Current streamflow- 188cfs
Water temps- low 30s
Hatches:
Midges
Winter black stoneflies
It's been quite a while since we've last posted a report, and for good reason. Like most other mountain streams in the state, the Tellico and its tributaries are currently locked in ice. Anchor ice has formed on the bottom and sides of runs and rapids, and many pools are mostly if not completely frozen over. To make matters worse, both detour routes are still ice covered and treacherous to navigate. We would strongly advise not making the trip up river until weather warms and the roads thaw, for your safety. Even for those willing to brave the road conditions, river conditions will make fishing tough at best.
Unfortunately, most of the other mountain streams in the state are experiencing similar conditions. You may be able to find better conditions in our tailwater fisheries, if generation schedules allow.
This coming week will bring warmer temps along with some rain, and conditions should greatly improve by next weekend. Until then, it may be a good time to whip up your favorite patterns and get those fly boxes filled in preparation for warmer days.
Stream Report 12.18.25
Current Streamflow- 178cfs
Water Temps- mid to upper 40s
Hatches:
Black Caddis
Blue-winged olives
Winter black stoneflies
Hot flies:
Blowtorch 16-12
Walt's worm 16-12
Pat's rubber legs 12-10
Jigged leeches 12-8
It's been a while since we've posted a stream report. We haven't had much of a chance to get up river ourselves in this busy time among holidays, but we finally found some time earlier this week. I'm happy to report that the Tellico is in fine shape thanks to recent rains and is fishing very well. The day we spent on the Tellico this week brought some of the most consistent fishing that we've seen yet this winter. While we didn't land any giants, we caught multiple healthy rainbows in the 16-18" range, a couple of browns, and a ton of wild rainbows. Warmer water temps had the trout eating nearly every offering we threw at them and many of the trout had moved back into faster runs and pocket water after spending the last week being largely dormant in deep pools due to a bitter cold front and sudden drop in water temps.
Fish nymphs in runs and pools, but focus on the swifter water at the head off pools where trout will stack up and feed in warmer temps. If water temps drop back into the low 40s, focus on deeper, slower parts of the same runs and pools.
BONUS REPORT- GATLINBURG DH:
I spent yesterday fishing the Gatlinburg Delayed Harvest with Mark Brown from Chota Outdoor Gear . We found similar conditions on the West Prong as we did on the Tellico River the day before. The sight fishing was excellent, and there were plenty of fish to target, although they were more selective and harder to fool due to more pressure than what we've had on the Tellico River. Take a variety of nymphs, streamers, and small egg patterns and be prepared to change flies often to stay on top of what the trout are looking for. Gatlinburg is definitely a fun option if you don't mind the crowds, and some very large and hard fighting fish are your potential reward.
STREAM REPORT 11.27.24
Current streamflow - 133cfs
Water temps- mid to upper 40s
Hatches:
Blue-winged olives
Tan midges
Black midges
Tan caddis
Hot flies:
Griffith's Gnat 18-16
Blue-winged olives dry 18-16
Parachute Adams 16-14
Chubby Chernobyl 14-12
Walt's worm 18-12
Frenchies 18-12
Bwo emergers 20-14
Rainbow warrior 20-16
Blowtorch 16-14
The Tellico River DH continues to produce good numbers of stocked and wild fish with some trophies still to be found. The DH was last stocked a little over a week ago and with cool water and low flows, the trout have settled in to deeper runs and pools and have keyed in on natural food sources, mostly midges and blue-winged olives. On sunny days, good numbers of fish can be found in the lower half of runs and pools, sipping dry flies and emergers in the tailouts.
While nymphs will still produce fish, we recommend making the most of sight fishing for dry fly sippers with a Griffith's gnat or other small dry fly and an emerger or small nymph on a short dropper. There's nothing better than watching a trout line up and break the surface to sip a well presented dry fly.
The wild trout streams are still fishing well on warmer days, although they tend to be a little more hit or miss and temperamental than the stocked waters. Focus on mid day when temps are warmest if you want to focus on wild trout.
We hope that everyone has a happy Thanksgiving and a great weekend, whether that finds you on the water, in the woods, or spending time with family.
STREAM REPORT 11.21.24
Current streamflow- 105cfs
Water temps- uppers 40s to low 50s
Current hatches:
Midges
Blue-winged olives
Winter black stoneflies
Hot flies:
Perdigons- olive/quill/orange 18-14
Rainbow warrior 18-14
Frenchies 18-12
Cdc Soft tackle nymphs (quill, Blowtorch, etc) 16-12
Walt's worms 18-12
Jigged buggers 12-10
Bwo dries 18-16
Griffith's gnats 18-16
Chubby Chernobyl 14-10
The Tellico and its tributaries received a fair amount of rain over the past couple of days. While not enough to get stream levels up to median flows for this time of year, this was a nice shot in the arm. A little extra flow has helped clear out a lot of the leaf litter and tanning water. Colder overnight temps the next few days will likely have fish moving from pocket water to deeper runs and pools and water temps drop, and trout metabolism slows down.
Early mornings will likely find trout sluggish and waiting to warm up from the cold overnight temps. Late-morning to mid-afternoon is when trout will be most active. Focus on nymphing deeper runs and pools and find sunny spots on the river where insect life will be most active, and as a result, so will the trout.
The Tellico River has received a decent amount of stocking over the past week, and there are plenty of quality fish and some true trophies out there. You may find good fish downstream of Green Cove, but we'd recommend focusing the majority of your time from Green Cove upstream to the state line.
Fishing in wild trout streams will begin to slow down as these small streams experience more extreme temp drops overnight than the main river and trout become more dormant during these temp drops. If you want to hit the small streams, plan on doing so mid day when temps are highest, and you might run into a midge or bwo hatch, which will spur trout into feeding.
