Current streamflow- 231cfs
Water temp- low to mid 40s
Hatches:
March Browns!!!!
Black Caddis
Blue winged olives
Hot flies:
Parachute Adams 16-12
Grey or black Elk hair caddis 16-14
Griffith's gnat 18-16
Blowtorch 16-12
Perdigons 18-14
Walt's worms 16-12
Jigged buggers 12-10
We are excited to report that some of the most anticipated hatches of the year are starting to make an appearance! Earlier this week, we witnessed good numbers of black caddis, March browns, and bwos on the water, and trout were keying in on the hatching insects. While still sporadic, these hatches should increase in consistency on warmer days as we approach early spring. Quill Gordons should be right around the corner. Nymphs and other subsurface patterns should still be the main focus, but have some of the above-mentioned dry flies on hand in case you see a hatch going on and trout sipping on the surface.
The Tellico is still fishing decently well, although fish are largely spread out and not as concentrated in pools as they once were since it's been a month or so since the last stocking. There are still some great fish to be found if you take the time to cover water until you find them.
Wild rainbows are feeding aggressively on warmer days, putting on their spring colors and gearing up for spawn, which should happen sometime in mid-March to early April. You should be able to find decent action on the tributary streams for wild fish on warmer days.
Catch and keep season begins March 1st on the Tellico River. From that day forward until August 15th you will need to purchase the Tellico/Citico Daily Permit in addition to your fishing license and trout stamp if you wish to fish within the designated stocking areas. During this time, the stocked sections of both rivers will be closed to fishing on Thursday and Friday. Tellico will be stocked every week from the North River confluence up to the NC state line. Citico Creek will be stocked every other week, starting in April. More information on stocking and regulations can be found in the TWRA Tennessee fishing regulations handbook.
STREAM REPORT 2.16.24
The Tellico area received a decent amount of rain this past week. While we didn't get the chance to fish the river ourselves since we were out of town, we've had several reports from those who have. The stocked trout that are currently in the Tellico have been there for several weeks now and have mostly wisened up to larger attractor nymphs such as eggs and squirmies. While they're not necessarily picky, we recommend scaling your flies down to attractor nymphs in the size 18 to 14 range.
Fish are spread out along the length of the Delayed Harvest and not evenly distributed. The best tactic for finding fish is to spot hop from one likely looking spot to the next, spending about 20-30mins in a spot and moving on to the next if no fish are caught or seen in that time frame. In other words, the name of the game is Covering Water. As long as your drifts are good and flies are heavy enough to be near the bottom, if the fish are there, they should be willing to eat. If not, it's time to move. Focus on pools and slower runs where the majority of fish will hold during the winter months.
Just a reminder that the Bald River Bridge project is still ongoing, so the Wildcat Rd and North River Rd detour routes are your ways to access the upper river and Delayed Harvest section at this time.
STREAM REPORT 1.25.24
Current streamflow- 676cfs
Water temp- upper 40s
Hatches:
Black or Tan midges
Blue-winged olives
Winter black stoneflies
Hot flies:
Griffith's gnat- 18-16
Parachute bwo- 18-16
Grey Elk hair caddis- 18-14
Rainbow warriors/lightning bugs- 18-14
Perdigons (various colors)- 18-16
Pat's rubber legs- 12-8
Walt's worms- 18-12
Jigged buggers- 12-8
Leeches- 10-6
Welcome to East Tennessee, where single digit temps and snow one week are followed by temps in the 60s and copious amounts of rain the next.
While the snow and icy roads are gone in the Tellico area in elevations below about 3,500ft, it's quickly being replaced with rain and soft, muddy forest roads. The Wildcat Rd/Bald River Rd detour to the upper Tellico River is clear as of yesterday but pretty soft and muddy due to freezing and thawing earlier this week, and we wouldn't recommend anyone drive it without 4wd as there is very little traction on some of the steeper muddy sections of road. Beyond that, it's entirely drivable at this time.
The North River Rd detour route should be free of ice this weekend due to he warmer temps and rain and shouldn't be as muddy as the Wildcat route, although we haven't been up there ourselves to check it out since last week.
The Hanging Dog route (detour from Murphy, NC) has taken some damage with the recent weather and the road appears to be unstable in some places according to some reports that we have received. We wouldn't recommend this route, but it is worth mentioning since some of our customers from the south prefer to take this detour.
Having said all that, we fished the Tellico River yesterday and the fishing was fantastic. With the warmer weather moving in and water temps ramping up, trout were feeding aggressively on just about anything we put in front of their noses, as long as it was heavy enough to get down to them. Nymphs are still the name of the game, but we would expect a pretty solid streamer bite with these warming temps.
This will also be a good weekend to fish the lower elevation wild trout streams such as North and Bald Rivers as wild trout, such as this healthy wild bow, usually respond well to warm winter fronts.
STREAM REPORT 1.12.24
Current streamflow- 435cfs
Water temp- low 40s
Hatches:
Tan midges
Blue-wingled olives
Winter black stoneflies
Hot flies:
Griffith's gnats
Perdigons
Walt's worms
Pheasant tails
Egg patterns
Pat's rubber legs
Streamers
Attention: The Cherohala Skyway currently has patches of snow and ice from approx. 3,000' and up and conditions will undoubtedly deteriorate with today's cold front and rain, which translates to snow and ice in the higher elevations. North River Rd is currently covered in snow and ice. We would not recommend that anyone take North River Rd as their route to the upper Tellico River this weekend. As of now, road conditions are fine on the Wildcat/Bald River Rd detour route, but of course, this could change as rain/snow and wind moves through this afternoon.
