What are some good locations to practice fly fishing?

cptenn94

New member
So my question is divided into 3 parts.

1. What are some good local places(in the chattanooga/hixson area) where I can go to get some good practice fly fishing?(presumably I would mostly catch brim)


2. What are some good places on the Hiwassee river that I could practice catching some trout? What are some places where I am most likely to have success?

3. What are some places I should on my to do list to go practice, or take a trip to fly fish in tennessee? What are some places that I can have a good time?



I do not currently have waders(I am not opposed to wading in wet, but with the colder weather it is not that great of a idea), and I prefer to fish without a water craft.

I know the N chickamauga creek would be a good place to practice, but in the area near the blue hole, I did not see any fish when I went hiking there.(other wise It seems like it would be a great place to practice, as it has conditions that would be similar to the hiwassee.) Also it is quite difficult to fly fish at all on the lower end of the creek, as there are tons and tons of branches everywhere to get snagged on.

So has anyone ever had any success catching anything(other than the trout that are stocked in the late winter/early spring) on the N chick?

Where would just be a good place where I could practice locally, just to practice catching fish, and casting, and handleing the line?
 

gaspergou

New member
Some semi-unsolicited advice? Quit <practicing> fly fishing and just fish.

1. Anywhere you can get to some water. Really. If there's fish, you can probably get them on the fly. If there's not, well... you might as well be playing golf.
2. Anywhere from Reliance upstream to the powerhouse. Keep in mind that the water is ccccccold, and your in-water time is going to be short without waders this time of year. If you can get onto smaller water a bit further north and keep heading upstream (i.e, tribs to the Tellico, Little T, Little, Noli, etc., you can have a very different experience).
3. These are three very dramatically different things. I'm hesitant to even suggest some options for the 3rd part. ;)

We're lucky to have some spectacular -- I mean solidly world-class -- fly fishing opportunities here! If our amazing tailwater trout fisheries, reservoirs chock-full of bass & stripers, and river bass fisheries aren't enough for you, keep scratching. If you can wean yourself of the mindset that fly fishing is just for brim or trout, you'd be amazed what you can find. A big channel cat or carp might cause you to reassess why so many folks are trout-fixated -- and they can be consistently caught on the fly. Skipjack and whites always manage to put a smile on my face. Some things might be way different (giant bighead carp, gar and bowfin on streamers in west TN, or dredging streamers on sinking line in Watauga for lake trout), and some things might drive you slightly insane (those toothy fish who shall not be named).

If you're unhappy with your casting, fish more, or hang out with folks that do. There's tons (literally!) of resources out there. Mel Krieger's casting videos (on youtube) and Ed Jaworowski's book "The Cast" (look for used copies online) are great places to start.


cptenn94 - 11/6/2014 2:24 AM
Also it is quite difficult to fly fish at all on the lower end of the creek, as there are tons and tons of branches everywhere to get snagged on.

Welcome to fly fishing. :)
 

Javelin33

Member
There are plenty of little smallmouth and sunfish up closer to the blue hole in Soddy. Just go when the waters low and fish the deeper pools. I've caught a lot of fish up there on a weightless cricket.
 

higdon21xrd

New member
Cross the river on the Hi up by the power house then walk down the tracks. Anywhere below the power house to right in front of the ramp will give you a chance to catch some fish. I'm a fan of a size 12 black wooly bugger with a red bead head, red wire rib, and red crystal flash in the tail as a year round back up. Pay attention to the flow schedule and listen for the sirens at the powerhouse. When the sirens go off, you have about 5 minutes before they turn the water on then it takes about 5-10 minutes to fill the pool right below the power house before the water starts heading down. The rocks up there are slicker than owl snot, so you need a good pair of STUDDED felt boots or just don't take your sweet time getting out of the water when the sirens sound.

