Fishing Report
Hello everyone,
We are off to another great summer on the Watauga river. We’ve had great river conditions so far this year. Nymphing has been great with good numbers of fish coming to the boat. Midges are the fly of choice. Long leaders and light tippet are key. We have July dates available. Feel free to give us a call if you would like to get in on the action. (423)202-5184. Or email at wataugariverguides@gmail.com
Hope to see you on the river
Huck
Hello everyone,
It doesn’t seem possible, but here we are and it’s almost May. Spring has been great on the Watauga. The flows have been consistent and the fishing has been good. The low clear water calls for good drifts, and light tippet. We’re still getting some fish on caddis, mostly on pupa. The fish are settling back in and taking mayfly nymphs and midges. I hope that everyone has had a great spring. If you have any questions about our guide service or would like to book a trip, please give us a call at 423-202-5184 or email at wataugariverguides@gmail.com
Tight lines,
Huck
Hello everyone! We are excited for spring. Recent rains have had the water levels all over the place. We’ve been having varying flows from the TVA. Periods of high and low water each day. If you plan on wade fishing, please pay close attention to your surroundings. We’ve been floating the Watauga, planning our area based on the flow predictions. Nymphing and dry droppers have been productive. Midge pupa and bwo nymphs are on the menu. It won’t be long before we start to see black caddis, which is our favorite time of year. We hope that winter has been good to each of you and look forward to fishing with you in 2023. As always, if you have any questions please email us at wataugariverguides@gmail.com or call 423-202-5184.
Tight Lines,
Huck
You can feel fall in the air! I’m just a little excited for fall. It’s my favorite time of year. Fly fishing has been great on the Watauga river. Nymphing is where it’s at. With some occasional dry dropper fishing mixed in. For the most both size and numbers are coming on the nymph rig. Long leaders and light tippet are the secret. Our 10’ Syndicate 4wt rods protect the tippet like nobody’s business. It won’t be long until the blue winged olives get started and I am looking forward to it! Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions or if you would like to book a trip. I hope to see you on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all getting to enjoy this beautiful weather. The fishing has been great. We are now in the recreation flow schedule for the summer. Meaning the TVA releases water every weekday from 1pm-6pm and noon-6pm on Saturdays. This isn’t the best news if you’re a wade fisherman, but I thought I would give you a heads up. The good news is, that cool burst of water every afternoon helps keep temps in check and the fish healthy. We’re seeing more crowds on the river this year than ever before. With that being the case, we have switched up our game plan and it has been working great. Midges and a few terrestrials have been our go to flies. We are seeing a few sulphurs, but they haven’t been hatching with enough consistency to plan for. It’s more luck if the draw if they hatch or not that day. We have been blessed with a great year so far, and it keeps getting better. If you would like more information on our trips and services please drop us a line. During the day when we are out on the water, email or text is best. But feel free to call and leave a message as well. We will get back to you as soon as we get off the water. Hope to see you on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Hello everyone, I apologize for not posting a fishing report sooner. The TVA has been running some water. If you’re going wade fishing please check the schedule for Wilbur dam before going. Both low water and high water have been fishing good. A few sporadic sulphur hatches are still occurring. However they aren’t consistent enough to count on having a hatch daily. Small midges have been the name of the game on low water. We’re fishing attractors and midges down deep during periods of high water. It has been a great year so far. Please send us a message or give us a call if you would like to book a trip.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Hello everyone,
I hope that this spring weather has been treating you well. The Watauga river has been fishing great. We have been fishing a lot of dry/dropper rigs with midges. A split case nymph and a stripper midge have been hard to beat under an indicator. April and May have been great and I can’t wait to see what June holds. Feel free to send us a message or give us a call. We would love to get you out on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Hello everyone, the weather has been nice last few days and the fishing has been great. We’ve had a good mix of low water and high water from the TVA. We have been catching fish primarily on nymph rigs with the occasional opportunity to fish dries to a few rising fish. Midges are working well under a strike indicator. As well as some attractor patters. I hope that everyone had a great winter and we are looking forward to fishing with you again this year. I do need to stress one point. We are a CATCH and RELEASE guide service. No trout will be kept by any of our guides. This has never been an issue until now and we are getting requests to keep fish. We simply will not do that. It is our responsibility to maintain the fishery to the best of our ability and we feel that catch and release is necessary. As always if you have any questions about our services, please feel free to give us a call or send an email.
Tight Lines,
Huck
The Watauga is fishing like a champ! Dry droppers and nymph rigs have been producing good numbers and great quality fish. Cicadas are hatching and we are seeing some activity on them. It’s not light out yet, but it won’t be long. May has been an outstanding month. I can’t wait to see what June holds. Please feel free to give us a call if you would like to book a trip.
Tight Lines,
Huck
We’ve been getting consistent flows from the TVA. Which is great for this time of year. Consistent flows of cold water keep the fish happy and healthy. Fishing has been good. If you’ve read the previous reports, you’ve noticed a trend. Long leaders, light tippet, and drag free drifts are key. Don’t forget that we take anglers of all skill levels. From first time fly fishers to veteran anglers. We have been fortunate to introduce many first time anglers to the sport over the last few weeks. So don’t be intimidated give us a call if you would like to learn to fly fish.
