July 17, 2026 | Beaver Tailwater Fishing Report
- Ryan Burks
- Jul 18
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Water, water and more water! The dam is back online and they are trying hard to get rid of excess water that is in the lake. It's been a story of high water the last week or two, but that should be ending in the next few days. The fishing has been a spotty and a bit tough some days, but we've found ways to grind through and get rods bent. Give the full report a read below.
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Fishing Report - Beaver Tailwater Levels & Conditions
Currently, Beaver Lake is sitting at 1122.5, just a foot or so above target flood pool. The generation pattern has been altering back and forth a bit between two units and one unit plus flood gates. The total releases have been right around 7800-7900 cfs. This is pretty big water for our river and can be tough to fish. As evidence of the power of water, there is a brand new Old Towne canoe folded around a tree at Parker Bottoms. I sure hope the occupants are ok. On the bright side, the water is as clear and clean as you could ask, and a the temps have stayed great and very comfortable for our fish. The toughest part of fishing right now is getting your bugs down to the bottom and in their face. Even with the water challenges, we are still catching a few and having a great time out there. As the lake approaches flood pool this weekend or early next week, I would expect the generation to slacken up and be for power demand purposes only. For now, bring some heavy flies and long leaders, get out there and catch some fish!
What's Working
High water nymphing is the name of the game right now. I'm running long leaders, but not your typical tapered leader set up. I use about 4' of 20-30 pound test mono. To that I attach a swivel. To the swivel I'm running about 8 feet of 3x tippet. I then tie a blood knot and another 18 - 24" of 3x tippet. I'm placing a big split shot above that blood knot. I'm then tying on a big, bright fly as an attractor. Something like one of my high water Y2Ks in size 10 or a Jumbo Worm. To the bend of that hook, I tie on another 18" of 4x tippet and a smaller and more natural fly. I still tend to fish this fly several sizes larger than I would in lower flows though. My second fly, and the one that is getting bit the most, have been things like perdigons in size 12 and 14, Purple Haze sowbugs in 10 - 12 and Sunday Specials in 10-14. Rubberleg stoneflies are also a solid bet to have in your rig.
I did see a few Sulphur mayflies coming off this week, but in all this water they weren't enough to get the fish keyed on them. As the flood gates close and the water drops it might be enough to get on a good bite, though. I'm betting mayfly nymphs (and hopefully dries!) will be in the rotation for me this coming week.
Check out the store portion of our website for flies, and if you need something you don't see there...don't hesitate to reach out! I can make it happen.
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