Wading Elk River for Trout

[HottyToddy]

Hi all,

Thinking about getting down to the elk River to fly fish for trout. Don't have a boat, and am not a talented enough caster to bank fish in most places. Have a few questions:
- is the Elk River generally wadeable? Or are there only a handful of spots that are safe to wade? I know to check generation reports, just curious on depth within a couple miles of the dam.
- is it worth going as close to the dam as possible? I'm in Lewisburg, so staying near 65 is closer/easier, but I will drive to the dam if it's worth the trip.

If there are any public access spots that provide good wading and a half decent chance of catching a trout, I'd appreciate the input. Any fly recommendations are also welcomed.

Heck, if anyone wants to fish with me, let me know! I come from a saltwater fly fishing background and trout give me more trouble than I'd like to admit.

Thanks!

 

[Pilchard]

Hi all,

Thinking about getting down to the elk River to fly fish for trout. Don't have a boat, and am not a talented enough caster to bank fish in most places. Have a few questions:
- is the Elk River generally wadeable? Or are there only a handful of spots that are safe to wade? I know to check generation reports, just curious on depth within a couple miles of the dam.
- is it worth going as close to the dam as possible? I'm in Lewisburg, so staying near 65 is closer/easier, but I will drive to the dam if it's worth the trip.

If there are any public access spots that provide good wading and a half decent chance of catching a trout, I'd appreciate the input. Any fly recommendations are also welcomed.

Heck, if anyone wants to fish with me, let me know! I come from a saltwater fly fishing background and trout give me more trouble than I'd like to admit.

Thanks!

I wade fished it once. I forget the place but it was a public access near a bridge.

Don't let the saltwater background deter you... I learned two things trout fishing in TN.

1. Your fly needs to drift perfectly. Act like you are yellowtail fishing in the gulf or Atlantic. If anything unnatural happens to your fly other than a dead drift, you won't get bit. Pay attention to your fly line dragging your fly and mend your line to avoid the drag.
2. The fish in the river that eat the trout are way more fun to catch than the trout. Not sure if these live in the Elk or not.

 

[redblood]

The elk river is very shallow. Wading should be do-able in most places. I smallmouth fish it alot.

 

[NAjoe]

Buddy of mine would kill em on a wooly booger(?). I just used corn and worms and live crawdads. Had one break my line on a small crankbait one day. Would love to have seen that fish.

 

[HottyToddy]

I wade fished it once. I forget the place but it was a public access near a bridge.

Don't let the saltwater background deter you... I learned two things trout fishing in TN.

1. Your fly needs to drift perfectly. Act like you are yellowtail fishing in the gulf or Atlantic. If anything unnatural happens to your fly other than a dead drift, you won't get bit. Pay attention to your fly line dragging your fly and mend your line to avoid the drag.
2. The fish in the river that eat the trout are way more fun to catch than the trout. Not sure if these live in the Elk or not.

What're the fish that eat the trout? Smallmouth? I've struggled to catch bass of any flavor in shallow creeks/rivers. Probably more mental than anything. Assume big fish needs big water, even tho my favorite redfish spots in FL were 10-15" of water.

 

[Iglow]

We went there a few times in the winter, it's pretty wade friendly, olive midges was the answer then.

 

[Pilchard]

What're the fish that eat the trout? Smallmouth? I've struggled to catch bass of any flavor in shallow creeks/rivers. Probably more mental than anything. Assume big fish needs big water, even tho my favorite redfish spots in FL were 10-15" of water.

striped bass

 

[BigCityBubba]

I used to fish it allot. The dam is the best place to fish for trout as far as I know. Plenty of wadable water for several miles down below the dam. Water starts to warm up the further you go down and there are fewer trout.

 

[Dbllunger]

I
2. The fish in the river that eat the trout are way more fun to catch than the trout. Not sure if these live in the Elk or not.

They do not. However it's getting pretty close to time to chase them where they do live. They arrive with the fireflies.

 

[redblood]

striped bass

Definitely none of those in the elk.

 

[scn]

Hi all,

Thinking about getting down to the elk River to fly fish for trout. Don't have a boat, and am not a talented enough caster to bank fish in most places. Have a few questions:
- is the Elk River generally wadeable? Or are there only a handful of spots that are safe to wade? I know to check generation reports, just curious on depth within a couple miles of the dam.
- is it worth going as close to the dam as possible? I'm in Lewisburg, so staying near 65 is closer/easier, but I will drive to the dam if it's worth the trip.

If there are any public access spots that provide good wading and a half decent chance of catching a trout, I'd appreciate the input. Any fly recommendations are also welcomed.

Heck, if anyone wants to fish with me, let me know! I come from a saltwater fly fishing background and trout give me more trouble than I'd like to admit.

