May has been a solid month. There have been easy days and technical days, but overall there have been too many great days to count!
It’s hard to believe how quickly spring has come and gone as we transition into early summer and begin shifting our focus toward smallmouth bass. Here’s a recap of our May trout fishing in our May Fishing Report.
We’ve continued to see drought conditions in Tennessee, with South Holston Lake still below full pool. Generation schedules have been light throughout May, so most of our days were spent on low water, enjoying some excellent sight fishing opportunities.
The sulphur hatch has been strong, even with the low water conditions, and we’ve managed to catch fish on dry flies on most outings. The numbers have been excellent, and we’ve also brought a few trophy fish to hand.
In typical May fashion, if you had one nymph and one dry fly, you’d be set—the sulphur remains the main course. Of course, there are plenty of variations, but that’s what’s on the menu.
My go-to patterns continue to be a simple pheasant tail nymph, a split-case sulphur, and a CDC Comparadun. If your presentation is good, there’s really no need to carry much else.
As we move into June, I expect more of the same. Fingers crossed for a little rain so we can get some generation water and extend the sulphur hatch deeper into the summer.
The Clarion fished well throughout most of May. We enjoyed great water levels, which led to some outstanding streamer fishing.
The dry fly bite was hit or miss depending on the day and whether the bugs were actively hatching, but there always seemed to be a few fish looking up. Nymphing at higher flows can be challenging due to the river’s structure and the tendency of fish to pin themselves tight to the banks and cover. However, when flows dropped, nymph fishing was productive as always.
There was a wide variety of bugs on the menu this month—sulphurs, caddis, midges, and even the occasional green drake. Matching the hatch was the key to success on top. Below the surface, fish weren’t overly selective, and simple patterns worked well as long as they were presented correctly.
As we transition into June and water temperatures rise, our focus will begin to shift toward smallmouth bass.
The Allegheny River drainage and its tributaries offer some of the finest smallmouth fishing in the country. It’s an experience every angler should have at least once!
Summer Smallmouth Availability
I still have a few summer smallmouth dates available:
June: 23–28
July: 2–5, 10–14
If you’ve been thinking about experiencing world-class smallmouth fishing, now is the time to get on the schedule.
