Eastern Tennessee is home to some of the finest fly fishing in the country, with trout filled rivers and picturesque scenery this top destination should be high on your bucket list.
Our region is prominently known for the South Holston and Watauga tailwaters. These rivers draw anglers from all over the world throughout the year and boast some of the very best fly fishing for trout in the country.
We have dense trout populations and prolific mayfly hatches. This provides anglers with the opportunity to catch trout using a multitude of tactics.
The South Holston River tailwater below South Holston dam is one of the top 10 trout fisheries in the country, boasting 7-10,000 trout per square mile. This river is absolutely infested with fish and has the food supply to grow some of the largest brown trout anywhere in the country. Out of this count roughly 80% of these fish are wildly reproducing brown trout with the other 20% being made up of rainbow trout. The SOHO is a year round fishery, with the water releases being drawn from the bottom of South Holston lake we are always provided with stable water temperatures. What this means is no matter the air temperature outside our river never fluctuates more than about 10 degrees leading to consistent fishing 12 months out of the year. Sam Presutti offers guided fly fishing trips on the South Holston year April to June and September to October.
The Watauga river is often referred to locally as the sister river of the South Holston River and is often overlooked by its “big sister”. If the South Holston River didn’t exist the Watauga would easily be a destination of its own. The Watauga or “Taug” as the locals refer to it boasts a blue ribbon population of trout and some trophies as well. Its headwaters start in western North Carolina and wind up dumping into Wilbur lake in Elizabethton, Tennessee where the Watauga Tailrace section starts. This river provides nearly 17 miles of year round blue ribbon trout fishing. Book your fly fishing trip with Sam Presutti now to experience this.
Sam offers guided fly fishing trips on the Watauga in April to June and September to October.
