Hiwassee River, Current Conditions...

     The Hiwassee has definitely had it's ups and downs over the past month. For several weeks we had the pleasure of experiencing some very high water flows as the Tennessee Valley Authority was spilling water from Appalachia Dam down the old section of river bed that was bypassed back in the 1940,s. It took a couple of weeks but the lake levels were dropped back to winter pool and we are now experiencing a normal two turbine flow around 2800cfs once again. If we can keep getting enough rain then we might actually have some water flowing on the upper section of river this spring, but that's a hard one to call. The TVA will usually stop generation in the spring time so that they can bring the reservoir up to summer levels for the recreational release flow that they schedule for the summer months.

     The Delayed Harvest Regulation will end on March 1 and the river will be open to all types of fishing. So far we have had a great year and i think that this will continue on through the spring and into the summer months. So cross your fingers, say a couple of Hail Mary's, as this has the potential to be one of the best years that we have seen in a while. The winter stones have been coming off regularly on the warmer days over the past month and we had about an hour or so of dry fly fishing this past Sunday on the river and the fish all looked to healthy and in good condition. So get your gear out and get ready for some fantastic spring time fishing and make sure to stop in the shop and say hello when you come through.

High Water Flows on the Hiwassee...

TVA is letting the river run wide open. We currently have around 7300 cfs coming down the river. Appalachia powerhouse is operating at around 2800cfs with another 5000 cfs or so being spilled throught the old river bed from the damm as well. We are not sure how long this flow rate will continue, but if we can get the water to clear up it may fish some, we will just have to wait and see what happens.