Little T?

Any of you guys have stories of fishing the Little T before the dam, maybe your father or grandfather told you about it? I've only heard that it was a fantastic river with some really big trout.

We fished it a bunch in the late 70's..really good, fun wet fly fishing, and lots a big browns. My dad told stories of chasing hooked fish up and down the river to help try to land them but the trout usually won…

I fished it a lot when I was a kid with my dad it was great. Man I haven't heard the Little T in a very long time. Have fished it after and not the same.

Hopefully SCN will see this……

Supposedly there were caddis hatches that were better than any western river……

Just remember that dam produces NO ELECTRICITY whatsoever!

That dam was built as a way of another land grab from people. Nothing more or less.

I fished it for several years while a student at UTK. It was the best river east of the Mississippi.

Blanket caddIs hatches and a variety of mayflies. It was fantastic fishing.

I hope the TVA brass that scammed the people out of their land along the Little T burn in hell.

I was lucky to fish it for 10 years is so with a great old fly fisherman who taught me so much. He tried to teach me how to tie the flys we were using. But I usually just stole his lol. Used to also float it from Hoss Holts to 411 and duck hunt

I wasn't a big trout fishermen. I only fished the Little T one time before the dam dam came along. But I have vivid memories of the battle to save it. I wrote them down a while ago back: https://newschannel9.com/sports/outdoors/save-the-snail-darter-a-personal-perspective

I never fished it before it was destroyed, but my understanding is that it was more like the White River in Arkansas than the Clinch River in TN. I know that's somewhat comparing apples to oranges, since both the White & the Clinch have long been tail-water fisheries (for the most part).

Just my opinion, but many our trout fisheries are being destroyed & polluted by recreational kayakers.
Some call that progress.

7mm08 said:

Hopefully SCN will see this……

Supposedly there were caddis hatches that were better than any western river……

Just remember that dam produces NO ELECTRICITY whatsoever!

Click to expand...

I grew up just across the mountain. I fished it some, but didn't know what a fly rod was. You are dead on about no electricity being produced. Flood control? Not so sure about that either. Land grab and resort homes? My vote is 100% yes.

rsimms.....thanks for the link. I had completely forgotten about Dr. Etnier, went to school with his boy. I just had always heard about the large browns in the Little T, one older gentleman told me of playing a rainbow and a large brown took it. You hear stories and wonder if it was really that good or just stories, sounds like she was something special.

Just retrieved my TN Wildlife from the mailbox.....

Look at Cooper communities and the senator from Arkansas (who later become president). They developed Tellico village and kahite. ALONG with Tvas help and money.

I remember the commercials come buy dockable land tellico. Wasn't anything on it till the money hungry developers got ahold of it.

big ridge hunter said:

Look at Cooper communities and the senator from Arkansas (who later become president). They developed Tellico village and kahite. ALONG with Tvas help and money.

Click to expand...

I remember in the late 80's or early 90's. Commercials selling land that's dockable. Don't recall the prices at all. But was indeed to create development. To sell giant house to the wealthy out of staters. Sounds similar to developers these days. I had one call me. And gave this entire line of how TN winters are warm. And it doesn't get over 85 degrees here in the summer. All kinds of other lies. You can imagine after I called her a lier on all counts. I said is this what you tell people not from here or never lived here. Cause I live here. I'm sorry to waist your time she says.