Summer Terrestrial Fishing for Big Brown Trout

'Tis the season for terrestrials and quality brown trout. I just saw another report with a similar theme from my friend Ben Smith over at Arizona Wanderings. He found big brown trout that were eating cicadas which is always guaranteed to be fun. Here in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee and western North Carolina, the annual cicadas are on but not in enough numbers to consistently get the fish interested. No, we have inchworms, ants, and beetles to get our fish interested.

I've already experienced some good terrestrial fishing this year, both as a guide and an angler. Inchworms and ants provide good fishing starting in May and continuing through the summer. Fish get accustomed to looking for these delicacies. In June, Japanese Beetle season commences and the fish will eat a well placed beetle imitation.

Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to experience some of everything during my guide trip with Kirk. The day started fishing beetles and ants to high elevation rainbow and brook trout. During this time, we found some quality fish and the takes were always something special. Here are a couple of the rewards for stealth and accurate fly placement.

Speaking of stealth, fish were spooking even before we could get into casting range at times. I recommend doing everything in your power to be stealthy right now. Wear camo shirts, get down and crawl on your hands and knees, make longer casts wherever possible, and most of all, know that you normally only get one shot so make the first cast count.

As the number of landed rainbows and brookies continued to climb, Kirk and I started a discussion about whether or not to go looking for a nice brown trout to round out the day. Finally, we got to a good spot to get out of the stream and decided that we should go looking for a brown trout. I reminded him that the numbers of fish wouldn't be as high, but there was always the chance for a nicer trout of maybe 12 inches.

When we started fishing at our next destination, the creek was flowing at a perfect level to hunt quality fish. Early on, we missed a good 10-12 inch brown and had another couple of hits, but it took a while to catch the first fish which ended up being a little rainbow of perhaps 5 inches, definitely not the big fish we were hoping for.

Moving on up the creek, I paused to discuss strategy if we should happen to hook a big fish and explained how to beach a large brown without injuring it. Most importantly, when beaching a fish, make sure that it is on a firm but level surface and that the surface is WET. Other than that, beaching is an acceptable method for landing a large trout but remember to hurry to get the fish back in the water.

Shortly after, we got to a deep plunge that was well shaded. I pointed to the best spot and Kirk executed a great cast. After a second, the indicator plunged. I turned to ask if it was a rock or a fish and he was already in the process of saying, "That's a big fish!"

As soon as the fish came up and rolled, my face grew as serious as his was. He was fishing my new Orvis Superfine Glass rod (7' 6" 4 weight) and had the advantage of a very forgiving tip in the fight against the quality brown trout. We had to follow the fish downstream through two sets of rapids before Kirk saw a window of opportunity and quickly gained control of the head of the fish and slid it onto a flat spot with a small pool. I pounced just as the fly popped lose and secured the big brown trout for a quick picture.

I think both of us will dream about this fish, reliving the moment it came up and rolled and our mouths' both dropped open. Fish like this are more common than most people realize in some of our streams, but catching them is anything but common. In fact, a fish like this is often earned over many years of trial and error.

Oh, I forgot to mention. It ate a sunken ant that I tie. Those ants are like candy to the trout as I have written about before. Check out that link for how I like to rig my ants for catching quality fish in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Days like this are special to me as a guide. Naturally I cannot guarantee catching a nice fish. In fact, if I had people catching them all the time, you would see a lot more pictures here of big fish. It is very satisfying though to have a plan come together and a nice fish hooked and landed.

If you are interested in a guided fly fishing trip in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, please contact me, fly fishing guide David Knapp, via call or text at (931) 261-1884 or via email at TroutZoneAnglers@gmail.com.