Tennessee Fly Fishing

The Christmas Season, New Years, and weather have kept me busy as of late. We have been on the water but the last few days have kept most everyone inside. As you can see from the photo above it was 1 degree this morning which makes fishing, well...miserable. So like everyone else, for the most part anyway, I have been inside tying some flies and catching up on fly fishing shows that come on the TV.

The other day we hit the musky waters. We were floating along a bluff and I said hey that spot looks good. Brent threw in and began a steady retrieve back to the boat. I looked down the river and made a correction on the drifter. When I looked back to the fly coming to the boat I looked at 30"+ musky. We toyed with the fish around the back of the boat for a while and then the fish just ghosted down to the bottom of the river. 

Next we stopped at the Musky Tree and got a hit and run, from a toothy something. But that fish was a bust as well. We spent the rest of the day on three more follows from both medium and long fish.  Going back again is on the schedule.

Sunny days on the Caney are producing fish on 2 generators. OK really the river is producing fish on cloudy days as well. The water is in good shape but there is a lot of it. Tossing streamers is a good way to fish right now. Retrieves and sizes are up to the angler. Don't miss an opportunity to float a streamer below an indicator if you get a little lazy.

The Elk has also been releasing water throughout the week. However, on the weekends wading anglers get a shot to fish and as of earlier this week TVA is being more angler friendly. The water is a little off color still. Slinging a soft hackle on the falling water will produce. The usual midges and nymphs are also part of the mix on these conditions. If you find a fish feeding on top timing will be everything. Be sure to get the generation schedule and keep an eye on water levels while fishing any tailwater.