june 26, 2003 Watauga and south holston river fly fishing report

Hello everyone. After a few busy weeks, I have had a day or two off to do a little fishing myself. The weather has been great for the last week. The TVA® has cut the generation schedule back so we have been able to fish low water on the Watauga River for the last few days. We have had everything from a twenty-person fishing trip, to one-person wading trips over the past few weeks. I don't think anyone has left without catching a few trout.

The Watauga River has had yellow mayflies from size 18 through size 12 hatching almost every day. There are also some small caddis and craneflies hatching.

The South Holston River has had sulphurs and midges and also a few caddis on the lower river. The South Holston has been running a lot of water. With the dryer weather, the TVA® should cut the generation schedule back there soon.

The small streams are in the best shape I have seen them in years for summer-time fishing. They all have plenty of water, bugs and trout. There are yellow stones, mayflies and caddis hatching on them. Also, a few large stones can be found in some of the small streams this time of year.

We have dates open after the first week of July. I almost forgot to mention terrestrial season has started too. There is nothing better than watching a greedy brown trout suck a beetle off the surface, and head for deep water.

There is some great fly fishing to be done here in East Tennessee so call or email us to book your trip. Check the web site reports pages to see the pictures of some of the fun we have been having this year.

Don't Forget that East Tennessee Fly Fishing is now offering shuttle services for the Watauga and South Holston River.