Floating the Holston and Watauga Rivers (Tennessee)

Just before my return to Germany Troy and I set out for a three day fishing adventure in Tennessee, right near Bristol. Troy had floated the Holston before, and I had only heard rumors. The fish this river holds are huge. That was confirmed by Jack, the shuttle driver, who proudly displayed some of the pictures he kept handily right on the picnic table next to the river. Our plan was to spend a day on the Holston and the move over to the Watauga the next day, ending our trip back on a lower portion of the Holston fishing for smallmouth bass.

The Holston River is a peculiar body of water. The fishing actually gets good when the sun is out. The hatch usually depends on whether the sun is out or not, and when it's out, the fishing can be amazing. Moreover, the river gets a heavy dose of water being released daily. The transformation of the Holston from a mild river to a huge ocean-like thing also makes the hatch a very necessary thing.

The sun, unfortunately was not on our side this day. It remained relatively concealed behind clouds, which meant the hatch was mild at best. We had a few moments of rising fish, but were relegated to stripping streamers most of the day. So...the fishing was pretty bad. But, that doesn't mean it's not a great river to get out on. Here are a few we pulled out.

One annoy factor on the Holston is that when they release from the dam, the boys with their bass boats also get on the river. Nothing more annoying to a day floating than the sound of powerboats running by you.

The next morning we headed out for the Watauga River. Wow. What a great drift. Unlike the Holston, you want to drift the Watauga when they are not releasing. After feeding the duck, we jumped in the river.

Right off the bat I missed a very large fish. We actually stared at it as it slowly came around the boat and rose for my fly. We were pretty much in a stupor just watching the fish, and I pulled the fly out of its mouth not realizing it was actually munching on my fly.

We made our way down the river, fishing holes, bad mouthing guides who anchored in the same hole we were fishing, and enjoying the day.

There was a moment when we came upon a large back eddy where there were a dozen-or-so fish rising for emerging blue wing olives. It was fantastic.

The next day we had a short float on a lower section of the Holston, looking to catch a few smallmouth bass. Unfortunately, they weren't to be seen or had. The fish were pretty much non-existent until we reached out pull out. Oh well.

Great trip before my return to Germany.  Thanks Troy!