Tailwater · Limestone Influenced · Tennessee, US

Clinch River

A wide, sunlit view of the Clinch River in Tennessee, with a gravel bar and forested hills along the banks.
Today · About as good as it gets
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Nantahala River
Water temp13.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather11°C
WindN 23 km/h
Pressure1025 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Nantahala River. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
13°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°

We have not characterised this dam's release, so this is a general cold-release figure and could be several degrees out in either direction. Treat it as a hint, not a reading, and check locally before you fish.

How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Damselflies & dragonflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12 Uhr

12 Uhr(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 63%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 12 Uhr — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive (Eastern Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Gallery · 2
  1. A wide, sunlit view of the Clinch River in Tennessee, with a gravel bar and forested hills along the banks.
    Clinch River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Clinch River' (TN06010207019_2000), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Temperature, Hydrologic Alteration. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · TN06010207019_2000

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 85 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Nantahala Riverproxy
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts