The Holston River flows from Kingsport to Knoxville, TN. Below the Cherokee Dam, the river has great trout fishing and further downstream there is excellent smallmouth bass; paddlers can explore the Holston River as it winds its way to the Tennessee River on into Knoxville.
Located roughly 3 hrs from Nashville, 2.5 hrs from Chattanooga and 30 minutes North East of Knoxville, the Holston below Cherokee Dam has the best Caddis hatches you will find in the Southeast
The head waters of the Holston River are the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork and they drain much of Northeastern Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina. From where they all come together in Kingsport, Tn, the Holston River is a 136 mile long river that flows to Knoxville TN where it meets the French Broad River to form the main Tennessee River. In that 136 miles of flowing water, Cherokee Lake is impounded by Cherokee Dam just South of Morristown, Tn. The lake has a surface area of 28,780 Acres and nearly four hundred miles of shoreline. The dam is 175 feet tall and has a generating capacity of 136 megawatts. As of 2022, TWRA stocks the upper nineteen miles with forty to fifty thousand Rainbow Trout and twenty to twenty five thousand sub adult Brown Trout annually. The lower thirty five miles are home to some incredible smallmouth fishing.
The Holston River is a very beautiful and very diverse fishery. The upper nineteen miles of the Holston fishes best for Trout in the Spring. As a general rule, I start looking for Caddis Hatches to start in mid March thru early April and normally run thru the first of June. The Sulphurs normally start mid April thru the first two weeks of May and run thru the end of June. Both of these hatches offer up some fantastic dry fly fishing. As the hatches fade by the end of June, I normally turn my focus to the Smallmouth fishery on the lower thirty five miles of the river. The Smallmouth population on the lower Holston is truly prolific and the quality of some of these fish are absolutely amazing. The big plus for the Smallmouth Fishing is that we catch a lot of our better fish on top water! If you want a chance at some spectacular dry fly fishing for the Rainbows and Browns or you have interest in learning more about Fly Fishing for Smallmouth, plan a Spring trip with me in East Tennessee!
In years past, our Caddis hatch has started as early as Mid March and will run thru the first of June. This year, it really didn’t get going good until mid April.
Sulphurs will join in normally starting in the last two weeks of April and run thru mid to late June with the heaviest of the hatches hitting normally in the first two weeks of May.
The Smallmouth fishing on the lower Holston normally starts in late April but I really prefer the months of July, August and September for the topwater action. Popping bug season is by far one of my favorites!
Located roughly 3 hrs from Nashville, 2.5 hrs from Chattanooga and 30 minutes North East of Knoxville, the Holston below Cherokee Dam has the best Caddis hatches you will find in the Southeast
The head waters of the Holston River are the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork and they drain much of Northeastern Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina. From where they all come together in Kingsport, Tn, the Holston River is a 136 mile long river that flows to Knoxville TN where it meets the French Broad River to form the main Tennessee River. In that 136 miles of flowing water, Cherokee Lake is impounded by Cherokee Dam just South of Morristown, Tn. The lake has a surface area of 28,780 Acres and nearly four hundred miles of shoreline. The dam is 175 feet tall and has a generating capacity of 136 megawatts. As of 2022, TWRA stocks the upper nineteen miles with forty to fifty thousand Rainbow Trout and twenty to twenty five thousand sub adult Brown Trout annually. The lower thirty five miles are home to some incredible smallmouth fishing.
The Holston River is a very beautiful and very diverse fishery. The upper nineteen miles of the Holston fishes best for Trout in the Spring. As a general rule, I start looking for Caddis Hatches to start in mid March thru early April and normally run thru the first of June. The Sulphurs normally start mid April thru the first two weeks of May and run thru the end of June. Both of these hatches offer up some fantastic dry fly fishing. As the hatches fade by the end of June, I normally turn my focus to the Smallmouth fishery on the lower thirty five miles of the river. The Smallmouth population on the lower Holston is truly prolific and the quality of some of these fish are absolutely amazing. The big plus for the Smallmouth Fishing is that we catch a lot of our better fish on top water! If you want a chance at some spectacular dry fly fishing for the Rainbows and Browns or you have interest in learning more about Fly Fishing for Smallmouth, plan a Spring trip with me in East Tennessee!
In years past, our Caddis hatch has started as early as Mid March and will run thru the first of June. This year, it really didn’t get going good until mid April.
Sulphurs will join in normally starting in the last two weeks of April and run thru mid to late June with the heaviest of the hatches hitting normally in the first two weeks of May.
The Smallmouth fishing on the lower Holston normally starts in late April but I really prefer the months of July, August and September for the topwater action. Popping bug season is by far one of my favorites!
Fishing Access Type:
Boat Yes, but guide recommended
Kayak Yes under safe generation
Wading Yes under safe generation.
Boat Yes, but guide recommended
Kayak Yes under safe generation
Wading Yes under safe generation.
Fishing Style:
Nymph
Dry Fly
Spinner Fall
Midge Larva
Midge Pupae
Midge Dry
Terrestrials
Streamers
Nymph
Dry Fly
Spinner Fall
Midge Larva
Midge Pupae
Midge Dry
Terrestrials
Streamers
Equipment:
3wt rod to 8wt rod
3wt rod to 8wt rod
Flies:
Hatch Chart
Hatch Chart
Water Flow:
Data
Data
Species:
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
