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.
STREAM REPORT 8.14.25
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.
STREAM REPORT 7.24.25
Current streamflow- 133cfs
Water temps- mid to upper 60s at Green Cove
It's been another hot week in East TN. With consistent highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s, lower elevations of the Tellico River, North River, Bald River and Citico Creek have all hit the upper threshold for what is considered safe to catch and release trout without risk of them going belly up. Stream temps have been reaching the upper 60s as high as Green Cove and the Tellico Hatchery, so we highly recommend sticking to higher elevations and limiting your time on the water to morning and evenings and avoiding midday if you plan to catch and release and want to ensure the trout that you release.
It's always a good idea to practice proper handling of trout that you plan to release any time of the year, but it is especially important when water temps are high. Fight fish quickly, keep them in the water as much aa possible, wet your hands if you do need to handle them, and keep air exposure to a minimum, 10 seconds or less. Most importantly, avoid fishing in water temps higher than 68°F. We highly recommend carrying a stream thermometer and taking temps before you begin fishing. If temps are above 68°, move to higher elevations until you find cooler temps.
Provided that you follow the above guidelines, there is still plenty of great fishing to be had on higher elevation streams. The dry fly bite is great right now on wild trout streams as well as brook trout streams, and there are still plenty of good stocked and wild fish to be found on the upper Tellico. Warmwater species such as bass and carp provide a great alternative to target through yhe heat of summer.
We've got another hot week ahead but it looks like things may cool down as we roll into August.
STREAM REPORT 7.02.25
Current Streamflow- 420cfs
Water temps- low to upper 60s, depending on elevation
Hatches:
Yellow sallies
Golden Stoneflies
Salmonflies
Tan caddis
Suplhurs
Ants
Beetles
Flies:
Neversink caddis
Elk hair caddis
Klinkhammer
Foam beetles
Green weenie
Blowtorch
Quill perdigon
Pat's rubber legs
Jigged buggers and leeches
After what has to be the rainiest June that we can remember, we are back to the summer heat we've come to expect going into July. Some pretty spectacular afternoon thunderstorms have kept flows on our trout streams higher than usual going into the summer months. This is a good thing, as extra flows help to protect trout streams from getting too hot, since daytime temps have been solidly in the 90s for the past couple of weeks. We are seeing a continuation of hot temps into next week, with air temps in the upper 80s and 90s and overnight lows in the low 70s. There is a slight chance of afternoon thundershowers rolling through in the afternoon, but these will be largely hit or miss. Keep in mind that it can rain almost anytime in the mountains as small fronts can roll through and 'hang up' once they hit higher elevations.
Temps are still within the safe range for catch and release from the North River confluence upstream to the state line. Tributaries are in fine shape as well. You may want to focus your time on the water in the mornings or evenings and take a break during the hottest part of the day when water temps will be at their highest to ensure that you're not putting undue stress on that trout that you plan to release.
Higher elevation brook trout streams are in stellar shape right now. With added flows, these little natives have been feeding heavily and will pounce on nearly any properly presented fly, so it's a great time to get up into some more remote streams to get on that dry fly action.
Nymphs or dry/dropper rigs are still the best bet for Tellico and Citico.
STREAM REPORT 6.24.25
Current streamflow- 105cfs, 1.33ft
Water temps- mid to high 60s
Hatches:
Golden stoneflies
Yellow sallies
Salmonflies
Tan caddis
Hot flies:
Chubby chernobyl
Elk hair caddis
Neversink caddis
Rainbow warrior
Quill perdigon
Walt's worm
Jigged leeches
I had the good fortune of helping @connerz_517 land this absolute behemoth of a brown trout earlier this week! Conner presented the fly and fought this fish like a pro after we spotted it holding at the head of a fast run. Congrats Conner! The Tellico River continues to clear and drop this week after the past month of rain, presenting more opportunities to sight fish for trophies. As water temps warm and water levels drop, look for these fish in faster runs and pocket water, which provide oxygen and security for trout in warmer months. Trout will often sit in knee-deep water during the warmer months, so no spot is off the table.
Dry and dropper rigs work very well in pocket water, with a foam bodied dry fly such as a chubby chernobyl being a good choice to imitate both the golden stoneflies and salmonflies that are hatching now as well as provide a good 'float' to drop a heavy nymph behind and really scour deep into the pockets and runs. Nymphing is always a good choice, but you may want to drop the weight of your nymphs down a bit as water levels continue to drop.
Dry flies are still the way to go on the wild trout tributaries and brook trout streams. Yellow is the best color option throughout the summer as trout are seeing a variety of insect hatches with bright yellow adults, namely yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, and Cahill mayflies.
As water temps warm, be mindful of fishing when temps are at their highest, especially in lower elevations. It is best to spend your time fishing in the mornings and evenings and avoid midday when temps are highest to prevent stressing trout by catching them in warm temps if you plan to catch and release.
