Current streamflow- 242cfs
Water temps- mid 60s
Hatches:
Yellow sallies
Golden stones
Tan caddis
Sulphurs
Hot flies:
Neversink caddis
Ants and Beetles
Bloody Mary nymph
Walt's worms
Quill perdigons
Rainbow warriors
The Tellico area received a decent amount of rain over the past two days, bumping flows from 90cfs to just over 450cfs. Flows are currently dropping and are sitting at 240cfs at the time of this report. That is a great streamflow for mid-August, and the bump in flows has spurred some good hatches with yellow sallies making up the bulk of hatching insects. Dry fly action should be fantastic on both the Tellico and tributaries this weekend.
Tomorrow (8/15) is the final day of the stocking season. After tomorrow, there will be no more daily river closures on Thursdays and Fridays, and the Tellico/Citico Daily permit will not be needed again until March 1st, 2026. Delayed Harvest and catch and release regulations begin October 1st. In the meantime, this is a great time to approach the upper Tellico River as you would any wild trout stream in the area, with a dry fly and dropper. Hit pocket water and fast runs, and you will find healthy numbers of wild bows and an occasional brown. As a bonus, you may find a few holdover stockers that made it through the summer.
The same tactic will produce many fish on the tributaries. This is also a great time to hike in and explore remote streams for brook trout, as the higher elevations will still have plenty of good cold water and happy trout.