“Dan with a solid fish in the morning fog on the south Holston”
August Fishing Report
August has been a pleasant month for fishing this year! With average highs in the mid-70s to low 80s and average lows in the 60s, we have been enjoying some beautiful weather days. We have been in need of a solid dose of rain in Pennsylvania, but we have had plenty in Tennessee. Both fisheries have been as good as you could ask for this time of year! Before you know it, fall will be here, and it will be our favorite time of the year to go fly fishing. This is the most versatile season of them all… with brown trout packing on the weight pre-spawn, musky and smallmouth feeding aggressively to prepare for winter, and steelhead starting their annual migration into the tributaries, we have so many awesome opportunities to look forward to!
The Tennessee tailwaters fished as expected in the summer. Low water fishing is technical. If you can make good casts, keep your flies away from the boat, and be as stealthy as possible, you can be in the game, but the presentations have to be good!
During periods of “high water” (generation), the fishing is quite a bit more “friendly” to the average angler. With more water over their heads, the fish are quite a bit happier and much more forgiving of shorter casts and not-so-perfect drifts.
We found success on both flows in both rivers with a little effort and the right flies and presentations.
“Tom with the first trout of the trip”
In low water, I mainly had success with a small dry-dropper rig, fishing a size 20-22 midge or BWO nymph under the dry. A 15-foot leader tapered down to 6 or 7x tippet on the dropper is essential in my mind for consistently catching brown trout in low summer conditions.
In high water, I caught fish on the usual suspects… pheasant tail nymphs and Walt’s worms… do you really need anything else in favorable conditions? I think not!
Some afternoons on the South Holston, we would see a quick sulfur hatch and find some rising fish. This should continue for another month or so!
“This browns greed for sulphur comparaduns put him in the net”
Fly Patterns:
– Midges (18-2comparadunymphs (18-22)
– Perdigon (16-20)
– PTN (16-20)
– Walt’s (16-20)
– CDC Sulfur comparadun (16-20)
“Tom on lookout for the big brown”
Looking Ahead
Some of the best fishing of the year is on the way for these rivers! September and October are my favorite months to sight fish for the big browns! Most of the fish have migrated upstream from the lake on their way to start moving toward spawning grounds. During this period, we will usually have favorable water conditions to sight cast to these fish. This is generally the last chance of the year to ethically target these fish before they start spawning.
In the fall months, we get a nice mix of low and high water levels, typically allowing us to fish for big fish during periods of low water and catch great numbers of fish during periods of high water! You really can’t beat East TN in the fall!
I will be guiding in TN full-time from September to October.
Available Days:
September:
13-14, 17-18, 21-22, 26-30
October:
7-10, 22-24, 27-30
August was a great month for us in PA! The smallmouth fishing has been what you would expect for August: low water and technical! For those who love technical trout fishing, there is much to appreciate when it comes to catching smallies in low clear water! We have had fun using tons of different tactics to catch these fish, from slow jigging crayfish patterns in the deep holding water to twitching damselflies along the river’s edge or the tails of pools to get explosive top-water eats.
Summer smallies know they don’t have to work too hard to find a meal, with baitfish and crayfish readily available along with dragonflies and damselflies as far as the eye can see. These bass don’t need to fall victim to a lousy presentation or a bad cast that lands on their heads.
75% of my success in August has come on crayfish patterns. With the water levels being low on the rivers I frequent, many of the bass are schooled up in the deepest real estate they can find. It’s effective to park the boat outside of the hole as far back as you can and work a crayfish pattern close to the bottom. I often run a long leader of 10-12 feet in length so that I can tap bottom with the fly, and I prefer a jig-style crayfish pattern with a heavy tungsten bead to get down in the zone as soon as possible. I use a countdown method to fish these flies.
Example: If my fly sinks roughly 1 foot per second and the hole is 7 feet deep, I will count to 7 before I retrieve it. To keep it close to the bottom, I take the number of the depth and divide it by 2, making a long slow strip when I reach my depth count. (If the hole isBooglet deep, I will strip the fly every 3.5 seconds.) Most of the time, the fish eat the fly as it’s dropping, so I will use the tip of my fly line as an indicator. If the fly line kicks or jerks in the other direction between my strips, I will set the hook!
The other 25% has come on terrestrials. The terrestrial game can be hit or miss, but I will say some of the biggest bass I’ve ever caught eat the top-water fly! I mainly utilize this tactic in shallower water or river edges under shade trees.
“Bill with a feisty northern pike”
During low water, I find foam fly patterns like “Ol Mr. Wiggly” to be essential in targeting spooky bass. Compared to a hard popper body fly like a Boogle Bug, foam lands a little softer and doesn’t send spooky bass fleeing for their lives.
This fly is best fished at 45 degrees in front of the boat on a long leader and twitched intermittently to trigger strikes.
Fly Patterns:
– Daniel’s Sculpin Snack
– Daniel’s Jiggy Crayon
-Boogleer Minnow
– Boogle Bug
– Ol Mr. Wiggly
Looking Forward:
There is much to look forward to this fall in Pennsylvania. Fall fishing is as good as you can ask for, with a plethora of options on the table. Steelhead will move into the Erie tribs in October to begin their spawning migration and kick off our season in the tribs. Water temperatures will be back down into the 50s-60s, which will put musky and trout fishing trips back on the table, as well as continued smallmouth action!
I’ll be guiding trips in Pennsylvania from November to December for steelhead trout and musky! Give me a shout to get on the calendar!
