# Trout stream recommendations



## Puddin-tain (May 3, 2017)

Hey all, I have stopped in from time to time to read posts on the OGF site and finally decided to become a member. I'm an avid fly fisher and currently live just south of the border of Ohio. I am planning on a trip even further south to target some trout for a long weekend this month and would like some input on where to possibly go. I have fished the Dix River, Cumberland Tail water at wolf creek dam along with hatchery creek and Otter Creek numerous times but since the wife wants to go to Tennessee for a get away, I am in need of information of possible places down there. 

I know that the GSMNP has some good fishing for wild trout, I am not sure if I am or the wife is up for any hiking and we would prefer some wider body of water for casting purposes. What are some of the Tail waters that some of you have fish and would recommend along with any guides if necessary.

Thanks! 

P.T.


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## tandem (Apr 20, 2004)

Lot of places to fish right next to the roads in the smokies. We used r&r guide years back. If you are going to fish gsmnp get a North Carolina fishing license it cheaper than Tennessee. Get lot good info from little river outfitters in Townsend. Check their fishing report on their website.


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Depending on when you are going will most likely be the determining factor on which tail water you can fish. Both the clinch and south holston (great fisheries) are running heavy flows right now due to inordinate amounts of rain lately. Those would be more of a white water rafting right now as compared to a fishing float trip, need to check on the TVA website to see if they will be fishable before you go. Watuaga and the Hiwassee are both in good shape, the are trying to get both up to summer pool so they have low flow that you would be wading and not floating. As tadem stated, the park is good choice too and R&R is a reputable guide service, Rocky Top and South east anglers are very good as well. David Knapp is a very good guide for the smokies, I would recommend him to anyone and you can get in touch with him through Little River Outfitters.


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## Puddin-tain (May 3, 2017)

Thanks for the information guys. I will have to confer with the wife and see what her preference is, sounds like some good options. Will check into the guide services as well and see what areas they are recommending. Are there any go-to fly's that either of you like to use while fishing in Tennessee or is it comparable to Kentucky for the most part? Thanks again.


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Good question regarding the choices of fly's. For the most part, tail water fisheries are similar with the respect that you can find a lot of midge activity year round. Midge pupa, emergers and dry patterns such as griffiths gnats and Matt's midge have proven very effective this time of year when you see the fish sipping midge off the water surface. Some other variables are water temps which has a big impact on what hatches you will encounter. 

The clinch river which is the tail water of Norris Lake is perhaps the coldest of the tailwaters in Tennessee due to the depth of the reservoir. I have seen sporadic hatches of caddis and usually mid afternoon there is a decent sulphur hatch that the fish really favor. The fish on this river can be very particular, it is not uncommon to only catch several fish while fishing on this river as it can be very technical but rewarding as there are some quality fish to be caught.

The South Holston, which is in Bristol TN, several years ago I encountered the most epic hatch of BWO's and Sulphurs on this river like I have never seen anywhere else. The BWO's were size 22 ish, the fish favored them over the sulphurs and we caught many fish on them. Around this time of year, you will start to see some decent hatches of tan caddis throughout the day. Great river, perhaps one of my favorites but if you are wading and they turn on the water, it is time to get out and fast.

Watauga river, directly south of the SoHo near Johnson city is another good river to fish, nice hatches of caddis and some sulphurs but I lack experience on this one. I know TheCream has fished there a time or two, perhaps he could chime in and give some advise on this tail water.

Hiwassee- Reliance Tn which is my home base river at the lower end of the state in the Cherokee National Forest remains my favorite river to fish due to the great hatches, good fish and awesome scenery. This tail water is warmer than the aforementioned ones as the Apalachia Reservoir is not as deep as the others. Yes, that is spelled with only one P. Because of the warmer temps coupled with more season weather temps, year round hatches can be found on this river making it an awesome place for dry fly fishing. In the month of May you can find BWO's, caddis in brown, tan and green body, sulphurs, golden stones and everyones favorite down there in the afternoon is the isonychia AKA the "slate drakes". I started fishing this river 20+ years ago and I just love being on it.

