Tennessee fly fishing is built on two things that do not get nearly enough attention in the national fly fishing conversation: world-class tailwater trout fisheries and native southern Appalachian brook trout in some of the most rugged mountain terrain in the eastern United States. Combine those with a smallmouth bass fishery on the upper Tennessee River system that produces fish of a quality and quantity that has made the region quietly famous among those in the know, and you have a fly fishing state with far more depth than its reputation suggests.
The Clinch River below Norris Dam is Tennessee fly fishing’s flagship, and it deserves the standing. The Clinch is a cold, clear, productive tailwater that holds rainbow and brown trout in numbers and sizes that make it one of the top tailwater trout fisheries east of the Mississippi River. Midge fishing on the Clinch — small flies, long leaders, technical presentations to visible, selective fish — is the defining experience, and the fish that reward successful execution are large, strong, and thoroughly satisfying. The Clinch flows through farmland east of Knoxville with easy access and a guide community that knows the water intimately. Hire one the first time. The Clinch will teach you more in two days with a knowledgeable guide than in a week fishing it blind.
The South Holston River below South Holston Lake — just outside Bristol on the Tennessee-Virginia border — is Tennessee’s other blue-ribbon tailwater and an argument in itself for making the trip. The South Holston is a limestone-influenced tailwater with extraordinary insect populations, reliable Sulphur hatches in the warmer months, and wild brown trout that grew up eating real food in real hatches. This is dry fly water for serious dry fly anglers, and the fish know the difference between a good presentation and a bad one.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the crown of Tennessee’s mountain trout fly fishing — hundreds of miles of designated wild trout water, two-thirds of it holding native southern Appalachian brook trout in the high-elevation headwater streams. Smokies brook trout fishing is a pilgrimage experience. Small streams, small fish, big country, and the satisfaction of catching a native fish in native habitat that has remained intact for the better part of a century. Get off the road and walk upstream until the sound of other people disappears. That’s where the good water starts.
Target Species: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Walleye Best Seasons: Year-round (tailwaters) | April–June (Smokies, hatches) | June–September (smallmouth) Notable Waters: Clinch River, South Holston River, Watauga River, Hiwassee River, Great Smoky Mountains streams, Caney Fork River
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