Middle TN Angling

What's Around the Bend? 

This week I have been working on midges for the multiple midge hatches going on now...and pretty much always on the tailwaters of Middle Tennessee. Fishing midges is fun and fishing them under a dry is even more fun. The thing about fishing the midges under the dry fly is, the fish come to the dry at times and there lies the problem. Eventually fishing midges turns into fishing straight dries and that is addictive. Addictive to the point that anglers will float down the river, fish off and on throughout the day, then when there is a fish feeding on top, they jump up and pull out the dry fly rod and start casting....at least it seems that is what I do.Let's move onto the fishing report.

Healthy Brookies

The Caney Fork- The river is fishing pretty good and in the late afternoon the fish are midging pretty heavily.  Low water is pretty much the key to catching these fish. The US Army Corps is releasing water for much of the day and late into the evening. So, watch the generation by calling and/or by checking the website before going to fish. The water temp are about the same as they have been the past few weeks and in the low 60's several miles downstream. 

Fish ON!

Healthy Bows

The water clarity is very good on the Caney right now. It appears all that generation earlier in the year flushed the bottom of the lake and cleared the water, even as far down in the lake as the sluice pulls water. In the Fall last year the sluice was running and the water clarity was poor at best and the fishing was only OK because of it. The clear water we see this year is good and gives the river a healthy look.  But, it also gives the fish a more clear view of fly rods whipping, lines flying and hitting the water. One or two false casts and long leaders are just a couple of ways to combat the view of the fish. Also, the fish have a long inspection time and know the same old flies better than we do when the come off the vise, or so it seems. A buggie nymph seems to be working better for us right now. 

Working on an Exit Plan

A Brown on a Single Nymph

The Elk River- The river is fishing good right now. The folks at the Dale Hollow Fish Hatchery released a bunch of brook trout, along with a good group of small browns. Add to that a couple thousand bows from Flintville (pronounced- flin-vul) and there are plenty of stockers in the upper section. There are some holdovers as well. However, they have been tight lipped on the past few trips but there are still some there.

Brent Hooked-Up

Bows on Dries

The dry fly is a lot fun to fish on the Elk. Of course we still fish nymphs as a primary means of catching and a lot of the larger fish, but it is that way on most rivers. The terrestrials are out and about as well. They are fishing a bit slow although we are still getting some hits on these patterns. Most of our all day trips are on the Elk and we are running half day trip on the Caney as generation allows. As the forecast gets more "angler friendly" we are starting to book trips on both rivers. 

The Drifter Taking a Break

Fish Tails

Also don't forget- there is an opportunity for someone to pair with another angler on a half day trip. What does that mean exactly?  If someone is looking to split a half day but don't have anyone to go, we have a gentleman who wants to split a half day with another angler. For anyone who is interested, just drop me an email at david@southeasternfly.com or call 615.796.5143.

Leaves in the Water, It Only Looks Like Fall Out There