South Holston & Watauga River Fishing Report: October 2025

October is one of our favorite months to fly fish the South Holston and Watauga Rivers!

As temperatures cool and leaves begin to fall, our rivers essentially wake up for a second time since spring. Brown trout can sense these changes in conditions, which triggers them to begin feeding more regularly than normal.

This increased activity doesn't make catching larger fish easy, but it does give us an advantage: when trout are in an aggressive feeding mode, they are more likely to make a mistake.

Midges are a must-have for all anglers this time of year. In the fall, especially during the mornings, you can often notice clouds of these tiny bugs flying over your head. Midges are most active from early morning until the afternoon, but you can find success drifting your favorite zebra midge patterns all day long.

Take a look at this 29-inch brown trout that fell victim to a well-presented zebra midge! That's right—even the largest fish in the river can be caught on the smallest flies. This particular dandy ate a tiny size 20!

Way to go, Rob, that was an unbelievable fish!

You can find awesome fly fishing on virtually the entire South Holston and Watauga River this time of year!

Use our Fly Fish South Holston River and Fly Fish Watauga River pages to find public access. These handy pages include useful tips, hatch charts, and maps you can plug into your GPS to navigate different stretches of the river.

The most likely areas for success would be the upper four miles of either river. These stretches hold an abundance of fish, and with a correct drag-free drift, you'll find fish that are willing to play the game.

However, with the brown trout spawn approaching, looking for larger fish in the middle and lower sections of the rivers could be well worth your efforts. Since we haven't had much rain in the last month, small tippet and sensitive strike indicators are an absolute must!

• Best flies for Watauga River in October:

• #20 Zebra Midge - Purple, Olive Black

• #10 Pat's Rubber Leg

• #16 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail

• Glo Bug Egg

Our recommendation is to run an attractor as a lead fly, and fish a midge below.

• Best flies for South Holston River in October:

• #20 Zebra Midge - Olive, Grey, Stripper

• #16 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail

• #18 Sulfur Comparadun

• #16 Tan Caddis Pupa

Dry dropper is always an effective way to fish the South Holston on low flows. We also recommend small yarn indicators.

What we expect to see as we move into mid-late October.

As winter approaches, the TVA dams will begin dropping lake levels. This typically means we'll see more high-flow generation, so always check the flows before planning a wade fishing trip! However, due to the lack of recent rain, expect to see some intermittent low flows throughout the month as well.

In terms of hatches, the Sulfur on the South Holston will come to an end, but we anticipate a strong start-up of Blue Winged Olives (BWOs) on both rivers. Keep those midges handy—they will continue to be productive all month long. And finally, be ready to pull leaves and debris off your flies. It’s that time of year!

Brown Trout are on the move!

Over the next two months—especially in late October—we'll notice brown trout moving from their traditional holding lies as they transition toward spawning zones. Targeting these transition areas can be incredibly effective for large brown trout.

Don't be surprised if you stumble across a big fish holding in inches of water. They are often either looking for a partner or feeding shallow. Approach them as stealthily as possible, as they will spook very easily.

It's always a little sad to see September go, as it's truly one of our favorite months. However, we have some awesome memories and photos to share with you at the end of this report!

Tim landed this 28" brown on a #20 BWO nymph! Way to go!

Mark is certainly no stranger when it comes to big brown trout! He took full advantage of a one-hour generation window to successfully fool an otherwise wary brown trout.

Luke fished all day for his shot at a big brown trout, and when it happened he didn't miss his strike! Way to go buddy!

Andrew is a longtime client, having fished with the South Holston Angler for ten years! He is already a phenomenal angler, but he's always willing to learn and fine-tune his technique. On this trip, his midge game was absolutely at its peak!

Taiter landed a new personal best on his recent trip!

Carl is very experienced on the South Holston. However, we were humbled by the river for two days until this happened. Awesome fish Carl!

Willie booked three days with the South Holston Angler. He put in the time and was able to land this 26" monster! Way to go Willie!

Thank you to everyone who considered us as guides last month! We had an awesome time fishing with you all and were looking forward to doing it again soon.

If you're interested in a guided fly fishing trip reach out to John at 423-946-6665. We can cater to any level of angler and it's out goal to help make you better by the end of each trip. October is a busy month so try to let us know in advance if we can help you in any way.

Tight Lines!

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