Going to need a lot of advice

The name is Joe and im from south florida. weve been looking to move to tennessee and got my first chance to see it for christmas break (lucky me got my first snowy christmas!) but anyways me and a buddy are going back in the summer and are planning to fish for a week while the parents look around at property. We really want to get some trout on flyrods so id love to hear some great spots for rainbows and other creek trout. not so much interested in giants rather than catching fish since weve never done that type of fishing. We also want to get into some big catfish, pike, walleye, and maybe some crappie. any help is greatly appreciated since ill be starting to plan our trip now! thanks in advance

[Dakota]

Caney Fork River for trout. Old hickory for all the others. No pike down here. Some muskie in the collins river

[bd-]

What part of Tennessee will you be going to, Pence?

The best trout fishing will be in East Tennessee, especially if you are wanting to fly fish in small creeks. Look in the Tellico River area, or anywhere along the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Cherokee National Forest. There are lots of small streams with wild rainbows and even some at higher elevations with native brook trout.

If you are going to be in Middle Tennessee near Nashville, then the Caney Fork will be your closest trout fishing water, with the Elk River as a backup option. It's a tailwater though, not a creek, and fishing bigger water is a bit different ballgame. It just depends on what you want to do.

Of course in East TN there are tailwaters too - South Holston is probably the best.

Big catfish don't really live in the same regions that produce the best trout fishing. My number one pick for big catfish would be the Cumberland River near Clarksville TN. There are giants there up into the 75-90 lb. range. The Mississippi River in West Tennessee has some too. You will need a boat to get to them.

West Tennessee has the best crappie fishing, with Reelfoot and Kentucky Lake being tough to beat.

There aren't many pike in Tennessee. There are a few pickerel here and there, such as on Kentucky Lake, and there are some very good muskies in the rivers on the Cumberland Plateau, but they are a challenge to catch.

For walleye, I'd probably go to Dale Hollow or maybe Norris. Center Hill has a good spring walleye run but it will be over if you're coming in the summer. Walleye fishing is mostly trolling and fishing at night on deep, clear highland reservoirs. You'll need a boat for this too.

Let me know where specifically you are headed, and I'll try to tell you what opportunities you've got in your area.

bd

I will be fishing anywhere in TN that produces great, consistent trout on the fly in the summer, anywhere that holds good catfishing, and now that ive read a couple of these forums im kind of interested in stripers but i will not have a boat to get to them. in florida down here i love trying spots that arent famous for a lot of fish but since i only have a week i want to plan a really great trip with a lot of species that i havnt caught before. biggest thing we want are the creek trout on the fly though . i may be interested in a guide or two for different species but not sure about that yet. for now id just love some experienced insight on where the fish are so i can start markin up the old maps

[bd-]

Most of the folks who frequent this site are in the middle Tennessee area. From Nashville, you can trout fish on the Caney and hit the big catfish on the Cumberland. That's what most folks on this forum are going to be most familiar with. We don't really have many creeks with trout in Middle TN though - there are a few marginal ones on the Plateau an hour and a half or so away, but for truly good creek fishing for wild trout, you need to head East up into the mountains.

There used to be a guide out of Clarksville named Joe Hall who was a master at finding the big blue cats. He put more cats in the 30-40 lb.-plus range over the rails than anyone else I know. I'm not 100% sure he's still guiding because I haven't talked to him in a couple years, but his number is listed here, along with some other guides you might look into:

http://www.tnoutdoorsmen.com/guides.htm

Richard Simms down in Chattanooga seems to do a great job at finding the catfish too. He shows up from time to time on this forum and always has a good report. His website is here:

http://www.sceniccityfishing.com/

He could probably help you with the crappie too.

For creek trout on the fly, you're probably going to be best off in East Tennessee.

You know, I'm starting to think of an itinerary that might work for you. You could start out up in Townsend and fly fish Abrams Creek, or maybe in Tellico Plains and fish the Tellico River area. Great Appalachian-style fly fishing in small creeks for wild trout in both places. Stay there for a few days, then head down to Chattanooga to catch a day fishing with Richard Simms for big catfish or maybe crappie and other species. That could work out well.

As an alternative, you could just base out of Nashville, fish the Caney Fork (not creek fishing by any means, but it's still good fly fishing for trout), and then fish the Cumberland for stripers or big blue cats, depending on where you go.

Tennessee has so many options you could fish here all your life and not hit them all.

bd

Cool thanks for all the insight. I am definately going to be in east TN then to try to grab some wild creek trout that is something I have always wanted to do but unfortunately thats not really florida fishing And my buddy that ill be fishing with is insanely into the music scene and loves nashville so he will be excited to hear about good fishing around there. And about the stripers, are there any good places for them without a boat or yak? Also, any good places for cats with no boat? I have a 12 foot jon boat with just a trolling motor i use in the canals down here but dont know if that would work or if i can even bring it when i go up. you seem pretty knowledgeable about that tennessee fishing though so if youd like you can PM me any info you are willing to share and maybe answer my questions as i go along about planning this trip? thanks in advance!

[bd-]

I am definately going to be in east TN then to try to grab some wild creek trout that is something I have always wanted to do but unfortunately thats not really florida fishing

It's funny - I travel down to Florida every year or two so I can fish saltwater, because that's "not Tennessee fishing." Mostly I fish the flats around Tampa Bay out of my Gheenoe.

The music scene in Nashville is definitely impressive. Lots of talent here. There's nothing quite like bouncing from club to club down Broadway on a weekend night and seeing the level of skill even among the guys who are just busking for tips.

As far as the stripers and blue cats go, options from the bank are limited. There are times when you can get to the bigger stripers and occasonally the catfish from the tailwaters below the dams. Cordell Hull tailwater has some stripers in the spring that are accessible from the bank, and I've seen people catch pretty big catfish below Old Hickory Dam and below Nickajack Dam near Chattanooga. Bank fishing in the tailwaters is pretty technical though and it's not easy to get the hang of fishing the heavy weighted rigs you have to use in the fast current. You lose a lot of tackle in the rocks and it can get expensive.

bd