Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.
South Holston Reservoir is a lake or reservoir in Virginia, listed as Special-regulation trout water by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
1 guide and 1 shop nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Northeast Tennessee: the South Holston & the Watauga.
South Holston Reservoir is a lake or reservoir in Virginia. Our destination hub Northeast Tennessee: the South Holston & the Watauga is 14 mi away in a straight line (40 by road).
No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on South Holston Reservoir or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest South Holston Reservoir
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Restrooms within 2 miles of South Holston Reservoir in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Tailwater trout fisherySouth Holston Dam releasing into the South Holston River tailwater, near Bristol, Tennessee. Photo: Tennessee Valley Authority, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tennessee · about 2 mi
Tailwater trout fisheryThe Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals, Elizabethton, Tennessee. Photo: Jan Kronsell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tennessee · about 14 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Beaver CreekThe Smith River in the evening, Henry County, Virginia. Photo: MarmadukePercy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Beaver Creek.
Virginia · about 9 mi
Tailwater trout fisheryRepresentative photo · not Wilbur ReservoirThe West Prong of the Little Pigeon River at the Old Mill dam, Pigeon Forge. Photo: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Wilbur Reservoir.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Wolf CreekThe Jackson River in the Hidden Valley, Bath County, Virginia. Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Wolf Creek.
Virginia · about 12 mi
Delayed HarvestRepresentative photo · not Doe RiverLittle River at Three Forks, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Doe River.
Tennessee · about 14 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Special Regulation Trout Waters: Bait Allowed (Jackson River tailwater, Lake Moomaw, Smith River, South Holston Reservoir) list (Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read 2026-10-20). All waters with this designation
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
USGS name: South Holston Lake
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped shoreline. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
5.9 of 156.3 mi of shoreline on public land
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
Marion, VA · 33 mi
Euro nymphing · Beginners & lessons · Smith & South Holston
Nearby
What 1 nearby guide website mention: what guides advertise, not a survey or a promise of what you will catch.
Named on 1 nearby guide website
17 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Midges (all year) · Blue-winged olive (February to March, May, October to December) · Early black stonefly (February to March, October to December) · Blue Quill (March to April) · Quill Gordon (March to April) · Black caddis (April to May) · and 11 more on the chart
Elizabethton sits on the Watauga River below Watauga and Wilbur dams in the north-east corner of Tennessee; the South Holston River runs south-west from South Holston Dam past Bluff City toward Kingsport, and Johnson City and Bristol, on the Virginia line, are the nearby cities.
Destination hub · 14 mi away in a straight line, 40 by road
A stillwater fly-fishing checklist for lakes and ponds: a 9–10 ft 5–6 weight rod, floating and intermediate lines, chironomids and leeches, and float-tube options, with estimated prices and where to buy.
9′–10′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating + intermediate lines · Rainbow, brook and brown trout in lakes
Open the checklistChironomids, leeches and where fish hold in a lake.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on stillwater
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with South Holston Reservoir.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the point for “South Holston Lake” (reservoir) in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Water type is our own classification.
Tailwater trout fisherySouth Holston Dam releasing into the South Holston River tailwater, near Bristol, Tennessee. Photo: Tennessee Valley Authority, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tennessee · about 2 mi
Tailwater trout fisheryThe Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals, Elizabethton, Tennessee. Photo: Jan Kronsell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Beaver CreekThe Smith River in the evening, Henry County, Virginia. Photo: MarmadukePercy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Beaver Creek.
Tailwater trout fisheryRepresentative photo · not Wilbur ReservoirThe West Prong of the Little Pigeon River at the Old Mill dam, Pigeon Forge. Photo: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Wilbur Reservoir.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Wolf CreekThe Jackson River in the Hidden Valley, Bath County, Virginia. Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Wolf Creek.
Virginia · about 12 mi
Delayed HarvestRepresentative photo · not Doe RiverLittle River at Three Forks, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Doe River.
Tennessee · about 14 mi
Bristol, Tennessee
Fishing lodge · 3.1 mi
Bristol, Tennessee
Fishing lodge · 5.8 mi
Bluff City, Tennessee
Fishing lodge · 6.2 mi
Elizabethton, Tennessee
River cabins · 12 mi
