12 February 2017

Well another fishing year has come and gone and a brand new one is under way.  Goodbye 2016 and the fall dry spell you left us with.  Here are a few recent pics of what the boys have been doing lately. Streamer fishing for trout on our southern tailwaters and chasing an occasional muskie.  The head hunting has been good lately.  For the next month or so we plan on more of the same as well as getting into the mountains for some small stream fishing to check on our local back country areas.  As the days and afternoons warm and the stream flows subside, we will be seeing our first hatches of the year. Little stoneflies, blue wings and then the hendricksons will be here soon.

As I rub my crystal ball and look out into the next few months,  I think this spring season will be a little different.  I think we will see some productive and fishable flow rates on some of the larger tailwaters that we do not usually see this time of year.  Unless things change soon, the lower reservoir levels combined with warmer temperatures equal lower spring river flows.  Rivers like the Cumberland, Clinch, and Caney fork could be some awesome spring targets.  If you are looking for something you haven’t fished before or haven’t fished in the spring, this may be the year.  My suggestion for planning spring drift trips is to book your desired dates early and then be flexible for location and lodging.  Be ready to fish the best available.  It is going to be a spring full of weekly and daily changes with great fly fishing opportunities presenting themselves.

​Our group of traveling anglers will be headed out to Chile on Friday for our 2017 Patagonia brown trout extravaganza. I will have you a report in March on our successes.  We still have slots available for late February 2018.

As always, call or email to talk fishing.

29 August 2016

Hello Indian summer and fall Anglers !  What do you say about some cooler weather and great trout fishing ?   Southeastern Anglers is gearing up to spend some time on the Cumberland River in Kentucky.  Specifically, the window opens around September 12th and runs area and having a couple of boats ready on a daily basis. Some of these dates are already booked so think about it and give us a shout for your reservations. The Cumberland is a pretty good drive from just about anywhere and we highly recommend at least two-day fishing trips here to get the goody out of it.  There are several places to stay and the Lake state park resorts are hard to beat.

Over the last two years we have watched the river steadily return from a river on the mend back to a great trout fishery.  The current weather pattern is conducive to appropriate late season flows, so we say “let’s go.”    I know the nymph fishing will be good.  The streamer fishing will be awesome under the right conditions.  And the terrestrial / hopper bite could be something to behold before the frost hits.  As we near the end of October, the brown trout spawning urge will move the fish into the shallows.

Give us a call.  It is finally time to hit the Cumberland again.

20 July 2016

The Cumberland river is really starting to come alive with good predictableflow rates and great fishing.  The nymph fishing is most consistent with
the terrestrial and hopper bite getting stronger daily.  We are offering trips on the Cumberland once again and stronglyrecommend at least two days of fishing on your jaunts here.  There are multiple float stretches and every day is different.  Two or more days on the Cumberland gives you a good shot at quality fish.  We are seeing, hooking or landing 20 in. fish on most days.  Since this fishery is a pretty good haul for us and you, we like to book our guides for several days at a time here.  August throughDecember is going to produce some big fish. As always, call for details and bookings as well as an up to the minute report.

14 June 2016

Hey folks ! Here are few recent grip and grins from some of our local spring trips on the Hiwassee and Holston rivers. Just thought it was time for a quick shout to let everyone know that it is HI Time again ! Yes we are now drifting the upper Hiwassee River from the powerhouse to Reliance daily and expect to be floating the upper river daily for the remainder of the year.
The Hiwassee river is an awesome year round fishery with a high success rate for all anglers and a very fishable flow most of the time. But it is June through September that we consider the peak for our dry fly fishing. This time of year we usually see more surface action than any other time. Right now we have sulfurs and evening duns late in the day and the Isonychia are on their way.
Come and see us in Reliance soon. The fish are rising, the water is cold, and the smoked chicken is hot.

08 April 2016

These photos are a glimpse of what is going on now on our local waters. Looks like the weather really breaks starting in April, so it is time to dust off the fly poles, tie on a parachute, and hit the water.