STREAM REPORT 10.31.24
Current streamflow- 50cfs
Water temps- mid to low 50s
Hatches:
Blue-winged olives
Midges
Hot flies:
Parachute Adams 16-14
Griffith's Gnat 18-16
Chubby Chernobyl- 14-12
Pat's Rubber Legs 12-10
Pink eggs 18-14
Blowtorch 16-12
Walt's worms- 18-14
Rainbow warrior- 18-16
Jigged leeches & buggers- 12-10
It's been a week of beautiful, albeit dry, Fall weather in the Tellico area. Streams continue to run a bit lower than average although cool temps, especially in higher elevations have kept streams cold and the trout happy. The Tellico was recently stocked and now has a great number of bows, browns and palominos, with some substantially large fish. With the low water conditions, sight fishing for browns and bows over 20" is a real possibility this weekend.
Since stocked fish are in high numbers at the moment, we would recommend starting with your favorite 'junk' flies and working your way down to smaller and more natural patterns if the junk flies aren't producing. Once they're in the river stocked trout will soon switch over to a natural diet, usually in a week or two, so it doesn't take long for them to start looking for more natural offerings.
Brook trout are spawning in the highest elevation streams (3,000'+) so please keep an eye out for redds (clean gravel, fish paired up) and avoid fishing for spawning trout and consider fishing elsewhere. Our native brookies only inhabit around 10% of their natural streams in the Southern Appalachians, so need all the help we can give them to ensure their populations remain healthy.
Other wild streams in the Tellico area are still providing great dry fly action for bows and browns, but low water conditions are making these wild trout skittish, so use the utmost in stealth when approaching likely runs and pockets and keep your casts precise, using small dry flies.
STREAM REPORT 10.15.24
Current streamflow- 70cfs, .72ft
Water temps- mid 50s
Hatches:
Blue winged olives
Tan and black midges
October caddis
Tan caddis
Flies:
Walt's worms- 16-12
Rainbow warriors- 20-16
Perdigons- 20-16
Frenchies- 18-12
Egg pattern- 18-12
Mini leeches and buggers- 10-6
Griffith's gnat- 18-16
Klinkhammer- 18-12
Crisp fall air, changing leaves, crystal clear water, and brown trout. These are sure signs that it's fall in Tellico. While the Tellico River has been stocked, numbers are light. Most anglers are finding a mix of wild rainbows and browns, occasional stocked, and holdover bows. However, there are some big browns to be found, like this big fella from earlier this week that we sight-fished to, so keep your eyes peeled. We should see better numbers of fish in the next week or two.
The Tellico River is running at 70cfs currently, which is slightly above the median for this time of year. Early fall generally brings low, clear streamflows, so focus on smaller flies, lighter tippet and a stealthy presentation. With water temps in the mId 50s, there are still a lot of fish in faster runs and pockets. Overnight temps are now hitting upper 30s and low 40s, so fish these areas mid-morning to mid-afternoon when sun exposure is at its greatest, warming water temps and putting fish on the feed.
Weather for this week looks dry and cool, with lows dipping into the 30s and highs in the 60s and 70s. So bring your waders and a layer for those cool mornings.
STREAM REPORT 10.02.24
CURRENT STREAMFLOW- 202cfs, 1.6ft
We have had a lot of people contacting the shop to make sure that we are OK in Tellico Plains. We appreciate each and every one of our friends who have taken the time to check in. Everything is fine here, thankfully. We received 8-10" of rain in the Tellico area and flooding was minimal.
The Tellico is currently running at 202cfs and dropping. The river was stocked for Delayed Harvest earlier this week and we are finding a good mix of wild and stocked trout. There's not much chance of rain in the next week, so conditions should be pretty steady through the weekend and into next week.
We are continuing to get more and more info from friends and neighbors in northeast Tennessee and North Carolina. The amount of devastation is something that this area has never seen before. We are doing what we can to help those affected, and we encourage people looking to help to donate to relief organizations such as @samaritanspurse and @unitedway. There are a lot of local supply and donation drives all over the southeast to help get supplies to flood victims. @chattanooga has made posts recently with information on where you can give blood or donate items. @southerncultureonthefly is doing a great job of posting updates and ways that we can help guides and shops in the fly fishing community that have been deeply impacted. These people are going to need a lot of support, so please help however you can.
STREAM REPORT 9.26.24
Current streamflow- 261 cfs
Water temps- mid to low 60s
As most of you are aware by now, East Tennessee is on the front end of a tropical storm, moving up from the gulf. With it comes the potential to bring very heavy rains and flooding, with 2.5" expected today and this evening, with the possibility of 7"+ in some areas. Much of the area has already received heavy rains yesterday, saturating the ground and increasing the likelihood for landslides and flash flooding as more rain moves in.
This storm extends well beyond the Tellico area, so we're hoping that the adverse impact of this tropical storm remains at a minimum across the region and that everyone stays safe. In our local area, we're hoping that we don't see a repeat of last summer, which brought flooding downtown and washed out several roads.
Delayed Harvest will be starting October 1st, and fall and winter stocking will begin. Once we're on the back side of this storm and flows have settled, the river should have good flows for the foreseeable future, and the start of Delayed Harvest should provide some excellent fishing. Keep in mind that lower Tellico River Road is still closed while the construction of Bald River Bridge continues and will likely remain closed through the fall and winter. North River Road and Bald River Road will provide the detour routes to reach upper Tellico River Road and the Delayed Harvest section.
The shop has been closed during the week through the month of September, but normal shop hours, open Tuesday-Sunday, will resume in October.
We will keep our eyes on the weather and post updates as things progress.