Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Ed Carter, Executive Director

Tailwater Trout

Tailwater Trout Locations Map

Peaceful Stream Recreation Foggy Morning

Rivers below dams are commonly referred to as tailwaters or tailraces. Many hydropower and flood control dams operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers release cold water into the tailwaters. The cold water eliminated the habitat for native fishes, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and TWRA stock trout to provide a fishery. These fisheries are maintained by stocking adult trout from spring through fall with most of the fish being stocked during the spring and summer. Fingerling trout are also stocked at many of the tailwaters. In 2001 we stocked 1.3 million trout into tailwaters. Fishing Tennessee's tailwaters provides a great opportunities to catch lots of trout and big trout.

Hatchery Truck Stocking Fish in Tailrace

Tailwater Stocking Schedule

We do not provide a specific stocking schedule for tailwaters, but as you can see in the schedule below most tailwaters are stocked most of the year. In addition, most of our tailwaters hold trout year-round, so fish is good anytime. The trout fishing in the tailwaters below in red ink are only good during the stocked periods due to warm water temperatures at other times.

Tailwater	Below	Species Stocked	Stocking Schedule
Elk River	Tims Ford Dam	rainbow trout brown trout	March through November
Duck River	Normandy Dam	rainbow trout brown trout	March through June, November through December
Caney Fork River	Center Hill Dam	rainbow trout brown trout brook trout	March through December
Stones River	J. Percy Priest Dam	rainbow trout	December through March
Obey River	Dale Hollow Dam	rainbow trout brown trout brook trout	January through December
Hiwassee River	Appalachain Dam	rainbow trout brown trout	January through December
Ocoee River	Ocoee Dam #1 - Parksville	rainbow trout	March and April
Clinch River	Norris Dam	rainbow trout brown trout brook trout	March through September
South Holston River	South Holston Dam	rainbow trout brown trout	March through September
Watauga River	Wilbur Dam	rainbow trout brown trout brook trout	March through September
Wilbur Reservoir	Watauga Dam	Rainbow Trout	February through May
Holston River	Cherokee Dam	rainbow trout brown trout	November through April
S. Holston River	Fort Patrick Henry Dam	rainbow trout brown trout	March and April

Use caution below dams. Call TVA at 1-800-238-2264 to check dam discharge and generation schedules

Tailwater Management

Tailwater Trout Jim Habera with Brown Trout

Each year TWRA biologist survey trout populations in tailwaters to evaluate the current fishing regulations and stocking rates. Fish are sampled using a variety of boat electrofishing boats depending on the location. Fixed sites are sampled each year and all fish are measured and weighed.