Overmountain Chapter Trout Unlimited
Did you know?
The Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited (OMTU) isn’t just a fishing club—we’re a cold water conservation group. Sure, many of us love chasing trout with a fly rod, but our real passion is protecting and preserving the cold water streams that make those moments possible.
Our mission is simple but important: To conserve, protect, and restore cold water fisheries in the Watauga, South Holston, and Nolichucky watersheds in Northeast Tennessee.
We’re always looking for passionate volunteers to join us—whether that’s helping out in the field, supporting local outreach, or just spreading the word in your community. Every little bit helps.
Can’t volunteer? No problem. Consider supporting our efforts with a donation. Your contribution helps us continue important work to keep these rivers healthy and thriving for generations to come.
Get involved. Make a difference. Protect what matters.
Upcoming Events
Our Next Chapter Meeting
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Iron Fly Competition
IRON FLY is fly tying meets Iron Chef as tiers compete in a battle of partying skills and bobbin prowess to make the ultimate fish snack from the same set of mystery ingredients. Expect chaos as we challenge teams to tie ludicrous flies, using ludicrous materials, while following our ludicrous rules!
The competition will be in small teams of fly tiers (divided up by experience level) and no fly tying experience is necessary! We will provide all equipment and fly tying ingredients and be sharing some great prizes! Food and beverage can be purchased at 6ix BrewHouse.
We hope to see you there!
📅 Date: Tuesday, November 17
🕕 Time: 6:00PM
📍 Location: 6ix Brewhouse (455 W Sullivan St #149, Kingsport, TN 37660)
First Saturday Fishing Days
Who: Fly fishers of all ages and skill levels
What: A few hours of relaxing fishing, most likely on the Watauga River or larger streams within a 30 min drive of Elizabethton.
🗓 Date: Saturday, November 7
🕕 Time: 9:00 AM
📍 Location: O'Reilly Auto Parts (500 N Sycamore St, Elizabethton, TN 37643) and decide on which river or stream based on conditions the day of.
Please reach out to us if you are a new fly fisher, need gear, or want to learn more!
Thank You, Tailwater Roundup Volunteers & Sponsors!
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who came out on March 14 to support this year’s Tailwater Roundup. Because of your hard work and dedication, we had an amazing turnout of 98 volunteers who helped remove over 10,000 pounds of trash and more than 2,000 pounds of tires from the South Holston and Watauga Rivers.
The impact you made on our local waterways is huge. These rivers are special places for so many of us, and it takes a committed community like this to help protect and preserve them.
A big thank you to the Elizabethton Moose Lodge for hosting our after-party and giving everyone a place to relax and celebrate a job well done.
We also couldn’t do this without the incredible support of our sponsors.
Please help us thank and support the businesses and organizations that made this event possible:
828 Flies
AFTCO
APES
Asheville Fly Fishing Co.
Blue Mountain Fly Fishing
Blue Ridge Guide Association
Bojangles
Burger King
Carter County Solid Waste
Chetola Resort
Cortland
Douglas
Due South Outfitters
Elk Creek Outfitters
Fly Desyne / Megafin Flyfishing
Flying Soho
Hares Ear Flyfishing
Hickory Tree Grocery Store
High Country Boats
High Country Guide Service
Holston Distributing
HUK
Hunter Banks
Love Graham Vintage
Mahoney's
Northern Safety
OMTU
Orvis
Pure Fishing / Hatch / Filson
R.L. Winston Rods
Riverfeet Fly Fishing
South Holston River Company
South Holston River Fly Shop
South Holston River Lodge
Southern Drifters Outfitters
Speckled Trout
Stone Fly Co
Sullivan County Solid Waste
Tailwaters Fly Shop
Tailwaters Lodge
The Fly Box
Trophy Waters Guide Service
TVA
VA Creeper Fly Shop
Watauga River Lodge
Because of all of you, this was one of the most successful cleanups yet. We’re already looking forward to next year.
OMTU Story
Here is a video that was made by OMTU members back in 1999. It tells about the mission of OMTU and some of the past projects that we have worked on as a chapter. The narrator of the video, Paul Anderson, recently passed away so we decided to post this video in his honor. The projects that we have worked on over the years may have changed, but the mission remains the same.
