Tennessee Stocked Trout Rivers
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency [TWRA] intensively manages the trout fishery in our tailwaters of Tennessee. The water below the dam's is referred to as the tailwaters. The hydropower and flood control dam operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers release cold water into the tailwaters. The cold water eliminated the native fishes, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency [TWRA] stock brown, rainbow, and brook trout to provide a fishery for the anglers. The fisheries are maintained by stocking adult and fingerlings trout from the spring through fall with the majority in the late spring through summer. Fishing Tennessee's tailwaters provides a great opportunity to catch lots of nice trout and some really big ones!
Caney Fork River
The Caney Fork River of the Cumberland River system located in Middle Tennessee is one of the best trout fishery of the state. On the Caney Fork River stocking is done thru out the year with only a few months of no stocking. The Caney Fork River has lots of hold over trout from the previous years of stocked trout. Making this a good opportunity to catch really big trout. The trout fishing on the Caney Fork River is done from wading, canoeing, kayaking, boats, and from the banks of the river. The fishing opportunities are endless when it comes to the Caney Fork. The tailwaters of Center Hill dam is a great place to fish when discharging waters or at low water for wading the cold water of the Caney. If you are planning a trout fishing trip to the Caney Fork River, remember that fishing is affected by the generation and sluice gates. Check out the generation scheduleon our website.
Obey River
The Obey River is the tailwaters of Dale Hollow dam which is located in Celina, Tennessee. The trout fishing below the dam is within the first few miles of the river. Most of the trout fishing is from the banks of the river, with no discharge of water from the dam. During generation the tailwaters can be dangerous, choose your fishing time carefully.
Elk River
The Elk River is a little known tailwater in Middle Tennessee. The trout are all stocked, but alot of holdover trout. It's relatively small river, probably the best way to fish the river is by wading. The river winds and meanders its way around with fairly smooth flows. Access is rather limited but many access points are right at the dam. As with any tailwaters, the flows have to be suitable for wade fishing. Be sure to check out the water levels!
