Trout troubles on Tellico River, TWRA looks to change fishing season

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Fishermen faced tough times on the water at Tellico River as trout suffered an unhealthy trend over the past several years.

"The fishing is not very good because the fish are just struggling to survive and they're not going to bite very well anyways,"

Travis Scott with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency told Local 8 News.

A trend toward warmer waters and historically low river flow was hurting the trout on both the Tellico River and Citico Creek, especially in the late summer months.

Tellico Plains, home to one of the top fishing destinations in the area, could see a slow in fishing without change, according to TWRA.

"It can be detrimental if someone comes up in August and has a poor fishing experience, they may not come back,"

Scott said.

The Tellico Trout Hatchery stocked several other East Tennessee rivers and is funded by people who buy fishing licenses. That's why TWRA said they're working to fix the problem.

Wildlife officials said they hope to push the stocking season earlier in the year to help keep the Tellico full. The season normally runs March 15 through September 15. A proposed change would have the season starting March 1 and ending August 15.

Scott said it would be one of the first big changes to the hatchery in several years to help keep one of Tellico Plains' largest industries.

The proposal would go through the TWRA commission and could take until Fall of 2018 to get approval. Fishermen won't notice a change until next season if it's passed.