August River Report - South Holston & Watauga Rivers
South HolstoN RIVER
We had a great August and are poised to have awesome fishing this fall. Throughout August, we had steady dam generation on most days which has kept water temperatures low in the river. This has made for fun days of fishing on both high and low flows.
Rain during August totaled 5.78” which was slightly down from July’s amount of 7.90”. Based off the TVA Operating Guide, South Holston Headwater Elevation is about 1ft above the 2022 total. In addition, we are about 1ft below the Operating Guide so overall we are in pretty good shape.
On low water, our go to set-up has been double dries during a hatch or a dry-dropper when there are no bugs coming off. You can often feed fish on a dry fly anytime of the low water flows in late summer. The water has been very clear so make sure to keep your tippet sizes low. We recommend 5.5X-6.5X.
On high water, The rigs and flies we have used have varied between our bottom-bounce rig and deep in-line rig. When we are bottom-bouncing, a rainbow sow bug as the bottom fly and a perdigon as the upper fly has worked well. On the deep in-line rig, we’ve fished flies like our Bullet Quill and Master Baetis. This month it’s been incredibly important to adjust depth and weight to catch fish consistently. Before you switch flies a million times, try going deeper, shallower, lighter, and heavier because often times that will make the greatest difference.
Dry Fly Fishing
The best dry fly fishing opportunities we saw in August were on low-water in the afternoon before the high water flows began. Moving into September and October, we could see an increase in Sulphur activity for both wade and boat anglers. In 2022, we had some great Sulphur hatches during the fall.
Flies have been straight forward this month. Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, Puffdaddys. The usual suspects.
Make sure your tippet and leader is long and thin (at least 9ft 6x). This will put you in the game.
Most folks head straight to the top section of the river to fish dries, but don’t forget about the middle and lower rivers on low-water for dry fly action. Big Springs. Weaver Pike. J. Forrest Thomas. You can also find more fish willing to rise on small beetle patterns down there this time of year.
Click here for the South Holston Dam generation schedule!
Suggested Patterns
Dries
Pink Albert #16
Sulphur CDC Comparadun #16-18
Sulphur Parachute #16
Sulphur Puffdaddy #16-18
Nymphs
Rainbow Sowbug #16-18
Bullet Quill #16-18
Master Baetis #18
Frenchies #14-20
WATAUGA RIVER
Flows throughout August were good for all anglers on the Watauga. Typically we would see a minimal recreational flow in the morning and then 2 or more generators in the afternoon. Most folks were focusing on the low-water with nymphs or dry-droppers. Fishing was definitely solid. As the SOHO began generating, the fishing pressure was spread out and this definitely benefited the Watauga which has seen lots of boats throughout this season.
The most recent update to the generation schedule as of writing this report is that Wilbur is starting 2 or more generations from 6AM-11AM, off from 11AM-1PM, but then back on from 1PM-6PM. This can make for some great streamer fishing if that is something you are interested in.
However, this is a tough schedule for those looking to fish just on low-water. Our recommendation would be to try to time your fishing with those flows dropping and rising. If you are wading, please be careful!
Dry Fly Fishing
Similar to July, fish were still eating Chubby Chernobyls and small terrestrial patterns in August. We expect this to continue while the temps are still high in September. Don’t forget to try beetle patterns and try your best to cast them underneath overhanging trees.
Click here for the Wilbur Dam generation schedule!
Suggested Patterns
Nymphs
RC Leggy #16-18
Weiss Dark #20
Olive Quill #18
Frenchies #14-20
Dry Flies
Micro Chubby Chernobyl Tan
Micro Chubby Chernobyl Purple
Beetle #12-14 (try our shop special beetle)
Morgan’s Midge #20
Smallmouth
This is a great time of year to take a break from the trout and go target big smallies on low, clear water. Micro poppers and BoogleBugs work great off the shady banks. Dead-drifting flies like Ole Mr. Wiggly is incredibly fun.
If you can see some fish holding in a line before they see you, try breaking out traditional terrestrial trout tactics. However, you are definitely going to want something with a larger bass style hook.