Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Tailwater
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout
(Stocked with holdovers)
(Some Wild brown trout)
Size
Small
Location
Southeast Tennessee
Nearest Towns
Reliance, Tennessee
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good for wading, Fine for drift boats
Special Regulations
Delayed Harvest Stream
Non-Resident License
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Hiwassee River, Tennessee – Fishing Report – November 18, 2024 Good conditions continue to exist. The water is clear and there are good hatches taking place. Check the fly list below. We update the Hiwassee River fly fishing report weekly, so stay in touch.
Stream Conditions: Afternoon Water Temperature: 58 (lower section)
Clarity: clear
Hiwassee TVA site:
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed weather information)
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, nymphs, emergers, duns, spinnerst
Cinnamon Caddis; 16, pupa and adults
Little Sister Caddis; 18, pupa and adults
Great Autumn Brown Sedge, size 10, pupa and adults
Slate Drakes: 10/12, nymphs and adults
Mahogany Duns, size 18, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Perfect Flies are designed and tied to to imitate and behave like the natural foods the trout rely on to survive as much as possible. The more your fly looks like and moves through and on the surface of the water like the real things, the higher your odds of success.
Stream Description: The Hiwassee River begins in the mountains of Northeastern Georgia. Appalachia Lake provides the water for this tailwater through a pipe. It is released at the Appalachia Power House about ten miles from the Lake and the Appalachia Dam. In many ways, fly fishing on the Hiwassee River is similar to fly fishing on many highly praised western Rocky Mountain trout streams. If it were not for a different kind of trees lining the banks, you may not notice the difference. This is a very scenic river that is heavily stocked by the State of Tennessee. Rainbow, brown and a few brook trout are stocked. There are plenty of holdover trout that survive each year to grow into large fish.This is one tailwater with a large diversity of mayfly, caddisfly and stonefly hatches, not to mention the midges that are standard table fare for the trout in most tailwaters. The discharges are at a perfect temperature for many species of aquatic insects. Dry fly fishing is very good in this river.From the dam down to the highway bridge at U.S. #411, the river flows through the Cherokee National Forest. State highway 20 runs alongside much of the river, providing easy access to just about all of the water. The three mile long Trophy Trout section usually holds the largest trout. The Hiwassee River is the first designated “Delayed Harvest” trout stream in the state of Tennessee. It is “catch and release” only from October 1st. to February 28th. Only artificial lures and flies can be used.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Hiwassee River: When the river is low and no turbines are running, it is usually necessary to go to longer and lighter leaders and tippets. During high water, streamers work well due to the large numbers of forage fish in the river. The river is wadeable when the water is low and the turbines are not running. It can be waded in some areas when one turbine is running, but it must be done carefully. A driftboat is the best way to fish it when the turbines are running. You will see a lot of other types of watercraft on the Hiwassee, including everything from canoes to kayaks.The river changes character from the dam to the Highway 411 Bridge. Below the dam, with water running, you can find several areas where the water will be rough and look more like a white water rafting stream than a trout stream. There are layers of rocks called shoals that provide a varied bottom structure. There are long runs, riffles of all lengths and short pool-like areas. Especially in the upper section of the river, the appearance of the river varies greatly with the amount of water being discharged, or of course, not being discharged. The upper area above Reliance, which is approximately six miles long, is the most fished area of the river. Most of it can be fished from a road that parallels the river, except in the Trophy Section, which is well off the road. There is a trail that follows the river through the Trophy Section and you have to walk a short ways to fish it. he section of the river from Reliance to the Highway 411 Bridge is quite different from the upper section. The bottom is much more level and the stream can be waded easier. This section is usually not crowded and there are several areas you can access the stream. The fishing techniques vary depending on whether you are fishing for newly stocked trout or larger holdover fish. Basically, for the first few months, the newly stocked trout can be caught on just about any fly, although nymphs work far better than dry flies most of the time. The best way to fish for holdover trout is to try to match the food that is most available at the time you are fishing because you will catch just as many recently stocked trout as you would otherwise. There’s are a large number of mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies and other aquatic insects in this river. There’s also plenty of baitfish, sculpin and crustaceans for the trout to eat. If you are fishing prior to a certain insect hatch, it is usually best to fish imitations of their nymphs or larvae. Midges are always present. Trout can be caught year-round on imitations of their larvae and pupae. Streamers also work great at times.