It's going to be a hot week, so keep an eye on those water temps. It looks like we've got a chance of some rain and slightly cooler temps next week.
sTREAM REPORT 6.20.25
Current streamflow: 305cfs, 1.6ft
Water temps- low to mid 60s
Hatches:
Yellow sallies
Cahill mayflies
Golden stoneflies
Tan caddis
Salmonflies
Hot flies:
Neversink caddis
Klinkhammer
Chubby chernobyl
Pat's rubber legs
Walt's worm
Blowtorch
Quill perdigon
The rainy season continues, with streamflows and water temps in better shape for mid-June than we've seen in a very long time. This means that almost the entire length of river is still very much fishable with temps in the ideal range for trout to be feeding aggressively with little risk of temp-induced stress. The lower part of Tellico River, between Bald River and the Skyway, may be reaching the upper threshold for temps soon, since the next week is drier and hotter than weeks prior. If you decide to fish the Tellico downstream of Bald River Falls and plan to catch and release, please take the time to check water temps. If water temps are higher than 68°, it's time to move upstream until you find temps below 68°. Finding suitable temps will ensure that the trout you catch and release do not face a higher risk of going belly up due to warm water temps.
With the streamflows still higher than normal, we would recommend focusing on heavier nymphs to get your flies down through the current and in front of the fish. Heavy Pat's rubber legs, Walt's worms and heavy eggs have been some of our favorites this week. Dry flies are the way to go on the tributaries. Hatches have been great and wild bows and brookies are more than ready to pounce on a well presented dry fly.
STREAM REPORT 6.13.25
Current streamflow 580cfs
Water temps- mid 60s in lower elevations, high 50s to low 60s in higher elevations
Current hatches:
Cahill mayflies
Yellow sallies
Golden stoneflies
Tan caddis
Sulphurs
Hot flies:
Parachute cahill 14-12
Parachute sulphur 16-14
Elk hair caddis 16-12
Hair-winged drake 14-12
Bwo & Hendrickson flymphs 16-14
Pat's rubber legs 12-10
Walt's worm, olive or natural 16-12
Jigged leeches, olive or black 12
This past week, we've been fishing our mountain trout streams from the headwaters to below Bald River Falls and making up for lost time now that River Road is finally reopened. We can honestly say that with the cooler spring and frequent rains that we've had so far this year we have not seen stream conditions this perfect going into June in the 6 years since we opened the shop. In years past, by mid-June, water temps have warmed to the point (68°+) that trout are beginning to stress in most of the Tellico below the Bald River confluence. This year, water temps are still solidly in the mid-60s all the way to town, meaning that the whole river is still in the prime temp range to support trout. With consistent rain, streamflows are also in a great place to keep water temps cool and consistent.
We expect these conditions to remain for the next week or two. We are now experiencing air temps in the low to mid 80s with 90s on the way, but as long as rains keep flows up, the temps will remain relatively cool. We'll continue to monitor water temps and keep folks updated once we start to see temps rise above 68° in the lower elevations.
With higher flows, heavy nymphs are the best bet for the Tellico River. For wild trout streams, your favorite dry fly of choice will do the trick. There's enough variety in hatches and terrestrial insects at the moment that trout will pounce on just about anything that's presented well.
Now is a fantastic time to get out and enjoy some incredible spring weather and great fishing, no matter what stream or species you choose to target.
Stream Report 5.30.25
Current streamflow- 359cfs
Water temp- low 60s
Hatches:
Yellow sallies
Golden stoneflies
Tan caddis
Sulphurs
Hot flies:
Neversink caddis 16-12
Purple haze 16-12
Chubby Chernobyl 14-12
Walt's worm 16-12
Pat's rubber legs 12-10
Quill perdigon 18-14
The river looks perfect, bugs are hatching, trout are biting, and RIVER ROAD IS FINALLY OPEN! This marks the first weekend that River Road and the Bald River Bridge have been open in 21 months! No more hour long drive!
Anglers now have nearly 10 additional miles of river to explore from North River confluence downstream to the Ranger Station. While this lower section can warm up a bit in the hotter months, with the cooler spring we've had so far, water temps are great and there should be plenty of fish in the newly opened section that have barely been touched in the last two years.
The lower section of Tellico is nearly double the size of upper Tellico since it picks up both North and Bald River. Streamers are a great choice in this section as well as heavy nymphs, especially Pat's rubber legs and other stonefly patterns.
The entire river and tributaries should be fishing very well this weekend. Hatches are going strong in all streams, and the dry fly action should be fantastic on all wild trout streams.
Come on up, check out the new Bald River Bridge, admire the beauty of the falls, and enjoy a short drive and a great spring day on the water.