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.

Hiwassee River update, August 14th 2012

The Hiwassee is still kicking along just like it has all year. The fish appear to be healthy and the water temps are still in the lower 60's. If everything continues on like it is we are set up for an excellent fall and winter fishery. With that said, here's a couple of shots from this past week on the water.

Hiwassee River, Summer Heat......

     Like everyone else i just finished up a long holiday week that seemed like it would never end. The river was crowded last week as the summer heat has finally brought everyone out. I spent the later part of the past week and all of the weekend on the river working trips and i all i can is that the river is fishing very well. If you can get a fly in the water you should be able to catch some fish. We have been taking fish on a wide variety of patterns, some are old standards and some are kinda special. The river is fishing just like it's been doing all year, for those that have not kept up things here, this means that it's strong right now and has been for a while. Swing'em, strip'em, or drift'em it's all good. Just take you time and fish well. Like they said in that old baseball movie, "if you build it they will come". Well for here right now it's more like, "if you fish it they will bite".
  
     Just remeber that the rafting season is in full swing on the Hiwassee right now, so be ready to fish in traffic and enjoy the show. There's plenty of water out there and well lets face it, the fish are pretty well use to it by now.