Tims Ford tailwaters ?

[TNCharlie]

What in the world is going on with the Elk River/TF tailwaters? For several years this has been my go-to place when I just wanted to catch fish. We could catch as many of those stocker trout in a day as we could stand, with a few hold-overs in the 12-14 range, and every now and then something bigger.

Starting last year we saw the trout fishing really deteriorate. This year it is even worse. Yesterday we struggled to get 6 fish. (In years past I've caught more than that waiting for my partner to walk down from the parking lot.) It doesn't appear that any stocking is being done. The few we caught seemed to be one-year holdovers, so that population won't last long.

I thought maybe that we had just suddenly forgotten how to fish, but I noticed the fishing report in today's Tennesssean was, "Very few fish being caught."

Is this all tied to the funding problems with the Dale Hollow hatchery? And where can we get information on whether any stocking is being done? Or is it something else entirely???

BTW - we seldom keep any of those fish.

 

[BowGirl]

I have noticed this as well at my favorite trout stream and i believe the stocking has been cut way back as well. Ive made 3 trips recently and barely scratched out a few bites per trip. We used to see alot of action on any given day.

 

[TNCharlie]

I wrote the Dale Hollow hatchery about the Elk River problem and received a prompt and full answer. Here it is:

Andy Currie, Project Leader
Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery
Celina, TN
Tel: 931-243-2443

Subject

Fw: Elk River trout question



Hi Charlie,

We have not been stocking the Elk River on a regular basis because our fish are not to size (nine inches). The reason is not because of funding issues but because of water quality issues. This hatchery is supplied fish rearing water from Dale Hollow Lake. Typically, we experience bad water in the late fall and early winter just prior to and during lake turnover. This past year the Corps measured the worst water quality ever measured in Dale Hollow Lake. For several months, there was no oxygen in the lake below 30 feet. This translates into really bad water being supplied to the hatchery, resulting in sick fish. If the fish get sick, they won't eat. If the fish don't eat, they won't grow. We lost over 30,000 of the larger fish (7-inch). This past fall. These are the rainbows that should be 9 inches in March and April (right now). The fish were not there. We have had to push (grow fast) smaller fish to try and catch up. You can only push fish so fast. Luckily, we did not take such a hard hit on the brook trout as we did the rainbows. The TWRA is letting us stock some of our surplus 9-inch brook trout in lieu of 9-inch rainbows until we can catch up. Yesterday we stocked 4,000 9-inch brook trout in the Elk River. Next week we will stock two truck loads on 7 3/4 inch brown trout in the Elk River. The brown trout stocking is part of the normal stocking program. We are grading our larger size rainbows at the hatchery to get some rainbows that are to size. We are in close communication with the TWRA to try and get through this period until we can get back to where we should be. Raising fish is like farming. We are at the mercy of the weather. The lake surface temperature in Dale Hollow Lake on April 1, 2012 was 70 degrees F. That is 20 degrees F warmer than this time last year so this year is not starting off any better, although it is too early to tell what kind of water quality we will experience in the fall. If we don't get a lot of warm spring rain, we may be OK. If we do, and we lose the cold water stored in Dale Hollow Lake, we can look forward to more tough times ahead. I am optimistic, however, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for your inquiry and please share this email with other fishermen to keep them informed of what is going on.

Andy Currie, Manager
Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery
Celina, TN
(931) 243-2443

 

[Baxter83]

Thanks for passing this along. I almost drove out there this past weekend and tried em out. I practically grew up out that way, and have caught thousands of those little trout over the years, and some pretty good ones too

 

[timberjack86]

Yeah we started to go last year but my fishing buddy said it wasnt worth the trip.