Holston River
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The Holston River Fishing Report |
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Holston River Dry Fly Action too Hot to Handle
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Up until the last round of rain and the subsequent TVA generation out of Cherokee Dam, the Holston River was fishing about as good on dry flies as anywhere in the land. No kidding. The sulfurs have all but petered out but the caddis hatch is coming on strong. Two sizes are coming off at any given time of the day so your box should have a number of olive elk hair caddis in a size 18 and at least a few in a size 14 or even 12. The fish are fat, fast, and strong so even a 16 inch fish will give your 6x tippet a complete workout and more than likely leave you sitting on a rock for a re-rig. Most of the folks I talked to were opting for 5x and a good drift and still getting the job done. Flows and weather look favorable Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so get out and get on this hatch while the getting is still good! You might even take your dad...River Information
Near Jefferson City Tennessee, you will find Cherokee Lake. An absolutely beautiful body of water that lends itself to some of the best camping and fishing opportunities in the area. Several islands dot the surface of the TVA lake and each year it is the home of a multitude of fishing tournaments. Night fishing on Cherokee Lake is a popular summer activity as the warm nights and an active population of bass keep the action hot and heavy.
+ read more »Archived The Holston River Fishing Reports:
Lower Holston River Heating Up, Upper Still Too Hot to Handle
The lower portion of the Holston River below Cherokee Dam is finally beginning to come into its own for small mouth bass after a long wet spring. Flows the past week have been favorable and the larger bass are finally beginning to respond. Look for flows to increase towards the middle/end of the week as TVA preps for the chance of rain.
The upper portion of the Holston in the trout zone continues to fish incredibly well. Depending on where you are you can expect to encounter two forms of caddis, two forms of sulfurs, and two sizes of crane flies. The action heats up through out the day with the afternoon evening bite being better than the morning.
Holston River Top Water Action Happening Now
The Holston River below Cherokee dam is really firing on all 8 cylinders at the moment. Head 3RA guide Jon Oody took Samantha, 3RA's newest employee, out on a float yesterday and we all found out Samantha is a natural. Bug activity is off the charts. While the caddis are beginning to show in a fair number it's the may flies that are stealing the show. Small sulfurs in a size 18 are showing up in numbers.
Crane Fly Madness on the Holston River
With the Clinch River buggered up due to TVA spilling massive amounts of water from the top of the dam anglers have had to look east towards the Holston River below Cherokee Dam for some fish-able water. Thankfully, the Holston has obliged. The flows are favorable through out the day and the bugs are beginning to come off in massive numbers, particularly the Crane Flies. The river is still fishing better the latter part of the day once the water has warmed a bit but is fishing pretty consistently from mid-day on. Dry flies are now a reliable option in the latter part of the day with caddis, crane flies, and sulphurs all being reported. The crane flies in particular are showing up in numbers on the middle and lower portions of the river's trout zone and an angler would be well advised so have something in their box that will imitate the little yellow guys. Caddis are coming off in enough numbers to entice some strikes too so make sure you've got your size 16 elk hairs. Flows are likely going to remain favorable for the next few days since Cherokee is below pool and Ft. Loudon is well above it. Play hooky, call in sick, make up an excuse for the spouse and just get out there and fish.
Holston River Alive After the Rains
Those brave enough to venture out after the rain over the weekend were rewarded with substantial insect activity on the Holston River below Cherokee Dam. The rain began to dry up and move out after lunch on Sunday and with it came the insects. There was a significant Sulfur hatch on the Holston River coupled with a smorgasbord of other insects. The sulfurs, in this case, were a large size 14 rather than the smaller and slightly greener version I've become accustomed to on the Holston. While not quite a blanket hatch it was about as close to it as I've seen in a while. Size 16 crane flies and caddis were also in the mix and the fishing was hot from about two until five o'clock or so when the fog settled in. Not surprisingly, we had the water to ourselves. My impression is that the fisherman are waiting on the weather while the fish are getting on with it. If you're not out there chasing them you are missing out.
Holston River Hot up Top.
Low water conditions on the upper Holston River over the weekend produced great results. After the early cloud cover cleared off the caddis began to pop through out the afternoon with the hatch switching over to small craneflies in the later evening hours. Lots of large fish active and looking up for the mixed bag coming down their lanes. If you haven't fished this river in the spring what are you waiting for?
Holston River Fishing Well
The lower river is still a few weeks out at best with respects to the small mouth bass action. When the river has been off for consecutive days at a time the temperature has risen sufficiently to entice a decent bite but the recent rains and generation schedules has put this off. There are large balls of bait fish (3 or 4 inch shad) up and down the river and the bass are occasionally making slashes at the balls and chasing them on the surface. Again, this is occurring very sporadically and the river needs some down time to permit the temperatures to get back up to acceptable levels.
