The first signs of Fall are beginning to show. Clear skies, cooler temps, and the stunning fire-orange of brook trout putting on their best colors for the upcoming spawn.
Fall is moving in fast in the highest elevations, and we're only a couple of weeks away from brook trout beginning their spawning season in the highest elevations streams. Lower elevation brook trout streams are still several weeks out, so now is a great time to pursue native brookies before spawning begins. Once brook trout are on redds, it's best to leave them alone until spawning wraps up in late fall and early winter, to ensure that the next generation has a strong start.
The Tellico River is fishing well, as long as you approach it in the right way. Since stocking ended in late July, numbers of stocked trout are at the lowest that they will be all year. The stocked fish that have made it this far have held over in the river for at least a month or two now, and have made the switch to natural food sources. While an attractor pattern such as an egg or mop may still take a few fish, we have found that more natural flies will fool more fish right now. Frenchies, rainbow warriors and olive perdigons have been the ticket for both wild and holdover trout. Dry flies, especially smaller, more natural dries in sizes 18-16 are producing some great surface action, especially in long flat sections of river.
Blue-winged olives, midges and small tan caddis are the dominant hatches now, and will continue to be the main hatches through the fall and winter.