South FL Fisherman here!

[pence1306]

My name is Joe and im an avid recreational fisherman in south florida. Recently visited youre great (Id say better than mine) state of Tennessee since were moving there soon. Im going back up with a buddy in the summer of 2011 for a fishing trip to kinda check out the fishing scene and we have a couple of things we need to catch on our list. The first and most important is some nice wild trout on the fly in a creek and was told east tennessee is the best place for that but need some tips and places from the locals were not so interested in size so much as numbers and a great time on a great creek. other fish were interested in are the big blue catfish we keep hearing are all over your state, nice stripers, maybe a muskie but we hear those are hard to get, pike, and maybe some walleye. Any help is appreciated since im starting to plan the trip now. Thanks in advance and i cant wait to hear some advice from you all!

[Dave C]

Welcome aboard Joe! There's a lot of good guy's on this board that can help you find your way around! ;D

[pence1306]

Thanks for the warm welcome and im sure any fisherman in TN are a lot nicer than most in Florida if I can go by the politeness of the people I met last week just wandering around. I guess now I should start posting in other threads for my thousands of questions ;D

[Petey]

Hey Joe.. If wild trout in creeks are what you are after East Tennessee is a good place to start. We have mile and miles of public water due to the Cherokee National Forest both north and south of the Smoky's, plus the Smoky's itself. Trout Streams of Southern Appalachia by Jacobs is a good place to start. Ian Rutter also has a very informative book out. They cover both creeks and tailwaters. Wonderful days can be had on both.

If you are looking for Stripe you are going to want to concentrate on the tailwaters below dams during power generation. I am not a huge striper fisherman. I live near Fort Loudon and Melton Hill dam, both produce decent stripe.

How are you wanting to fish for Catfish? The Tennessee River and its lakes can produce. I don't fish for them much, but when sitting on the dock with a cooler of beer. But I have seen some big'uns come out of the main channel and from below the bigger dams.

You want Pike you are going to have to keep driving north. We do have lake trout in the upper mountain lakes like Fontana. We also have great small mouth fishing. Don't know much about Walleye.

Hope you enjoy your time in our great state and good luck!

Petey

[pence1306]

Petey, Yeah I was on another forum that said east TN was where the great trout were so i found this forum, so now that Ive confirmed that myth ive been reading on trout fly fishing.
The stripers only interest me if I can get to them without a boat when im there since I am shore-bound.
And we want to do catfishing like weve grown up doing it here which is a cooler full of drinks on the bank pinning bait on the bottom and waiting for them to take it but we wanted to leave at least catching one 30+ pounder between the two of us so is however we can get those ;D
Ive also been thinking about asking around for a local that knows the waters to kinda show us the ropes but we have both agreed we dont want to spend money on a guide so thats why im starting to plan now.

[standard]

Welcome, Pence! I'd say you can find everything on your list in Tennessee, even the pike, muskie, and walleye. The state record for walleye is about 25 lbs and the minimum length for muskie in the better waters for them is 50". But those waters are in middle Tennessee. The Cumberland River drainage is also expected to someday soon produce a record striper, with fish in the 80 lb class having been seen and almost landed. Even the baitfish planted in these waters for stripers are fun - skipjack herring - and when they're at full growth of 4 to 4-1/2 lbs, the nickname "Tennessee Tarpon" becomes easily understood. Don't overlook the great hybrid (striper/white bass) fishery either, with some of the better tailwater fisheries are being hit by guys with two-handed spey rods. Wipers of about 18 lbs are not at all uncommon. Nearly all of the TVA & Corps of Engineers lake & rivers systems in Tennessee are good for catfish.

You may want to plan a number of trips to exploit each of these fisheries during their peak times of year, and the Middle plus East Tennessee geographic range you'll want to cover just about precludes a single trip anyway.

I don't live in Tennessee these days, but lots of my friends do. I just got back yesterday, myself. I may want to pick your brain someday about a S. Fla trip, too. I've got folks to visit down that way.

[pence1306]

Standard, yeah I will definately be going to TN multiple times to fish before we move there, just have to find time around college. I figure most of our fishing this time will be in the east chasing those creek trout on the fly since we will not have a boat to get to all the other fish. Most everyone ive talked to has told me bank fishing for stripers and catfish and whatnot are very limited.
As for the S FL fishing I dont do much besides local bass fish, a little pier fishing, and then I have some secretive (maybe a little illegal) spots that I grab a few snook and tarpon and what not all off the bank.
Man I cannot wait until I can get my boat when I start my career in 2013!