Current streamflow- 349cfs
Water Temps- upper 40s, low 50s
Hatches:
March browns
Tan caddis
Early brown stoneflies
Blue-winged olives
Hot Flies:
Tributaries:
Parachute Adams
Purple Haze
Elk Hair Caddis
Bloody Mary
Prince Nymph
Hot Bead Pheasant Tail
Tellico/Citico:
Chernobyl Ant
Foam Beetles
Parachute Adams
Walt's Worm
Blowtorch
Perdigons
Asstd. Streamers
It's early spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Redbuds and dogwoods are blooming. Trillium, trout lilies, and other wild flowers can be found streamside. Water temps have been slowly rising, and trout have moved into feeding lanes in pocket water, and swifter runs where they will stay through spring and summer.
Wild trout and even a few stocked fish are eagerly pouncing on dry flies. You're likely to see hatches of March Browns on warm sunny afternoons. With the cooler overnights this weekend and into next week, the best hatches and the peak of trout activity will be in the afternoons.
Trout can be found all through the river this time of year, from the start of River Road all the way to the NC line but are spread out due to the high water on stocking days the last few weeks. The best approach is to fish a variety of places along the river until you find fish as opposed to spending hours on one spot.
Give us a call, shoot us a message, or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 3.24.23
Current streamflow- 462cfs
Water temps- low to mid 50s
Hatches:
March Browns- 14-12
Bwos-18-16
Tan caddis- 16-14
Early brown stoneflies- 12-10
Hot flies:
Tellico:
Pink Eggs- 12
Pat's Rubber Legs- 12-10
Frenchies- 16-12
Walt's Worms- 16-12
Perdigons- 18-14
Rainbow Warriors- 18-14
Woolly Buggers- 6-4
Tributaries:
Parachute Purple Haze- 14-12
Parachute Adams- 14-12
Yellow Stimulator- 16-12
Hot Bead Pheasant Tail- 16-14
Prince Nymph- 16-14
It's a beautiful spring day in the hills of Tellico. North River Road is now open. North River is fishing very well, no doubt because of the lack of pressure with the road being closed for the past 5 months. Expect North River to be busier than usual this weekend with anglers, campers and sightseers making their return. All tributaries should be fishing well this weekend. The March brown hatch has been consistent. Trout are eagerly taking dry flies with the return of major spring hatches.
The Tellico River and Citico Creek are also fishing very well with the warmer temps and continued stocking. Stocked trout are taking a variety of nymphs and streamers. You may even find a few willing to eat a dry fly. You should catch a fair number of wild bows on the Tellico as well with the warming temps.
There is some rain in the forecast for tonight, clearing out early Saturday morning, but it shouldn't be enough yo impact streamflows for long, and it looks like this will be a fantastic spring weekend to get up into the mountains.
Give us a call, shoot us a message, or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 3.09.23
Current streamflow- 377cfs
Water temps- upper 40s, Iow 50s
Hatches:
Quill gordons
Brown stoneflies
Blue winged olives
March Browns
Hot Flies:
Purple haze- 16-12
Parachute adams- 16-12
Patriot dry fly- 14-12
Hot bead PT- 16-14
Prince nymph- 16-14
Blowtorch- 14-12
Walt's worm- 16-12
Jigged bugger- 12-8
We are on the brink of Spring in East Tennessee. That means that we're due for at least another cold snap or two before spring fully rolls out. One of those cold snaps appears to be next week. Temps reached the 70s earlier this week and have slowly dropped ever since. This weekend will be in the 50s. The low for Tuesday is in the 20s.
With these ups and downs, the quality of fishing has ranged from great to downright dismal depending on who you ask and where they fished. As for the Tellico and Citico, high water allowed trout from the initial catch and keep season weekly stocking to spread out, and many folks reported difficulty finding numbers. Trout stocked in high water rarely stay put. Early season can sometimes start off slow but will continue to improve as the weekly stockings increase the number of fish. Try a variety of attractor nymphs on the main river. Covering water with streamers is also a great way to find fish when they're spread out.
Meanwhile, on the wild trout streams, dry fly fishing has been consistent with the return of early spring hatches. Fish have transitioned from their winter holding pools to faster runs and pocket water to intercept nymphs and hatching insects. A handful of dries and a few nymphs for droppers is all you'll need to fool these fish.
We had a little rain in the mountains today, but it didn't add up to much. Friday afternoon and Saturday look clear. Sunday looks rainy with a chance for up to an inch of rain. The real cold snap starts Monday, but things begin warming back up towards the end of the week.
Give us a call, shoot us a message, or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 3.01.23
Current streamflow- 320cfs
Water temps- low to mid 50s
Tellico Outfitters is now back to regular shop hours. The shop is open 6 days a week, Tues thru Sunday. This coincides with the weekly stocking season on Tellico River and Citico Creek. From today until August 15th, the Tellico and Citico will be closed for stocking Thursday and Friday of each week from Turkey Creek confluence up to the NC state line on Tellico and from Little Citico Creek confluence upstream to the North Fork and South Fork Citico Confluence on Citico Creek. You will also need the Tellico/Citico Daily Permit to fish these areas from now until August 15th.
The Annual Tellico River Cleanup is Saturday, March 11th. If you would like to help, registration is 8am at the Ranger Station. They will provide gloves and bags, and then you are free to clean up wherever you'd like on the river. Lunch will be provided at the North River check-in station at 12p, courtesy of the Chattanooga Trout Association. Come on out and give us a helping hand and earn a free lunch!
