http://www.tristaroutfitters.com/

Tri-Star Outfitters, 739 Saw Mill Road, Tellico Plains, TN (2026)

09/02/2026

🎣 THE NED RIG — SMALL BAIT, BIG BASS

Sometimes the simplest presentation is the one bass can’t resist. The Ned rig has earned its reputation as one of the most dependable finesse techniques for catching bass—especially when the bite gets tough.

The setup is simple: a small mushroom-style jig head paired with a short, soft-plastic stick bait. But don’t let its size fool you. Smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass will absolutely hammer it.

Where to fish it:
• Rocky points and gravel banks
• Bluff walls and ledges
• Around docks
• Creek channels and transition areas
• Clear water where bass are pressured
• Anywhere you’re marking fish but struggling to get bites

How to work it: Cast it out, let it reach bottom, and slow down. A gentle drag, small hop, shake, or even just letting the bait sit can trigger a strike. You don’t need big movements—the natural action of the plastic does most of the work.

A 1/10- to 1/5-ounce jig head is a great starting range. Pair it with light spinning tackle, braid to a fluorocarbon leader, and adjust the weight based on depth, wind, and current.

One of the biggest mistakes with a Ned rig is fishing it too aggressively. When bass are pressured, suspended close to structure, or dealing with changing conditions, subtle usually wins.

It may not look impressive in the tackle box, but when the bite gets tough, the Ned rig is one bait you want tied on.

🎣 Tri-Star Outfitters
Fly Fishing • Predator • Big Game Hunts

09/01/2026

It’s almost our favorite time of year on the Tellico and Hiwassee Rivers!

09/01/2026

TRUTH 😂😂

09/01/2026

🎣 FISHING FOR SUSPENDED BASS

Some of the toughest bass to catch are the ones that aren’t relating to the bottom or the bank. When bass suspend over deep water, creek channels, points, or submerged structure, the key is putting your bait at their depth—not underneath them.

Electronics are a huge advantage. Find the baitfish first, then look for bass positioned around or beneath those schools. Once you determine their depth, keep your presentation in that strike zone.

🔥 Great baits for suspended bass:
• Jerkbaits
• Swimbaits
• Flutter and jigging spoons
• Alabama rigs
• Drop shots

One of the biggest mistakes anglers make is fishing below suspended fish. Bass naturally tend to feed upward, so keeping your lure slightly above them can trigger more strikes.

Boat positioning matters too. Instead of automatically casting toward the bank, use your electronics to stay with the fish and work your bait horizontally through the depth where they’re holding.

As water temperatures begin cooling toward fall, baitfish movement can create some outstanding suspended-bass fishing. Find the bait, find the depth, and stay in the strike zone.

🎣 Tri-Star Outfitters
Fly Fishing • Predator • Big Game Hunts

08/31/2026

🐺 FALL COYOTE HUNTING TACTICS — MAKE THE SEASON COUNT

Fall is one of the best times to get serious about predator hunting. Young coyotes are dispersing, family groups are breaking up, and competition for food can make coyotes aggressive and responsive to calling.

🍂 Fall tactics that work:

• Start with prey sounds — Rabbit, rodent, and bird distress calls are natural choices when coyotes are focused on feeding.

• Mix in coyote vocals — Lone howls and other nonaggressive vocalizations can help locate coyotes and trigger curiosity or territorial responses.

• Play the wind — A coyote will often try to get downwind before committing. Set up where you can watch or block that approach.

• Use terrain to stay hidden — Ridges, creek bottoms, fence lines, and field edges can conceal your approach. Avoid skylining yourself.

• Stay patient — Don’t assume nothing is coming just because the first few minutes are quiet. Give a promising stand time to develop.

• Watch the edges — Coyotes may hang up in cover instead of charging into the open. Scan brush lines, logging roads, and field corners carefully.

• Change locations — If a stand doesn’t produce, move rather than repeatedly calling the same spot.