Other than what I have listed bug wise, woolly buggers, squirmy worms and other streamers will produce fish as well.

Hope that helps.


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## Puddin-tain (May 3, 2017)

Wow, a wealth of information and much appreciated! I know my wife is all about scenery, we may have to consider your home based river in Reliance. Do all those guides you listed operate on that river or do you feel a person can fish there without requiring the services of a guide? One other question if you do not mind; are there hotels/cabins close by? Not wanting to have to travel a great distance from where we are staying to get to the river if possible.

Thanks!


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Southeastern Anglers would be your best choice for the Hiwassee, Dane, Mark, Bill and Skip all know the river extremely well. At this point it would be a walk-in trip as they are not running enough water for float trips, they are trying to fill the reservoir. At the end of the month they start what is called the recreational flow, so after 11:00 am the are running two generators or about 3,000 cfs, that is when the guides will resume the float trips. If you are going before the end of the month, you will be wading so I would do so without a guide. I can PM you with some information to help you find good water to fish. Keep in mind it is not the easiest river to wade, I would highly advise the use of a wading staff so you do not get a Tenneesee baptism.

There are cabins available right by the river or very close to it. You can call Reliance Fly & Tackle, they have a cabin they rent or you can camp there as well. Hiwassee outfitters has rentals as does Mountain Stream Lodging. All have websites you can visit and look at the accommodations and prices and to see what is available. Webb Bros does rent out a place they call the Watchman's House that overlooks the river. This was where the Railroad Watchman lived, his job was to make sure that the train trestle did not catch fire back in the days when the logging trains were operated by steam powered locomotives, sometimes they accidentally dropped embers from its furnace and the trestle would catch on fire. Reliance is full of neat history of this nature.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

flyman01 said:


> Good question regarding the choices of fly's. For the most part, tail water fisheries are similar with the respect that you can find a lot of midge activity year round. Midge pupa, emergers and dry patterns such as griffiths gnats and Matt's midge have proven very effective this time of year when you see the fish sipping midge off the water surface. Some other variables are water temps which has a big impact on what hatches you will encounter.
> 
> The clinch river which is the tail water of Norris Lake is perhaps the coldest of the tailwaters in Tennessee due to the depth of the reservoir. I have seen sporadic hatches of caddis and usually mid afternoon there is a decent sulphur hatch that the fish really favor. The fish on this river can be very particular, it is not uncommon to only catch several fish while fishing on this river as it can be very technical but rewarding as there are some quality fish to be caught.
> 
> ...


This. Go to TN. It's like candyland for fly fishermen.


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## Puddin-tain (May 3, 2017)

Again, thanks for the abundance of information including the history lesson, cool story! I am excited about getting this trip in motion, your input Sir Flyman has been most helpful! Yes please send me an IM with some information on places to fish on the Hiwassee that you feel have good chances of producing fish. Not so much concerned about my ability but more so for my wife's sake. I want her to enjoy the trip as much as I believe we should but it goes without saying, if the momma not happy, ain't no one gonna be.  I took the liberty of looking up the river on Google images and wow, it is one beautiful river and some of the fish shown in the photos are very impressive. I am sure we will both enjoy the scenery, that will certainly help if she does not do well on catching! I noticed your profile say's you are from Reliance Tn, have you always lived there? Thanks TheCream for the endorsement of TN as well, I like the analogy of Candyland for fly fishermen!


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

You are welcome. 

I currently do not live there, I am located in Cincinnati but have a house/cabin in Reliance that we purchased about 7 years ago with the anticipation of retiring there sometime in the near future. My wife and I absolutely love it down there so I have no doubt that you and your wife will enjoy the river and the surrounding area. 

