AN OVERVIEW

Before we start, you may not have heard that our dear friend Larry Littrell with Tailer Trash Podcast sadly passed away in March. Larry and his stories will be deeply missed around The Fly Box and East Tennessee. We are so lucky to have been able to call Larry a friend of ours. If you are reading this with a drink next to you, let’s raise a glass one last time for Mr. Larry Littrell. Stay trashy my friend!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program…

Yes, we’ve been a bit absent lately with river reports and we do apologize, but we are officially BACK! Moving forward, you can expect monthly updates including current conditions and a “what to look forward to” section each month. We're right on the edge of the lakes hitting summer pool, and that means TVA releases are just around the corner!

P.S. We're hearing reports of cicadas emerging in Asheville—and we’re due for the 13-year brood. We’ll let you know when and where to be to catch the action!

SOUTH HOLSTON RIVER

April’s consistent low flows and just three daily pulses from TVA made it a wading angler’s dream on the South Holston. While boats managed to navigate certain sections like Forrest Thomas Boat Ramp to Bluff City Boat Ramp, only the brave floated the stretches on the upper South Holston. Fishing on the lower end of the South Holston faired well, finding quality and quantity in riffles. We found the most success when running our lite in-line set up. A little larger point fly like the Weiss Dark #18, paired with a midge pattern, seemed to get down fast enough for the fishes liking. 6x fluorocarbon is already being used on most of our set ups due to the low and clear flows we saw through April.

DRY FLY FISHING

With warmer days and nights, bug activity has increased, especially in the early mornings just after a pulse, and again in the evenings. Keep your eyes peeled—there’s good head-hunting to be had! The small black caddis (size 18–20) has been the dry fly angler’s MVP. While most small caddis imitations can do the trick, we love a #20 Olive or Grey RS2 and Morgan’s Midge. The CDC-tied back on both offer the perfect caddis silhouette. Our favorite rig? Trail one of these patterns 18”–22” behind a #18 Sulphur Sparkle Dun with 6x tippet. Deadly.

LOOKING AHEAD

As of 5/4, lake levels are close to summer pool. If rains continue through early May, we should see more consistent generation on the South Holston soon. Don’t stress if fishing is off for the first couple of generation days—it always gets better.

Click here for the South Holston Dam generation schedule!

Suggested Patterns

Nymphs

Weiss Dark (Silver Bead) #18–20
Weiss Dark (Copper Bead) #20
Midge variations #18–20
Micro Olive Bullet #18–20

Dry Flies

Morgan’s Midge #18–20
Birchell’s Hatch Midge #18–20
Sulphur & BWO CDC Comparadun #16–18
Olive RS2 #18

Streamers

Wooly Buggers
Olive & White Dungeons
White Peanut Envy

WATAUGA RIVER

Mother Nature, the Watauga, and everyone’s efforts in the recovery and clean-up deserve a BIG round of applause. After the flooding from Hurricane Helene last fall, many were uncertain about the river’s future, but it has come back strong. While there may be fewer fish or bugs in some areas, March and April brought solid fishing. With the consistent 240cfs from Wilbur Dam most boat anglers and guides concentrated their efforts on the Watauga. One thing to keep in mind the next time you are on the water is to fish tight to the banks. We’ve had excellent success running a #12 Micro Chubby with a short dropper (8–12") in foam lines. Look for fish suspended and sipping subtly. That chubby rig has turned some big heads lately.

DRY FLY FISHING

Spring arrived fast on the Watauga this year. The Grannom hatch came and went quickly, with fewer windows compared to last year where fish really keyed in on drys. When we did find fish feeding on the surface (extremely tight to the bank) a 10’ 5x Trout Hunter Finesse leader did the trick for us. Timing your cast and drift with the fishes feeding frequency can help pick off more fish vs putting a drift after drift over the fish. BWO hatches were phenomenal—especially in the riffles on the upper and middle stretches. With warming weather and the potential for more afternoon water releases, we expect to see our Sulphurs and PMDs show up more consistently in the coming weeks.

LOOKING AHEAD

As generation increases on the South Holston, we expect boat pressure on the Watauga to ease. Combined with increased water flow from Wilbur, this should smooth out some of the recent inconsistencies. Sulphurs are starting to appear, but expect a mix of caddis, BWOs, and midges for now.

Click here for the Wilbur Dam generation schedule!

Suggested Patterns

Nymphs