Fly Fishing Report on the South Holston River in Tennessee
Type of Stream
Tailwater
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.
Species
Brown Trout (Wild)
Rainbow Trout (Stocked with
holdovers)
Size
Medium
Location
Extreme Northeast Tennessee
Nearest Towns
Bristol
Season
Year-Round
Access: Good
Non-Resident License
Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency
Seasons.
Winter:
All but the worst days of winter can provide decent fishing on the South Holston River.
Spring:
Springtime brings about a big sufphur hatch and some of the best dry fly fishing in the Southeastern U. S.
Summer:
The discharges from the dam are very cold and the stream produces trout throughout the summer months.
Fall:
Autumn provides the second best time to fish the South Holston Tailwater. The weather is normally excellent and the lack of discharges are normally great for the wading angler.
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
South Holston River Fly Fishing Report, April 26, 2024
Very good conditions exist for wading anglers. The discharges and resulting stream levels are below normal. There are very good light green and red, or Blood midge, Little Black Caddis and Little Brown stonefly hatches taking place. Keep in touch with us as we make weekly fly fishing reports on the South Holston River in Tennessee.
Afternoon Water Temperature: 49 (upper section of river)
Clarity: Clear
TVA Release Schedule:
Weather:
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green 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
Little Brown Stoneflies: 12, nymphs and adults
Little Black Caddis, size 18, pupa and adults
Stream Description: 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 Sulphurs. 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 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 or 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 can’t. 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.
Hatches and Trout Flies for the South Holston 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 South Holston 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
There are several different hatches that take place on the South Holston River and the trout can become selective on the insects. Long, light leaders and careful presentations are often required to catch the trout. The most popular hatch that occurs on the South Holston Tailwater is referred to as the “Sulphur” hatch. It is for a very good reason. Two different species of mayflies very similar to each other called “Sulphurs” hatch on the South Holston over a very long period of time. These mayflies can hatch most of the days from mid April through the first of November. In many other areas of the country, one of the two mayflies (Ephemerella invaria) are usually called “Eastern Pale Evening Duns”. The other mayflies (Ephemerella dorothea) are almost always referred to by their common name as “Sulphurs”. There’s not a great deal of difference in the two, but there’s enough worth being familiar with. These two hatches can last a long time. This doesn’t mean that on any given day one of them will be hatching from one end of the river to the other. The hatch will vary from place to place along the river depending on a number of factors, a main one being the amount of water being discharged. You cannot necessarily expect to go to one point along the river and expect the hatch to occur. This is another reason a drift boat is a good option for the South Holston. The first of the two mayflies to hatch will be the Eastern Pale Evening Duns, the larger of the two and the one that is more of a tan than true Sulphur. They are closer to a hook size 16. It is also an easier hatch to fish. The reason is that they hatch in faster water than the slightly smaller Sulphurs. Sulphurs hatch in slow to moderate water. Because of that, the trout get a much better look at your fly and are referred to by most anglers as picky. It is possible the Sulphurs are bi-brooded, or hatch twice a year. This happens on the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York, also a tailwater. There are some huge Blue-winged Olive hatches that occur in the Winter, early Spring and again in the late Fall. Some of these are baetis species but there are other species of mayflies called blue-winged olives that hatch on the South Holston. If the dun is larger than a hook size 18, most likely it is an Eastern Blue-winged Olive, a Drunella species, which are crawler nymphs as opposed to the baetis that are swimmers. Black flies are very plentiful and trout feed on them throughout the year. However, they are far more important during the winter months when fewer other insects are hatching. Trout eat their larvae, pupae and the adult black flies. The river also supports a good population of scuds, which are another major source of food for the trout. As with most any tailwater fishery, midges are also very important. Often they are the only flies that the trout are feeding on and imitations of them are the only trout flies that are effective. At certain times, especially during the pre-spawn time, large brown trout can be taken on streamers. The river also has plenty of baitfish and sculpin and streamers can produce throughout the year if fished properly. They are most effective when the water is slightly off color from rain, or during low light situations such as early and late in the day. They also work good when it is raining.
Caddisflies are very prolific on the South Holston River. There is a hatch of Little Black Caddis just as soon as it is about over the Cinnamon Caddis will start to hatch. These caddisfles exist in several species and will hatch until the end of October. Near the end of June through July and into August, you will also find hatches of some species of the similar but smaller Little Sister Caddisflies. There is even a hatch of Spotted Sedges but they are very similar to the Cinnamon Sedges. In late April, hatches of Green Sedges will start. These caddisflies hatch until the first of July but their larvae, called Rock Worms, are around all year and flies that imitate them are effective most of the year. In the months of July and August, you will find hatches of Little Brown Caddisflies. These can be very abundant in places. Terrestrial insects become important around the middle of June. Imitations of grasshoppers, ants, and beetles will catch trout until the first week or two in October, or just beyond the time the first frost appears. The Cranefly is another insect that the trout will feed on. Their larvae are around throughout the year. The adults are also around much of the year, but are more important during the late summer. If you haven’t already done so, we suggest you try our “Perfect Flies”. We have specific imitations of everything that hatches and exist in the South Holston River. Our Black fly larva, pupa and adult flies were developed at the South Holston, so be sure to try them. Not only are they far more imitative of the real things, they are far more effective than most other trout flies.
Stream Report Archive:
2/09/2020 I have had some medical problems lately and not able to keep the reports
updated regularly. Hopefully, I will be able to do that regularly from now on. We have
continued to get some very good reports from customers fishing the river when discharges and stream levels have been good.
02/23/2020 Discharges and stream levels have been generally high but should settle down
this coming week. Trout are being caught in good number when the stream levels are okay. Our articulaed streamers, winter stoneflies, black flies and Cream and Blood midges rigged in tandem continue to produce well.
03/09/20The discharges and stream levels have been high much of the time but should be down for the coming week. We are getting good reports from customers owhen wading is safe.
03/22/2020 The discharges and stream levels have been high much of the time but should be down for the coming week. We are getting good reports from customers owhen wading is safe.
04/07/20 Conditions are good. Discharges and stream levels have been a little high most of the time but should be good for the coming week. There is more rain in the forecast.
Hatches are taking place and our customers are catching trout.
04/22/20 The discharges and resulting stream levels are near normal. They are running one generator today. There are some hatches but the cooler weather has slowed them down some.
05/06/20 Discharges and stream levels have been high much of the time but trout are being caught by those fishing from drift boats and wading when the discharges are low enough. There are some very good hatches taking place.
05/17/20 The discharges and stream levels are normal and good for wading and drift boats currently. We received some good reports from customers this past week. There are some good hatches taking place.
06/02/20 The river is in good shape with good hatches taking place. Discharges and stream levels have been okay most of the time lately. There are good numbers of trout being caught by our customers.
06/22/20 Sorry for the missed last reports. The river is in good shape with lots of hatching insects and we get good reports from customers just about every day. Both wading and drift boat anglers have gotten in on the action.
07/04/20 The river is in good shape at this time but stream levels and discharges have varied and been mostly high the past few days. We think the levels should be more stabe
this coming week. We are still getting good reports from customers.
08/14/20 We received several good reports from customers fishing the river this past week. Stream levels have been low enough to allow wading much of the time and drift boats have produced as well. There are still plenty hatching insects.
10/11/20 The river is turning out good numbers of rainbows and some big brown trout. We continue to get good reports almost dailey. There are still some insects hatching and our sculpin streamers are working very good.
We are discontinuing posting the archive reports due to the fact we
already have so many.