While you are down there, check with Reliance Fly and Tackle to see what their schedule is regarding food and entertainment. Saturdays during the heavier season which usually starts this month, they get the smoker going and have ribs or chicken dinners available and usually have some local group playing on the rear pavilion; the food is excellent and the entertainment is great. 

I will send you some details on places to fish that should position you for a successful weekend of fishing. Let me know when you decided to go, I typically go down about twice a month and if by chance we are there at the same time, would gladly meet up with you.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

If the larger streams like the SoHo, Watauga, and Hiwasse are not working out for you, take a 3wt to a small stream and knock the smaller wild trout there around. Depending on the stream, you may find brookies, bows, and/or brown trout in the smaller waters. And usually, the crowds are much lighter on the small stuff.


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## Puddin-tain (May 3, 2017)

Thanks TheCream, sound advice and certainly will do that if the tail waters are not going well. Is there any particular small stream that you know of that is productive or should I just inquire with local fly shops?


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Puddin-tain said:


> Thanks TheCream, sound advice and certainly will do that if the tail waters are not going well. Is there any particular small stream that you know of that is productive or should I just inquire with local fly shops?


My experience in that area is to pick out any of the decent sized tribs of these known trout tailwaters, find an access point and fish. So far all I have tried have been worth it. Local shops could tell you more info, I'm sure. My experience is confined to one small area in eastern TN. The fish don't tend to be picky, either. Size 14 attractor dries got me bent most of the day when I fished these streams.

And another little tip for action on bigger water like the Soho: don't beat your head off the rocks trying to match what the fish are eating if you're getting skunked and frustrated. I fell into that trap for a while on the Soho, and whatever the rising fish were eating, I couldn't match. When this starts happening, a small wooly bugger or leech pattern in a size 10 slowly swung on a down-and-across presentation right through those rising fish will get you hooked up. I was having an awful morning last summer, tried the leech, and hit double digits in less than an hour. The color combo I used was straight from the Soho Fly Shop web page as a "local favorite." It was a combination of olive, brown, and black.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I tied it small, on a size 10 3XL streamer hook, this is the original video I found from the shop:


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## Puddin-tain (May 3, 2017)

Thanks for the tips TheCream. Hopefully I will be able to find a woolly bugger that resembles that one the South Hoslton guides and you tie. I have not gotten that far along with the sport that I tie my own, perhaps sometime in the near future I will. Seems like it would be advantageous to learn, I have come across situations like this that you simply cannot find a custom pattern people recommend that are local favorites for a particular stream on-line or at a big box store.


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

I am going to be on the river this weekend, I believe that I will tie a couple of those and give them a shot. I have always had luck swinging traditional Olive and Black buggers but have not tried a combo pattern such as this. Thanks for posting that video TheCream.

P.T. I just like many others found that tying your own bugs is a relaxing part of the sport especially when conditions do not allow you to be out on the water. Furthermore it certainly gives you the opportunity to make patterns such as this one that are not readily available as you stated. The fact that I catch fish on patterns that I tied and did not purchase, gives a sense of freedom that I am not depending on a store carrying bugs that I like/need or for someone else to tie them for me. I am sure you will be attempting this in the near future. BTW, TheCream is a master at the craft, I have seen some of his handiwork posted on here, they are like a Monet painting compared to my stick man sketches when it comes to tying!


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

I tied one of this woolly patterns first thing in the morning Saturday before heading to the Hiwassee. TVA had the generators shut down in the morning but there was still a good amount of water in the river due to run off from the storms and the clarity was stained. There was little to no surface activity so I decided to do a little test in one of my favorite runs. I started off swinging a black woolly bugger through it and in 10 casts, had one bump and a miss. I changed over to a olive woolly, in ten casts caught one rainbow. I then put on this pattern and got a hook up on first cast. I thought okay this had to be a fluke but then proceeded to catch 4 more in the next 10-15 minutes before heading to another run. After numerous fish, the bug started come apart which was a little disappointing because I had only tied one......ugh. I put the black woolly on and was not getting anything nor did the Olive woolly so I started to dig into my boxes. I found a Isonychia nymph tied with the brown front hackle so decided to go with that and on the first cast was back on a fish. I stuck with that pattern throughout the morning catching a decent amount of fish until TVA started to generate which was time to go.

