The Watauga

The Watauga begins as a freestone in the mountains of Western North Carolina for coming into and being damned by the Watauga reservoir, also known as Watauga lake. From there the water flows into Wilbur, which is a run-through reservoir, a relatively shallow and short lake with somewhat meandering current when there is generation. The water is spilled and pushed through generators at Wilbur dam, which is the start of the Watauga tailwater. The tailwater runs from Wilbur down into Boone lake and is absorbed by the lake which flows through into the rest of the TVA river system.

The Watauga is, in my opinion, the undervalued and possibly overlooked sister River to the South Holston. It is a much more adventurous, wild, and in some sections, flow dependent, dangerous River that attracts white water rafters and anglers alike. Given good water on both rivers, and especially if there is water on the South Holston, I am going to choose to fish the Watauga 10 times out of 10. The middle and lower reaches of the Watauga can be challenging to row and to fish, but with enough time spent, it's intricacies and riddles can be solved and while it is a bit more segmented, with different stretches of river yielding different river bottom current speed with depth etc, I personally enjoy that and find the variation to match quite well with the way I enjoy fishing and guiding along with the way I have found others enjoy fishing. The dry fly activity on the Watauga can be remarkable, surpassing that of the South Holston, even with respect to the sulfurs. Both rivers have them, and each can have their days, but it would be a mistake overlook the Watauga - it can provide for some of the best sight fishing opportunities for rising trout. These are tailwater trout, so there's always a chance of a huge fish making an appearance, but Even the small ones can require some finesse on certain days and within certain bite windows. They can be picky. They can be finicky. They can refuse you in a giant river, as an entire pod of rising trout, just as a single trout would in a spring creek. Cracking the code and being able to present a dry fly to the spot, the fish, and convincing the fish to eat can be challenging, but it’s very doable, and it’s worth the effort.

The Watauga is likely most known for its caddis hatch that occurs in mid to late April. This is also the time, or possibly right before the time, when schools of shad move away from the warming waters of Boone lake, seeking refuge in the lower sections of the tail waters, where it's not too cold and not too warm. As this happens, resident striped bass from Boone lake start to move into the river system, and remain lurking until mid fall.

The cat is hatch on the Watauga River can be breathtaking. As with all hatches, conditions will dictate how active the bugs are. Generally speaking, lower light conditions will promote bigger hatches and more readily feeding fish. I've taken a particular interest to the Watauga River Caddis hatch, after finding it so difficult to convince fish to eat during such a huge presence of a huge biomass. I have designed dry flies to mimic the pupa, which is almost exclusively what the fish are feeding on. During a caddis hatch on the Watauga river, where the fish are actively eating caddis pupa, not adults, the river looks and sounds like there is a hail storm. It's only a few weeks and can be shifted by one or two weeks due to temperature fluctuations in river conditions, one way or the other. But, it is the first large hatch on the Watauga River, and is coincidentally also the largest bug, with adult caddisflies hovering comfortably at a size 12, and their scraggly amorphous pupas presenting as more of an eight or a 10. Blue wings sulfurs, pale morning duns (PMDs), Isonychias, there can be a mixed bag, with a golden Sally or two thrown in there…and the size of the stone flies found under rocks of the lower Watauga might make you think twice about sticking your bare feet in the river.

The Watauga is a special river, it requires work to understand - not just how to row it or how to fish it, but it's intricacies in different flows clarities, seasons, times of day, section by section. It's truly a work of art, and I have had so much fun both learning this river, and sharing it with those in my boat.