January in Gatlinburg

[HottyToddy]

New to Tennessee, and never been freshwater trout fishing, but I fly fished a good bit for saltwater species back in Florida.

Headed to Gatlinburg early January. Planning on breaking out a new 5wt and trying to catch some trout. If anyone wants to recommend specific rivers/creeks - awesome. If not, I get it. What I'm mainly after is what flies to fish this time of year to get on some trout. I tie my own, but not sure which direction to head. I know match the hatch, but what's the hatch in January?

Any tips and advice are appreciated. Thanks

 

[chimneyman]

Contact Little river outfitters in Townsend. They also give fishing reports on their website

 

[Crappieaddict]

I would definitely be nymphing. Most all streams in the park have trout, but most are small. It is my understanding that the River that runs through downtown Gatlinburg is stocked. It does require a permit.

 

[Crappieaddict]

Contact Little river outfitters in Townsend. They also give fishing reports on their website

And this is better advice than I just gave!

 

[7mm08]

Weighted Micro Streamers Olive, brown, or black and a sink line ….. enjoy. Don't overthink it.

 

[TN Song Dog]

Call the fly shops and ask for advice on spots and a few flys. It's been a long time, but #18 - #16 bead head pheasant tail nymph almost always produced.

 

[Setterman]

over the years I've fished the mountain streams a fair amount in the winter. My go to fly was usually a #14 Bead head of some description, didn't really matter. I never found I had to get crazy deep, but would fish about 1.5-2 feet below an indicator.

As long as they aren't icy fishing is usually pretty good. If they are icy I never did well

If you really want to slum it, fish in downtown. They stock the river in town, but it's urban combat at its finest.

 

[clwg97]

1/100 oz white thread jig under an indicator is my go to whenever I start out down there.

 

[Sako]

You are not that far from the upper Clinch river under Norris dam... a lot better trout fishing there. I would recommend thinking about a side trip for 1/2 a day as well as any fishing in Gatlinburg

 

[Buzzard Breath]

I used to fish a fair amount in the park during winter. The 3 flies I always had with me were a size 16 bead-head pheasant tail, a small white streamer (sparkle minnow), and I always had some size 18 bwo's. I hardly ever fished the bwo's, but there'd be the occasional hatch and fish would be rising. I can't pass up rising fish in January. I would concentrate on the Little River anywhere between the Sinks and Elkmont.

As for the pellet heads in town, I'd never fished for them, take the advise given above.

 

[Chiflyguy]

You are not that far from the upper Clinch river under Norris dam... a lot better trout fishing there. I would recommend thinking about a side trip for 1/2 a day as well as any fishing in Gatlinburg

Any tips?
I'm an hour away

 

[Hduke86]

Any tips?
I'm an hour away

Spend a half day trip with a guide and pick his brain while fishing it. You'll be leaps and bounds ahead when you go back alone next time.

 

[Sako]

Any tips?
I'm an hour away

Best advice I can give (i do not fly fish but fish with a spinning reel) is to pay close attention to the generation schedule... you will not be able to wade if they are generating

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Any tips?
I'm an hour away

No generation.
Size 18 zebra midge, 18" under an indicator.
Loooooooooooong drag free drifts.
Set the hook at the slightest twitch of the indicator.

 

[mike52]

I would definitely be nymphing. Most all streams in the park have trout, but most are small. It is my understanding that the River that runs through downtown Gatlinburg is stocked. It does require a permit.

And there is no fishing on Thursdays on the streams in Gatlinburg

 

[HottyToddy]

Appreciate all the insight so far. Unfortunately it's not a fishing trip, it's a trip with my girlfriend and her family, but I'm going to try to sneak away for some fishing. Little River seems close and doable. I'm massaging the topic of stopping by clinch on our way back to Nashville afterwards. Looking at aerials, do you need a boat to fish clinch River beneath Norris dam? To my untrained eye it doesn't look shallow. I'll get to tying on some of the patterns mentioned. Size 18 is gonna take some getting used to after my 2-2/0 saltwater ties lol

 

[Setterman]

If the water is off you don't need a boat for the clinch

 

[HottyToddy]

Can y'all help me figure out what the TVA generation schedule is saying?
If it means what I think it means, they did not generate any water overnight (1am-7am) but are generating all day (7am-midnight). Is that right? Or does that just mean they're generating at least a portion of the day (7am-midnight)? And tomorrow's is for a full day, so they'll be generating all day tomorrow as well. Am I reading that portion correctly?

Next photo, looks like they really started generating between 7 and 8 (like the schedule said) and are discharging 4149 CFS. I'm assuming that they generate at different volumes? Like when they're generating it won't always be 4149, could be 3k, could be 5k. Is that accurate? Or are the dams set up to generate X volume when they need to generate?

Lastly, is there a general "acceptable" level of generation to still wade fish? IE under 2k CFS you can still wade. Or is that river dependent (size, depth, how many bends, etc)?

These pics are for Norris dam on 12/8 in case anyone wants to point out some info on the page that I didn't see.

 

[scn]

If it is showing a generator it means they are generating for the entire period shown.

If they are generating at all, there is no wading (beyond maybe a couple of steps off the bank.

The reason the trout are there is because of the generation water coming from the deep/cold layer of the lake. But, generation can make it impossible to wade for weeks on end on some of these tailwater fisheries. It is certainly a double edged sword.

 

[7mm08]

Somehow TVA thinks electricity & flood control are more important than trout!!!