DECEMBER IN THE SMOKIES
December can be a hit or miss month in the Smokies. Cooling temperatures send fish into their winter time metabolism, this causes the fish to tend to be a little pickier with when and what they might want to eat. With that being said, if we happen to get a a few warmer days, the fishing can really pick up.
We recommend sizing down on your nymphs for this time of the year. Small Pheasant Tails and Stonefly imitations are a good bugs to start with. Heavier nymphs with an indicator are going to be your best bet. A PT with some flash on a sunny day can be very appealing to the fish. We like to use tungsten beads for all of our flies to ensure the flies are getting down to where the fish are. December and winter time months can also be a very successful time to euro nymph, utilizing those heavy flies. A dry dropper set up can also be fished, with 18”-24” of space typically between the two flies.
The prime fishing time is from around 11am-3pm, while the sun is overhead. The fish seem to be turning off around 3-4pm when the sun begins to set. Most rivers in the park have been flowing at near normal levels and temperatures for this time of year. Fishing lower elevations can be helpful this time of year, the water will typically be a little warmer in these areas. In order to protect future fish populations of the GSMNP, try to avoid wading/fishing our brooke and brown trout streams in the coming months. This is due to them currently being post-spawn, and their redds will be occupying a lot of our rivers.
Gatlinburg stocked water has also been fishing well. The stocked fish are seeming to prefer things like egg patterns, mop flies, and squirmy worms. Targeting the stocked fish in the wintertime can be beneficial, as they seem to be a bit less affected by the ever changing weather patterns that we have here in East TN.
Elden Snapp