It’s more a matter of how it feels when you’re out there,” he says. “There’s really no rhyme or reason to it. Stranahan fishes 20-pound tippet on shad and trout patterns. These snag-laden conditions make fighting large fish to the boat difficult. Deep holes below shoals are likely areas, as are shady areas with fallen timber. “An 8-weight will suffice,” he says, “but if you hook into a big one, you’ll be severely undergunned.” Striped bass like low light, well-oxygenated water, and areas where they can hang out of the current in ambush. It’s about get-ting out there and putting in the work.” By work, Stranahan means diligently hammering away at likely water with 9-and 10-weight rods and big streamers.
But there are those days when you might hit two or three. “If you can get one in the boat, it’s been a good day. “It’s like going deer hunting on a river,” Stranahan says. If you hook a Hiwassee River striper, there’s a good chance it will weigh 20 to 30 pounds. And while the Hiwassee can’t claim the huge numbers of stripers hosted by some other area rivers, it makes up for it with quality. Stranahan says some years are better than others, and that they see all sizes of fish, from 3-pounders up to 40-plus-pound monsters. When the main body of Chickamauga heats up in summer, striped bass pile into the Hiwassee chasing the cool water of dam releases. The later fish move in seeking thermal refuge. The jury is still out on whether the Hiwassee run is a successful spawning migration. These landlocked stripers still heed the primal urge and migrate more than 50 miles up the Hiwassee from Chickamauga Lake to spawn. They evolved as saltwater fish that run up freshwater rivers to spawn.
The early fish are part of a spring spawning run. By deep summer, stripers invade the river in numbers. It starts as a trickle, with just a few fish cruising and hunting trout below the shoals around Reliance. Most years, stripers show up in the tailwater in June. Hiwassee River The Striper Run NOTEBOOK Our April trip was too early in the season for the summer run of striped bass up the Hiwassee. She might not have realized it, but Stranahan knew: Hannah had learned a new skill that afternoon. She went on to catch several fine rainbows on a dry fly. American Fly Fishing November/December 2020: Īnd mends on her own.
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