Fishing Conditions in the Smokies

My good friend James Marsh who lives in Pigeon Forge keeps his finger on the pulse in the Smokies. He has provided this update on the conditions in the Smokies here in NC and Tenn. There are some Blue Quills and Quill Gordon mayflies starting to hatch  There's also a fair number of Little Brown Stoneflies of two different families continuing to hatch. Although what is occurring is still sparse, the numbers will increase over the next three or four days. The potential problem is going to be the amount of rainfall, not the lack of hatches. 

Little Black Caddis - Pupae
Although the Little Black Caddis hatch is a favorite of many because of its good dry fly fishing, you can catch more trout faster on an imitation of the pupae just before these caddisflies start to hatch on any given day. When you see a good number of them trying to get off the water, you may want to switch to a dry fly even though the pupa imitation will still produce better results. In the cold water these caddis usually hatch in, it takes a good amount of time for the adults to escape their pupae sheath or skin to dry their wings well enough to fly. I have seen times the adults couldn't even fly after they were out of the water and on the banks of the stream. This is common in the early mornings when the low nightly temperature has dropped down around the freezing mark. They become more active as the air warms during the day. Everything is dependant on the water and air temperatures. 

This is our Perfect Fly imitation of a Little Black Caddis pupa. These caddis hatch from the riffles and runs but by the time they are on the surface trying to get rid of their pupae skins, they have usually drifted to the ends of the runs and riffles where the water has slowed down. This is the point the trout can easily pick them off. You will often see swirls right at the surface of the water or flashes of trout feeding on them a foot or two beneath the surface.

You fish the pupae imitation like a wet fly down and across, instead of up or up and across. You should add a tiny amount of weight about 8 inches above the fly. We use a small BB size split-shot. Cast it up and across the fast water of a run or riffle and start mending the line (make two or three quick mends) when the fly first hits the water. This helps get the fly down. Let the fly swing all the way around in the current to the down and across position keeping snug contact with the fly or at least watching the end of the fly line closely for a take. When it is all the way around, hold the rod tip up at about a 45 degree angle and the fly will begin to surface due to the current. That's when the trout normally take the fly. Sometimes they take it when its almost all the way back to the surface. Let it sit on the surface a few seconds before repeating the presentation. 

It's best to start up near the heads of the fast water and work your way downstream along the run a step or two at a time. If you see the adults begin to leave the water in flight, that's just below where you want the pupa imitation to surface.