So far the hottest weather we’ve seen this year has come in September just about the time we expect to start getting a break from the heat. August was relatively mild with temperatures rarely getting out of the 80’s and several days that were very mild. In spite of the heat we’re getting regular fresh shots of water in the mountain streams from regular afternoon thunderstorm activity.
A Little River brown trout seen from above
The fish are eating dry flies better than nymphs on most days. However, expect weather conditions to be a factor. The more stable the weather is, the better you can expect the fishing to be. The fish always seem to be less aggressive when the weather starts changing suddenly as thunderheads boil up overhead.
The tailwater situation around East Tennessee is excellent, especially when you consider that September is one of the least predictable months from one year to the next. This is the time of year when TVA begins to lower the reservoirs and that means higher flows from the dams. Water levels remained pretty low in the Clinch and Holston River systems this year so there isn’t so much water to move out as usual. This past week we saw good fishy flows on the Clinch and Holston Rivers. The South Holston has been more favorable for floating lately than wading, but keep an eye to TVA schedules since there are wadeable windows. Same thing goes for the Watauga.
This is the time of year when we see a lull in hatch activity on the tailwaters. This week we saw a smattering of midges, Sulphurs, and black caddis on the Clinch while we saw just a very few caddis and crane flies on the Holston. Nymphing is the name of the game, but it has been pretty good.
A 19″ rainbow swims away from the net on the Clinch
