Current streamflow- 261cfs
Water temps- mid 50s
Hatches:
Yellow Sallies
Golden stoneflies
Sulphurs
March browns
Tan caddis
Midges
Hot Flies:
Tellico/Citico-
Pat's rubber legs
Walt's worm
Blowtorch
Pink squirrel nymph
Squirmies
Chubby Chernobyl
Yellow stimulator
Tributaries-
Parachute adams
Yellow stimulator
Elk hair caddis
Hot bead pheasant tail
Bloody Mary nymph
Pink squirrel nymph
With the beautiful weather and perfect strewmflows and water temps this week, this is prime time spring fishing. The hatches have been incredible with a variety of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, and midges on the water, especially in the evenings. The dry fly action has been amazing on the smaller streams and the upper Tellico River, where more wild trout are present. You've got a wide variety of dries and nymphs to choose from right now with so many hatches going on. Now is also a great time to go for a hike and find some brookies.
The stocked trout will also take dries on occasion, but you will find better numbers of fish on nymphs. Try a dry and dropper with a large foam bug such as a chubby chernobyl with a Walt's worm, perdigon, or squirmy dropped 2-2.5' below to find fish feeding both on and below the surface.
With current streamflows, you'll have a lot of very wadeable and fishable water to choose from. You'll be able to find trout along the entire length of the Tellico River, with the best fishing being from the Baby Falls picnic area upstream to the NC state line.
There is some rain in the forecast for Friday night/Saturday morning. The current forecast is calling for 1/2" total. This may add some color to the water on Saturday morning, but shouldn't be enough to make the river unfishable over the weekend.
Give us call, shoot us a message or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM 4.14.23
Current streamflow- 363cfs
Water temps- mid 50s
Hatches:
Sulphurs
Quill gordons
Blue-winged olives
Tan caddis
With warmer temps last week, we've witnessed some of the best hatches so far this year with many mayfly and caddis species hatching simultaneously. With all of the available food on the surface, trout are readily looking up and eating dry flies and emergers. A parachute adams or elk hair caddis with a lightly weighted or unweighted nymph dropper should do the trick for those fish feeding on the surface. There will still be plenty of trout feeding near the bottom and taking a variety of nymphs. Woolly buggers and other streamers are still finding fish as well.
All of the tributaries will be fishing well and there are trout to be found in all of the Tellico right now, from the NC line down to Turkey Creek and beyond.
Cody is out of the shop this weekend fishing the Casting for Hope competition in Spruce Pine, NC, but @elijahpowell_01 and @collinstuart are holding down the fort and will be happy to help you out.
Give us a call, shoot us a message or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 4.06.23
Current streamflow- 276cfs
Water temps- mid 50s
Current hatches:
March Browns
Blue-winged olives
Black Caddis
Hot Flies:
Tellico/Citico:
Pat's rubber legs
Blowtorch
Egan's red dart
Perdigons
Walt's worm
Eggs
Woolly buggers and other streamers
Tributaries:
Parachute adams
Yellow stimulator
Prince nymph
Hot bead pheasant tail
Rainbow warrior
It's been another beautiful week of spring weather in the mountains of Tellico. And so right on cue, another front is on its way to bring rain to everyone's weekend plans. Depending on the forecast, we have seen anywhere from .25" to 1" predicted for both Friday and Saturday with weather clearing up and warm temps returning on Sunday. If the most optimistic of forecasts holds true, water will come up some, but will drop quickly and should not affect streamflows for long. If the actual precipitation is closer to the 1" mark for the next two days, be prepared for high water and tough wading.
The good news about streams in our area is that given half a day, streamflows will drop, and the river will clear, and fish will be caught. This means that even with the worst forecast, Sunday should be plenty fishable on the upper end of Tellico, Citico, and tribs.
Plan on fishing nymphs or streamers this weekend and fish them deep. Fish will be holding in the tailouts of pools as well as faster runs and pocket water, the key will be getting a fly in front of their face.
Give us a call, shoot us a message, or stop by the shop for the latest conditions.
STREAM REPORT 3.30.23
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.