S7, Ep 59: Hot Days, Cool Fish: East Tennessee Fishing Insights with Ellis Ward

Join Marvin Cash on The Articulate Fly fishing podcast as Ellis Ward delivers an outstanding East Tennessee Fishing Report from the boat ramp, showcasing why the Watauga River and South Holston River are firing on all cylinders despite recent hot weather.

Ward, an experienced East Tennessee guide, shares exceptional dry fly fishing success stories including multiple browns over 18 inches and consistent action that's been "unusually good" for both seasoned anglers and first-time dry fly fishers.

Learn how recent rainfall and subtle water clarity changes are actually enhancing fish behavior and reducing spookiness, creating prime conditions for afternoon and evening trips.

Ellis reveals his strategic approach to seasonal transitions, explaining why July and August focus on guaranteed water releases six days a week on the Watauga, while September and October shift toward mousing and musky fishing opportunities.

Discover practical insights about reading changing water conditions, capitalizing on limestone-tinted "fishy green" water and timing your East Tennessee fishing adventures for maximum success. Whether you're planning a guided trip or fishing independently, this report provides actionable intelligence for making the most of these exceptional summer conditions.

To learn more about Ellis, check out our interview!

Related Content

S6, Ep 46 - Ellis Ward's East Tennessee Euphoria: Dry Flies and Midge Magic

S6, Ep 98 - Navigating Late Summer Waters and Mousing Tactics with Ellis Ward

S6, Ep 142 - Winter Musky Adventures and Streamer Tactics with Ellis Ward

S7, Ep 14 - The Streamer Playbook: Tips and Tactics for Targeting Big Trout in East Tennessee with Ellis Ward

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Folks, it's Marvin Cash, thehost of the Articulate Fly. And we're
back with another EastTennessee Fishing report with Ellis
Ward. Ellis, how are you?
I am doing better than normal,Marv. How are you?
I'm getting there. You know,it's kind of funny, right? You know,
as I. People may not knowthis, but, you know, I try to work
on technology setups that workfor guys that are on boat ramps in

(00:25):
the dark, like you are rightnow, and it's actually working out,
knock on wood, pretty well.
Yeah, man, you've, you've donea lot of cool stuff. I think that
a lot of which people knowabout, a lot of which is, is under
the radar. But it's cool thatyou're, you're reaching people and

(00:48):
producing this podcast withsomeone who is sitting on a boat
not quite at the ramp yet.
Yeah. Which is kind of funny.So, folks, that's why I don't use,
like, people will be like, areyou using Riverside? Or something
like that. And it's like, youknow, if I was in a studio situation
all the time with guests thatwere at home, it would be great.
But, you know, when you havepeople out in the field doing the
work and they're at a boatramp, you may or may not have a good

(01:11):
enough cell service to run atool like that. So that's enough
behind baseball. You know, youwere telling me that despite the
fact that it's been prettydamn hot in the mid Atlantic and
it's been cooler probably inthe last three or four days, that
the fishing's been unusually good.
Yeah. I am going to interruptour regular scheduled program to

(01:32):
just give you credit because,you know, I don't think I do it often
enough. I'm calling from, youknow, I'm calling into something
that you're recording andother times I'm using the mics that
I use for YouTube stuff on mycomputer, and I have, you know, I'm
connected to the Ethernet. Andso, like, every time we talk, I'm

(01:53):
giving you a curveball. So I,I, it just something that I think
I certainly appreciate andpeople should know about. Yeah.
We don't even have to talkabout scheduling entropy.
No, we don't have to. We will,but save that for non, non fishing
report time. That's, that's agood one. Yeah, dude, it's been,

(02:20):
it's been really good. Dryflies to action has been great. Just
while we were talking beforerecording, I think I missed one or
two and got a couple follows.And, you know, the, the trips have
been fantastic. Shout out. TJand his son Baden got him his first

(02:46):
fish on a dry fly. A bunch ofother eats. TJ Whacked them. Bill
came for a couple days andjust. It's just fun taking people
out and showing them the, Idon't know, the non cookie cutter
version of, of the Wataga. Andso to a certain extent, to help the

(03:08):
South Holston. And, and so,you know, sometimes that means fishing
odd hours and, and swingingfor some home runs and maybe not
making contact, but I continueto just love what I do and the people
that find me and, and our timeon the boat and then. Yeah. When

(03:29):
we're moving big fish and, andseeing. Oh yeah, Clayton, dude. I
mean, we had a day on theSouth Holston. You got two fish over
18 and we lost count of brownsthat we caught on dry flies. Like,
it's just both rivers havebeen fishing really good and I, I
do anticipate that willcontinue for the next month or two.