Every week is feeling a little bit more like Spring in East Tennessee. The first few trillium are leafing out, and their iconic flowers will begin showing soon. Quill gordons, March Browns, and brown stoneflies are coming off in good numbers on warm days, and the trout are paying attention. Dry fly fishing this week has been fantastic. Parachute adams and stimmies are met by aggressive strikes from hungry wild trout. The dry fly action should stay steady now through the rest of spring.
The main river will definitely be more crowded now that stocking season is open. Avoid the weekends or fish away from easily accessible areas to avoid the crowds. A variety of attractor nymphs, large dry flies, buggers and other streamers will all produce fish. You should be able to find fishable water from Turkey Creek up to the state line as all of it fishes pretty well in the spring months.
Give us a call, shoot us a message, or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 2.23.23
Current streamflow- 480cfs
Water temps- mid 40s to mid 50s
Hatches:
Quill Gordons
March Browns
Winter black stoneflies
Blue-winged olives
Tan caddis (Bald River)
Hot flies:
Parachute Adams 16-12
Purple Haze 16-12
Tan stimulators 16-14
Elk hair caddis 16-14
Walt's worm 16-12
Keller's Peach fuzz (purple) 14-10
Pat's rubber legs 14-10
Jigged buggers (olive, black) 12-10
It's been a beautiful week on the Tellico. Sunny skies and warm temps have brought on the early springtime hatches. Earlier this week, while fishing Bald River and the upper Tellico, hatches of tan caddis and quill gordons were observed in good numbers. Sadly, the streamflows this week on the Tellico and its larger tribs were too high to have many trout looking up to take dry flies, but there were reports of success with dries on some of the smaller tributaries such as Sycamore.
Water levels across the Tellico watershed will be in excellent condition tomorrow for a variety of techniques. Fish will be active in the warmer water temps and will take nymphs and streamers alike. Rising fish may be targeted in calmer pools and tailouts, especially in the early afternoon, as water temps reach their maximum.
There is rain in the forecast for Saturday, so how much that will impact streamflows remains to be seen, but conditions will be near perfect going into the weekend.
Give us a call, stop by the shop, or shoot us a message for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 2.09.23
Current streamflow- 300cfs
Water temp- upper 40s
Hatches:
Tan caddis
Black winter stonefly
Quill Gordons
Hot Flies:
Pat's rubber legs
Soft hackle hare's ears
Zebra midges
Rainbow warrior
Eggs
Mini leeches
Jigged buggers
Stream temps in the area are on a warming trend thanks to warmer air temps this week. With rising temps comes more insect hatches, and feeding trout aren't far behind. In lower elevation streams where water temps are warmest, such as Tellico, North and Bald, you may see Spring's first hatches of Quill Gordons. If you're not already familiar with them, these are fairly large mayflies that hatch in good numbers when conditions are right and trout will eagerly key in on the clumsy bugs as newly hatched adults struggle to leave the water's surface. A size 14 parachute Adams is a great way to match this hatch. Look for these mayflies to pop off on sunny afternoons of warmer days from now until the end of March.
The Delayed Harvest section is still going strong. There have been a number of browns and rainbows over 20" caught this month, and catch rates are high with great conditions this week.
Looks like rain is in the forecast for Saturday night and Sunday morning, dropping off into Sunday afternoon.
Give us a call, shoot us a message or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 2.01.23
Current Streamflow- 538cfs
Water Temps- mid 40s
Hatches: None observed
Hot Flies:
Pat's Rubber Legs
Walt's Worm
Blowtorch
Egan's Red Dart
Eggs
Jigged Buggers
Today was cold, damp and kind of miserable but the fish are still there and willing to eat if you're willing to get out!
The Tellico is still fairly high after recent rains but is running clear and dropped considerably over the course of the day. More rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, but it is far enough removed from the weekend that it should drop back out, clear up, and be very fishable this weekend. Temps and conditions look very good for Saturday and Sunday with highs in the mid-50s.
Despite air temps on the river not breaking beyond the 30s today, water temps remained in the mid-40s, and being relatively warm, had fish holding in feeding lanes in moderately fast water. Trout were quick to eat a variety of heavy nymphs and buggers, provided you could get the flies down to them.
The tributaries such as Sycamore and Bald should be fishing well this weekend with the warming trend.
Just an FYI, the gate is open on North River Rd but it is not recommended that you drive up it as trucks are hauling gravel and road crews are working to rebuild the road as quickly as possible. I was told today by one of the road crew that they are closing the gates at 4:30 each day so just be aware that if you try to fish North River and find the gates locked on your way back out, it's a long walk back to the pay phone at Green Cove.
Give us a call, stop by the shop or shoot us a message for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 1.22.23
Current streamflow- 330cfs (1.6ft)
Water temp- mid to low 40s
Current Hatches:
Black winter stoneflies
Tan/black midges
March Browns (sporadic)
Hot Flies:
Pat's rubber legs 8-12
Walt's worms- 12-16
Perdigons- 12-16
Eggs- 12-14
Rainbow warriors- 16-18
Wooly buggers olive/black- 4-8
The Tellico River was stocked earlier this week. With a boost in numbers of fish and perfect streamflows, the fishing has been fantastic this over the last couple of days. Heavy nymphs and streamers are still the top producers. Start with bright attractor nymphs to get the attention of the more aggressive fish and switch to smaller or more natural flies if you encounter picky fish.
The wild trout have also been heavy on the feed with the warmer temps this week. Bald and Sycamore should be fishing well with a parachute dry fly and pheasant tail or prince nymph dropper.
Nearly an inch of rain is expected through the course of the day tomorrow followed by a drop in temps. This won't be as drastic of a temperature swing as we had seen a couple of weeks ago, so the quality of fishing really should not drop off going into the weekend. Partly sunny with decently warm temps for winter going into the weekend, so the forecast for Saturday and Sunday look great.
Give us a call, shoot us a message or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.