Current streamflow- 178cfs
Water temp- low to mid 40s
Hatches:
Quill Gordons
Blue winged olives
Winter black stoneflies
Dark gray caddis
Hot Flies:
Parachute Adams 16-12
Parachute hare's ear 16-12
Griffith's gnat 18-16
Rainbow warrior 18-16
Hickey's auto emerger 18-16
Walt's worm 16-14
Tungsten eggs 14-12
Micro eggs 18-16
While the river experienced a fairly steep drop in temps over the weekend, mayflies and caddis are still hatching in sunny pools during the warmest part of the day, and the trout were in hot pursuit. We landed a great number of fish on a variety of flies, with most of the wild trout and holdover stockers committing to smaller nymphs and emergers. This is likely an indication of them keying in on smaller caddis and blue winged olives, which were the predominant insect emergences today. We did see trout rising to caddis and quill gordons mid-afternoon, but the majority of trout were taking subsurface patterns.
With colder air temps being projected for the coming week, focus your efforts during the middle of the day when temps are warmest, spurring mayfly and caddis hatches. Trout feeding patterns closely follow insect activity during the colder months.
You can expect similar conditions on the wild trout streams such as Bald or North, with the best activity occurring mid-day.
We'd like to extend a reminder to all of the people who come up and enjoy a day of fishing on the Tellico River. Please take your trash with you. The amount of broken and wadded up line we saw today was pretty heartbreaking. Help us take care of our wild places, and if you pack it in, pack it out. If you see litter on the river, please do your part and take it with you. Thank you.