Musky fishing with either conventional gear or a fly rod benefits from the knowledge of where the fish are likely to be holding, and when are they are likely to be there. Given a few dynamics that exist both in the headwater-esque waters of the upper french broad, along with the waters within the TVA system, our rivers do get into the 30s, but are somewhat insulated against icing over, which means musky fishing can happen year round. For winter musky fishing, our presenations slow down, and become a bit more focused on the areas where we know fish are. After years of fishing these rivers in all seasons, between fish caught and fish moved to the boat, along with some guidelines about where to find fish - depth, structure, nearby depth and structure, upstream and downstream river dynamics, length and depth of runs between certain river features - locating the fish becomes an eventuality. Our task is to make them eat, and my job is understand how that changes day to day, week to week, and season to season.
Musky trips will be either on the French Broad River near Asheville, North Carolina, or within the TVA river-reservoir systems in East TN, near Knoxville, Tennessee. Fishing can be with a Fly, Baitcaster, or both, and all gear is provided. Attitudes, however, are the responsibility of each party, and - along with a proper hook set - can be the difference between a musky getting into the net or staying in the water.
Flies and Lures range in size, though generally speaking we are fishing 11-12 weights with 9-12” flies, and heavy duty baticasters with musky-rated gear. I enjoy making the experience/process/effort (many ways to phrase it) more palatable than the grind in which many pride themselves, which can look like tweaks on casting, adjusting fly/lure sizes and line/rod pairings, and telling a decent joke here and there.
