South Holston

[AFISHN]

I'm fishing the South Holston the second week in March with another Forum member.
Both of us have never fished it before .Consequently,I've spent a good amount of time researching it.
My major question is what to do if the River is running high.
Obviously,hire a guide and drift it.
However:Are there any spots in the river that can be wade fished on high water.
What about other streams nearby as an alternative?
Any info would be appreciated including good places to eat
Thanks
Tom

 

[Longbow]

I'm heading there third week of March. Everything I have heard and read is that it is a great river. Some big Browns.

 

[STONEMAN]

Been there more than a few times and will be back late April. If the TVA is screwing with you and releasing water, first thing to do is get out of the river..fast...and make sure you exit on the correct side. It's amazing how fast the water comes up! A buddy exited the wrong side and had a heck of a walk back.

Then, high tail it downstream. You can buy another 1 1/2 + hours of fishing or more. Then when the water gets to you drive over to the Watauga and fish there. Not as scenic but still some nice water above Elizabethton. If it is a total washout, head up into the mountains. Or hire a guide to drift boat it.

Make sure you check the release schedule the night before on both rivers and plan ahead.

Happy to give more details.

 

[krayfish2]

I know 4 forum members that went down. They caught the famous sulphur hatch. They did catch 20-30 fish per day (per person). Almost all fish were in the 10"-12" range.

Tom,
I'd find the release schedule somewhere and live by it. If they release until 5pm, you should be able to hop up to the top of the river and start fishing as the water falls. Just be careful as tailwaters can spike quickly during releases.

 

[Acristickid]

Fished off Big Springs road. The flows dictate- wild swings in water depth, 6 inch depth turns into 4 ft depth.
I found the it was either on or off. I found the fishing was great when the water went up. Caught them swinging soft hackles.

Don't be intimidated by private property- there are obvious pull offs and I didn't find many no trespassing signs. People are used to people fishing. You can also nymph the weir area closer to the dam.

Good diner in Bluff City. Everything else is a good distance away. Stayed at a inexpensive cabin in a campground a few miles away. Cherokee something.

 

[midnightangler]

You aren't realistically going to be wading the SoHo on high water. A drift boat is the best bet. It's been a very wet winter, so you should expect to see 1500cfs+ on both the SoHo and the Watauga. They've run some wading schedules recently, but I wouldn't count on them. Even with 2000+ cfs running from the dam, the water will be clear and fish will still eat dries and nymphs if you fish from a boat.

If you're dead set on wade fishing, a good option is Whitetop Laurel creek, which is a tributary of the SoHo above the lake in SW virginia.

 

[AFISHN]

Thanks for the comments ,pms, and telephone calls.
Very helpful!

 

[AFISHN]

This high water on the Watuga and the South Holston has me spooked.Can you suggest some freestones where we can wade?TN or VA would work as long as it's not more than 1 hour from Bluff City

Thanks
Tom

 

[SBecker]

Just go fish the Nantahala. I can hook you up with an amazing set of guides down there to help you out.

 

[AFISHN]

Thanks for the tip ,Steve.
Unfortunately,I had to cancel the TN trip yesterday...our house/dog sitter for the week had a serious illness in her family over the week end, and couldn't sit for us🙁
I'm going to reschedule the trip sometime in the next two months

 

[AFISHN]

Did manage to salvage a few days of the trip on the SH,but fished alone.Fished the SH around the releases" and did reasonably well...caught a 22" monster brown.,Also fished the White Top Laurel stream ...a spectacularly beautiful stream in VA

Thanks for all the feed back both in PMs and telephone calls.
Will be doing another trip sometime this Spring

 

[fayettenamese]

Laurel Fork is beautiful and I have done well there a few times. It runs past Watauga lake. Anywhere upstream of the town of Hampton is public and holds trout year round. Very wade-able as most of it is 15-30ft wide.