As winter arrives in Eastern Tennessee and the brown trout spawn comes to an end, the rainbow and brown trout become focused on finding their next meal before activity slows in the cold weather.

Our group from International Angler visited the South Holston River Lodge for some late season action. The South Holston and Watauga Rivers have generally returned to normal conditions after recovering from flooding during Hurricane Helene.

On the first day, we all fished the South Holston River. The flow was a typical 1500 CFS and 52F. A few trout were caught early on egg patterns and nymphs, but generally the action was slow. About 10 AM, a hatch of blue wing olives started and continued the rest of the day. The trout responded in their normal manner and offered everyone an opportunity for excellent dry fly fishing. The trout weren’t large, ranging from 8″-13″ but were numerous enough to provide action throughout the day. 

The next two days were focused on the Watauga River. Flows had returned to normal levels (about 500 CFS) but still ran stained from the hurricane runoff in the feeder lake. The trout didn’t seem to mind as they took our egg patterns in peach, orange and chartreuse. All anglers were able to land several brown trout during the trip with many being in the upper teen to mid-twenty-inch range. Three specimens around 26″ were taken.

Guides John Stunkard, Andrew Bright, Brandon Barbour and Braydon Wilhoit all provided their usual quality experience.

Meals at the lodge were outstanding. Evening meals included braised pork shank, salmon, mahi mahi, chicken marsala duck breast. 

The cost of the trip was $2625 plus tax and tips for 4 nights and three days of guided fishing. Most of the group has already signed up for the same week next year.

Tight loops and tight lines,

Al