Great News for tailwater trout....

The Tennessee Valley Authority has announced that it will help with funding for the next 3 years!

This piece is a little longer than i would like to post, but if you would like to read it please use the link below to find the news release.

 Bill

http://www.tva.com/news/releases/aprjun13/trout_hatchery.html

Hiwassee River Hendrickson

17 inch  Hiwassee River Rainbow 2013



High water flows on the Hiwassee River......

     The Hiwassee Reservoir is at full pool for our summer recreational release schedule. The lake is currently at 1519.6 ft in elevation. With this level being at the top of the flood guide the Tennessee Valley Authority is operating the Appalachia powerhouse with some constant 2 turbine and 1 turbine flows. These types of water release schedules are perfect for our float trips here on the upper sections of the Hiwassee River. We have not had the reservoir reach this water level so early in several years. Anglers should be ready for some great fishing, especially if they like dry fly fishing. The Hendrickson hatch has been great this year and the sulphurs are starting to hatch now as well. This season has the potential to be one of the best in years.

     It looks like the Tennessee Valley Authority is getting ready to start spilling over Appalachia Dam. There is a predicted flow that is just over 5000 Cfs scheduled to start on may 8 th for the Hiwassee River. This is almost double the normal flow for the river, but it is still possible to catch fish at this water level. Just make sure that you are with a competent oarsman and be ready to put in a little extra work when needed. Just like our 1 generator water levels, these high water flows will separate the men from the boys. I am not sure how long this flow schedule will last, but as long as the water does not develop a bad stain it should fish like it always does. The water will be just a little higher.

Tight Lines,
     Bill Stranahan
      www.southeasternanglers.com

Hiwassee River, Current Conditions...

     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. So get your gear out and get ready for some fantastic spring time fishing and make sure to stop in the shop and say hello when you come through.

Hiwassee River Water Flows

I have been watching the water levels for the Hiwassee Reservoir and it seems that we are still below the flood guide for this time of year. We may get some generation sporadically but it's hard to say what going to happen for a bit. In short we need some rain, If we can get a few good soakings then maybe TVA will kick up the flow some. Cross your fingers because we need some water and maybe we can get some shad floating through as well.


http://www.tva.gov/river/lakeinfo/op_guides/hiwassee.htm

Hiwassee River Delayed Harvest Program

Hiwassee River Delayed Harvest.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Implemented a Delayed Harvest (DH) program on the Appalachia tailwater section of the Hiwassee River during the 2011-2012 seasons. This is the first DH on a tailwater river in the state.  This 2012-2013 season will be second year of the program and anglers from across the southeast should be keeping an eye on this one. Over the Course of the season last year the river was full of fish and anglers were constantly reporting catches of fish in the 12 -16 inch range throughout the winter season.

With the arrival of the spring season the river was fishing like a champ. TVA was operating the river on a one generation schedule and the fishing was great. I can personally think of at least a dozen trips from this spring where we started out fishing dry flies and continued to do so all day long. By the end of the D.H. season we were noticing a remarkably better catch rate for larger sized fish. Temperatures have held strong all summer this year and we should have plenty of hold over fish to start out with this year. That in combination with the D.H. season starting up for the 2^nd season things should get very interesting in Reliance.

The Hiwassee can be fished both on foot and by boat with the 2^nd option being my preferred method. The “Wass” can be waded on both one and two generators, but anglers need to be familiar with the area they are fishing in and exercise plenty of caution while wading on high water. The river can be wade fished very easily on a one generator flow rate. Anglers will have a wide variety of places to choose from for wading opportunities. Now wade fishing on two generators is a little more difficult and there are fewer places on the river where anglers can wade safely. I do like to fish the river on low water flows, but over the past dozen years or so of fishing this river,” i personally think that the Hiwassee fishes better with a high water release schedule”.

Our shop guides, www.southeasternanglers.com  use McKenzie style drift boats to float fish on the river. This is by far our preferred method to work with people on the water. This style of boat allows us to carry anglers anywhere on the river with all of the comforts and amenities of a mobile fly shop. We offer float trips as long as we have at least a one generator release throughout the day.  The river fishes very well on both a one and two generator flow schedule. Again I will say, “The river fishes better on a one generator flow schedule from the top all the way down”.

For up to date fishing reports for the Hiwassee River please go look at the following websites or call for more information.

www.southeasternanglers.com 1-866-55TROUT

www.relianceflyshop.com  423-338-7771

The Delayed Harvest regulations for the Hiwassee River are as follows.

Catch and Release only from October 1rst 2012 – February 28^th 2013

Artificial lures only and the use or possession of any bait is prohibited.