Transcript: East Tennessee Fishing Report with Ellis Ward
Transcript
Marvin:
[0:04] Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly, back with another East Tennessee Fishing Report with Ellis Ward. How you doing, Ellis?
Ellis:
[0:11] I'm doing well, Marv. How are you?
Marvin:
[0:14] As always, I'm just trying to stay out of trouble and, you know, kind of a weird week.
I think this is probably kind of the first really warm week we've had in the Southeast, but we've also got a lot of weather disturbance. And you and I were talking before we started recording that that kind of makes it a little harder than usual to kind of groove what we would expect to see this time of year?
Ellis:
[0:37] Yeah, the flows have been, well on the Watauga we get a 1 to 5 every day, Monday through Friday.
Saturdays you get a recreational release and that makes things a little more predictable.
South Holston has been been pretty low for a long time.
And with the weather that we have this week, it's something I think we talked last time, some of these socked in days in low or high water, you can get good dry fly days for the entire day.
[1:16] And just as we're approaching what felt like some consistency in the big caddis have come and gone a month plus ago, and then the smaller caddis, the sulfurs, we're seeing some PMDs, are we going to fall into that weeks long, month plus long mini season of PMDs and sulfur.
Q, a week of very strange weather. But what makes it The fun is that it does when there are disturbances like this, as I'm looking out the window and staring at 100% cloud cover and what'll probably be a little rain today constantly, and then two or three days of it looks like some chances of the heavens opening up.
The fun part about that is that it will influence a change out there in one way or another.
If you're ready for it, there's plenty of opportunities to capitalize on those changes.
Marvin:
[2:23] Yeah, and as you've mentioned multiple times in the past, that overcast with rain is a really good time to target the stripers too.
Ellis:
[2:32] Yeah, they are. I kind of learned that back in DC where it's just, if it could be.
As close to blown out as possible.
So having full days like this where you're not just banking on the low light hours of morning or evening or really, really off color water, which just, you may as well be blind casting at that point.
I mean, you are if you're fishing a chocolate milkshake.
It's also early enough in the summer to where they haven't seen too many boats.
That said, I have been passing over in low water.
They're not running away too quickly. I've been passing over some very large dinosaur looking fish down there.
They'll be there in high water. So just need to get out on a day like today.
Marvin:
[3:33] Yeah, well, there you go. And so, you know, hopefully, you know, maybe in the next two weeks or so, you'll be in that sulfur groove on the South Holston, right?
Ellis:
[3:46] Yeah, we shall. The flows.
I think yesterday was one of the first windows that I saw that was over two hours, so they had a three to seven. They've pushed water once or twice.
But yeah, I mean, the amount of rain that we're getting and the consistency with which we are getting the rain in the next week, I suspect will provide for at least a few weeks of decent releases.
And I mean, if on that three to seven release, that puts you firmly into the, you know, let's say you're putting in up top at 5, 6 p.m., you can get a great float.
For four, five, six hours.
Yes, I am going into the night with some mice, but you can get a great float in the evening hours on that three to seven release.
And you'll probably have the river to yourself. And it's the uppermost, this isn't a secret, it's the uppermost, most densely populated portion of a wild brown trout tailwater, and you can be fishing dry flies by yourself.
[5:16] So those limited flows can be really tough if you're coming out here either for a trip or just for an extended period of time because you're somewhat limited in when you can float.
But you can sort of, if you're looking at that, at those later windows, you can cherry pick the good times to be out, and it's a lot of fun.
Marvin:
[5:40] Yeah, and then too, right, you know, all that, you know, assuming that the precipitation pattern doesn't stay the same, you'll get into the dog days of summer, and then you're going to have basically, you know, peak electrical generation that's going to give you a pretty predictable flow, pretty steady, just hot, nasty conditions, and then you should really to be able to dial in the hatches, right?
Ellis:
[6:00] I would hope.
The electrical generation is, you know, it's part of this algorithm from the TVA that has to do with the lake levels above, the lake levels below, you know, what boon is dropping, what Fort Patrick is dropping, how much they're filling, you know, and energy requirements at the same time.
But yeah, I would hope, yeah, that's kind of always the case.
Between all the precipitation and the, let's say in the next week or two, higher temperatures on a more consistent basis, we should start seeing consistent hatches.
And even right now, to call it inconsistent, I think would be...
[7:00] There are bugs and they are hatching somewhat frequently most days.
It's just the timing and which bugs, but again, if you're out there and you've done your homework and you're ready to read the water and read what the fish are doing, it's a buggy time of year.
So it's fun when you get those blankets of sulfurs, but it is more often the case that you got to put a little work into the in the moment water reading.
Marvin:
[7:37] Got it. And you know, folks, we love questions at the Articulate Fly.
You can email them to us. You can DM us on social media.
If we use your questions, I will send you some Articulate Fly swag.
And more importantly, we will enter in a drawing for two days of fishing with Ellis and a night at the Watauga River Lodge. And Ellis, before I let you go to fish these great conditions today, why don't you let folks know where they can find you so they can book you and fish with you?
Ellis:
[8:00] Ellis Ward- Sure. Instagram is at Ellis Ward Guides.
My website is Elliswardfishing.com and best way to contact me, ask questions, book, et cetera, is my cell phone at 513-543-0019.
Marvin:
[8:17] Chris Bailey Well, there you go. Well, listen, folks. you owe it to yourself to get out there and catch a few.
Tight lines everybody. Tight lines Ellis. Appreciate it, Marv.