September 18, 2013

Another month or so has come and gone and it has been busy. I am still a month behind on everything and its finally slowed down enough that I have a few days to play catch-up and get some R & R in.

 The Hiwassee River has been on all summer long with the dry fly bite being the main attraction. All I can say is that its been one of the best years we have seen in a long time. The water temps have hung in there for the third year in a row. Its amazing what a difference its made not having the pump back generator working at Hiwassee Dam. Even with all the spilling and constant high water flows that we have had this year the water temps are still good. I was on the water this past Sunday, Sept. 16th and I recorded a 67 temp just below the boat ramp, and 68 down around big bend. Now that's not anything to brag about, but we are mid September and the nights are cool, its not to hot during the day, & October is basically here. The water temps will start to drop back down in the low 60's high 50's before we know it and it will be game on for the fall and winter fishing.

Hiwassee River Report October 2013, Delayed Harvest Program

The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Implemented a Delayed Harvest (D.H.) program on the Appalachia tailwater section of the Hiwassee River during the 2011-2012 seasons. This is the first D.H. on a tailwater river in the state.  The 2013-2014 season will be third year of the program and anglers from across Tennessee should be keeping an eye on this one. Throughout the last two years the river has been full of fish year round. We have been consistently catching fish in the 12 -16 inch range throughout this summer with some larger ones being mixed in here and there. Like the last two years the water temperatures have stayed cold all summer and we should have plenty of hold overs as well as freshly stocked fish to kick off the D.H. season. We have the fish; we just need the bugs to keep on coming and its game on for the fall fishing.

 With the hatches this year being the best I can remember in about ten years.  The majority of our trips are heavily focused on dry fly fishing. There were a lot of days where we started out fishing dry droppers and switch over to straight dry fly’s once the top water bite would get hot in the afternoon. Let’s look forward into fall and early winter time of the year, while being a little optimistic. If the October Caddis will come on strong this year and the rest of the bugs keep on popping as well, then we should have some phenomenal dry fly fishing throughout the fall and well into the winter months. The Hiwassee has continued to exceed our expectations all year long and if the trend continues then the next year or two should get really interesting.

On another note, earlier this summer I had a couple anglers catch some brook trout while we were fishing, I sent a note and a photo to the TWRA just to let them know of what we were seeing on the water. According to the TWRA response that I received, it was stated that, “there were a few mixed in with a load of rainbows from the Dale Hollow facility and that we could probably look forward to seeing some more when October rolls around”. This will be the first time that I can think of that I have ever heard of Brook Trout being stocked on a the Hiwassee. I think that most anglers will enjoy the novelty of catching some brookies and that there addition to the river will be well received. If these stockings do take place anglers on the Hiwassee will now have the opportunity to catch a “Slam” or “trifecta” while on the river.

Wade fishing:

The Hiwassee can be fished both on foot and by boat with the 2nd 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 as 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.

 Southeastern Anglers uses 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. I will say that, “The river fishes better on a one generator flow schedule from the top all the way down”.

 

Bill

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

www.southeasternanglers.com 1-866-55TROUT

www.relianceflyshop.com  423-338-7771

Regulations:

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

Catch and Release only from October 1rst 2013 – February 28th 2014

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