The South Holston River near Bluff City, East Tennesseee boasts some of the largest trout this side of the Mississippi. It regularly yeilds fish that rival those of Arkansas's White River, New Mexico's San Juan River, and Montana's Big Hole River. It is aproximately an hour and a half from the shop. The river starts at the bottom of the South Holston Dam, the largest earthen dam at its time of construction. From their it flows southwest to eventually empty into Boone Lake.
The upper section of the South Holston River holds some of the nicest Brown trout and overall fly fishing you will find in the East. You can cast large streamers to the bank and strip like mad or make delicate presentation with dries to trout holding in the flat water. This section has an abundance of insect life and trout that will gorge themselves on these bugs. If you are looking to test your skill against some of the toughest fish in the East, then this is the trip for you.
Consistent fall and winter hatches of blue winged olives and summer hatches of eastern sulphurs make this the fly fishing tailwater most southern anglers are looking for. The only unfortunate thing is that we have to float this section on high water and the releases from the dam are not very predictable throughout the year. An alternative to floating the South Holston we be a float trip on the Watauga or Tuckaseegee River.
South Holston Fly Fishing Stream Report< The Sulphers are really cranking up, with some sporadic good hatches already happening. They are starting to run water so the high water Sulpher fishing will soon be here. When the river is off, nymphing with Midges, Blackflies, Sulpher nymphs, and Baetis nymphs has been great. The spinner falls in the evenings when the water has been off have been really good.
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