How simple is it to fish our tailwaters?

[BlueRaiderFan]

At times on the Caney, they only seem to want a scud as well...weird fish on the Caney. Depths change as well depending on the season. I have found that a person has to be prepared to try different things on the Caney Fork. It would help if there were prolific hatches. I have seen one HUGE BWO hatch last fall though. Then again, I don't go that often, so I may miss some of them.

[waterwolf]

Originally Posted by br549

Braggert...It is true...many pheasants have died because of those two tailwaters. However, it was fun several years ago when we got the big sulphur hatches...tying on the compardun or the cdc emerger and catching some large fish.

There are still monster sulphur hatches, there was a great hatch just this past Sunday. The last 2 summers have produced some of the longest and largest sulphur hatches. I used to like the dry fly stuff, but anymore I am too lazy to mess with them even during the largest hatches.

Originally Posted by gmreeves

Ah, the true question. Finding out the fly and depth is all part of the journey.

I honestly wonder if the exact fly even matters, in other words, anything smallish and dark would work day in and day out. Depth, well that is sort of a personal preference.

I was really trying to keep things general, that our tailwaters are very simple when it comes to fly selection and overall rig. What is complicated or can be is where to put that "rig", and presentation as a whole. JMO

[DBKSTONE2]

Originally Posted by waterwolf

I was really trying to keep things general, that our tailwaters are very simple when it comes to fly selection and overall rig. What is complicated or can be is where to put that "rig", and presentation as a whole. JMO

Sorry Wolf. It was just a little hold over from Sunday's frustration. I get your point. Because at the end of the day. Almost all of those "bugs" were the same relative size, profile, and general color range. I would hate to think what would happen if they went from hitting size 20-22 to say a size 8-10 stone fly. You could not tie together every bug I have in my Caney fly box and come up with the weight or size of one of those flies. Thank God for relative consistency.

[psnapp]

After lots of experimentation (which I still plan to do since I like to try to build a "better mouse trap"), I'm finding that there is a base pattern and size that will work on most days. I still have not gotten it down to a single fly on the Clinch, but I think it is possible to fish a single pattern in one size and catch fish most days ... I have a friend who relies on a couple patterns on the Clinch day in and day out, but he does vary the sizes.

WW -- like you mentioned in your last post, knowing where to put it and how you present it have a lot to do with the success of any pattern. JMO

[milligan trout degree]

In reality, you could take a box full of size 16 pheasant tails and catch trout anywhere you go. But what fun comes from having a box of only size 16 pheasant tails?

[2weightfavorite]

It seems to me the clinch is incredibly easy to fish. Same fly day in day out. You do have to present it well of course, however with some minor mending, and the occasional down stream drift, even that is pretty easy. I like the holston because while the same fly always works so do alot of other patterns. And it seems like I catch alot of fish on the swing on the holston, not so mouch however on the clinch..

[waterwolf]

Originally Posted by milligan trout degree

In reality, you could take a box full of size 16 pheasant tails and catch trout anywhere you go. But what fun comes from having a box of only size 16 pheasant tails?

Alot of fun for me, it makes life simple. To each their own however.

Originally Posted by 2weightfavorite

It seems to me the clinch is incredibly easy to fish. Same fly day in day out. You do have to present it well of course, however with some minor mending, and the occasional down stream drift, even that is pretty easy. I like the holston because while the same fly always works so do alot of other patterns. And it seems like I catch alot of fish on the swing on the holston, not so mouch however on the clinch..

Agreed, especially on the CLinch, generally speaking the fishing is usually the same day after day, the only variable which plays a major role is water level. There is varying degrees of low, some of which are less desirable and more challenging then others.

I use the exact same fly and depth on the Holston, but with the varied insect life and stocking regime more flair can be used in techniques and patterns IMO.

[MarkHansen]

Clinch for low water: I have not found one special go-to setup, but I have not fished the water as much as most of this message board:

BHPT 16/18 (all different color heads)
BHPT 16/18 (all with a black bead)
Zebra Midges 18/20/22 (red or black)

[br549]

Hey WW...I don't remember there being monster hatches this late in the year in the past. Has the later hatching sulphur become more prevalent. I remember the S. Holston always had a nice summer hatch but the Clinch seemed to wind down by early summer. I too have become too lazy to switch from a nymph to a dry.

As far as fly selection, less is better for me. I'm the same in saltwater, smallmouth, and crappie fishing.

[waterwolf]

Originally Posted by br549

Hey WW...I don't remember there being monster hatches this late in the year in the past. Has the later hatching sulphur become more prevalent. I remember the S. Holston always had a nice summer hatch but the Clinch seemed to wind down by early summer. I too have become too lazy to switch from a nymph to a dry.

As far as fly selection, less is better for me. I'm the same in saltwater, smallmouth, and crappie fishing.

I have never seen them hatch this late, and it kind of started 2 years ago, but now has really become more pronounced. I can only assume as it gets going it will continue unless we have another silt ditch created which wipes them out again. Ever since the didymo showed up the sulphurs have roared back, and are better then they have ever been. Of course, I don't fish with dries, but the nymphs sure do make fishing easier and the fish healthier.

If you look on this board, you can find threads where folks were claiming the hatch was done earlier this year because of flooding. That certainly did not happen, thankfully. I was worried the silt from no generation would have an impact but TVA flushed the system in enough time.