East Tennessee Guide Report

Everything changes for us tomorrow. Most of east Tennessee's kids will be starting school, and we'll be seeing less traffic on area rivers. Not that its been crowded by no means, but places like the Hiwassee are about to be a lot more peaceful. Now's the time to start planning your September and October guided float trips on one of our southern tailwaters.

Our area weather has been a little wetter than normal over the past few weeks. Pop up showers have been possible most every day. We've noticed an increase in flows at many of our trout tailwaters. The fishing has been very dependable when your floating on your target flows. We've been playing the river hop to keep us on the best fishing. Right now, we're primarily just booking the dates and deciding where to fish the night before the trip.Here's a look at my picks for the best guided float trips in east Tennessee and the southeast as we move into late summer.

Clinch River
Guided float trips on the Clinch River are still the top pick for east Tennessee. An ever changing flow schedule has kept us on our toes though. Weekend flows are still managed under the TVA Recreational Schedule. So the weekends are a sure bet. The weekday schedules are a little more sketchy and are day to day on being a go or not. Norris Lake never reached full pool this summer.

The fishing has been great. The fish have enjoyed the cooler, wet weather and the bite has shown it. Fish are not as spooky as they were a month ago, especially during the mid day hours. Our sulfurs are all but gone. I still see a stray now and then, but those are being left for the swallows. Nymph fishing under a light indicator is the bet bet for staying hooked up. Terrestrials are providing for some exciting strikes so don't be afraid of using a hopper pattern as your indicator. We're seeing our best quality fish on our guided Clinch trips.

Hiwassee River
The Hiwassee tailwater is our most dependable float trip right now. High water is great for our drift boat trips, and the trout. If we can keep seeing some rain in the watershed, we should have water well into the fall.

The fishing on the Hiwassee for trout has been pretty solid. We're not seeing many fish over 13" inches but we're catching plenty of fish. The fishing here isn't as technical as the Clinch so the trips are well suited for any skill level and anyone seeking a bent fly rod. The trout are eating dries well, including Isonychias #12, Blue Winged Olives #18 - #22 and #16 Ginger Caddis. Their also eating a variety of wet flies and nymphs with reckless abandon.

Cumberland River
The Cumberland watershed ha taken on a good dose of rain over recent weeks. Flows are much more angler friendly in the early morning hours and further downstream. The COE is releasing a large amount of water mid morning and it's best to be downstream of it to extend your fishing window.

The good news is that the fish are eating really well when the water is low. Tungsten beaded flies between #14 - #18 are working best right now. Best patterns seem to be darker nymphs with less flash and more buggy. We're still rising some trout on hoppers but the best terrestrial bite is later in the day than we've been able to fish due to the higher flows. The fish quality has been great....all fish are hard fighting and look good.

Other Rivers.
We're starting to see more opportunities to fish other local rivers now that we're doing a bit of river hopping. Two of the notable rivers are the Caney Fork River near Cookeville TN and the South Holston River near Bristol. Both Rivers should make for a great destination over the next few months. They will be a favorite choice of many of my long time clients who are looking to see some different waters. Both offer shots at trophy trout and both are fun places to toss flies.

Great afternoon trip on the Hiwassee!

I spent a fun afternoon today on the Hiwassee with a father and daughter from Huntsville Al. We fished dry isonychias from boat ramp to boat ramp. Caught a good amount of fish, no pigs but plenty of eager fish.

July 3rd Southeast Fishing Report.

A heat wave has hit the US with a vengeance. Here in east Tennessee we've seen triple digit temperatures for the first time since 2007. We broke all time high records four days in a row over the end of last week. Luckily, it feels like things are starting to move more towards normal summer patterns. The fishing has remained productive despite the high air temperature. Our tailwaters are supplying cold, clean flows as the demand for electricity increases. Watch the flow schedules and plan your trip for the best flows. Clinch River. Norris Lake is still 3' below normal summer pool. The discharge water temperatures range from 45 degrees in the early morning to 52 degrees late in the day. We should continue to see fishable flows here for mos of the summer. Power demand will probably mean higher afternoon flows. The fishing has remained productive. The bite is noticeably better during the early morning hours until mid day. Fishing during the high sun requires longer, finer leaders and more accurate presentations. Keep your indicators small to match your nymphs and midge patterns. We're seeing a solid #20 - #22 black caddis emergence every day. The fish are on the emergers and your presentation should be slightly below the surface. Still seeing some sulfurs, making a sulfur dun a great indicator/point fly. Hiwassee River. The Wass' has two faces right now. Low water flows in the mornings, then high flows during the late morning and afternoons. The low flows are good for wading anglers, but the fish like the colder releases and tend to be a little sluggish during low water. Generation releases are dumping 55 degree water into the tailrace and that's when we're targeting our drift boat trips. The HI' is doing what it does every summer, providing dependable dry fly fishing. The Isonychias are emerging, along with several species of caddis, a lot of baetis, and a few sulfurs. Bugger/nymph fishing is still a strong producer, but a iso/bwo setup is doing equally as well. We enjoy the dry fly action so that's what we've been doing. As usual, the Hiwassee doesn't produce the largest fish but there's plenty of them with the occasional nice fish mixed in. Cumberland River. The Cumby is back. The USCOE is giving floatable windows every day now. The water clarity is good and the water temperatures are great for this time of year. Now's the time to fish the Cumberland River. The fishing has been good. Look for fish in the riffles and eddy lines. Various nymphs are working well as long as you can get a good drift along the bottom. Pheasant tails and prince nymphs are top producers now along with standard beadhead midge patterns. The next two months will hold some really great dry fly fishing. Give us a call for more information about a summer time Cumberland River Guided Float Trip. Holston River. The Holston has a couple different options right now. Trout fishing has remained solid on the upper river during low and falling water conditions. The lower river has seen really good smallmouth with some fair trout mixed in. The smallies are active on a variety of poppers and streamers while the trout are working on midges, crane flies and olives. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Independence Day. Remember, despite some recent rains, fireworks should still be used with extreme caution to prevent fires.