South Fork of the Holston River Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies and Gear: 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 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.
We have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes that make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone/Spring
Species
Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout
(Wild and Stocked)
Size
Small
Location
Southern Virginia
Nearest Towns
Marion, Virginia
Season
Year – round
Access:
Moderate
Special Regulations
None
Non-Resident License
State of Virginia
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Season:
The fishing season is year-round in
Southern Virginia
Winter:
You can catch trout during the warm days of winter.
Spring:
Spring brings some big aquatic insect hatches on this stream and is a great time to fish there
Summer:
We would suggest you only fish the area above the dam during the hot part of Summer.
Fall:
Fall is the second best time to fish the South Fork
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 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 Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing South Fork of Holston River Virginia
Most everyone not familiar with this stream first thinks it is the South Fork of the Holston River Tailwater with lies in Northern Tennessee, near Virginia. It isn’t the same stream, rather one of the headwater streams of that popular tailwater. The river’s beginning is actually a limestone creek more than it is a freestone stream. Limestone springs and little freestone creeks and branches feed its headwaters.
Buller Fish Cultural Station is located near the stream and diverts some of the water to several ponds. They raise bass, northern pike, trout and muskie. It is one of a few hatcheries that raise muskellunge.
Above the fish hatchery there is a dam on the river that created a small pond. As far as I know and according to the state, the stream is not stocked above the dam. They do stock it below the dam across from the fish hatchery and downstream of there. Just above the pond, the stream flows through a small canyon. In some places you will have to wade to progress upstream. Now keep in mind, the South Fork of the Holston River is a small creek at that point.
There are some large rainbows that are stocked below the dam. We have caught several rainbows in the creek where it was not over ten feet wide that went up to 16 inches and over. Catching that size rainbows where you have to duck to get under tree limbs can be a lot of fun. The stream splits into two sections below the dam. They look like small brook trout streams at that point. Above the dam, the river flows upstream to the top of a mountain. You can catch trout the entire way to the top.
You will need a map to find this location on the river. It is not easy to find. You exit off I-81 several miles above Bristol, Tennessee near Marion, Virginia. The fish hatchery is on the right side of the interstate headed north but you will have to exit to the left side and wind around making several turns to again cross the interstate to be on your way to the area of the river I described. It is well worth the trip whether you want to fish the upper part for wild trout or the stocked section.
South Fork of the Holston River Virginia Fly
Fishing Guide:
Fly fishing the South Fork of the Holston River is small stream fishing but the fish you catch are not all small. It depends on whether you fish the stocked section or the upper section of the stream.
This is a beautiful little stream that is usually only lightly fished. Its remote and not very easy to find location keeps it that way. Also, the many other fine trout streams in the area keep it from being over pressured.
The stocked area of the stream is easy to reach anywhere below the little pond. One easy way to get to it is to park at the fish hatchery office and walk through the ponds to the stream. The first section you come to is only part of it. If you cross the stream you will find it is split at that point and there is another section on the other side of what amounts to a small island. The streams on both sides are excellent.
To fish the upper part of the stream you will need to drive to the end of the road and park. Walk upstream from there. You will need to stay in the water in some areas. It is almost impossible to walk along the banks in some places. We usually fish our way upstream as we go, otherwise you would be spooking a lot of trout wading upstream. It is possible to access the stream from the top of the hill or mountain but we haven’t tried it.
Usually, short upstream presentations is the best way to fish the stream. In some areas the overhanging tree limbs force you to make some very creative cast. It is tightly enclosed in many areas. The decline is rather steep in some places, so be prepared to do some climbing in the upper section.
Fish the current seams and edges of the pockets. Depending on the time of year and the hatches, you will mostly fish the riffles and runs. The “High Sticking” method of nymph fishing is very effective in this stream. Imitations of stonefly nymphs just about always work well. The stream has a large stonefly population of several
different species.
South Fork Holston River Virginia
Hatches and Trout Flies:
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 Fork 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.
I’m not certain as to why, but this little stream has lots of aquatic insects, some of which hatch in large quantities. The first insects to hatch are the little Winter Stoneflies that hatch from late January through March. The Little Brown Stoneflies start to hatch in
March and last until the first of May.
Blue-winged Olive is probably the most consistent hatch . You will start to see some hatches about the end of February through the first of June.. These include several species some of which are bi-brooded and will hatch again in October.
Blue Quills will start to hatch about the end of February and last into mid April. They are usually good hatches. The Quill Gordons will hatch near the same time. They hatch until as late as the first week of April.
The Little Black Caddis or Brachcentrus species hatch in March. This is also a good hatch.
The Hendricksons start hatching near the first or second week of April. They are short lived, hatching for only about two or three weeks at the most.
Around the end of April, March Browns will begin to hatch. These mayflies hatch inconsistently until around the middle of June. Light Cahills will start hatching about a week or two after the March Browns and last as long as three weeks. There is a hatch of Eastern Green Drakes that occurs about the second week of May.
The middle of April you should notice the first hatches of the Green Sedges. They hatch for over two months but never in large quantities. At the same time the first hatches of Cinnamon Caddis show up but they are rather sparse.
There are even some of their Little Sister Caddisflies that hatch a couple of week later.
The Little Yellow Stoneflies, called Yellow Sallies, will start around the Middle of May and last until mid July.
The Golden stoneflies start hatching around the middle of June and last about three weeks.
By the middle of August, hatches of Mahogany Duns will begin to occur. This hatch last for as long as a month.
From near the end of May until the middle of November, a long period of time, you will find hatches of Slate Drakes occurring.
The Great Autumn Brown Sedges, start hatching at night by the middle of
September and last through November.
During the month of June, grasshoppers, beetles, ants and inch worms, all terrestrial insects, become important. The inch worms, or moth larvae, are important.
In addition to the terrestrial and aquatic insects, theres a lot of other food for the trout. Small Crawfish is one of those items. Another one are the Sculpin. Streamers imitating these work great especially when the water is slightly off color.
Craneflies are very abundant. The larva and adults are important insects to imitate. Hellgrammites, or the larva stage of the Dobsonfly, is another abundant insect that is present in good quantities.
We always recommend our “Perfect Fly” imitations. They are the best, most effective flies you can purchase and use anywhere trout exist. Give them a try and you will be glad you did.
Around the second week of May, Eastern Pale Evening Duns will start hatching. Most anglers call these Sulphurs but the true Sulphurs will not start to hatch for another couple of weeks. Both hatches last about a month.