June River Report 2022 - South Holston & Watauga
South Holston
The South Holston is back in action. Generation in the afternoons has made for solid floats in the evenings, while still leaving opportunities for wade fishing in the morning. It’s a great time to be on the water with hatches in the evening and cool temperatures in the morning. Fishing in the middle of the day can be hot and slow, which makes for a great time to head to the shop for a beer and lunch.
During float trips, if fish aren’t rising, in-line nymphing sulphur patterns have been producing well. Focusing on the same lines you’d fish if you were dry fly fishing is key. Fish are holding on edges and in soft water, they will willingly take the right fly if presented drag-free. Fishing a heavy jig hook fly or using split shot is key to make sure you get the flies down in the feeding lane. Our Bullet Quill #16 is a great fly to start off with as a bottom fly, a #18 Split-case Sulphur is a good place to start with your top fly.
For wade fishing, fish can be tricky so long leaders and extremely light tippet is definitely the way to go. Midge dry droppers can be deadly on smaller fish in tailouts and flats. Make sure to walk around rising fish and approach them from above, if you cast over fish it’s likely that they will spook and the game is over. Nymphing classic pheasant tail patterns such as our #16-18 Bead-head American Pheasant Tail is a solid low-water fly. Fishing a double midge or midge + pheasant tail with an extremely small yarn indicator is a great starting place.
Dry Fly Fishing
Consistent flows have brought solid evening dry fly fishing. The Sulphur hatch can be spotty at times. However, we have been seeing many large mayflies and small, dark Caddis. We’ve found when the fish are being picky, sizing up to larger mayfly patterns such as a Light Hendrickson or Pink Albert is deadly. That’s not to say that you cannot catch fish on Sulphurs, but give some larger bugs a try if you get rejected after 4 or 5 good drifts to a rising fish.
South Holston Generation Schedule: https://www.tva.com/environment/lake-levels/South-Holston
Suggested Patterns
Nymphs:
Beadhead American Pheasant Tail #16- 18
No Bead American Pheasant Tail #16-18
Bullet Quill #16-18
Stripper Midge #16
Dries:
Elk Hair Caddis #14
Never-Sink Caddis #16
Light Cahill #14-16
Pink Albert #14-16
Watauga
The Watauga has been fishing fairly consistently on low-water. High water has been a crap-shoot, sometimes fishing well and other times very slow. Putting on the river early to get ahead of other boats and to beat the sun will definitely up your odds. If you can, it’s usually worth booking a trip on a weekday instead of a weekend.
For low water, fishing jig flies on the bottom of a double nymph rig, such as our #16 Copper Duracell or #16 CDC France fly has been money. A no bead American Pheasant Tail #18 for the top fly has fished lights out at times. Casting into the head of a riffle and letting it bounce through can produce high numbers.
For high water, in-line nymphing with big heavy flies in soft water has yielded success. Fishing a #14 Duracell on the bottom with a worm above has been good. It seems like having the worm to draw their attention in the big water has made a difference.
Wilbur Dam Generation Schedule: https://www.tva.com/environment/lake-levels/wilbur
Suggested Patterns:
Nymphs:
Girdle Bug
Copper Duracell #16-18
CDC France Fly #16-18
No bead American Pheasant Tail #18-22