You can also follow the John Muir trail above the power house and have an opportunity to catch some smallies too.
 

higdon21xrd

New member
Then you could also take Gaspergou's advice and just fish. I forgot how much easier it was to just back the boat in the water and go when I went fly fishing for the first time in a couple years this past summer haha.
 

cptenn94

New member
gaspergou - 11/6/2014 6:13 AM

Some semi-unsolicited advice? Quit <practicing> fly fishing and just fish.

1. Anywhere you can get to some water. Really. If there's fish, you can probably get them on the fly. If there's not, well... you might as well be playing golf.
2. Anywhere from Reliance upstream to the powerhouse. Keep in mind that the water is ccccccold, and your in-water time is going to be short without waders this time of year. If you can get onto smaller water a bit further north and keep heading upstream (i.e, tribs to the Tellico, Little T, Little, Noli, etc., you can have a very different experience).
3. These are three very dramatically different things. I'm hesitant to even suggest some options for the 3rd part. ;)

We're lucky to have some spectacular -- I mean solidly world-class -- fly fishing opportunities here! If our amazing tailwater trout fisheries, reservoirs chock-full of bass & stripers, and river bass fisheries aren't enough for you, keep scratching. If you can wean yourself of the mindset that fly fishing is just for brim or trout, you'd be amazed what you can find. A big channel cat or carp might cause you to reassess why so many folks are trout-fixated -- and they can be consistently caught on the fly. Skipjack and whites always manage to put a smile on my face. Some things might be way different (giant bighead carp, gar and bowfin on streamers in west TN, or dredging streamers on sinking line in Watauga for lake trout), and some things might drive you slightly insane (those toothy fish who shall not be named).

If you're unhappy with your casting, fish more, or hang out with folks that do. There's tons (literally!) of resources out there. Mel Krieger's casting videos (on youtube) and Ed Jaworowski's book "The Cast" (look for used copies online) are great places to start.


cptenn94 - 11/6/2014 2:24 AM
Also it is quite difficult to fly fish at all on the lower end of the creek, as there are tons and tons of branches everywhere to get snagged on.

Welcome to fly fishing. :)

Something to understand about me at least right now, Is that I just want to fish. I want to learn to catch all sorts of fish, all sorts of different ways, and enjoy it. Eventually I may move on to fly fishing for large fish with fly fishing, but right now I just want to start with smaller fish.(my mind is not set on just trout or panfish. They are just my focus currently)

I have never caught a trout before, so that is high on my to do list.

And currently I do go out and just fish with my spinning rods.

Why I am trying to practice fly fishing, is because I need to practice technique and get some experiance. Right now with very limited experiance, I need practice to begin getting some technique down. I cant make trips down to the hiwassee very frequently so I am trying to work on my technique and get some experiance locally, so that I can have a little more success when I do manage to be able to take trips to the hiwassee.(and I will have fun catching fish locally as well)

I appreciate the reply and advice!


higdon21xrd - 11/6/2014 1:27 PM

Cross the river on the Hi up by the power house then walk down the tracks. Anywhere below the power house to right in front of the ramp will give you a chance to catch some fish. I'm a fan of a size 12 black wooly bugger with a red bead head, red wire rib, and red crystal flash in the tail as a year round back up. Pay attention to the flow schedule and listen for the sirens at the powerhouse. When the sirens go off, you have about 5 minutes before they turn the water on then it takes about 5-10 minutes to fill the pool right below the power house before the water starts heading down. The rocks up there are slicker than owl snot, so you need a good pair of STUDDED felt boots or just don't take your sweet time getting out of the water when the sirens sound.

You can also follow the John Muir trail above the power house and have an opportunity to catch some smallies too.

Cool thanks for the information! I appreciate it.

Javelin33 - 11/6/2014 6:17 AM

There are plenty of little smallmouth and sunfish up closer to the blue hole in Soddy. Just go when the waters low and fish the deeper pools. I've caught a lot of fish up there on a weightless cricket.

Ok I figured that somewhere there were probably some smallies, and sunfish up there. When I last went there, the water was high, so I will have to go back when the water is lower.


I appreciate the advice everyone!
 
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