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.

A cold, clear Norris tailwater famous for big browns and a building sulphur crescendo in late May and June, with sowbugs, scuds and midges the year-round base.

Tomorrow · Not the day for it
Scud
Forecast · Tomorrow
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Scud
Scud
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via Nantahala River
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather29°C
WindN 5 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.7 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
12°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
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 — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 51%
Also:Black Midge21%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

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

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 4 with Pro.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · September 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
Brown Trout fly box
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
About this water

A cold, clear Norris tailwater famous for big browns and a building sulphur crescendo in late May and June, with sowbugs, scuds and midges the year-round base. Technical, low-and-clear when they're not generating — and quick to fill when they are.

  • Limestone influenced
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 84 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity66 × 12%7.9
Conditions total= 84
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