(03:53):
And importantly, for thepurposes of. Of booking and thoughts
there, like September,October, I, I really start pushing
towards mousing and muskieand, and part of that is just the
regularity. So you come herefor streamer fishing and we have
low water for seven daysstraight. And you know, I, after

(04:15):
this last year and kind ofstarting a few years ago, made a
very concerted effort to makesure that that was a viable product.
It is, it's. It's hard workand, and our odds start to go down
a little bit. So July, August,we. We have water on the Watauga

(04:38):
six days a week and theirafternoon evening trips. I like to
like what I'm doing right now.I'm. I'm just chilling, waiting for
the water to drop out, whichhappens where I am at about dark
and then I'm going to bemousing for a couple hours. So running
trips like that and this timeof year is just. It's a lot of fun

(05:05):
and it feels like everything'sbeen settled in for a couple weeks,
maybe a month plus now. Andget here while the getting's good.
Yeah. I tell you, likewatching your stuff on Instagram,
you got that like awesomefishy green water too.
Yeah. So there's. I. I've putin at the dam now a few times way

(05:28):
up top, which I, I havehistorically gravitated a little
lower part partially becauseour tributaries have just been. I
mean, dude, we. We got one ofthese again today. These little like
squalls or whatever you wantto call it, where just for 15 minutes,

(05:50):
the heavens open Up. Excuseme. We have, you know, I'm gonna
guess 1997 Ranger without anexhaust system on it driving by.
Yeah, there's been. Even fromall the way up at the top, when it's

(06:12):
high, there's just. You're notcounting pebbles and prior to Helene,
you're counting pebbles. Inhigh water, you can see the bottom
of the river in 4 or 5ft ofwater that's moving. You can see
the different colored rocksand different sizes and all that.
That same piece of water, youreally can't make out the bottom.

(06:33):
It's still got that limestonefishy grain to it. And then the rest
of the river has. This hasalso been happening on the South
Holston because there's acouple creeks that. That make this
happen. We just get hit sohard and this has been happening,
happening three, four days aweek for the last few weeks. We're

(06:56):
getting hit so hard that justall the little ag creeks, the banks
start bleeding. Any. Anythingthat's clay starts, you know, putting
out that latte color andrelative to. Even when they're running
water. And it's, you know,historically speaking, it's just

(07:17):
gin clear. That drop inclarity, we. We can still track our
flies pretty deep, but thatdrop in clarity really adds a lot
of bitiness. So it just. Ittakes away from the spookiness. It's.
It's a substitute for cloudcover in certain ways, if you want

(07:39):
to think about it like that.So, yeah, I think that's certainly
adding to it. It's. It'sdropped out enough and it's clear
enough to where in high water.You know, the. The bugs are fully
ripping, which they weren'tfor a while. And it's. Yeah, it's
both rivers.
Yeah. Well, there you go. Andyou know, folks, we love questions
on the articulate fly. You canemail me or DM me on social media,

(08:02):
whatever is easiest for you.And if we use your question, I will
send you some articulate flyswag. And also throw in a couple
butcher shop stickers too.We've got a few of those left until
I run another batch and we'lllearn. You're drawing for some cool
stuff from Ellis at the end ofthe season. And Ellis, before I let
you go get your mouse on, youwant to let folks know where to find
you, how to get on the boat.Haven't talked to you about bucktails

(08:23):
in a while. All that kind ofgood stuff.
Yeah, I got some bucktails upon elliswardflies.com I'll be getting
a bunch more into a coupledifferent shops in in the next month
or two but pushing more chipsand resources towards on the water

(08:45):
stuff and tying to replaceflies that you know, we that's the
inverse royal we lose.Otherwise there might be some musky
lures, maybe some flies.Elliswardflies.com there's pictures,
information on trips, etc.Best way to contact me, talk about
fishing trips, whatever. I hada dude, Sean. What up Sean? Call

(09:12):
me today and he's asking mefor some information about a bait
casting setup and you know hefishes fly and he ties and all that
but like you pick up onlistening to me talk here YouTube
stuff @Ellis Ward fishing thatI like all fishing. And so baitcaster

(09:35):
from Muskie we ended uptalking for 30 minutes and like I
love those conversations. If Ican help shortcut that learning curve
for whatever you're doing,it's reach out to me. And you can
do that at 513-543-0019.
Well, there you go. Well folksas always say you owe it yourself

(09:55):
to get out there and catch afew tight lines everybody. Tight
lines. Ellis.
Appreciate it, Marv.