Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Region 4
Stream Management
Cherokee Tailwater
Cherokee Dam, located on the Holston River about 52 miles upstream of its confluence with the French Broad River, impounds 30,300-acre Cherokee Reservoir. The Cherokee tailwater, which flows along the Jefferson/Grainger county boundary, was historically impacted by low DO levels and the lack of a minimum flow. These limitations, along with seasonal temperature regimes, impaired aquatic communities and were an impediment to fisheries management. TVA established a minimum flow in 1988 and later improved DO levels by installation of a liquid oxygen injection system in the forebay of the reservoir and through turbine venting aided with hub baffles. These improvements have helped TVA meet the DO target of 4.0 mg/L in the tailwater and as a result, fish and macroinvertebrate communities have substantially improved. Although the Cherokee tailwater has generally been considered to support a warmwater fish community, TWRA occasionally stocked trout there since the 1950s. Beginning in 1995, trout stocking efforts in the Cherokee tailwater became more consistent, involved more fish, and were more successful as water quality improved.
The upper 18.8 miles of the Cherokee tailwater, from the dam downstream to the vicinity of Nance Ferry, is now being managed as a put-and-take and put-and-grow trout fishery by stocking adult and fingerling trout. The Cherokee tailwater receives a total of about 170,000 rainbow trout and 41,000 brown trout annually. This tailwater is quickly gaining popularity among area anglers and appears to be drawing some pressure away from other Region IV tailwaters. Because of the warmer water and abundant food supply (particularly caddis flies), trout grow extremely well and provide the potential for producing a quality trout fishery. However, warm water (above 70° F) during the summer months limits this trout fishery in some years by restricting holdover. General trout angling regulations apply throughout the Cherokee tailwater.
Background
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