Fishing Tennessee's River of Death

BASS Destination

By Bruce Ingram
Bassmaster, April 2003

Updated: April 1, 2005, 1:00 PM ET

The Indians native to Northeast Tennessee may have called their home river "the river of death" or, in their language, the "Nolichucky." But to stream smallmouth fans today, the waterway presents quite a different image, says regional fisheries biologist Rick Bivens of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

"For the most part, the Upper Nolichucky is a very good river to fish from a canoe," he says. "The exception would be the three or so miles from the North Carolina state line to Chestoah, where Class IV rapids occur, making it famous for whitewater rafting and for walk-in-type smallmouth fishing in an isolated gorge. For the six miles from Chestoah to Embreeville, the Nolichucky is a Blue Ridge Mountain-type river with Class II+ rapids."

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