We duck hunt and fish at the same time and both have been very productive for us this year. We've killed plenty of buffle head and a few other varieties of duck. You can't shoot in the federal stretch of water and to be safe we always wait till we are around the second corner down from the dam.

Your best bet is to put in at Helm's landing and float down. Once you hit the power lines you'll start to run into some ducks. It's long and flat for a while and you'll bend to the left a little and then hit another long stretch and that's where we've killed most of our ducks. It's tough to get to them in water this fast. You can't be under power so we try to get ahead of them on the opposite bank and float through them. It's tricky, but the challenge is part of the fun.

With that said you probably should not attempt a hunt on the river right now. I've been on it twice when it's rolling 20,000 plus out of the dam and it's not fun. The dangers are all too real when everything is flowing just right, but when the river is this high and fast you are really gambling with your life. Things can go bad quick. If you go in the water you probably won't be coming out and your dog wouldn't be able to swim in that current either.

If you are deadset on it though you should check TVA.com and look in the resevoir section under wolf creek. Maybe they'll slow it a touch in the before you come, but I doubt it. Anything above 12,000 isn't much fun. (in my opinion)