2025 Cicada Hatch Brood XIV

2025 Cicada Brood XIV will emerge sometime around the first week of may and according to our maps we will have some great fishing nearby during this hatch. Brood 14 is a 17 year hatch cycle so it’s going to be interesting to see where and how many are still around. The Cicada fishing will usually hang in there throughout the month of may and through the first two weeks of June. Depending on the emergence location we may have an option for Trout fishing during this hatch.   There will 100% be options for warmer water rivers and lakes for Carp and Bass on the fly. This is a mobile game of chasing fish with possible options for fishing in North Georgia, Tennessee, & kentucky. it’s just something that we will be moving around with for the best locations. If you like fishing large dry flies to cruising fishing then is definitely something that you do not want to miss. These trips are limited in availability depending on fishing location.  Bill Stranahan 423-208-8602 Bill@hiwasseeriverguides.com

 

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

Patagonia, Rio Pico 2025

 

Patagonia, Rio Pico Argentina January 4th - 11th (full) January 11th - 18th (4 spots)

This will be our third trip down to the RioPico area in Argentina. I have fished several in several regions in Patagonia over the past 7 years and this is one of the best regions for targeting big fish that I have found. We will be fishing lakes, spring creeks, and some smaller rivers throughout the week with big dry flies for some hungry trout.

Rainbows, Brookies, and Browns swim these in waters and we pursue them with a wide variety of techniques.

How we do this: We usually send in deposits at the end of March first of April. Then we watch the flight schedules. We usually book our flights sometime in early to mid summer to get the best rates. Then we just wait and take care the balance of trip around November/December. This way is spreads out the expense over the year and makes it much easier on the wallet.

This trip is an anglers package at a very reasonable price compared to many lodges in Patagonia that charge a $6500 weekly rate. We do not mark up the price of these trips, this is what the outfitter charges. I just like putting a good group of anglers together as it makes the overall experience that much better. Justin has a great team working with him down there and I have enjoyed it thoroughly each time I have fished there.

2025 Rates and expenses. $3600 6 days of guided fishing, lodging, and meals. Flights usually go anywhere from $1200-$1500 international round trip. Domestic jumper to Esquel can range from $200-$300 ish. If you would like any more information please let me know and I’ll be happy to help.

Bill@HiwasseeRiverGuides.com

423-208-8602

Cicada Mania 2024

 The Cicadas are coming!!!!

My prediction for the hatch will be from mid April - May with it tailing out in early June. This timeframe will vary some depending on April weather and temperatures.

Depending on where the hatch hits the water we will be targeting trout on local rivers while fishing the lakes for carp and bass species on the lakes. This has the potential to be some of the finest dry fly fishing of the year.

The last time we had a double occurrence was back in the late 1800’s by the math.

April is already a great time for dry fly fishing, but with the cicada hatch it could be the best we see all year.

Generally speaking, these cicadas will begin to emerge when the soil 8″ beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence. They typically emerge in May but have been known to emerge in late April or early June. It all depends on the weather.

Brood x 2021

What should you look for before they emerge?

Chimneys / Turrets

Look for cicada chimneys a.k.a. turrets. These are structures cicadas build out of the soil, positioned above the hole where they will emerge.

Holes

Look for holes in the diameter of an adult’s finger near the root system of a tree. These are sure signs that cicadas will emerge in the area.

Brood. X 2021

Cicadas Under Stones & Slates

You might discover some cicada nymphs while turning over stones or when performing landscaping chores.

Once cicadas nymphs have emerged from the ground, they will try to find a tree (or similar vertical surface), and then begin the process of shedding their old nymph skins (ecdysis), expanding their wings, and changing to their adult coloring.

Summer time bass on the fly

 With August here and the trout fishing slowing down on almost all of our water except Cumberland. We are bass fishing for the foreseeable future to keep things going. 

If you like top water popper fishing and maybe some streamer action.  Give us a call we have several float trips available depending on location and some nice fish to be caught.  

