The Hiwassee River is back to normal....

The Hiwassee has definitely had it's ups and downs over the past month. For several weeks we had the pleasure of experiencing some very high water flows as the Tennessee Valley Authority was spilling water from Appalachia Dam down the old section of river bed that was bypassed back in the 1940,s. It took a couple of weeks but the lake levels were dropped back to winter pool and we are now experiencing a normal two turbine flow around 2800cfs once again. If we can keep getting enough rain then we might actually have some water flowing on the upper section of river this spring, but that's a hard one to call. The TVA will usually stop generation in the spring time so that they can bring the reservoir up to summer levels for the recreational release flow that they schedule for the summer months. The Delayed Harvest Regulation will end on March 1 and the river will be open to all types of fishing. So far we have had a great year and i think that this will continue on through the spring and into the summer months. So cross your fingers, say a couple of Hail Mary's, as this has the potential to be one of the best years that we have seen in a while. The winter stones have been coming off regularly on the warmer days over the past month and we had about an hour or so of dry fly fishing this past Sunday on the river and the fish all looked to healthy and in good condition. The river is fishing great right now and should only get better as the weather improves with the arrival of spring.

Hiwassee River Conditions...

The Hiwassee River is flowing pretty high right now. After the first rain event a week or so ago the water level at Hiwassee Damm spiked up around 27 ft. The TVA started a high water spill from appalachia to help bring the water level back down towards the flood guide. The current level in resivour is at 1501 ft. with the flood guide being at 1485 ft. So with that in mind the water here in Reliance is going to be up for a bit. Once the river clears up it should fish well enough we will just have to wait and see though. The one good thing that will come from this is that with the water at such a high level for an extended period of time the fish will be spread out really well. For those of you who don't know what the normal flow rates are here on the Hiwassee a normal two turbine flow is 2800 cfs. Currently Appalachia powerhouse is showing around a 7300 cfs flow. That is over twice the normal water level and that is not taking into account the natural runnoff that comes into the river as well.

South Holston River

The South Holston seems to be fishing well. I had a chance to go up and spend two days fishing with one of my friends to see what's happening on the water. Needless to say it's the South Holston and it's fishing pretty good. We will be booking trips for the South Holston River through the end of january. If you have never chased any spawning fish this is the time to give it a try. We operate these trips on a wade/float basis so bring your waders and be ready to get your boots wet. If you need help with directions or lodging we will be more than happy to help you make arrangements for that as well. If you are interested in booking a day on the South Holston give us a call or shoot us an email. Bill Stranahan 423-208-8602 billstranahan@ymail.com Here's a picture or two of a few fish.

South Holston River

Here it is again, another year almost is almost finished up. Most anlgers have traded in their fly rods for rifels so they can do a little hunting while the season is in. I prefer to spend this time of year hunting for our big browns that are gearing up for the annual run. The fishing on the river should be on fire right now. The browns should be colored up and looking good. South Holston Damm is experiencing an outage right now and will be sluicing 400 cfs until late december. This should provide anglers with plenty of opprotunities for wade and low water float fishing. We will be taking a quick run up to check it out and see for ourselves in the next week. Stay tuned for updates. Here's a few pictures from our trips last year.

Bill