Fly Fishing the Doe River, Tennessee

The Doe River is one of the State of Tennessee’s better freestone streams for brown trout. It also has a good population of wild rainbow trout and a few brook trout in its headwaters. The stream begins from several small branches in a rural countryside area and then flows into the Roan State Park.

The State Park is one of the better fishing areas. The stream runs along highway #143 and is easily accessed. It is protected from the heat by a good tree canopy, so the water stays cool most of the summer in the park area. Below the state park the stream flows through private property down to highway #19 East. It turns almost ninety degrees and flows down the mountain alongside the highway. There are several areas where you can park and fish the stream but much of it is private property. It becomes a medium size stream in this area and has a very good population of brown trout. It eventually leaves the highway and goes through a gorge that is very rough and difficult to access. It exits back near the highway just above the little town of Hampton. Below Hampton the Doe River becomes a fairly large stream averaging about thirty feet and wider. It flows through Elizabethton and into the Watauga River tailwater.

Fly Fishing Guide to the Doe River:

The way you go about fishing the Doe River has a lot to do with where you fish it and the species you are targeting. This is a stream that is a little different from many because its headwaters are mostly on private property in the rural area above the state park. There is also a lot of private property below the state park. For the most part, you are limited to the Roan Mountain State Park in the upper section of the river. That is not bad at all because the state park has a lot of water, and it is rarely crowded.

The stream is small in the section flowing through the state park. Most of it is completely covered with tree limbs which is a good thing because it helps keep the water cool during the summer. It can get a little on the high side temperature-wise, but if there are no drought conditions, the water normally stays below seventy during the hottest part of summer. Casting is sometimes a little tricky. You need to make side arm casts, roll casts, and even some bow and arrow casts. The fish in the state park are mostly rainbows but there are a few good brown trout mixed in with them. There is a mixture of stocked and wild trout.

The stream gets larger as it flows down highway #19 East. The farther down you fish, the larger it gets. There are more brown trout in the lower section. The river is known for having some very good-sized browns in it. There are only a few access points along the highway, but you can fish upstream as far as you want to. In places it is difficult to work your way around the rocks, trees and deeper water, depending on the stream flow levels.

The part that runs through the gorge (where the stream leaves the highway) is very rough. It would not be a good idea to fish this area alone. If you got hurt, you could get into a bad situation. This area is also well known for its large brown trout. Below the gorge, the stream widens out and flows mostly through private property into Elizabethton.

Although you can catch plenty of trout on the dry fly, your odds of hooking a larger brown trout are far better on a nymph. When the water is slightly high and off color, streamers work well on the larger brown trout. Of course, as always with the browns, you will have a much better opportunity if you fish during low light conditions, either while it is cloudy, or early and late in the day. I should also mention that the brown trout spawn in the fall. In October, the large browns will start moving upstream and become much easier to catch.

James Marsh has made his living fishing since 1980 through hosting and producing the first ever national syndicated weekly TV series on saltwater fishing for five years; hosting and producing forty-six instructional saltwater fishing videos more of which have been sold on saltwater fishing than anyone’s in the world; and for the past twenty-two years hosting and producing nineteen instructional videos on fly fishing and founding the Perfect Fly Company.