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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The South Holston is fishing pretty well right now. Focus on pocket water, riffles and runs. An angler can have good success in low water subsurface with a copper john and a zebra midge. With the Caddis Hatch on the Watauga right now, this isn't the place to be per se, but it is still fishing very well.

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