2024 Summer schedule Keeping an eye on the current water and fishing conditions is always a chore. Let us know if we can help with trip planning and options for your upcoming trips.

Hiwassee Trout: June- July The Hiwassee River has been fishing very well so far this year and I’m thinking we should be in good shape for trout fishing through July depending on water flows and temperatures.  We have had some great trips this year with both quantity and quality fish showing up all over the river.

If you are wanting to trout fish on the Hiwassee I would recommend earlier rather than later for the best overall conditions. We have several guides so we can accommodate most booking requests depending on the days. For less traffic on the river I also recommend fishing during the week as the river traffic has been steadily increasing with the warmer temperatures.

Hiwassee Stripers

Late June - September We have caught our first striper of the season just yesterday, June 9th 2024 The  Striped Bass Run on the Hiwassee is a late spring through summer activity. The average striper on the Hiwassee is anywhere in the 10-25lb range with both larger and smaller fish mixed in. This is a hard fight on any type of tackle, but it is unforgetable when you get one on the fly. Most years we start seeing fish in the upper river in later June and fish on through September. On some years we may see a few fish a little earlier or later, this is mainly due to the water temperature in the  lake and lower sections of the river. This is big game hunting on a river, it is a lot of work, but the reward can be worth it. If you are  interested in trying to catch a larger fish on the fly or spinning tackle. Give us a call we have several sections of river for 1/2 day float trips targeting stripers.

River Bass float trips

June- September As the summer season kicks in and the water temperatures rise warming all over and most of our trout fishing is finished for the summer on the majority of our rivers. We have started drift fishing for spotts and smallmouth on a couple of local rivers with some very nice fish being caught. These trips are usually top water focused like hopper fishing just on the warm water side of things. The bass are happy and should be looking up for the remainder of the summer through October depending on water flows and weather.

It’s a nice change of pace for a bit with many fish being in the 15 - 16” range averaging 1 1/2 - 2lb with shots at larger fish on any given drift. If you’re getting into the bassy side of things I recommend 2x leaders, 6-7wt rods, & your favorite color poppers. The occasional pop and twitch is just a way to say hello to let them know it’s there and see who comes up. These are hard fighting fish and quickly becoming one of our anglers favorite summer trip.

Cumberland River

August - October The Cumberland River is located southern central portion of Kentucky. The fishery is managed by the Kentucky Dept of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the water flows and release schedule is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is the largest tail water trout river east of the Mississippi with over 60 miles of trout water. The Cumberland is a beast of a river where water flows can vary from week to week and sometimes daily.  The Cumberland Lake tailwater provides some of the best Rainbow and Brown Trout fishing in the southeastern United States . Beginning at Wolf Creek Dam, the Cumberland River supports over 60 miles of trout fishing, producing average size trout of around 14″ and many daily trophies ranging from 18″ to 20″ and larger.

Bill Stranahan 423-208-8602