Tailstone Rivers: What Are They and How Do They Work?
how do tailwaters transform back into freestone rivers? (fly fishing)
April 2024
Never heard of a tailstone before? That's because we're coining the term.
When water flows downstream away from dams, tailwaters slowly evolve back into un-regulated rivers, and far enough downstream they slowly act like freestone rivers again. Over a long enough stretch, tailwaters join with tributaries, water warms, insect communities shift and the effects from any upstream dam (like water releases or storage) lessens. The resulting river is a strange mashup of tailwater sections and freestone sections, so let's explore the crossover when tailwaters act more like freestone rivers.