   Thx,  Bill

Hiwassee River Guides June 2022

The  Hiwassee has been fishing pretty good. We have had some great days on the water with flows all over the place. 
June is shaping up to be a great month and our regular water flows will start soon. 
If your what a shot a fish like Paul’s give us a call and we will get you on the schedule. Don’t wait till the minute dates are booking up fast. 
Bill

7/13/21 Hiwassee Stripers

 Not to much to say, the stripers are in the river and we are catching them on a regular basis using both spinning and fly rod. We should have good fishing through September, but every year is a little different as far as that goes so we will just have to wait and see. 

 Our availability through august is already limited and September dates are already filling in.  If you are wanting to chase some stripers on the Hiwassee go ahead and call to set up a date before they are all full. 

  

Spring 2021

     So I guess it’s true that time flies while your having fun. I did not realize that it has been so long since the last time I posted any kind of fishing report. I guess that’s a good sign that things have stayed busy.

      Anyway, the short version is that the fishing is good all over. All of our rivers are in good condition with favorable water flows on our area waters. 

The Hiwassee is having a high water spring, which is awesome by the way. It keeps the river bed wet and does not allow the water temps to spike during low water conditions we get with the pulse schedule. We have had a mixed and split schedule of 0 generation, 1 generator, & 2 generators which can make things a little interesting to say the least. The 1 turbine release is probably the best fishing schedule that anyone could ask for here. Anglers can wade or float pretty much anywhere they want to fish on the river. 

The Holston and Clinch Rivers are both currently operating on a low water spring time schedule. Which is good in that both rivers are wide open for wade and float fishing. progresses. 

The area smallmouth are starting to look up and the action is getting better every day. There’s just nothing like watching smallies eat poppers . 

The stripers are showing up in the Hiwassee already, I think that by mid June we will have a good spread throughout the river. I caught this little guy the other day while fishing myself, not a big one, but was a lot of fun on a 7wt  

Springtime Fishing Conditions and more...

    The spring fishing on the Hiwassee has been pretty good so far. We have already dealt with high water flows (5300cfs) from heavy rains and the fishing stayed fairly consistent while the flows lasted. The river is back to a normal two generator flow (3000cfs) around the clock for at least the next few weeks. ( Edit while typing this TVA is raising the water levels again to 5300cfs ) We are seeing a nice mix of bugs at different times during the day and when everything lines up just right there's a little dry fly action to be had here and there.

    The answer to the million dollar question during these uncertain times is this. Yes, I am still fishing as conditions allow. My personal recommendation to anyone considering taking trips during these times are to use the utmost caution. Nobody wants to be sick and this time is no different than any other. Just remember that this will pass before we know it and things will be back to business as usual. I will still be here booking trips and looking forward to fishing with everyone throughout the summer.

     If you have any questions or need any help, give me a call or send an email.
          Thx,
                   Bill Stranahan
                   423-208-8602
                   bill@hiwasseeriverguides.com
 

Here are a couple of fish from the past week or two.

 

Stripers on the fly, Hiwassee River. 1/2 day trips

Every year on the Hiwassee we have a fair amount of stripers swim up into the upper reaches of the Hiwassee River. This season the season the striper Fishing has been fairly consistent, well as consistent as striper fishkng can be anyway. We have had a lot of great fish caught so far this year and I am looking forward to seeing how many more we can bring to the net.

We are offering 1/2 day only fly fishing trips for stripers on the Hiwassee @ our normal trip rate of 350.00 on a. 1/2 day.

   For fly fishing you will want to be able to cast 8-10 wt rods with anywhere from a 200-350 grn sinking lines.

For spinning gear we recommend 7’ medium / heavy casting rods with a spinning real spooled up with 20-30lb power pro.
 
   If you have any questions feel free to give us a call and we will be glad to help in any way we can.

Thx,
     Bill