The South Holston

The South Holston River begins as the North fork of the South Holston River, a freestone in Virginia. It is the main source of the South Holston lake, who's damn releases water from its cold dark depths to feed the top of the South Holston River tailwater. The river is most famous for its sulfur hatches, that can begin as early as mid-April, temperature dependent, but blue wings and midges are around 365 days a year, whether or not that is leading to trout eating them on the surface depends on flows, temperatures, cloud cover, and water clarity. The South Holston River sees a lot of fishing pressure, specifically between the dam, or more appropriately what is referred to as the weir, the first place boats can get in, and Big springs the first boat ramp that would equate to a somewhat meandering full day of fishing on generation. While a lot of yarn and split shot can be seen through the middle of this entire stretch, you don't have to row over very far to see deadfalls, log jams, cut banks - everything you'd want in your search for a predator lie. Add to that, the middle seam runs somewhat swiftly during generation on the South Holston River, while it's banks, with the dead falls log jams, and death changes, tend to be slow, however they are right next to that nutrient, food rich conveyor belt of the main seam.

The South Holston River is somewhat uniform and winding, with only a few bends that require maneuvering of the boat. Access to the top of the river is possible via jet boat from Boone lake, as long as the generation is lasting long enough for a boat to get both up and down. Tailwater trout are concerned with a few different predators, notably predators from above. When the sky is blue and the water is clear, visibility into the water is uninterrupted. There is no glare, there is no particulate in the water, you can see straight to the bottom from most angles above the surface of the water. This means picky trout if they are eating dry flies, the signature of which can be generously described as the meniscus of the water being slightly disturbed for a moment. Finding fish eating like this can still be extremely rewarding, and I love finding those pods that are barely noticeable - they are comfortable and feeding happily, basically on the surface. Downsizing to 6x, and increasing your leader length to between 10 and 13 ft - less for the distance to the fly line, and more for encouraging a longer portion of lower mass tippet to be imparting the smallest amount of drag on your small fly as possible. This might sound challenging, but generally speaking, there are few casting obstacles, with most of the river being pretty open, allowing the fly angler to extend their loops with easy slow, controlled casts. Even during sulfur hatches it can be productive to fish a size 16 or 18 sulfur impersonator, with a second dry fly, maybe in the size 22 to 24 range, tied off the bend of the sulfur with 16 to 24 in of 6x, or 6.5x if you want to go that route. If you tie, or are interested in seeing how some of these small flies are made, check out some tutorials I have on YouTube: Zebra Midge, Sulphur Frenchie, Unweighted Pheasant Tail, and the Puff Daddy

The South Holston, similar to the Watauga, sees shad moving in from Boone lake during late spring, in the late April to early May range. Additionally, those shad make their way in from the top of the tailwater, however these are less alive, and have been through the turbines of the South Holston dam. It's called a shad kill and it generally happens in late September or October when a cold snap creates temperature vortices that push the shad into water that is too cold for them, where they are paralyzed, and sucked into the generators. It's basically a shad hatch, with dozens and dozens of dead or dying 3-in shad in every little Eddie that you might typically see some spent mayflies. On the more alive side of things, during the spring in the lower end of the river, when shad are moving up, the stripers the lake run browns and the resident browns along with some rainbows are all very clued in. As with all fishing, and especially with these tail waters. That event requires a decent amount of knowledge in order to consistently hit with The South Holston holds a lot of great fish and has some pretty good hatches, but it's also pretty pressured during peak season, which is a good reminder to fish off the beaten path, be it time of day or section of River. It is well worth it, not just for the fishing, but for being outside in nature with large portions of the river to yourself.