April 10th 2013

Today was day six of six gorgeous days in a row. We've had to endure some stiff winds but overall can't complain. The weatherman is calling for a strong line of storms to move through tomorrow so our short run of fine days is about to end. The good news is in the 5 day outlook, after tomorrow of course. We're expecting sunny skies, highs in the upper 60's, light jacket mornings and more spring like weather for the near future. I'm officially calling it. Spring has finally shown up for good.

It's amazing how all of nature is interwoven to operate together. All of the spring blooms have been later this year, and so have the spring hatches. My turkey obsessed buddy even said the turkeys have been slow to come off the roost. The past week of stable, warm and pleasant weather seems to have awakened Mother Nature. The trees lining the rivers are starting to bloom and will soon offer the only shade to be found. Welcome to spring and the most active fishing of the year.

The river flows have become our friends once again, as we've reached the point on TVA's calendar when they must fill the lakes. This provides us with some of the most stable, predictable flow patterns of the year. Most all of our rivers have prime flow windows happening everyday. Of course, it's always subject to change with TVA so please pay attention. Area rivers are cold, clean and full of healty fish.

Clinch River - Current flow patterns are excellent. One turbine from midnight to 7am followed by zero flow from 7am - 6pm. This is almost perfect as you can fish a medium water level early in the day and then shift to a low water approach in the afternoon. The water temperatures are still below 50 degrees which is not out of the ordinary for the Clinch. The flows are clear now but we could see some staining this weekend if tomorrow's storms dump a large amount of rain into the Coal Creek watershed. If big rains come, clear water should still be abundant aboe the interstate.

I spent today on the Clinch with some of my favorite clients. These guys spend a lot of time in my boat during the season and we always have a great time. Even if the fishing is slow. Today however was not a slow day. The river is full of hard fighting rainbows and they kept us busy all day. The sulphurs are not hatching in any real numbers. You might see a sporadic dun but the hatch just hasn't started yet. May God bless the sulphurs when they do show up because those sharks are hot and hungry. Blanket midges and blackfly are hatching in the meantime. Best action is coming on nymphs (#16 -#18) and midge pupa(#18 -#24) patterns, fished on 5x and 6x tippets, about 3 foot deep under a light indicator.

The wind has been challenging at times to say the least. It blew straight up river all day today. In fact, we watched it blow some silly guides hat right off his head and thirty foot away in the river. That's when Dick took matters into his own hands. With a single cast he managed to hook the straw hat that was drifting downstream fast. Dick had made a great cast, so great in fact that that his point fly was eaten simultaneously as he hooked the hat with the dropper. Now that's an impressive double. A 12" rainbow and my.....ahem.....some silly guide's straw hat. Thanks Dick.

Holston River - Current water flows on the Holston are excellent. We're seeing low water most all day with some higher flows well after we're off the water. The water clarity is great and the temperatures are just starting to hit the low 50's. I wouldn't expect any staining this weekend unless the Holston watershed get's completely hammered tomorrow.

The Holston bite has been exactly what we expected to see. Hot action on nymph rigs has been the daily norm. So far the Holston caddis have been like the rest of this years bugs.....behind schedule. I expect the current warmer weather will kick start the caddis in the next week or so, In the meantime, break out your beadheads and strike indicators and proceed to get plenty of bites from the fat and sassy fish on the Holston. The Holston River is a great choice for a guided fly fishing trip in east Tennessee between now and June.

Hiwassee River - TVA has changed things up on the Wass'. We're seeing very wader friendly flows on most days. The schedules are a little spotty though and might include some extended one turbine releases in the afternoon. One turbine is still wadable and even boatable to some degree. But the upper river wading is what a lot of recreational anglers have been waiting for. Flows are super clean and fairly cold, temping around 54 degrees.

I suppose the Hiwassee was blessed with wet weather this winter. We had high floating water all winter which isn't always the case. Now , we're running our floats on the more traditional springtime "Patty Melt". That's what we call the lower river float to the Patty Bridge takeout. It's actually a very scenic float, just in a much different way than the upper river. The lower river also boasts much fuller hatches than we see up river. Over the next few weeks we should start seeing grannom caddis in huge numbers. The Patty Melt is a fine springtime float and the fishing can be stellar. Currently, the best bite has been with light streamers and nymphs.

Be sure to get out and enjoy this great weather and hot fishing action while spring is still in the air.

Captain Rocky.