The calendar has turned and now it is time to start planning to get out and fly fish in 2017. Here are the best moments of 2016 from some of Tennessee’s best tailwater trout fisheries. Trout Zone Anglers offers both guided walk and wade trips as well as guided float trips. While most of the highlights this year happened on the boat, there were some great moments on wade trips as well.
2016 Tailwater Recap
The year started out with lots of high water. Thankfully once the generation schedules calmed down, we had good flows for the rest of the year until December. That meant that plenty of both wade and float opportunities existed across Tennessee tailwaters.
This was one of the better years for locating and sight fishing for big fish that we’ve had in a while on the Caney Fork River. Consistent flows keep the fish in one area. Once you locate a good one, you have plenty of time to go back and stalk it. The only down side to the river fishing well is that people were coming from all over to try it out. Unless you were fishing with a good local guide, you might or might not have had a good experience. If you were with a good local guide, then you probably caught several large trout. Having exact fly imitations was very important as well.
In addition to the Caney Fork River fishing well, the Clinch River and Holston River fished well also. Both rivers had some good hatches throughout the warm months and the trout responded accordingly. While most of the Trout Zone Anglers tailwater guide trips were on the Caney Fork River, trips on the Holston and Clinch were quite successful as well.
The following are some of the best moments that happened on Trout Zone Anglers tailwater guide trips this last year.
2016 Tailwater Photo Gallery
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- Don’s big Caney Fork rainbow was caught when we pulled over to wade fish a favorite section where I had located some large trout on previous trips.
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- Sue came to try out fly fishing for her first time. In addition to a big 18″ rainbow, she also hooked and landed this 20″ beast of a rainbow. The fish jumped several times, but the knots held and Sue did a great job of getting the fish under control.
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- Shannon caught 3-4 big rainbows on his float trip. This is one of the prettier fish he got that day.
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- Mike lost a big heartbreaker rainbow trout, but this big consolation prize wasn’t too bad either.
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- Another of Shannon’s big rainbow trout. All of his fish were caught while sight fishing which is as much fun as it gets!
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- Bill has an affinity for big brown trout. He found this one as well as some other great fish on the Caney Fork River in 2016.
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- Tim and Andy were excited to be on the boat. Tim had been after a big brown trout for a while, and Andy was new to fly fishing. Imagine my surprise when they doubled up with these two monsters!
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- Deb took a float trip for her birthday with the hope of catching some big trout. Mission accomplished when this rainbow hit like a freight train.
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- Deb caught two big fish during her float trip. The other one may have been a little larger, but you won’t find a prettier rainbow trout than this one.
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- Jayson got out on the boat as part of his bachelor party trip. He was successful with a 20″ rainbow trout.
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- Eric is new to the sport, but it didn’t take him long to start catching big brown trout. Great job Eric!
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- Mike was looking to polish his fly fishing skills. He managed a couple of really nice trout including this big rainbow trout during his Caney Fork River float trip.
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- Andrew was looking to get out, relax, and hopefully catch some nice trout. He joined the 20″ club with this monster rainbow trout.
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- Don caught several nice trout during his Caney Fork float trip. This rainbow was one of the fattest I’ve seen.
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- Hailey and her husband Jayson were on the boat with the goal of getting Hailey into some larger trout. She did a great job on this 20″ toad!
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- Jeff caught one of the largest rainbow trout of the year on his float. Even though he is fairly new to the sport, he hooked and played this fish like a seasoned pro. He found some other big fish as well on his float trip!
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- Jayson also caught a 20″ brown trout on his day on the water for his bachelor party. Here one of the groomsmen gives the assist with the net.
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- Gary has been on the boat a few times, and was looking to catch some big fish. He had already caught a big rainbow trout when this beastly brown trout decided to eat his fly.
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- Sherian was at least as excited about this fish as I was. It turned out to be the largest fish of the year caught on one of the Trout Zone Anglers guide trips on the Caney Fork River. Congrats on a great rainbow trout Sherian!
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- Pat is a regular on the drifter and found one of this best Caney Fork brown trout early in the year. Great catch!
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- Greg wanted to learn how to fish the Caney Fork River. He got off to a quick start with this nice brown trout!
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- Bill Trussell is a well known fly fishing blogger. Spending the day on the water with him was one of the highlights of the year for me. Here is one of his great catches, a big rainbow trout.
