Watauga River Stream Report for
Click here to check TVA release schedules for Watauga River
(Click thumbnails above for a Watauga River slide-show)
Altamont Anglers guide Teo Whitlock holds a nice Watauga River rainbow caught by his client, Craig Wolff (click image for full view)
Summer is the time for Caddis, Craneflies and Copper Johns on the Watauga River, and the cool water is great relief from the "heat dome", too.
Altamont Anglers guide Teo Whitlock spent a few days guiding our clients Craig Wolff, Powell Jones and Powell's son, Madison recently, and didn't miss many excuses to get out of the boat for some "wet" wading--the perfect way to cool one's heels on a hot day in July.
Click the thumbs for a slide show of some of the recent fishing on the Watauga River:
Jeremiah with a hefty smallmouth bass caught on the Watauga River on July 16, 2001 (click image for full view)
Jeremiah arranged for an escape from the summer heat by booking a float trip for his brother-in-law Lawrence and himself. Altamont Anglers guide Travis Honeycutt manned the oars on the Watauga River, where they enjoyed the wide variety of the river's fish population, catching plenty of trout and some fine smallmouth bass, and harrassing but--alas--not catching some sizable stripers.
The trout fishing and the smallmouth bass fishing is highly regarded around Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, but what's not so widely known is the diversity of our fisheries: add in the musky and striper fishing, and local anglers have more choices than most...
Click any of the thumbnail images that follow for a slide show of the fishing on July 16, 2001:
David and Sheila Leach with a brace of Watauga River rainbows (click image for fullsize view)
It's summertime, and the fishing is easy--to paraphrase the great George Gershwin. As long as you can dodge the predictable afternoon thunderstorm, you'll find happy trout feeding on caddis patterns, Sulphurs, Sulphur nymphs, midges and craneflies.
David and Sheila Leech usually escape the trout-challenged environment of their home in Austin, TX for the cooling rivers of the Rocky Mountains. But, when a family event required their attendance nearer to our Smoky Mountains, they looked into the fly fishing possibilities--it's called "googling"--and wound up spending a day on the Watauga River with Altamont Anglers guide Teo Whitlock.
Not surprisingly, photos were taken! And Sheila sent some along with this note: "We really enjoyed the trip. Caught lots of beautiful rainbow and browns on the Watauga River. Our guide, Teo, was the best! David and Sheila Leech, Austin, TX"
All we can say is thanks, and click the thumbnails for a mini-slide show of some nice Watauga River fly fishing.
Greg Braunstein hoisting a monster striped bass caught on the Watauga River, May 25, 2011 (click image for full-size)
Greg Braunstein fishes with Altamont Anglers whenever he gets the chance (like this time and this time), escaping the work-a-day world of his medical practice in Florida for the cool, tranquil waters of the Watauga River.
Greg is an avid fly fisherman, as the following photos prove, but is willing to experiment with new techniques, if his guide suggests--and Altamont Anglers guide Teo Whitlock did indeed suggest targeting something other than the Watauga River's trout population.
That giant striper Greg caught wasn't weighed (no scales in the boat!--there will be next time...), but Teo says it felt heavier than his 45lb anchor so we're going with 40+ pounds. And--truth in advertising--it wasn't caught on a fly.
Click the thumbnails that follow for a slideshow of Greg Braunstein fly fishing the Watauga River on May 24 & 25, 2011:
Mark Kalish caught this nice brown trout on the Watauga River, May 19, 2011 (click image for full-size)
You can't always get what you want, from the TVA, but sometimes you get what you need...
Mark Kalish booked a float trip for some Watauga River fly fishing with Altamont Anglers back on May 19, and no sooner had his guide, Teo Whitlock, put the boat in the water than the un-scheduled TVA generation arrived in full flow. And when that happens, you just go with the flow...
But to their surprise and delight, the sulphur hatch was abundant enough to have the trout looking up, even in the heavy current--something a little unusual for the Watauga River. The result was a great day catching lots of trout on both dries and nymphs.
Mark was so impressed by his first visit to the Watuaga River that he emailed, in part, "...We had a great time and I will not be returning to Montana or Wyoming again. "
Click the the thumbnail images that follow for a slide show of the Mark Kalish fly fishing the Watauga River:
Joe Deangelis with gorgeous Watauga River brown trout caught on May 5, 2011 (click image for full view)
Steve Stasiak and Joe Deangelis are a couple of adventurous New Yorkers, both former guides on the upper Delaware River, who headed South last week for a taste of our Southern hospitality--as it pertains to fly fishing.
Altamont Anglers guide Teo Whitlock spent a few days showing them around the South Holston River and the Watauga River, where it was proven that good fly fishing techniques translate universally from North to South, much to the dismay of East Tennessee's trout population.
Click the following thumb nails for a slide show of the fine fishing enjoyed by Joe and Steve:
Frank Mcfadden caught this nice rainbow on the Watauga River on May 1, 2011 (click for larger view).
The Watauga River is back. Tough generation schedules and tough fishing in the last few weeks have turned around to hot fishing on more friendly generation schedules.
It's caddis most of the day, midges in the morning and some sulphurs in the afternoon. Fish are hungry with lots of eager eaters in the 14" to 16" range, and the bigger ones available to the lucky few.
Click the thumbnails below for larger views of more of the fishing on May 1, 2011:
Angus McFadden with a bright Watauga River rainbow
A nice Watauga River brown trout
(Altamont Anglers operates on Pisgah National Forest Rivers under USDA Forest Service Permit #PIS6560)
