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| Pre-Spawn German |
With the weather finally giving the high country a "
break" we all finally got to go out and wet some lines together. No more reports from a far but now a report from the field. When we first got out to the upper portion of the South Holston it truly seemed like another tough Winter day to be had - not to say that it wasn't tough fishing - but throughout the day the bite did progress enough to be very satisfied!!
Dry fly droppers with blue wing nymphs and midges dropped way down beneath seemed to be the ticket in the morning, with some occasional eats from the little guys on the dries. After a few small fish it was time to switch it up and get down in to their domain. With a switch of indicators and keeping the leader 9+ feet - the bite got better! Bead midges, uv midges, strippers, etc. all seemed to have their glory as the fish were not being too picky, but rather just wanted that correct drift. As we made our way downstream towards the cul-de-sac area we started to find more and more fish on the beds...Fish on gravel beds and even on limestone slat beds - still just as spooky but would bite on that good drift. Notice the word bite is used - not snagged or dragged or any of that BS - but actual bites. When the fish become that protective and territorial it would be very easy to just dredge em through and pick up some snaggers - but that is not what it is all about folks. These fish still need to be treated with the utmost respect and care to ensure future generations.
Temps never reached above 40 and it was cloudy all day. With this weather you would hope for a better Blue Wing hatch, but they are still in there chewing on midges. Stay small - 20 is big - and stay long and light with those leaders. Overall, did not land any megaliths but average fish was in the 14-16 inch range that were sightcasted for, along with some shots at much larger ones.
TVA will be continuing these wade-friendly generations until the 24 hr blitz begins soon!
Dry fly droppers with blue wing nymphs and midges dropped way down beneath seemed to be the ticket in the morning, with some occasional eats from the little guys on the dries. After a few small fish it was time to switch it up and get down in to their domain. With a switch of indicators and keeping the leader 9+ feet - the bite got better! Bead midges, uv midges, strippers, etc. all seemed to have their glory as the fish were not being too picky, but rather just wanted that correct drift. As we made our way downstream towards the cul-de-sac area we started to find more and more fish on the beds...Fish on gravel beds and even on limestone slat beds - still just as spooky but would bite on that good drift. Notice the word bite is used - not snagged or dragged or any of that BS - but actual bites. When the fish become that protective and territorial it would be very easy to just dredge em through and pick up some snaggers - but that is not what it is all about folks. These fish still need to be treated with the utmost respect and care to ensure future generations.
Temps never reached above 40 and it was cloudy all day. With this weather you would hope for a better Blue Wing hatch, but they are still in there chewing on midges. Stay small - 20 is big - and stay long and light with those leaders. Overall, did not land any megaliths but average fish was in the 14-16 inch range that were sightcasted for, along with some shots at much larger ones. TVA will be continuing these wade-friendly generations until the 24 hr blitz begins soon!
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