Fishing Ultralight

Chasing big trout often involves throwing meat. Big flies, sinking lines, you know the drill. Here in Tennessee, our winter shad kill season provides some of the most exciting fly fishing of the entire year. Big trout gorging on large chunks of protein drifting down the river are even more fun than you can imagine as long as you overlook the often freezing temperatures that produce the best shad kills. 

As a fly fishing guide, I look forward to the winter shad kill season for both personal fishing and for guiding. While we catch big fish year round, the winter shad kill season provides some of the best easiest opportunities of the year to catch a great big trout. For those of my clients already in the know, booking their winter fishing is an important part of their yearly fishing. On one of the best trips this past winter, for example, one angler landed 7 brown trout ranging from 18 to 21.5". That is the type of day most of us dream about, but the shad kill makes it attainable for most anglers. Having a good Caney Fork guide helps a lot also of course, but I may be biased. 

Anyway, one of my friends/clients had booked a series of guided trips starting in early spring and going through prime fishing season. The idea was to sample a little of everything as many of our clients do. When the day of the first trip approached, I had just experienced the previously mentioned day of catching LOTS of quality browns, so it was an easy decision. We would go to the Caney Fork. 

One of the big advantages of being on the water every day is that you see things. If you are paying attention, you'll catch a LOT more fish than if you aren't on the water very often. Thus, the next day, I had a plan of spots I wanted to hit extra hard. As we drifted down the river, I slid the boat into position near a downed tree. For the last couple of weeks prior to this trip, I had seen a huge fish busting shad from time to time. I was hoping John would get a chance. Sure enough, as he drifted through the spot after a perfect cast, the indicator shot down and he came tight to something BIG. 

Of course, the first thing the fish did was to run hard upstream towards the tree. I quickly got John to put side pressure downstream on the fish to get it turned, and by some miracle it came out of the wood. Unfortunately, we weren't out danger yet. The fish then dove straight down and nothing John did could slow it down. Suddenly, the line stopped, heavy but unmoving. My concerns were being realized. The fish had taken the bottom fly and the top fly was impaled on a piece of wood somewhere below in the swirling currents. Rowing circles around submerged wood that is between 8-10 feet below on two generators of flow was fun, but I kept at it hoping that the fish would come out and we would still be tight. Alas, it was not meant to be. After trying several angles to get the flies unstuck, I finally instructed John to break it off on purpose. We were both seriously bummed.

The rest of that week I was worried sick. I just knew that a giant brown trout was somehow tethered to the bottom, drowning and unable to throw the fly. As the week came to a close, I had one trip that let me drift past that spot on one generator. Unfortunately, that was still far too much water, and I never saw the wood much less our flies.

The following week, I had two unusual occurrences. First, I was running a very rare Sunday trip. For lots of reasons, my guide service doesn't do weekend trips, but about once or twice a year I make an exception and take someone fishing on a Sunday. Phill had been booked with us last September before health issue crept up that forced him to postpone a long anticipated adventure that included the White River in Arkansas and the Caney Fork River in Tennessee. The second unusual occurrence was that I was guiding a spin angler. As a fly fishing guide first and foremost, it is relatively uncommon for me to run spinning trips. Last year, I ended up running several spin trips, probably more in one year than I had ever run in my entire guide career up until that point. I enjoy spin fishing as it is something different, and I'm very pick with how it is done. It is a nice change of pace although you might not guess I think that when I try to convince you to fly fish instead of using a spinning rod.

Upon booking Phill for a guided trip, as a first time client, we had a long conversation about my requirements to spin fish. Absolutely no live bait and single hook artificial lures only are mandatory if you are fishing with me. Being able to fish effectively with those requirements takes more knowledge, experience, and skill than most think. In fact, I would argue that it takes at least as much skill to effectively fish ultralight gear than it does to fly fish in most generic settings such as drowning nymphs under a strike indicator.

As it turns out, Phill was a very accomplished angler when it came to fishing ultralight gear. He had even fished with a fly rod for a good while at one point in life, but just decided he liked ultralight tackle best. Thus it was that we decided to fish some White River jigs on high flows on Sunday. Our trip went well with several quality fish coming to hand. They topped out a touch over 19 inches which incidentally was about the same size as the largest trout he had caught on the White River in Arkansas. There is a reason the Caney Fork has a reputation for big brown trout. 

"A chunky shad eater." ©2026 David Knapp Photography

Unfortunately, when I checked the generation schedule, the next morning featured low water. Knowing how much Phill had been enjoying fishing jigs, I was hesitant to even mention what we would be facing. However, upon telling him what it would mean, he actually got excited. "My arm is getting tired fishing these jigs. Let's just fish Trout Magnets," he said. That worked out great for me. I fish Trout Magnets with most of my spin clients and they always catch fish

The next morning, we got just enough water to make a good long drift about two miles down the river fishing jigs, but then it was time to motor back up and change gears. After we got back up and started fishing the falling water, it took a few minutes to get things going. We kept working on the depth and eventually the bites started coming. Then fish started hitting the net one after another. Rainbows, browns, more rainbows, more browns. The Trout Magnet never disappoints. 

