Wow! What an odd spring! - 86 degree afternoons at the end of March followed by April beginning with sub-freezing temps and SNOW!

The fishing has been a lot like the weather; hot one day and cold the next. Slow days have been producing 8 to 10 fish but we have had several good days with 25 plus landed and a couple of real nice fish, including a 19" Brookie, landed by a student taking fly fishing instruction. What a way to be introduced to fly fishing by landing the "fish of a lifetime" on your first outing! I'd say he's hooked for life!!


I was beginning to worry about what this year held in store. In the end of March stream temps were nearing 60 degrees! That's about 20 degrees above normal. Generally by the time our air temperature reaches 86 degrees there are leaves on the trees, creating shade over the creeks. This years early warm temps, combined with the lack of shade, had stream temps skyrocketing!! I was greatly concerned about water temps becoming lethal for our fish by summer. The snowfall during the first week of April took care of that problem, with lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's. Stream temps are returning to normal. I have to admit that I enjoyed wading in the warmer water after getting my fill of cold water this winter.

The cooler water temps should bring the insect activity back to normal. I really missed the yellow Sally (golden stone fly) hatch, which is usually strong in the end of March. I haven't seen any activity of Golden Stones this spring. I believe the warm water is affecting them. They are one of my favorite bugs due to the fact that the fly we use to imitate them is easy to see on the water for both us and the fish.

March Browns, along with Midges have been the most active insect so far this spring.

April should bring in our yellow Sally hatch, along with the spring Caddis hatch. Late April we should start seeing Stone Fly activity.

We have worked hard this winter upgrading the itinerary of our fly fishing school. This year we will be including an in depth digital slide presentation covering entomology, fly selection and fish identification, including saltwater species targeted by fly fishermen. We have also included the knot tying clinic on the big screen presentation. This should be a great improvement over our old handbooks and make the two day schools even more relaxing and much more informative.

We believe our Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing school offers an educational resource unmatched in North Carolina. The school schedule starts in June and runs through December

One of the most prevalent things involved in fly fishing is the indecisiveness of what fly fishing is:

Is it a sport?
Is it a hobby?
Is it an art form?

These are all poor characterizations of fly fishing.

Fly fishing is:
*high altitude native Brook trout on a remote Smoky Mountain stream;
*it's bone fishing on the flats in the Bahamas;
*it's a screaming reel hooked up to a 100 lb Tarpon off Longboat Key;
*it's an epic battle with a sail fish in the Gulf stream off Cape Hatteras;
*it's stalking Red fish in the marsh grass of Louisiana;
*it's praying you have enough backing on your reel after setting the hook in a fresh Arctic Char in Alaska.

Fly fishing can only be described as an ADVENTURE!!!!

Tight lines, slick rocks and wet socks...