Fishing Tailwaters

It still looks as if the early April trip to visit the MIL in
Tennessee is a go. I still plan on fishing one or more of the wadable
tailwater rivers in the general area. But never having fished a trout
tailwater before I'm uncertain as to how to proceed in regards to best
time to be on the water. Is the fishing generally better when the dam
discharge is causing the water to rise or is it better when its
falling? Or, instead, should I look for fishing to be better when the
levels have been stable the longest?

Any help would be appreciated.

On Feb 28, 3:16*pm, George Cleveland
wrote:
It still looks as if the early April trip to visit the MIL in
Tennessee is a go. I still plan on fishing one or more of the wadable
tailwater rivers in the general area. But never having fished a trout
tailwater before I'm uncertain as to how to proceed in regards to best
time to be on the water. Is the fishing generally better when the dam
discharge is causing the water to rise or is it better when its
falling? Or, instead, should I look for fishing to be better when the
levels have been stable the longest?

Any help would be appreciated.

My primary experience is on the White below Bull Shoals and there it
is generally considered best when water is stable. However we fished
it last Summer at very high levels and did quite well. The river was
exceedingly difficult to fly fish last year. I won't go into detail
how we did fish it on this forum...at least no live bait was used.

Probably unnecessary to add this, but I am completely unfamiliar with
the area you will fish and I'll add to be careful about fast rising
water. I once was fishing the Green in Utah and not paying much
attention to my surroundings and fortunately all I lost due to the
rising water was some gear I'd left 20-30ft from where the bank was
when I started.

I should have known better as I lived in the vicinity at the time and
had given the same advice I just gave you to other fishermen. In more
civilized places than the Green and like places, if you are close
enough, there is usually a siren when they begin to release water.

Family-Outdoors.com

On Feb 28, 4:16*pm, George Cleveland
wrote:
It still looks as if the early April trip to visit the MIL in
Tennessee is a go. I still plan on fishing one or more of the wadable
tailwater rivers in the general area.

George:

April is a great time to visit them. The one I am most familiar with
is the Hiawassee in the SE corner. Last time I was there (Oct) the
water level with no generator running was lower than I remembered when
I used to fish it frequently. Personally I think the best time to fish
it is on the tail end of a release when the water is starting to drop
or when they were pulsing one generator.

There's other waters to fish beyond that if you're interested. What
area of TN are you going to be near?

Wayne

On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:58:47 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Feb 28, 4:16*pm, George Cleveland
wrote:
It still looks as if the early April trip to visit the MIL in
Tennessee is a go. I still plan on fishing one or more of the wadable
tailwater rivers in the general area.

George:

April is a great time to visit them. The one I am most familiar with
is the Hiawassee in the SE corner. Last time I was there (Oct) the
water level with no generator running was lower than I remembered when
I used to fish it frequently. Personally I think the best time to fish
it is on the tail end of a release when the water is starting to drop
or when they were pulsing one generator.

There's other waters to fish beyond that if you're interested. What
area of TN are you going to be near?

Wayne


Near Crossville. I'm looking at the Clinch, since a couple of sites
refer to it as wading friendly. But I'm always open to other
suggestions.

Geo.C.

George,

Make damned sure to check with the TVA for discharge plans for the nearest
dam upstream from where you'll be. You can call this TVA number:
800-238-2264 - and pay attention to the menu of choices. As someone who's
been caught on the wrong side of a rising tailwater, I promise that's
important. Knowing or being able to closely estimate how far you are
downstream from the dam is useful, so that you'll know how much time you
have after the release begins until the water is so high that you can't
cross it. For more info, check this out:
http://www.tva.gov/river/lakeinfo/lake_phone.htm

As far as rising or falling: falling is better unless you have a very good
understanding of exactly how the river will rise, how long it will stay
there, and how you're going to handle it.

--
Bob Patton
(change bgzqsdq to charter to reply)
..


"George Cleveland" wrote in message
...
It still looks as if the early April trip to visit the MIL in
Tennessee is a go. I still plan on fishing one or more of the wadable
tailwater rivers in the general area. But never having fished a trout
tailwater before I'm uncertain as to how to proceed in regards to best
time to be on the water. Is the fishing generally better when the dam
discharge is causing the water to rise or is it better when its
falling? Or, instead, should I look for fishing to be better when the
levels have been stable the longest?

Any help would be appreciated.

On Mar 1, 9:01*pm, "Bob Patton" wrote:

Make damned sure

And where the hell have you been?

On Mar 1, 2:23*am, George Cleveland
wrote:

Near Crossville. I'm looking at the Clinch, since a couple of sites
refer to it as wading friendly. But I'm always open to other
suggestions.

I can't help you with the Clinch directly, I've done the Hiwassee,
Holston, and Watauga but never the Clinch.

Bob's advice is something I should have mentioned. I once invited
Charlie Choc to join me on the Hiwassee and mis-read the schedule and
almost got us in trouble.

Personally, I'd get up early and head to the Smoky's being that close
but the tailwaters can be fun. I'll check my TN TU maps and see if
there's anything that looks promising in the Crossville area.

Wayne

Lurking, mostly. Got a bit tired of seeing people I think are pretty good
folks try to kill each other.
For sure, not doing enough fishing.

--
Bob Patton
(change bgzqsdq to charter to reply)
..


wrote in message
...
On Mar 1, 9:01 pm, "Bob Patton" wrote:

Make damned sure

And where the hell have you been?

On Mar 1, 10:23*pm, "Bob Patton" wrote:

For sure, not doing enough fishing.

Don't feel like the lone stranger. I've got a week in the Smokys
booked in May, might be the first time this year I get out for
anything other than the neighborhood retention pond.

"George Cleveland" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:58:47 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Feb 28, 4:16 pm, George Cleveland
wrote:
It still looks as if the early April trip to visit the MIL in
Tennessee is a go. I still plan on fishing one or more of the wadable
tailwater rivers in the general area.

George:

April is a great time to visit them. The one I am most familiar with
is the Hiawassee in the SE corner. Last time I was there (Oct) the
water level with no generator running was lower than I remembered when
I used to fish it frequently. Personally I think the best time to fish
it is on the tail end of a release when the water is starting to drop
or when they were pulsing one generator.

There's other waters to fish beyond that if you're interested. What
area of TN are you going to be near?

Wayne


Near Crossville. I'm looking at the Clinch, since a couple of sites
refer to it as wading friendly. But I'm always open to other
suggestions.

Geo.C.

The Clinch has takes out about as many fisherman as the bears in the Smokies
do tourists..

...extremely rapid water level rises I've heard....best get a discharge
schedule before you hit the water...

john