Inquiry re Elk River

[roberts618]

I got a personal email thru this board and I am not sure my response went out correctly, so I am posting it here--


The Elk can be very hit or miss, especially this time of the year.  The good news is that because of the drought, you will not likely have any generation to interrupt your trip or day.  I have been there three times in the last two weeks and have only caught four fish.  (My luck changed on Saturday.  See separate post on this.)
 
The Elk is a stocked river and of course fishes best when it has just been stocked. You can probably find that out from the TDNR website. 

Unless you plan to float it, there are only two public access points for the Elk, another consideration.  One is right below TF Dam outside of Winchester and the other is on the Moore / Franklin County line at Farris Creek Bridge.  I believe based on my recent experience, the best fishing right now is below the TF Dam stretch.  Start at the bridge and work your way down to the Big Bend which will give you about 1/2 mile of good, easy wading.

I fish it because it is close to me, easy to wade, generally light pressure except for the weekends.  If you go, stop in Lynchburg at the Fly Shop (Tim's Flies and Lies) right off the square.  That way you will get the flies you need.  I believe they are closed on Wednesday.  Check their website and call ahead before going there is my advice.

Hope this helps,

RobertS618

[MikeA]

Good info thanks!

[Curtis Martin]

Got your PM. Thanks for the update!

[czkid]

4 Old Farts on the river today... Old Fart 1 from Chattanooga caught 2 early (between 0900-1000) using zebra midges.  Old Fart 2 from Huntsville caught 2 later (between 1200-1600) using yellow soft hackle.  The other 2 younger old farts struck out.

My guess is that untill the weather stabilizes a bit, we're going to be hurting in the fish catching department.

Ralph

[adamtn]

....and use a trout candy to fish with.

[czkid]

Have seen zero success with that kind of stuff of late.  Folks are throwing all kinds of "stuff" but even the corn fishers aren't having much success.

The only things that occur "naturally" in the upper Elk are midges, snails, a few worms, and very few minnows.  Add to that whatever terrestials happen to get into the water like ants, beatles, etc. and you've got the diet.

There may be some kind of a leech in the river that would account for woolie boogers working.  But other than that it's a reaction to something "going bye" and will not be consistent.  That's one of the reasons that odd ball things like a royal coachman will work on occasion.

Many of the rises right now are dace or some other kind of small minnow type fish.

Ralph

[roberts618]

Ralph,

Small soft hackles and small Copper Johns worked very good on Saturday for me. 

[czkid]

And by the time we get on the river Monday they've been well pounded Sat and Sun. 

Even fishing on the "off" days now that I've retired doesn't seem to help.  I'm afraid it's more of a weather thing and the fact that the midge activity seems to be slowing.

One thing to always watch for... if the swallows are flying, the fish are biting.  All of my 50+ fish days were when the air over the Elk was thick with swallows.  They are keying on the midges the same as the fish are.  It seems like the swallows will not go after the smaller midges.  Once the midges go below about a size 20 the swallows back off.

Ralph

[roberts618]

Ralph,

How do I get a 'swallow report'?  That would be helpful before I came over from Tullahoma to fish.   

[Looper Flies]

Ralph,

I'm going with adamtn -- use Tim's Trout Candy.  Its available at his shop in Lynchburg (Tim's Flies and Lies), or online at his eBay store.

Use it on a dead drift with an indicator.  I noticed, when I went on Sunday, the strikes were very, very subtle, and often, I could only tell because the indicator barely stopped moving.  I also used a size 16 BHPT dropper about 12" down.

I brought 5 total fish to hand and missed two more.  ALL were caught on the Trout Candy.  Anytime I've visited the Elk, I've caught fish on the Trout Candy.  Thanks goes to Tim for such an effective fly.