Tight Lines,
Huck
We’ve had high water for the last few days. The TVA has been generating Wilbur dam most of the day. Which is great for the fish. This time of year when temperatures get up into the 90s, high water provides more dissolved oxygen and cooler water temperatures. It keeps the fish healthy and active.
We’ve been doing well fishing midges on both dry/dropper and light nymph rigs. Small midges are the way to go. The hotter the weather, the smaller the fly.
We’re staying busy and still have some August dates available. Give us a call if you would like to get out on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Fishing has been consistent on the Watauga river. The flows have been good. Which helps keep the water cold during these hot days. Midges are the main hatch right now. Light nymph rigs and dry dropper rigs are working well. Long leaders, light tippet, and long drifts equal success. We have had a great summer and we’re looking forward to fall. We do have some August dates available. If you would like to book a trip please feel free to contact us. Hope to see you on the water.
Tight lines,
Huck
It’s been hot for the last week. Thankfully the water temperature is cold. The Watauga river has been fishing good. It’s summertime rigs. Dry/droppers and light nymph rigs with long leaders with light tippet. Long drag free drifts are just as important as the flies you use. Midges are the name of the game right now.
Most of our guests have been booking half day trips in order to beat the heat. If you would like more information on our guide service, or if you would like to book at trip. Please give us a call or send us an email.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Summer has finally decided to show up in northeast TN. We are seeing temps get up into the 90’s. The good news is that our water temps stay cool year round. That keeps the fish healthy and happy. We’ve been doing well with dry/dropper rigs and light nymph rigs. Long drag free drifts and light tippet is key.
Half day trips are always more popular this time of year. A lot of our guests prefer to get out early and beat the heat. We have decided to add a half day with lunch to our trip options. The cost of the half day with lunch is $375 for two people.
The fishing has been great. Give us a call if you would like more information about our guide service, or if you would like to book a trip.
Tight Lines,
Huck
Summer is here in northeast TN. Fishing has been great! The Watauga has been fishing good on low water. Nymphs and dry dropper rigs have been the ticket. We’ve also been running a lot of half day dry fly trips on South Holston. Sulphurs have been coming off really good on high water. If you are interested in our guide service, or if you would like to book a trip? Please give us a call or send an email. We’d love to get you out on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
After months of rain. We are starting to see low water again. The Watauga is fishing well. Today they were a little spooky in the flat water, but were very willing to eat in the riffles. Midges and sulphur nymphs are working best.
As the weather gets hotter, we are having more requests for half day trips. This is a great option to beat the heat. If you have any questions about our services or if you would like to book a trip. Please give us a call.
Tight Lines,
Huck
We’ve been on both rivers in the last week. Both are fishing great! The TVA is flowing 1900cfs on the South Holston river and it is great. We have no idea how long this flow will last. But, we plan to fish it as long as it does. Nymph rigs are bringing lots of fish to the boat with some nice size in the mix. Sulphurs are hatching in the afternoon. Providing some opportunity for dry fly fishing. June has been outstanding. Give us a shout if you’d like to get out on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
The rivers have been fishing great! Last week we floated the Watauga river and the South Holston river. The TVA had flows up and down last week. Last Monday had one full day of high water on the Watauga. The nymph bite was outstanding. Lots of fish to the boat with the biggest measuring just over 17 inches. The next day the TVA sluiced 1000cfs on the South Holston. The fishing was incredible. Nymph fishing was some of the best fishing I’ve ever seen. Sulphurs hatched all afternoon which lead to awesome dry fly fishing. The rest of the week was a mixture of low and high water on the Watauga. Both fished well. When the water came up each day we would give it about a half hour to clear up then get back to fishing. Looks like we are going to have high water for the foreseeable future. With sulphurs hatching in the afternoons it’s a great time to fish. Give us a call if you’d like to get out on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
The spring bite is on! We’ve been having some great days on the Watauga river. The TVA is still generating around the clock. The consistent flows have made for some outstanding fishing. Nymph rigs have been the most productive. Switching over to dry flies while the fish are rising. We have rain in the forecast this week. Changing back to sunshine over the weekend.
As of May 1st. Tennessee has reopened all businesses. So, all lodging and restaurants are back in operation. If you need any help with accommodations, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you would like to book a trip. Please give us a call or send an email. If we don’t answer immediately, we’re probably on the water. Please leave a message and we will return your call ASAP. I hope to see you on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
With all the bad news right now. You’ll be happy hear that the fishing has been great! The TVA is still generating. The flow has been ~1700 cfs which is perfect. The nymph bite has been excellent. Lots of fish coming to the net. We are starting to see sulphurs. We’ve had some really good dry fly fishing during hatch periods. The streamer fishing has been good as well.
If you’d like more info about our service. Or, if you would like to book a trip. Feel free to give us a call or send a message. I hope to see you on the water.
Tight Lines,
Huck
