Current streamflow- 110cfs, 1.02ft
Water temps- low 60s
Hatches:
Midges
Tan caddis
Hot flies:
Elk hair caddis- 16-12
Parachute Adams- 16-12
Patriot parachute- 16-12
Griffiths gnat- 18-14
Rainbow warrior- 18-16
Walt's worm- 18-12
Jigged CDC quill- 16-12
Buggers- 12-8
Mini leeches- 12-8
We've experienced some great temps for late September, with high temps currently in the 70s. Overnight temps are dropping into the 50s at lower elevations and are undoubtedly much cooler at higher elevations. Water temps are lower than average, and streamflows are higher than averagel for this time of year, so conditions are excellent.
There are still some late season hatches to be found, and the dry fly action is still great. Midges and tan caddis are the dominant hatches right now. The big October caddis are likely to start hatching at any time now. Ants, beetles, and other terrestrial are also great dry fly options right now.
Delayed Harvest stocking will go on as normal this fall, even with the Bald River Bridge closure. I have it on good authority that this will be a fantastic DH with some very nice browns being stocked this fall.
Road Updates:
The Cherohala Skyway is still scheduled to reopen this Friday (22nd). River Road will remain closed from the Ranger Station to North River Road until the Bald River bridge project is completed. Once the Skyway is open, the detour routes will be pretty straight forward, with access to Green Cove and the upper Tellico River via Wildcat Rd/FS 126 or North River Rd, accessed from the Skyway. Access to the upper Tellico from either route will take roughly 1hr of drive time compared to the usual 35-40mins of drive time via River Rd, so plan a little extra time for travel. We will keep you as up to date as possible as we learn more about the road situations.