06/20/2016 -06/26/2016

Today is the first day of summer and it feels like it.  The warmer temperatures and lower water conditions are making it a tough fishery.  Fish early morning and late evening to increase your odds of landing fish.  I was at the stream before 6am Sunday and it felt great.  We saw large adult stoneflies, mayflies, and caddis flies.  We left about 11am and we observed plenty of insect activity and the trout were responding.

Also lengthen your leaders and tippets and try to make delicate presentations.  It is almost a one shot deal when it comes to some of these trout right now.  Being stealthy while wading and wearing more natural earth tone clothing can increase your odds of seeing and netting trout.

Start using smaller flies such as #14's to #18's dries.  Try trailing a midge such as a #22 Trico Spinner or a #22 Snowshoe Midge behind a larger dry.  I have had some good success doing this.

Stick with the core colors of yellow.  I did see some tiny green stoneflies while in the Cataloochee Valley Saturday evening.  A basic box of nymph patters will work.  Copper Johns, Pheasant Tails, Stick Bait, and Hares Ears are always good choices.  If you come to a large deep pool I recommend going deep.  A streamer patterns or some very heavy nymphs will work in this situation. 

Tight Lines!