The Hiwassee river is fishing excellent. We will be doing a combination of float and wade trips here as flows indicate for April and May. Drift fishing below Reliance and wading above Reliance. Lots of fish numbers. The hendricksons are starting, and some larger fish are being caught.
The Big Holston below Cherokee is ready to go. TVA has Cherokee lake level where they want it, and flows are correct for our drift trips. We love April and may here, especially with the May caddis hatch. I predict some of our larger rainbows of spring will come from the Holston.
We are beginning to see some suitable flow rates on the Clinch river, especially on the weekends. This will always be a technical river to fish, but possibly very rewarding. You need your A game here with long casts and small flies. Kind of like a day at the Masters versus your local golf club.
The Tellico basin and its tributaries are in great shape for spring wade fishing trips and some wild fish on the small streams.

Give us a shout and book those April and May dates, we can target whatever is best on your scheduled date. If you want guaranteed dates for floats on the upper Hiwassee starting on Memorial Day weekend, get those dates booked too, they are filling now. And finally… We are expecting to be fishing the Cumberland river in Kentucky once again this year. I think best dates for this will be July – November.

As always – call anytime just to talk fishing.

24 January 2016

Well… if you looking for a “state of the rivers” update don’t watch the news.  Stay tuned in here.  All fish like water.  So they are all happy as clams everywhere right now.  December saw some of the largest rainfall amounts on all of our watersheds that we have seen.  Many of the reservoirs reached summer pool levels for the second time of the year before the month was out.  Most all of the streams and rivers were unfishable for December and most of them still are due to high flows.  But remember … the fish are down there and happy with nobody messing with them and plenty of food floating by.  These now high streams and rivers will be in the fishable range soon and will be excellent. I am talking the Holston, Tellico, and Cumberland mainly here.

The Hiwassee River – It is Big Fish time on the Hiwassee now !   Now through March is probably going to be the best opportunity for large fish on the HI.  The water levels are currently a little high but very fishable.  The big browns are post spawn and eating shad. They are very comfortable with current conditions.  The daylight levels of winter being a little more subdued coupled with the green tinge in the water and baitfish have the browns (and larger bows) eager to bite.  We are not doing our typical summertime 30 fish days on a trip out, but the average fish size on a day trip is twice that of typical summertime fishing.  These photos are from the last few days.  Give us a call, Drive over to Reliance, and get your big fish on.

31 May 2015

It's HI time to schedule a fly fishing adventure, and with it create a lasting memory and a story.  SEA is making great fly fishing trips happen daily now.  The Hiwassee river is teaming with fish and bugs.  Flows are perfect for daily drift boat trips on the upper river.  The menu consists of sulfurs, caddis, stoneflies, and of course smoked chicken.  This past week we even had a morning hatch.  Go figure.  Several of our other favorite local waters are fishing great right now too.  The big HO at Knoxville is showing us some real tippet busting rainbows and the smallmouth bite is already on.  The water and conditions in the Tellico basin are also perfect as we print this.  We plan on resuming our Cumberland river trips in July.  2015 is going to be the year you really start hearing stories about the great fishing on the Cumberland once again.  As always, just give us a call or shoot an email and we will get you on the books.  Plenty of good dates avilable.  Chicken is in the smoker.  It's HI time to schedule a fly fishing adventure.

06 May 2015

Wow what a season we have unfolding! It only happens once in a Blue Moon !

All indications are that we have some magical water coming up on the Hiwassee River from May 11th through the 20th. We should see a near one turbine flow daily for the period. This is a great river level for May fishing on the Hiwassee. The upper river and the seldom fished middle will be very fishable. It also means that we will be using the drift boats on these sections to catch all of the big spring hatches including the Hendricksons, Blue Wings, Caddis, and the Sulphurs. We currently have good slots available for this period. The dates are approaching soon.

Beginning on Saturday, May 23rd we get the guaranteed daily release schedules for the summer. This means we will be drifting daily from the Powerhouse thru the gorge to Reliance.

As always, contact us for additional info or to book your trip with us. Call Dane at 770-655-9210.