Thanks!

When you check the TVA Lake Info app for the generation schedule, make sure you look for a little yellow box above the generation schedule for Tims Ford. They spill water frequently down there that doesn't show up in the generation section. If there is zero generation scheduled, and the yellow box shows a sluice of 245 cfs, that is a great wading schedule. Anything over around 400 cfs makes it pretty much non-wadeable.

The two main areas for public access for trout are at the dam down through the horseshoe bend, and at the Farris Cr. access. There is wadeable water above and below the Farris Cr. bridge.

For flies, your best bets day in and day out are sowbugs, scuds and midges. Fly South in Nashville has a little custom tied Purple Reign midge that has been a great producer over the last couple of years. The little Rainbow Warrior midges in regular tie and olive tend to out fish zebra midges, but all will produce. A swung olive or white wooly booger will always catch some. A small Pat's Rubberlegs produces as will pheasant tail nymphs. Small streamers will work at times. A two fly rig starting with a sowbug with a midge trailer under an indicator is a great starting point.

The Elk has more in the way of insect hatches than the Caney. You are likely to see some caddis hatching this time of year. As it warms up, you may see enough light cahill type mayflies or sulphers hatching to have some fish feeding on top. In late fall and winter there are decent hatches of blue wing olives. During the summer months, a small beetle on top can catch some nice fish.

 

[HottyToddy]

When you check the TVA Lake Info app for the generation schedule, make sure you look for a little yellow box above the generation schedule for Tims Ford. They spill water frequently down there that doesn't show up in the generation section. If there is zero generation scheduled, and the yellow box shows a sluice of 245 cfs, that is a great wading schedule. Anything over around 400 cfs makes it pretty much non-wadeable.

The two main areas for public access for trout are at the dam down through the horseshoe bend, and at the Farris Cr. access. There is wadeable water above and below the Farris Cr. bridge.

For flies, your best bets day in and day out are sowbugs, scuds and midges. Fly South in Nashville has a little custom tied Purple Reign midge that has been a great producer over the last couple of years. The little Rainbow Warrior midges in regular tie and olive tend to out fish zebra midges, but all will produce. A swung olive or white wooly booger will always catch some. A small Pat's Rubberlegs produces as will pheasant tail nymphs. Small streamers will work at times. A two fly rig starting with a sowbug with a midge trailer under an indicator is a great starting point.

The Elk has more in the way of insect hatches than the Caney. You are likely to see some caddis hatching this time of year. As it warms up, you may see enough light cahill type mayflies or sulphers hatching to have some fish feeding on top. In late fall and winter there are decent hatches of blue wing olives. During the summer months, a small beetle on top can catch some nice fish.

Really appreciate all the info! I attached a photo of the current dam schedule. Was slightly confused by it. Shows 245 CFS sluicing (which you say is great). Shows 0 generators running but 120 CFS discharge. Is the 120 part of the 245? Is it in addition meaning 365 total (not so great)?

Appreciate all the fly selections and access points!

 

[scn]

That will be a fine flow to wade and fish. The 120 is a 24 hr average. It probably means they are turning off the sluice at night for a while. You are good down there under 400 cfs. The 400 cfs is the same max for wading on the Caney.

 

[Dbllunger]

Every single thing SCN said above is dead on the money. 20 years ago I flyfished that river exclusively and those were the types of flies and exactly how I did it. I loved fishing in the dead of winter because the fishing was good and the crowds were non existent. Down in that horse shoe below the dam in the first bend was always a favorite of mine. If you want first crack at it then be there at daylight. Most of the other fisherman will not be there till later. There used to be some great access points that farmers would let you walk across their land to fish but unfortunately a few bad experiences from a a few bad people closed it off to everyone.

 

[Arrowslanger]

Every single thing SCN said above is dead on the money. 20 years ago I flyfished that river exclusively and those were the types of flies and exactly how I did it. I loved fishing in the dead of winter because the fishing was good and the crowds were non existent. Down in that horse shoe below the dam in the first bend was always a favorite of mine. If you want first crack at it then be there at daylight. Most of the other fisherman will not be there till later. There used to be some great access points that farmers would let you walk across their land to fish but unfortunately a few bad experiences from a a few bad people closed it off to everyone.

Learned to fish where you're talking about, sad that's been shut down. I actually ran into them putting the fence up several years ago and was shocked to hear the news. Can't say I argue with the decision, but tough to lose such a beautiful spot.

 

[uncle_loue]

im gonna be at tims ford state park tonight through saturday for a mens retreat. im gonna check out the farris creek bridge access though ill be targeting smallmouth instead of trout. glad i saw this post as i'd much rather be wading in a river than lake fishing.