Phill fishes Trout Magnets back home and wanted to use a specific color that worked well for brown trout in his experience. We were drifting well down the river at this point when I discovered that we were approaching the downed tree and wood pile where John had lost the big brown the week prior. I quickly explained the situation to Phill who graciously said he didn't mind if I took a little of his time to check the brush pile. Sure enough, upon rowing over there, I could see one of my flies stuck tightly to the wood. I tried poking it free with the oar, but it was simply too deep to do much. This was a project that would have to wait for another day. Just as I was about to move the boat back out, I heard Phill say, "I got one!" 

"Fighting a monster brown trout." ©2026 David Knapp Photography

Looking up, I saw his ultralight spinning rod doubled up. Obviously a big fish, I quickly started instructing him to apply side pressure in a speech that gave me a strange sense of deja vu because of the spot we were fishing. Moving the boat quickly out into the main river, we got lucky when the large trout turned towards the middle of the river and away from the obstructions. Meanwhile, Phill was telling me about the 2 lb test line he was fishing and at some point mentioned that his hook was also barbless. At that, I about freaked out but somehow managed to keep that concern under wraps enough to not affect his focus.

Suddenly, as the big fish turned near the surface and we got our first good look, a saw a flash on its side. Surely not, I thought. As the huge brown got closer and closer, my amazement grew. When the brown trout hit the net, I started whooping and hollering. This was the big brown that John had lost the last week. The fly we had hooked it on was stuck firmly in the trophy brown trout's flank. That explained why we couldn't turn it. Somehow, the fish had hit our fly but the hook didn't stick it in the mouth. Deep nymphing will result in some funny things. The fish had somehow broke off from the other fly (which I had just found wedged in the wood) and had been going about its business as usual for the last week with my fly along for the ride. 

"Trophy Tennessee brown trout on ultralight spinning gear." ©2026 David Knapp Photography

Pulling the fly out, I quickly put it on a drying patch. That fly might have to be framed. The story on the fly and the fish was just too good. Once pictures were taken, we sat there in disbelief. Me because this fish I had encountered twice in a one week period was okay and swam away strong. I could now rest easy. Phill because the big brown trout he had just gone to the White River to catch actually came out of the Caney Fork River in Tennessee instead.

I knew that John was fishing with guide Pat Tully that day, so we called and told them the story so both could enjoy it. This was by far one of the better fish stories I've been a part of. The fun thing about guiding is that you get to make stories and memories for and with people every day, but this one sure took the cake. On that day, I discovered that there is a whole new level of fishing ultralight than I was used to. Phill was truly great with that gear, and I learned a lot just watching him do his thing. Now, Phill is in the lead for my annual "Guide Trip Fish of the Year" contest. You can learn more about that contest if you are a subscriber to the Trout Zone Anglers email newsletter. 

If you want to catch big brown trout on the Caney Fork, feel free to reach out to me for either fly fishing trips or spin fishing trips. I enjoy doing both. I'll always try to tal`k you into fly gear, but if you ask enough times, I'll eventually relent and let you spin fish as well if you follow my guidelines. Trips are always catch and release, no exception. 

Great Smoky Mountain Brown Trout Extravaganza

Recently, I posted about fishing for post spawn Smoky Mountain brown trout. The first fish of the day was a good one, but as I alluded to in my previous post, this wasn't the end of the day. In fact, it was just the beginning of one of the best days of fishing I've ever had in the Smokies. As you know if you've followed this blog for any length of time, brown trout are right up there with my favorite fish to target, whether its on the fly or otherwise. I also have a real soft spot for brook trout, but in the winter, my thoughts turn to brown trout. 

December through February has always been exceptionally kind to me when it comes to brown trout. I've caught my largest brown trout during those months and also had my largest Smoky Mountain brown trout caught in that time frame. The low sun angle means lower light, and I prefer to target cloudy days to further enhance that benefit. Rainy or snowy days are best, but are also an exercise in persistence and perseverance. Fishing in cold rain is not for everyone, and on some days I don't last very long, but the results are hard to argue with. 

A few years back, my wife and I took a trip to Yellowstone National Park. Of course, fishing was a part of the trip along with hiking, photography, and general sight seeing. One thing I did in particular was to make time to fish with my friend Bryan Allison to learn some new techniques that would help me become a more well rounded angler and guide. Bryan is an excellent guide covering a variety of waters in Montana and offering some unique trip options that are difficult to find. You can visit his site here. 

