Secrets of Southern Tailwaters, with Tic Smith

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

Tic Smith [37:18] is head guide at Orvis-endorsed Southeastern Anglers and is a veteran guide with many decades of experience on southern tailwaters. Our discussion centers on his home river, the Hiwassee, but the tips and tricks he shares will be valuable on many other tailwaters. He talks tackle, flies, presentation, and most importantly reading the water from a drift boat. In the Fly Box this week we have some great trips and interesting questions from listeners, including:

• Can I re-use an old Depth Charge running line with a shooting head, and if so how should I connect it to my heads?
• Can I put my reel in the water when landing a fish?
• Would the 7-foot, 9-inch Superfine Graphite rod be a good one for redeye bass? Will it add to the fun factor?
• A listener has a question about getting around another angler while fishing public water surrounded by private land.
• A biologist answers a question from a previous podcast—where are all the baby carp?
• What is this Tenkara stuff all about? Can I use conventional flies on a Tenkara outfit?
• An anonymous listener please for listeners to contact their elected representatives regarding the defunding of the EPA's Office of Research Development.
• How do native brook trout get so high up in remote streams?
• I can catch fish in low gradient brown trout streams on nymphs and dries but streamers don't seem to work. Why?
• Will floods that have increased flows tenfold in a river have a deleterious effect on the trout population?
• Can you recommend a good long dry-fly leader that is knotless? Is it as good as a hand-tied leader?
• What kind of fly-fishing gear should I avoid using in salt water?