By James Marsh
The South Holston River is a tailwater trout fishery located in the upper Northeastern corner of the state of Tennessee near Bristol. It is stocked with rainbow trout by the (TWRA) Tennessee Wildlife Agency. This is one southern tailwater that has a substantial population of wild brown trout. They are all wild. In addition, the stocked rainbows holdover from year to year because the stream stays cool even during the summer months. It is probably the best tailwater in the Southeastern United States. Fly fishing the South Holston River ranges from difficult to easy depending on the type of fish.
The river can be waded when they are not generating power and fished from a drift boat when turbines are running. You can access the river in only a few places, where wading is possible. The main attraction is the wild trout and extensive sulphur hatches.
There are actually two different species of mayflies the locals call âSulphursâ. Most people call one of them Eastern Pale Evening Duns. The hatches occur for much of the entire fishing season. There are also excellent Blue-winged olive hatches.
Caution should be used anytime you are fishing a tailwater, so be sure to check on the discharge schedule and keep an eye out for changes in the depth. The TVA dam discharge schedule information is linked on the left side of this page. The schedule will tell when the best times to fish the river are, depending on whether you are wading or fishing from a drift boat.
Fly fishing the South Holston River can be as good as fly fishing anywhere in the Eastern United States. The river is certainly worth of any avid angler taking the opportunity to fish, regardless of where you live.
Fly Fishing Guide to the South Holston River: Fly fishing the South Holston River is considered to be technical fishing by many anglers. This is one of the best tailwaters in the Eastern United States. It is one of a few tailwaters in the South that is capable of reproduction of trout. Brown trout spawn in the river with decent success. We think it offers just the right amount of challenge to any angler. It is neither difficult, nor easy, to fish. You have to do things right, but when you do, you are rewarded.
The thing that makes it a desirable stream to fish, in the eyes of many anglers, are the large aquatic insect hatches. The stream is full of trout food of all types. The Blue-winged Olive and Sulphur mayfly hatches can be incredible. It also has some great caddisfly hatches. This provides dry fly fishing opportunities far better than most tailwaters. There are plenty of times you have to fish subsurface using nymphs, streamers, wet flies, soft hackles, scuds, black fly imitations and other ways, but all in all, dry fly fishing is very good for a tailwater.
You have to pay very close attention to the discharge schedule. That is easy to do and the schedule provided is usually very accurate. There are time you can wade the South Holston River with ease and times you canât. There are times you have a big advantage using a drift boat. It all depends on the releases. This information is available under the TVA Release Schedule link on the introduction page.
Be prepared to use long leaders and tippets and to make good presentations. A drag free drift is a must most of the time. You cannot hit these trout over the head with your fly line. It is especially difficult when they are feeding in the slow to moderate water. Good realistic imitations can make a big difference. The area just below the weir dam usually has plenty of trout but be aware that they are difficult to catch. They are heavily fished but they can be caught if you want to accept the added challenge. Although the water between the weir dam and the dam looks great, it is even more difficult to catch trout from its smooth, flowing water.