On our trip, I wanted specifically to work on some trout jigging techniques that he has mastered and are deadly on trout in a variety of waters. Fast forward to now, and you'll find me with a couple of very nice ultralight spinning rods loaded with 4 pound test that rarely if ever see any action. I bought them to be able to offer the option on guided trips, and occasionally mess around with them, but in general I prefer catching fish on a fly rod. 

On my recent trip to the Smokies, after catching such a nice brown trout very early in the day on my fly rod, I decided to experiment with the things I had learned from Bryan. My day was already made with that quality brown, so it was time to practice some different techniques. One thing he had taught me was how to use marabou jigs. I figured that was as good of a thing to try as any, so I quickly tied one on and started working it carefully. One huge bonus of using the spinning rod is that you can mostly stay out of the water. That is probably the biggest reason that I try this method more in the winter than at any other time of the year. On really cold days, it keeps me up on the bank, and hopefully away from potential swimming events. 

It wouldn't take very long to get things going with the marabou jig. Shortly after nailing my first fish on the fly rod, a golden flash blew up my jig and I was fighting another quality fish. And another, and another, and..........well, you get the idea. The fish were keyed in and ready to chase. Every once in a while the stars align and everything comes together for a great day of catching. Of course, every day is a great day of fishing, but the two aren't always synonymous with each other.

 

This was really an ideal day to streamer fish, because you want to hit it when the fish are fired up. However, with the falling temperatures and snow starting to fall, I just decided to stick with the trout jigging and stay out of the water as much as possible. The spinning rod was a good way to mostly keep my hands warmer as well. Since I wasn't handling the fly line every cast, I wasn't getting my hands as wet which translated to warmer hands. I still got them plenty wet often enough though. Some quick fish pictures seemed like a good idea to help me remember the epic day that was developing. One other benefit to staying out of the water is that you aren't endangering the redds with their precious cargo of brown trout eggs. Remember to avoid walking in sand and gravel areas in the tailouts of runs and pools. Fish often spawn in these areas and those eggs won't hatch for at least another month most likely. 

After that first stop which produced three or four quality brown trout, I moved on up the river. In almost every spot I stopped I found fish. Interestingly, they were all falling into one of three size categories. I've been discussing the lack of truly large fish with my friends lately. Little River seems to be in between big fish cycles. As with most things in nature, numbers of giant brown trout seems to be rather cyclical. Right now, we appear to be on the downside of a cycle. I've seen good numbers of fish up to 18 inches or so, with a few fish pushing on to the 22-23 inch range, but some of the giants of past years don't seem as plentiful. Quite a few of my friends have noticed a similar trend. 

On this particular day, I was catching a lot of fish in the 10-17 inch range. The big fish just seemed completely missing in action. When the fishing catching is this good, you normally expect to at least see a few larger trout. I decided to double down and really work some areas that historically hold large brown trout. Yet, it continued to be the same story. Plenty of fish, but no monsters.

I was working up one favorite run and had already caught some fish. In fact, I had some nice browns fighting over my offering at one point. It was just one of those days. Working on up past where I normally see the larger fish, I decided to work on up to the head. This time of year, the fish tend to stay farther back in pools, but it was worth a shot. 

As I crept along, I spotted a brown laying on the bottom just upstream. I managed a decent cast and bounced the jig past the fish. Once, twice, three times, it was still as a statue. Suspecting that the fish already knew I was there, I threw one more cast well upstream and began a slow retrieve back past the fish. That was just too much. The fish bolted upstream and out of sight. At no more than a foot long, it wasn't a big fish, but I hate spooking fish ahead of me as they usually alert everything else to my presence. I almost gave up and turned around right there, but something drove me on. 

Maneuvering carefully into position, I cast almost straight across. I got one good bounce with the rod tip and something heavy slammed the jig on the drop. Immediately worried about the 4 pound test line, I hoped my knots were good. The drag was set just loose enough while the flex of the ultralight rod absorbed the head shakes. Soon, I slid a gorgeous post spawn female brown into the waiting net. She just about filled up my big Brodin net and pushed the tape to right at 20 inches. 

She was lean after the spawn and clearly needed some good meals before winter really set in. I was careful to keep her in the water except for a couple of seconds for a couple of quick pictures. The big net is really handy for these moments. You can rest the fish in the water in between shots, and not risk keeping them out of their element for more than 3-4 seconds at a time. Careful catch and release methods are essential to the preservation of these fisheries as fishing pressure continues to increase every year. If you can't accomplish this, then you should probably avoid fishing for these fish. 

The good news about all of these fish is that they can also be caught on a fly rod if you don't want to use a spinning rod. In fact, much of the year, a fly rod is a better tool. However, if you are looking for a way to fish in the winter without getting too wet, then give trout jigging a try. Whether you are fishing in the Smokies or on the Clinch or Caney Fork, this technique works.