Tight Line Fly Fishing

Hello everyone,

I’ve been getting quite a few questions on tight line fly fishing. There are several names and similar techniques, euro nymphing, Czech nymphing, mono rig, to name a few. Each of these techniques are similar in that you are casting and fishing with only the leader, not the fly line. I am calling what we are doing tight lining, or tight line fly fishing because we are not limiting this technique to one style of fishing. This is often thought of as a wading tactic. We have been working and tweaking this technique to be fished from a drift boat both from anchor and while drifting. Nymphing is the first thing that people think of with tight lining. You cast out and maintain contact with your nymphs as they drift. With this rig you have the ability to control the depth of the fly, which we want to be near the bottom. You feel the flies bouncing across the river bottom and make depth adjustments without changing the rig, but by moving your fly rod and tightening your line. The beauty of this system is the amount of control that you have over your presentation. It is this control that allows us to fish each water type, depth, and speed efficiently. This is not only a nymphing technique, streamers and even dry flies can be fished effectively using this method. We have been working with several proven leader formulas, tapers, and combinations to best suit our needs on the Watauga and South Holston. If this sounds like something that is interesting to you, please give us a shout at 423-202-5184, or wataugariverguides@gmail.com. We do lessons as well as guided fly fishing trips.

Tight Lines,

Huck

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Watauga River Guides. We’ve had a good week on the Watauga river. We are seeing some blue winged olives hatching, not big hatches, but we have been able to have some periods of dry fly fishing. Nymphing has been the most productive. We’ve been fishing some attractors such as egg patterns along with bwo nymphs and midges on long, light tippet. We have also been using some tight line techniques that have proven to be very effective even on picky fish. We have been adapting these tight line tactics to be fished from a drift boat while drifting as well as from anchor, which makes this style unique.

If you are planing your own trip be sure to have plenty of small flies. The blue wings are an honest size 24, but the fish will take a 22 bwo puff daddy. The midge pupa that we are fishing range from size 18 to 22.

If you would like more information about our guide service, or if you would like to book a trip, please call us at 423-202-5184 or email us at wataugariverguides@gmail.com. Hope to see you on the water.

Tight Lines,

Huck

Watauga River Fly 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

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

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

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

We had a great week on the Watauga. In typical April fashion we had a crazy mix of weather. The fish still cooperated no matter what the weather threw at us. We fished nymphs, dry-droppers, and had a period of dry fly fishing that was the icing on the cake. Midges, caddis, and blue winged olives along with attractor patterns worked well. Just keep an eye on the generation schedule. The TVA ran water a couple of days last week unexpectedly. Remember when you’re looking at the schedule, that it is Wilbur dam that you need to check. If you are interested in our guide service please feel free to give us a shout at 423-202-5184 or wataugariverguides@gmail.com. I hope to see you on the water.

Tight Lines,

Huck

Watauga River Fishing Report

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re well. We have enjoyed some mild temperatures and good flows on the Watauga river. Nymphs have been the game. We’ve been catching fish on midge pupa fished deep under an indicator. We are starting to see a few dries hatching, not enough to be predictable, but it’s a good sign of what’s to come in the next few weeks. If you have any questions about our guide service, feel free to email us at wataugariverguides@gmail.com or give us a call at 423-202-5184. We hope to see you on the river.

Tight Lines,

Huck

March 2023

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

Watauga River Fishing Report

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

Watauga River Fishing Report

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

Watauga river fishing report

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

Spring time fishing on the Watauga river

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

Watauga River Fishing Report

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

South Holston river fishing report

The wether in February has been good to us. We had consistent flows on the South Holston river providing great fishing opportunities. The closed sections are back open and we can fish the entire river again.
Blue winged olives have been hatching. We’ve been having some opportunities for dry fly fishing. Blue winged olive nymphs and attractor patterns have been working great on a nymph rig.
Give us a call if you’d like to get out on the water.

Tight Lines,

Huck

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

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

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

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

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

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

Watauga river fly fishing report

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

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report.

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

Watauga river fly fishing report

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

Watauga River Fly Fishing Report

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