Southeast Musky Fishing

[el_deanyo]

Hey All -

I'm new to the forum so, first off, I want to say hi.

Cutting right to it... I'm looking for some info on musky fishing in the southeast.

Specifically, which flies will work best in Central and East Tennessee? As far as resources go, I have a friend who has a cabin on the Chippewa flowage in Wisconsin and fishes for them a lot up there, so I'll be in good hands learning it. However, since I'm just starting to get into it and he doesn't know which patterns will work best around TN, we're looking for info from someone who knows more than us! We'll primarily be on Melton Hill reservoir/Clinch river, and the Collins river.

Any advice on the flies would be appreciated.

 

[fox]

If you're around Knoxville stop in at 3 river anglers. They'll point you in the right direction and carry some musky flies also.

 

[jwthought81]

Or you could shoot across the border a few hours and stop in asheville, nc and visit Hunter Banks fly shop. A wealth of knowledge there, too.

Good Luck

 

[el_deanyo]

Thanks for the info guys. Fox, I will do that as I frequent 3ra and jw, I'll have to stop in next time in the Asheville area.

I was hoping a few people may recommend some colors that work well/post some pictures. I assume shad/rainbow/brown patterns will best.

 

[thenextlevel]

Best bet is going to be to learn to tie your own. It is very difficult and expensive to buy some of the larger musky flies ( triples ). They are not exceptionally hard to tie if you have some tying experience


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[el_deanyo]

Yep, I'm with ya on that. Just figuring out which colors to go with. Will post some pics once all is said and done.

 

[ted4887]

Do you know any gear anglers down there? One of the best things to do is to find out what colors the gear guys have been successful with. I'd done a little research on that fishery earlier this fall because I was going to fish the Southern Classic but ended up canceling those plans at the last minute. I'll go back and see if I saved any of my notes about about the fishery once I'm done with work.

The only other thing I would recommend doing is to try to find a fishery report of species in the lake and figure out what the main prey would be.

 

[clsmith131]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm heading up to see a friend in Oliver Springs, west of Knoxville in a couple of weeks. I'm taking my boat with me, I wanted to target Muskie and Striper on the Clinch or Melton Hill reservoir, but like the OP, am having a difficult time finding information. I too would like to tie some muskie flies, I already have an arsenal of striper flies, and am very familiar with freshwater striper, but have never caught a muskie. It is a bucket lister for me. I was hoping that you had an update for this thread, el-deanyo.

I know that they have had high mortality rates on the lake in the past from people using "J" hooks with trout as bait, and gut-hooking the muskie, so I thought a large trout imitation would be a good choice. I also know the bait guys use gizzard shad and skipjack, of which I have some pretty good patterns already.

Also, I will have my trout gear with me, in search of some good trout water. In the past, we visited the Caney Fork, but with no luck. So, I'm up for suggestions on the trout front as well.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

 

[clsmith131]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm heading up to see a friend in Oliver Springs, west of Knoxville in a couple of weeks. I'm taking my boat with me, I wanted to target Muskie and Striper on the Clinch or Melton Hill reservoir, but like the OP, am having a difficult time finding information. I too would like to tie some muskie flies, I already have an arsenal of striper flies, and am very familiar with freshwater striper, but have never caught a muskie. It is a bucket lister for me. I was hoping that you had an update for this thread, el-deanyo.

I know that they have had high mortality rates on the lake in the past from people using "J" hooks with trout as bait, and gut-hooking the muskie, so I thought a large trout imitation would be a good choice. I also know the bait guys use gizzard shad and skipjack, of which I have some pretty good patterns already.

Also, I will have my trout gear with me, in search of some good trout water. In the past, we visited the Caney Fork, but with no luck. So, I'm up for suggestions on the trout front as well.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

 

[el_deanyo]

Yea for musky go shad colors. Far as trout, the clinch is much closer to Oliver springs but it has been very high lately. If it's 0 generators you can wade it, but need a boat for 1 or more.