My take on this pattern is this: 

For Tennessee tail waters in Late April the Isonychias (slate drakes) start coming out so this pattern with the brown front hackle worked, the fish were picking up as the Iso nymph. Fish would also pick up on this as a sculpin with the Olive tail or a leach/hellgrammite with the black body. Bottom line is this pattern is effective, I will make sure I have a couple in my tackle at all times moving forward. Thanks for the heads up TheCream on this pattern.


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## Tom 513 (Nov 26, 2012)

tandem said:


> Lot of places to fish right next to the roads in the smokies. We used r&r guide years back. If you are going to fish gsmnp get a North Carolina fishing license it cheaper than Tennessee. Get lot good info from little river outfitters in Townsend. Check their fishing report on their website.


Little river outfitters, I have a little story for you, years ago when I first became interested in flyfishing, my wife a group of people rented a chalet in Gburg, I had just bought my first fly pole and couldn't resist fishing some streams, I stopped in LRO and asked for advise on what to to throw and chatted with the owner for awhile, I bought a hand full of flys and jokingly asked if they were guaranteed to catch trout, the owner gave me a silly boy stare and pointed his finger at me and said I will guarantee one thing, and that is that you will not catch any trout, at the time I wasn't sure how to take the comment but later I thought well thats a hell of a thing to say to someone interested in the sport, I for one will never give them another dollar!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

flyman01 said:


> I tied one of this woolly patterns first thing in the morning Saturday before heading to the Hiwassee. TVA had the generators shut down in the morning but there was still a good amount of water in the river due to run off from the storms and the clarity was stained. There was little to no surface activity so I decided to do a little test in one of my favorite runs. I started off swinging a black woolly bugger through it and in 10 casts, had one bump and a miss. I changed over to a olive woolly, in ten casts caught one rainbow. I then put on this pattern and got a hook up on first cast. I thought okay this had to be a fluke but then proceeded to catch 4 more in the next 10-15 minutes before heading to another run. After numerous fish, the bug started come apart which was a little disappointing because I had only tied one......ugh. I put the black woolly on and was not getting anything nor did the Olive woolly so I started to dig into my boxes. I found a Isonychia nymph tied with the brown front hackle so decided to go with that and on the first cast was back on a fish. I stuck with that pattern throughout the morning catching a decent amount of fish until TVA started to generate which was time to go.
> 
> My take on this pattern is this:
> 
> For Tennessee tail waters in Late April the Isonychias (slate drakes) start coming out so this pattern with the brown front hackle worked, the fish were picking up as the Iso nymph. Fish would also pick up on this as a sculpin with the Olive tail or a leach/hellgrammite with the black body. Bottom line is this pattern is effective, I will make sure I have a couple in my tackle at all times moving forward. Thanks for the heads up TheCream on this pattern.


Glad it worked for you! I am hoping to get down to Bristol this summer, and I won't dare go down there without several of these. I know there's a fly actually named the slump buster, but that's really what this color combo of a bugger seems to be down there.


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Going to hit the SoHo, that sounds like a good trip you are planning. Hope the flow is dialed down before you decide to head down there. The weather has been completely the opposite of last year where it was drought conditions and the reservoirs barely filled or fell short of summer pool and all the forest fires broke out. There has been such an abundance of rain, they have been running water 24-7 just to keep the water from spilling over the top of the dams! 
Here is a pic from Norris at the base of the Clinch River two weeks ago, water was spilling over the top of the dam and they were pushing close to 20k CFS down the river due to all the rainfall.


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