Author Jim Casada and veteran guide Jason Reep pose with a big, richly colored Watauga River rainbow. Photo courtesy of Jim Casada

Conceived in a time of national crisis and constructed amidst considerable controversy, most of the dams along the Tennessee River drainage have their origins in the 1930s. Growing demands for hydroelectric power, ravages of recurrent floods and provision of employment during the Depression’s lean, mean times all figured prominently in a madness for impoundments.

Fishing, whether for trout or other species, did not at first enter the equation in any significant way, nor for that matter did boating or other outdoor recreational activities. Not surprisingly, many contemporaries sharply criticized the drive to build dams. A “damn the dams” attitude was exhibited by some politicians, many prominent conservationists, and in particular, those who stood to lose their land. The latter, hardy rural folks living close to the earth, bemoaned flooding of the rich bottomlands their families had farmed for generations. Sportsmen, for their part, complained about the loss of traditional hunting grounds and favorite fishing holes.

Today, three-score-plus years later, most view impoundments created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Army Corps of Engineers in a quite different light. Everyone realizes that flood control in the Tennessee Valley was a singular achievement, and the lakes along the river drainage have provided varied recreational opportunities. Dam advocates predicted some of these developments, but nowhere in original mission statements or among the considerable hoopla surrounding construction will you find mention of trout fishing. Quite simply, no one, not even the wildest of dreamers, anticipated the trout habitat and fishing potential of cold, highly oxygenated waters that formed dam tailraces.

Beginning in the 1940s though, all this changed. Initial experimental stockings proved highly successful, and it dawned on fisheries biologists of the time that they had a potential bonanza just waiting for a bit of tender attention. That proved to be the case — in spades. Today, the state of Tennessee can make a convincing argument for having some of the country’s finest tailwater fishing. These tailwaters are scattered over roughly half of the state, ranging from sites along the western edge of the spine of the Appalachians on westward into the Cumberland Plateau region of Middle Tennessee.

Suitable tailwaters grow trout and grow ‘em fast. Fingerlings become fine, feisty specimens fit to grace any creel or stringer in just 12 to 18 months, and stocked fish that manage to evade the attentions of anglers for a few years can become impressive specimens weighing well into double digits. Tailwaters are for the most part a put, grow and take type of fishery, but in some of them, brown trout have, to use parlance you’ll find among mountains folks in East Tennessee, “taken holt.” That means they are reproducing naturally.

With that bit of history by way of background, let’s take a peek at a half-dozen top Tennessee tailwaters along with a glimpse at some of the many techniques that will put you in meaningful contact with trout.

Before doing so, though, a few words on safety and water flow seem imperative. After all, what makes tailwaters special is the strong flow of cold, nutrient-rich water released from dams upstream, but when the water is “on,” it is a true torrent that makes wading (in most streams) problematic if not impossible. A full flow also brings dramatic changes in fish behavior and, accordingly, necessitates different tactical approaches on the part of fishermen.