drop off as the snowfall thickened, we still got a few nice browns to the net before we determined that a cold beer and a plate of Texas brisket was becoming a bit more interesting than standing in the middle of an ice cold river.  Overall, we both had a great time and look forward to the summer months of fly fishing!