Streamflows are on the high side after the rain earlier this week and will most likely rise with the rain we are getting today. Conditions look better for Saturday and Sunday but expect high flows over the weekend. Best flies will be heavily weighted Pat's rubber legs, Walt's worms and egg patterns.
Next week will be cold with a chance of snow early in the week. We will do our best to keep everyone informed on the latest road and river conditions.
STREAM REPORT 12.20.23
Current streamflow- 86cfs
Water temps- upper 30s-low 40s
Hatches:
Tan midges
Little winter stoneflies
Hot flies:
Walt's worms
Rainbow warriors
Perdigons
Pat's rubber legs
Blowtorches
Chubby Chernobyls
Griffith's gnats
Water levels on the Tellico have held strong over the last week, and the fishing has been great. Trout are taking a variety of flies, and we have caught some great stocked fish as well as some nice wild bows and browns. The Delayed Harvest section of Tellico is fishing well throughout its length. Wild streams can fish well depending on water temps as these streams tend to be more difficult to fish when water temps drop down below the 40s.
On cold days, you'll have the best success once the sun warms the water, with the best times being from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. During the warmest part of the day, you may find fish rising to midges and willing to take a small dry fly. Otherwise, we recommend focusing on fishing with nymphs.
We have more rain in the forecast for Christmas Day and Tuesday, but temps and weather look great for the weekend.
The shop will be closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, back to normal hours on Wednesday until the end of the month.
STREAM REPORT 12.15.23
Current streamflow- 117cfs
Water temps- low to mid 40s
The Tellico River is in fine shape going into the weekend. With the added streamflow from last weekend's rain the fish are active and feeding on pretty much anything you put in front of them. Hunter Leslie and I spent a day on the river earlier this week and found fantastic numbers of fish, including some palominos and blew a shot or two on some massive brood stocks (always double check your knots, kids).
We caught fish on a variety of nymphs including Pat's rubber legs, walt's worms, blowtorches, buggers and rainbow warriors. Once the sun warmed the water midday, and midges began hatching in droves, trout took notice and we caught several nice fish on Griffith's gnats. There are good numbers of fish throughout the DH section, from North River up to the NC state line.
You might also have luck fishing the tributaries for wild trout and brook trout, but I wouldn't expect much action until the midday sun warms the water enough to encourage midge hatches and the trout begin feeding.
Saturday looks like a beautiful day. Sunday will bring rain, close to an inch is forecasted. That's great news for the coming week.
STREAM REPORT 12.01.23
Current streamflow- 52.8cfs
Water temps- mid 40s
Current hatches:
Cream midges
Winter black stoneflies
Hot flies:
Griffith's Gnat- 18-16
Parachute Adams- 16-14
Rainbow warrior- 20-16
Perdigons- 20-16
Hot bead pheasant tails- 18-16
Today is the first day that we'll see a change in conditions in quite some time on the Tellico. The upper river has received 1/2" of rain as of this morning, with another 1/2" of rain predicted over the weekend. If we get what is predicted, it should be enough to help bring streamflows up for the coming week. Last time we got a little shot of rain, just before Thanksgiving, it was like a light switch, and trout fed heavily for the next several days, giving us a break from the low water and tiny flies that we've gotten accustomed too.
If you get up river this weekend, I would still take plenty of smaller flies (rainbow warriors, perdigons, midges), but you'll want to have some larger, heavier patterns such as blowtorches, walt's worms, Pat's rubber legs and similar patterns in case streamflows rise and/or become off-color. The trout should be far less selective under those conditions.
The tributaries are fishing well for wild trout, although the low water has caused a lot of leaf build-up that has slowed flows even further and can get in the way of a good drift. Hopefully, this upcoming rain will flush a lot of those leaves out. Expect wild trout to also go on a feeding spree with the increased flows.
STREAM REPORT 11.03.23
STREAM REPORT 11.03
Current streamflow- 55cfs, .7ft
Water temps- mid to low 50s
Hatches:
Tan caddis
Tan midges
Black midges
Hot Flies:
Rainbow warriors
Zebra midges
Quill-bodied nymphs
Walt's worms
Egg flies
Klinkhammers
I Can See It midge
Elk hair caddis
Chubby Chernobyl
We've been guiding like crazy these past couple of weeks and we couldn't have asked for better days. Clients ranged from seasoned anglers to brand new beginners and there have been a lot of great quality fish caught by all.
The river has been stocked a couple of times now, so fly selection ranges from small midges and other more natural patterns for picky, educated holdover fish, to eggs and big foam dry flies for the ready-to-eat-anything more recently stocked fish. With the water being so low and clear right now, it won't take long for those fish to start eating natural food sources and quickly become selective.
Be ready to see many of the trout that you'll be targeting. Until we get more rain and flows come up, it will be a sight fishing game. A dry/dropper combo is the best tactic for the current conditions. There are a good number of fish rising to dry flies right now so I would choose a dry fly over an indicator rig.
Fishing on the wild trout waters is also great, with similar low water conditions. A midge or caddis dry fly will fins a lot of rising wild rising fish right now.