Fall is when predator season starts getting GOOD. Cooler weather, hungry coyotes, and changing behavior can make for some exciting calling.

🐺 Tri-Star Outfitters
Predator hunting in Tennessee.

📩 Message us to talk about booking a fall coyote hunt.

08/31/2026

🎣 TRI-STAR OUTFITTERS — MONDAY FISHING REPORT | AUGUST 31

TELLICO RIVER: The Tellico is heading into the week under hotter and generally drier late-summer weather. Recent East Tennessee weather has trended mostly dry as high pressure has built into the region, which is favorable for improving/stabilizing river clarity rather than another major muddy-water event.

The USGS Tellico Plains gauge has continuous data through August 30, but its current public display is not providing a trustworthy discharge/CFS value that I can verify this morning, so we aren’t going to publish a guessed number.

🎣 Fishing outlook: GOOD EARLY — TOUGHER MIDDAY

Get on the Tellico early. Concentrate on deeper runs, riffles, pocket water and shaded areas where trout have access to cooler, better-oxygenated water. As temperatures climb, expect the fishing to become more technical.

🪰 Tellico flies: Pheasant Tails • Prince Nymphs • Zebra Midges • Copper Johns • Pat’s Rubber Legs • Soft Hackles • Beetles • Ants

A dry-dropper is a great searching rig in appropriate water. If fish aren’t responding, change your depth and weight before continually changing flies.

HIWASSEE RIVER: The Hiwassee remains one of the better late-summer trout options because you’re fishing a regulated tailwater, but Apalachia generation controls the game. TVA identifies Apalachia among the reservoirs it manages in this watershed and provides current reservoir/streamflow information.

On lower water, work riffles, seams and deeper runs with smaller nymphs, soft hackles and dry-dropper rigs.

When generation comes up, add weight and concentrate on softer current seams, edges and banks. That’s also a good time to break out the streamer rod.

🪰 Hiwassee flies: Pheasant Tails • Zebra Midges • Soft Hackles • Isonychia patterns • Prince Nymphs • Pat’s Rubber Legs • Terrestrials • Woolly Buggers and other streamers

☀️ WEATHER: It’s going to feel like summer. Around the Hiwassee recreation area, Monday is forecast to be sunny and roughly 92°F during the afternoon. The broader East Tennessee pattern is hot and mostly dry, so early morning is our preferred fishing window.

⚠️ WADING & SAFETY: Don’t wade the Hiwassee based on what the river looked like when you arrived. Generation can substantially change depth and current. Check TVA information before getting in and maintain an escape route to the bank. On either river, thunderstorms or upstream rainfall can change conditions quickly.

🎯 BEST BET THIS WEEK: Hiwassee early, with careful attention to generation. On the Tellico, target cool, shaded and oxygenated water and avoid putting unnecessary stress on trout if water temperatures become excessive.

🎣 LET’S GO FISHING!

Late summer is giving way to one of our favorite times of year in East Tennessee. Fall trout fishing is right around the corner.

Tri-Star Outfitters is booking guided trips on the Hiwassee and Tellico Rivers. Message us today to reserve your fall fishing date!

Check the USGS Tellico River gauge⁠ and TVA reservoir and streamflow information⁠ before heading to the water.

08/31/2026

🎯 BIGGER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER: HOW MAGNUM RIFLES CAN HURT YOUR ACCURACY

Magnum cartridges are impressive. More velocity, more energy, and often a flatter trajectory. But there’s a tradeoff hunters sometimes overlook: more power doesn’t automatically mean better shooting.

Heavy recoil and muzzle blast can cause even experienced shooters to anticipate the shot. Over time, that anticipation can turn into a flinch—tightening your grip, jerking the trigger, closing your eyes, or tensing just before the rifle fires.

And once you start fighting the rifle, accuracy suffers.

A hunter who can consistently put shots exactly where they belong with a .30-06, .308, .270, or similar cartridge is usually better equipped than someone carrying a hard-kicking magnum they struggle to shoot accurately.

