It’s the end of August, and somehow summer seems to have flown by this year.
I spent most of the summer in Western Pennsylvania chasing smallmouth, and we couldn’t have asked for much better conditions. We had record rainfall throughout the summer, which opened up a ton of smaller-water opportunities that normally aren’t in play by late summer. At the same time, the bigger rivers fished extremely well.
The crayfish and baitfish bite was excellent all season with the higher flows. The one thing that wasn’t quite as consistent as usual was the topwater fishing. We had so many stretches of high, dirty water that it made getting fish to look up a little tougher. But whenever we found a gap between the rain and the rivers cleared up, the topwater bite was lights out.
There should still be several good weeks of smallmouth fishing left in Pennsylvania, and I would expect things to stay consistent well into October.
Back to Tennessee for Fall Trout
I, on the other hand, have switched gears. I’m back home in Tennessee and ready for the fall season on the South Holston River.
This is my favorite time of year to fish the South Holston. The weather is incredible, water conditions are favorable, and the big lake-run brown trout begin migrating up the river for the spawn.
Fall is also the time of year when we get the most diversity in how we can fish.
Nymphing is as strong as ever, with trout feeding heavily heading into the spawn.
Dry-fly fishing can be epic with late-season sulphurs and BWOs providing some excellent opportunities on top.
And streamer fishing really starts to come alive. Migrating browns become increasingly aggressive and territorial, and we can also start seeing shad kills around the dam that create some incredible streamer opportunities.
This year is setting up especially well because of the amount of rain we’ve had throughout the summer. The reservoir is full, and we should have consistent generation and favorable water conditions for the foreseeable future.
I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces this fall—and hopefully some new ones as well.
I still have some availability if anyone would like to get out on the South Holston this September or October.
14–18
25–27
2–6
10–11
20–22
24–30
If you’ve been wanting to experience the South Holston in the fall, this is one of my favorite windows of the entire year to be on the river.