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- Another of Jeff’s big rainbow trout.
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- Sandy was not to be outdone by Jeff on their float trip and found this gorgeous rainbow trout in a fast run. She fought the fish all over the river just like a pro.
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- Ted lost a heart breaker brown trout last year and came back for redemption. Here is one of his great brown trout from his 3 days on the water.
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- Terry wanted to gain some new skills and did so with some beetle fishing on the Caney Fork River. This was one of several nice brown trout that fell for the beetle.
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- Coach Duane came back with his buddy Ted for some time on the drift boat. This big rainbow trout was the highlight of the trip but they both caught several nice trout.
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- Mark and his son Grayson enjoyed a day on the drift boat this past summer before Grayson had to go back to school. This double was the highlight of a relaxing day on the water.
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- Frank brought Sue fly fishing for the first time. She caught the largest fish of the day, but Frank found a big rainbow of his own as well.
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- Frank came back a week later for another short at his own Caney Fork monster. The river shined with this gorgeous holdover 20″ rainbow trout that came out of some deep slow water.
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- Tim had a banner year fishing with Trout Zone Anglers. Here is a big Caney Fork rainbow trout he caught while wade fishing.
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- Chris had a great day on the Caney Fork River. Here is one of several big rainbows he caught.
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- Chris found several large rainbows. Here is another of his great fish!
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- David and Jenna enjoyed a gorgeous fall day on the Caney Fork. Here is Jenna with a big brown trout she found early in the float.
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- Not to be outdone by Jenna, David found a great brown trout as well.
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- Roger enjoyed a nice fall day out wading on the Caney Fork River. Here is one of the beautifully colored up brown trout he found while fishing some deep runs that I knew held some good fish.
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- Tim found lots of great fish this year. Here is one of his great brown trout from early in the year.
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- Greg found one of the prettiest brown trout of the whole year when this fish hit.
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- Tim with one of his big Holston River trophies from early in the year.
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- Ted got it done with lots of nice fish over his three days of fishing on the Caney Fork River.
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- Duane had the hot hand with big rainbows, but he did find some nice brown trout as well.
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- Here is one of Duane’s big rainbows from late evening on the second day of fishing.
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- Deb took a guided wade trip to help her learn the river. Here is one of the nice fish she caught during her trip!
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- Andrew and Brooke enjoyed a Caney Fork float trip as part of their short vacation. They found some great fish and had a good time!
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- Don found some of the pretties brown trout on his summer float trip.
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- Roger was stuck watching Don catch big fish but eventually struck with his own big rainbow trout.
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- Don’s last big fish of the day. This gorgeous brown trout was in a slot of faster water that I had been watching every trip down the river.
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- Pat came back for another Caney Fork float and wanted to fish his bamboo rod. This brown trout put a serious bend in his prized rod!
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- CR was fishing the Caney Fork River for the first time when this big rainbow struck early in the float.
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- Mike came for a half day float on the Caney Fork and found this beautiful rainbow trout late in the float.
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- Bob enjoyed a day on the drift boat and caught several nice fish including this beautiful brown trout.
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- Newlyweds Jayson and Hailey spent some quality time together in the drifter. This double was one of the many highlights of the day.
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- Tim’s big Holston River trophy rainbow trout. These fish are built like tanks and fight like tigers.
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- Pat lost some giants, but this pretty brown trout was a great consolation prize.
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- In addition to her big rainbow, Hailey found this great brown trout as well!
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- Sue struck early with this big rainbow before nailing the 20″ fish later in the float.
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- Mark and his wife enjoyed a late summer float trip on the Caney Fork. Mark didn’t quite break 20″ but came really close with this amazing brown trout.
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- Brian Morris had brought some friends to fish on the Caney Fork earlier in the year. This time he came back for a day in the casting brace of the drifter and found some great trout including this beautiful brown.
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- Here is one of Brian’s amazing rainbows that came while sight fishing to some spooky fish. The cast had to be perfect and it was.
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- One last look at Gary’s monster brown trout.
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- John came for another shot at the Caney Fork River this year during his annual fall vacation to the area. He found this brown trout while sight fishing.
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- This rainbow was not the largest of the year, but the bright pink cheek is definitely one of the more stunning fish I saw in 2016. Great job John!
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- I managed some time fishing for myself and found some nice fish as well!