April River Report 2022 - South Holston & Watauga
South Holston
The best days are ahead on the South Holston. For the last couple of weeks, the TVA has reduced generation on the South Holston to build up the lake to summer pool. The SOHO dam was sluicing 210 cfs for a couple of weeks in March, which made for both great wade and drift boat fishing. The consistent flows led to some fantastic BWO hatches. We are also seeing the TVA using a “pulsing” generation schedule. Typically there will be a few intermittent hours a day where the TVA will generate at 1200 cfs. For wade fisherman, make sure to check the schedule and know the TVA plans to generate. However, this schedule is subject to change so if you hear a siren, get out of the river immediately. Drift boats will be able to float as they “ride the pulse”. Be smart about where you plan to float so you do not get stuck in sketchy sections of the river when the pulse drops out on you. A great option for a quick float with the pulse is Grates to Victoria’s. Make sure to check the generation schedule daily as the schedule is subject to change.
With the BWO hatches we’ve been seeing and consistent midge activity, fishing a bullet quill and midge have been the first flies in the water lately. Using a jig-hook Bullet Quill on the bottom of an inline-rig really helps get those flies down into the deeper pockets. If you are fishing in shallower water, then running standard hooks on your inline-rig is typically best. We are starting to see PMDs and Sulphurs come off on both rivers in low numbers. We expect these numbers to continue to rise as we get closer to May.
Suggested Patterns:
Nymphs:
Pheasant tails in darker colors #16- 18
Olive, and black midges #18-22
Bullet Quill #16-18
Stripper Midge #18-22
Dries:
Puff Daddy #18-20
Comparadun #18-20
Morgan’s Midge #20-22
South Holston Generation Schedule: https://www.tva.com/environment/lake-levels/South-Holston
Watauga
The Watauga has been the place to be lately and will continue to be with the lack of generation on the SOHO and peak of the Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch coming soon. There are reports of caddis coming off in the last couple of days. Soon the fish will really key in on them.
The Watauga has been seeing some good mayfly activity with the consistent generations. There has been a good number of PMDs and BWOs in the air. However, it’s not uncommon to see 60+ drift boats on the Watauga during the weekends. Always be sure to be cognitive of where other boats are and don’t be a jerk, it’s just fishing.
For your setup on the Watauga, two standard nymphs under a yarn indicator is the go-to on low water. Fishing a flashier fly on the top followed by a natural colored fly on the bottom is typically the first rig in the water. As previously mentioned above, trying using a jig hook on the bottom of your rig can really get those flies down and allows the jig hook to float more naturally than if it was tied at the top of a double nymph rig.
With some consistent flows and bugs, dry fly fishing can be great on the Watauga, fishing the standard Comparadun followed by a Puff Daddy is a great option on the Watauga just like the SOHO. A midge dry-dropper also has been fishing extremely effectively in certain situations. When the caddis hatch really ramps up fishing a dry-dropper will be the ticket.
Wilbur Dam Generation Schedule: https://www.tva.com/environment/lake-levels/wilbur
Suggested Patterns:
Nymphs:
Natural Pheasant Tail #16-18
Black Zebra Midges #18 & 20
Bullet Quill & Olive Bullet #16-18
Deep Six Sulphur #16-18
Attractors:
Caddis Larvae #14-16
Purple Frenchie #16-18
Blowtorch with pink, orange, or green tail in #14 & 16
Squirmy Worms with pink or black beads in pink & claret color