Hatches and Trout Flies for the Hiwassee River:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Hiwassee River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else.
1-800-594-4726
Aquatic Insects and Foods: This is one tailwater that has a very large diversity of aquatic insect hatches. Fish can be caught on a dry fly just about the entire year. Even on nice, warm winter days, the dry fly can bring the trout up to the surface.
The midge is the most consistently available insect in the river. Most anglers ignore it when other insects are hatching as well as during the spring, summer and fall seasons, but you can actually do well with midge larvae and pupae imitations year-round.
Blue-winged Olives, consisting of several different species, hatch just about the entire year. They can hatch as early in the year as January but they are far more reliable starting about the middle of March. Most species are bi-brooded and they usually hatch again in mid September. Hatches of Little BWOs, Small BWOs, and other tiny species of BWOs may hatch anytime from late spring through December.
Winter Stoneflies are usually present as early as January. Little Brown Early Season Stoneflies show up about the end of February. Both of these hatches last about a month. Nymphs are your best bets for the early stoneflies.
Little Black Caddis (American Grannoms) start hatching about the first of March and last through most of April, depending on the water temperatures. This hatch can be heavy for a few days.
There is a light hatch of Hendricksons that takes place in April in parts of the river. It is not consistent and not very reliable, but if you happen to catch it right, it can be rewarding. There are a few Light Cahills that hatch about the middle of May, but they are not very reliable. Water levels, discharges and water temperature can drastically affect these two mayflies.
From about the first of May, all the way through September, Slate Drakes (Isonychia Bicolor) mayflies hatch off and on. These mayflies usually hatch in short spurts. It can be heavy at the first part of the long hatch period and then drop off to occur randomly until near the end of the hatch period, at which time it can again be rather heavy. May and June usually brings on some decent hatches of Golden Stoneflies. They can hatch for as long as a couple of months.
In June, you will also find some Little Yellow Stoneflies most anglers call Yellow Sallies. Sulphurs usually start hatching around the first of May and the hatch can last until mid June and even later. It can provide some excellent fishing. Little Mahogany Duns hatch in June but not in heavy concentrations.
There are sparse hatches of Tricos in some of the lower, smoother water sections of the stream with soft bottom. They can hatch anywhere from July until mid October. This hatch is greatly affected by water levels. There is also a sparse White Drake (White Fly) hatch that occurs in September. These are burrowers and exist where there is soft stream bottoms, mostly in the lower end of the tailwater.
Caddisflies represent a large part of the aquatic insect population. There are several different species. The majority are net-spinning caddis consisting mostly of Cinnamon Caddis. Several species of them hatch from about the first of April through August.
There’s also some Little Sisters. Green Sedges start hatching in May and last through June. You will find them in the upper section. From about mid August until mid November, two species of Little Brown Caddis will hatch. In the fall during the month of October, the Great Autumn Brown Sedge hatches. These are large caddisflies that can produce some good trout provided the hatch is fished correctly.
Streamers, imitating Sculpin and a variety of imitations work well just about anytime, especially for the larger holdover trout. Streamers, imitating Sculpin and a variety of There’s also a lot of craneflies, black flies and moths (helligramite) larvae in the water. and moths (helligramite) larvae in the water. Imitations of these insects will
work good at times.
The terrestrial season runs from about the first of June through the first frost. Grasshopper, ant and beetle imitations will catch trout during this time. We even saw a flying ant fall on the stream during August a few years ago.
As always, we recommend our “Perfect Flies”. They are not only the most realistic imitations of insects and other trout food you can buy, they are the most effective flies you can use. We hope you give them a try. You can match anything that trout eat in the Hiwassee River using them.