Help: Fishing after rain..... (aka this weekend)

[abubakar]

Hi all, I'm new to Knoxville and am not yet used to the changes in rivers due to rain. Long story short, my dad, brother and I have a trip planned for this weekend and I fear that if we put it off, it won't happen at all due to travel and work constraints. So rain be damned!

So now I'm looking for your expertise on where we should go to toss flies while wading. We've hit the Holston the past two years, but I think the river is so high that we need floats. Any input on that? How about the smokies? How quickly do water levels return to fishable?

...and if it is high, are there techniques that we can use to catch fish? We have fished high rivers before by getting deep with large dark streamers and have had luck. Does that hold true here?

Basically, any tips or advice are much appreciated! One more request: if we go to the smokies, I think we'd prefer to camp somewhere without the huge crowds. Any suggestions on nearby camping that won't be crazy?

Thanks for any help!

Andrew

[Petey]

OK... Let us pretend all the tailwaters are blown out for the foreseeable future.

That is going to put you up in high elevation fishing. I would imagine the lower tribs would still be pushing a lot of water. And since you are just 2 days from having to camp.... making reservations probably isn't going to happen....

I would concentrate on the higher elevation campgrounds than don't take reservations... Balsam Mountain Campground in the Smoky's... Or a place like Holly Flatts in the Southern Cherokee National Forest. Balsam is a really neat campground but requires a little drive to get to go good tribs. Holly Flats is on the banks of the Bald River and has quality water if you are willing to hike in either direction.

You could look around on line at Smokemont and Elkmont and see what they have open in the Smoky's... lower elevation than Balsam, but more accessible to water.

Just a little brain storming if others come to mind I will let you know....

[abubakar]

Thanks Petey. So you don't think the lower tribs will clear by Sat?

As for the Bald, we're definitely willing to hike...maybe that is the option if water levels cooperate. If I look at levels, what do I want to see? Thanks again for the advice.

[Petey]

Depending any rain we get between now and then could have an effect. I think the lower tribs and confluences like Tellico and Little River will still be running high. The feeder streams should be more approachable.

This link is from usgs and is the river gauge above Townsend on the Little River waterdata.usgs.gov/tn/nwis/uv?site_no=03497300

While it is down to 740 currently that is still a lot of water for that size stream. Now if you were to go up Middle Prong of the Little River and then fish it and its tribs Thunderhead and Lynn Camp I think you would have better luck.

The Bald river runs right by Holly Flatts campground. But only about 2 to 3 miles of it are accessible by road. Down stream drops into a scenic gorge and must be waded. Up stream there is a trail that follows the river a good ways and is not as tough to wade. Both offer great opportunity to catch wild brown and rainbow trout. You go high enough up Bald and you will get into brookies.

There is not a gauge reading for the Bald but Tellico is running at 90 percentile. Which means Bald is still running pretty strong but should be easier to fish and get a fly in.

Petey