Magnums absolutely have their place, especially when additional velocity and downrange energy are useful. But shot placement still matters more than horsepower.

Choose a rifle you can shoot comfortably. Practice from realistic hunting positions. Learn your limits. And remember:

The best hunting cartridge isn’t necessarily the biggest one—it’s the one you can shoot accurately when it counts.

— Tri-Star Outfitters

08/30/2026

🎣 BLUEGILL — THE GATEWAY TO FLY FISHING

Ask a lot of fly anglers where it all started, and the answer probably wasn’t a trophy trout stream. It was a farm pond, lake, or creek full of hungry bluegill.

Bluegill are one of the best fish for introducing someone to a fly rod. They’re aggressive, plentiful, willing to eat on the surface, and they fight a whole lot harder than their size suggests.

A simple 3- or 4-weight rod, a floating line, and a handful of small poppers, foam bugs, or nymphs are all you need. When a bluegill explodes on a little popper, you get an immediate lesson in casting, watching your fly, setting the hook, and fighting a fish on a fly rod.

For kids and beginning anglers especially, action builds confidence. Instead of spending hours trying to fool a difficult trout, they can catch fish and learn the fundamentals while having fun.

And don’t think bluegill are just for beginners. Big bull bluegill on lightweight fly tackle can challenge any angler.

Sometimes the road to becoming a lifelong fly fisherman starts with something as simple as a bluegill, a popping bug, and a summer afternoon on the pond.

Tri-Star Outfitters
Fly Fishing • Predator • Big Game Hunts

08/30/2026

🎣 LAKE TURNOVER — DON’T LET IT RUIN YOUR FISHING!

As summer fades and cooler weather starts settling into Tennessee, our lakes begin going through fall turnover. It can make fishing frustrating—but understanding what’s happening can help you stay on fish.

🌡️ WHAT IS LAKE TURNOVER?

During summer, lakes become layered by temperature. Warm water stays near the surface while colder, denser water settles deeper. As fall temperatures cool the surface, those layers begin mixing until much of the water column reaches a similar temperature.

That mixing can scatter fish, baitfish, oxygen, and nutrients throughout the lake—and fishing patterns can change quickly.

🎯 HOW TO FISH DURING TURNOVER

• Keep moving. Fish may abandon areas that were productive just days earlier.

• Find the bait. Stripers and bass may be scattered, but locating schools of shad can put you back in the game.

• Check different depths. Don’t assume fish are still holding at their normal late-summer depth.

• Look for moving water. Creek mouths, river channels, current and wind-blown areas can sometimes offer better conditions.

• Use your electronics. Side imaging, down imaging and forward-facing sonar can save a lot of time when fish are scattered.

• Fish the shallows. As water temperatures fall, baitfish often begin moving into creeks and onto flats. Predator fish won’t be far behind.

Turnover can make the lake seem completely dead one day and alive the next. Adapt instead of fishing yesterday’s pattern.

Fall is coming—and some of the best bass and striper fishing of the year comes right behind it. 🍂🎣

Tri-Star Outfitters
Fly Fishing • Predator • Big Game Hunts

08/29/2026

🎣 MASTER THE DOUBLE HAUL

Want more distance, better line speed, and tighter loops? The double haul is one of the most valuable casting techniques a fly angler can learn.

The technique uses your line hand to add an extra “haul” during both the back cast and forward cast, increasing rod load and accelerating the fly line.

🔥 Why learn the double haul?
• Cast farther with less effort
• Punch line through the wind
• Handle heavier flies and streamers
• Improve line speed and turnover
• Make longer casts without overpowering the rod

The key isn’t brute force—it’s timing. Keep the rod hand smooth, make a firm controlled haul with the line hand, and let the rod do the work.

Start short. Get the timing right. Then gradually add distance.

Smooth creates speed. Speed creates distance.

🎣 Tri-Star Outfitters
Fly Fishing • Predator • Big Game Hunts

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