fishing.
WHITETOP LAUREL
“Virginia’s finest trout stream,” Whitetop Laurel is a Mt Rogers NRA stream you ought to include in your Highlands fishing trip plans. Its headwaters are in the Konnarock area and it flows down to Damascus. Best times to fish it are April through June with May and June as prime time. There are two wild trout/special regulated sections: the upper – from the first trestle above the upper gate in Taylors Valley to the high Trestle at Green Cove/Creek Junction . The lower regulated area is from just below the lower gate at Taylors Valley down to the confluence with Straight Branch. Above and below these regulated sections, plus Taylors Valley proper, are stocked trout sections. (Note: The Forest Service has constructed several handicap-fishing stations up at Creek Junction.)
The Virginia Creeper Trail runs along and trestles over the length of Whitetop Laurel from its Damascus, VA confluence with Tennessee Laurel (out of Laurel Bloomery, TN) all the way up to the high trestle crossing at Creek Junction. The Trail has a USFS multi-use designation. Biking, horseback riding and hiking use can be heavy at times, especially during the weekends, so keep that in mind when planning days to fish Whitetop and when walking the Trail to fish the next spot.
SOUTH FORK HOLSTON
Cast a line in the South Fork Holston River in Virginia “the South Fork” (S.F.), or the Holston tailwater river in Tennessee we call “the Holston.” The headwaters of the S.F. are out of the Sugar Grove, Virginia, area and have some spring creek origins. The stream first flows along the foothills of the Mount Rogers NRA and then through farmlands of Smythe and Washington counties, eventually forming the head of TVA Lake South Holston southeast of Abingdon.
Because of its subterranean beginnings, it typically fishes better in summer and winter months than other mountain streams. The S.F. has a stocked trout section from St. Clairs Bottom in Smythe County up to the lower boundary of the Buller Hatchery property plus the impoundment behind Buller’s spill dam. Catch and Release/Special regulations apply to the Buller Hatchery from its lower property boundary upstream to the spill dam. Stocked trout regulations apply to the spill dam impoundment. Then special regulations begin again above the impoundment’s slack water and continues all the way through the gorge and then along SR 670 and ends about a mile or so above the Appalacian trail crossing.
There are good access locations all along the South Fork from St. Clair’s bottom upstream to the Buller Hatchery. In 2014, a fisherman’s trail along the upper S.F., on Forest Service land, was constructed by DGIF, the U.S. Forest Service, with grants from agencies like Appalachian Electric Power and with the help of members of the Mountain Empire chapter of Trout Unlimited; linking the fisherman’s parking lot at the Hatchery to the fisherman’s parking at the upstream end of the gorge.
SOUTH HOLSTON
The Holston is located southeast of Bristol TN/VA. Most first-timers begin fishing the upper section from below the new labyrinth weir dams down river to the where the power lines cross. There is a 16 to 22 inch protected length for trout in the tailwater. The water in the river comes from underneath the dam at Tennessee Valley Authority’s South Holston Lake and this means the tailwater is at a constant cold temperature state, perfect habitat for trout! But be mindful that TVA releases water at the dam and water levels will rise rapidly.
The Holston is known for its “technical” slick water sections where conflicting currents of gin clear water and wary trout give anglers the opportunity to put their best stealth tactics to use. However, there are a few exposed ledges and shoals for those who like riffle water. Because of its tailwater origins, the Holston is fished on a year-around basis. TWRA stocks the Holston with fingerling rainbows and browns, however, it is known for its wild population of trout with very good reproduction of brown trout. There are two protected trout spawning grounds which are closed to all fishing from November 1 through January 31:(1) Hickory Tree Bridge upstream to Bottom Creek (above River’s Way) and (2) From the head of the island on Webb Road Bridge downstream to first island below Weaver Pike Bridge.