The Watauga River fished extremely well this past weekend. We fished the upper stretch from Wilbur Dam downstream and focused on the streamer rigs. We were fishing deep sinking lines (300 grain) and stripping a 3-4" articulated baitfish and had an average of 10 strikes an hour. Nothing HUGE was caught but a few good 2-3lb brownies were taken. Concentrate on sweeping the tailouts with the streamersin this post spawn time. Pockets of slack water next to moderate currents also produced really well. The other great thing....we were the only boat on the river! Hard to imagine that on the watauga isn't it!

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Despite our warm temps the winter fishing on the Holston has been excellent. At 65 degree highs it's hard to imagine it being called winter fishing though. The blue wings are popping daily and the fish have taken notice. Even some of the better fish are up to them. We're fishing 18-22 CDC comparaduns with great success. Barr's Emergers are working great too. Stay to the smaller side ofthe range for more consistent success. The black fly larva are also fishing great subsurface as are the zebra midges. Run a 16-20 pheasant tail above the blackfly larva for all day success on the nymph rigs. Just make sure to use enough weight to be bouncing the bottom.

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The South Holston is coming into its true winter fishing prowess. The crowds are dying down slightly but the fish aren't. On cloudy days we're seeing good to excellent blue wing hatches and there are plenty of fish, even some over 20 inches, feeding on them regularly. They are sipping these beautiful mayflies and drag free drifts are critical as are 12-15 foot 6-7x leaders and 30-40 footreach casts. It's tricky fishing, but for those that can manage, you'll have an excellent day! Due to the drought, the TVA is rarely releasing water right now. When they do, the streamer fishing is still superb but you just never know when you're going to get the chance. The browns are spawing and the beds look full so we should have a great crop for next year. Please respect the "closed" sections of the river and protect our naturally reproducing brown trout population.

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It's hard to really classify this as winter fishing, but it is december and the morning temps are below 30. As a result, some of the crowds have deminished and we're not complaining because the fishing is excellent. On cloudy days we're seeing sporadic Blue Wing hatches but that's never been why you come to the watauga. You come for nymphing and streamer fishing and it has been excellentof late. Large browns and even some of the large rainbows have been crushing big, light colored streamer patterns in the upper float (assuming there is water). In the lower sections every run is holding good fish and they are stacked tight and ready to eat. It's not easy fishing, but it's excellent fishing none the less. We look forward to having you with us and don't let the "winter months" fool you, the fishing is worth it.

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The Watauga River is fishing superbly right now, but it's not for rookies. It's 3rd year graduate school classes out there right now. Fish are not in their normal holding lanes. They are in the 2nd and 3rd lanes but stacked up this. We're having good success on smaller midge larva, peacock soft hackles and hare's ear nymph patterns. When the water is up (50% of the time it is this year), the streamers are golden. These fish are attacking the olive or black buggers and the big fish are all over the articulated baitfish patterns in lighter colors. It really is an EXCELLENT time to be fishing the watauga but it's not for the beginner fisherman.

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