Hiwassee River Coldwater Alliance, aka HRCA needs your support now. You can help to support HRCA and the Hiwassee river at three levels.

1) Simply register as an ALLY. Much like signing a petition, your name, and contact info will go in our database as a supporter of our cause. There is strength in numbers when petitioning large agencies for change.

2) Make a small monetary contribution. You can make an online donation to HRCA with a credit card. Contributions are through PayPal and secure. HRCA is a registered 501C3 nonprofit corporation. All donations are tax deductible.

3) Volunteer some of your time. We really need ALLIES that can donate a few hours online and on the phone to help the river.

The recent week long arctic cold front  is a real boost for the Hiwassee river tailrace trout fishery. Prolonged cold weather helps to lower the overall temperature of the reservoir thus helping to sustain coldwater releases longer into the year. Sudden cold snaps also catch the baitfish in the lakes off guard in the shallows stunning some and causing some to die. These stunned and dead shad are pulled through the turbines during generation and flow into the river. This creates a major feeding event in the river for the trout. It is an “event” much like a major insect hatch, only with larger meals providing more calories.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming TU/TVA coldwater meeting to be held in Knoxville at the TVA West Tower Building on Saturday, January 30th at 9:00 a.m. TU members, Representatives from TVA, TWRA, USFS, USACE come together to discuss issues related to our areas coldwater resources. Come and share your opinion or observations, or learn more about the resources.