Featured Photo: Streamer Eater on the Clinch

Featured Photo: Streamer Eater on the Clinch

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Watauga Morning


On my recent trip to upper east Tennessee, I fished the South Holston and Watauga rivers as well as a high elevation freestone stream.  Of the three streams I fished, the Watauga was the easiest by far.  The fish are less sophisticated than on the South Holston and would eat most any nymph I drifted through their living room.

I only fished the Watauga for a few hours in the morning but probably caught 30 or 40 trout during that time.  None were large but all were in great shape.  Some of the browns I caught looked like they were wild.  For that matter some of the rainbows did as well although I'm not sure how many wild rainbows are in that river.  Once the clouds started to break and the sun peaked through, the fishing tapered off a bit but was still very solid.

The only downside of this trip is that now I'm wishing I lived closer to these fine streams so I could fish them more often.

Here is one of the browns I caught on the Watauga that is a strong candidate for prettiest fish I've caught this year.  Just look at those spots!!!


8 comments:

  1. Gorgeous indeed!

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  2. David
    Unbelievable colors, looks like the trout are getting their fall colors. thanks for sharing

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    1. Thanks Bill. Every year I'm surprised at how early they start to color up and this year is no different.

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  3. Nothing like a tubby little Brown to make your day.

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  4. Anonymous8:21 AM

    Beautiful "wild" colors, Dave. The Watauga looks like a stream I would enjoy.

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    1. It really is a fantastic stream. Thanks for reading!

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