July 27, 2010

A great day on the South Holston

It was a great day on the South Holston with a new clent who brought a old client/friend along. Trip S. called and set up a trip based on a recommendation from TJ Roy, the manager of the Orvis store in Charlotte, North Carolina. He told me he was bringing one of his friends named Adam. When they pulled into the meeting place it was Adam M. from Raleigh, I have done several trips with him and his wife. We started the morning floating the lower South Holston and then after lunch waded the upper stretches of the river near the Weir labyrinth. It was great to watch these guys work the water getting those beautiful browns and rainbows to the net. There was a sulphur hatch where we were from about 1:30 pm until 5:00 pm. The guys caught fish on many different techniques from deep nymphing, midge dries, soft hackles and finished the day with sulphur dries. It a great day with a new and old client.

Here is the email that Trip S. sent after the trip:

Randy,
I have been out with my fair share of guides in and around North Carolina and Tennessee.  I can honestly say I have never learned more, had more experiences on the water, caught more fish, laughed more, or had a better time than with you today.  I really appreciate your knowledge and ability to teach and coach,  Today was a truly memorable day and I look forward to many more.

Best Regards,
Trip S.
Director of Sales
WBT AM/FM, WLNK FM
Greater Media Charlotte
One Julian Price Place
Charlotte, NC 28208
(704) 374-3596

Here is a few pictures from the day.

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July 24, 2010

Fishing as hot as the weather

The fishing on the South Holston and Watauga Tailwaters in East Tennessee is as hot as the weather. The sulphurs are coming off so thick that it is like a blanket on the river surface. The fish are in a feeding frenzy and you can tell how much they are eating by the bulge in their belly. It is so cool to watch the brown stage up and take aim on your fly, the anticipation is intense and you hope you don’t pull it from their mouth before the brown inhales it. The fog is on the river during the early morning keeping the temperatures in a manageable zone, but once the sun burns the fog off it gets hot. But with the way the river is fishing, you don’t pay much attention because your focus is on your fly and the rising fish.

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So give me a call and lets get you out there catching a few of those beautiful browns as they sip those sulphurs on the South Holston Tailwater. Don’t forget about the smallies on the Holston Proper or Pigeon River. The topwater action is in full swing so get your trip scheduled now.

Stay tuned for more reports as I fish for smallies this coming week.

July 18, 2010

Getting newbies addicted to the sport

I had Keith, his brother Chris, and Chris’ sons Matt and Josh on the Watauga fly fishing for trout. Matt was so excited to go he hadn’t slept in two days. It was fun watching them catch fish and getting more addicted to the sport. The day started out great catching fish on the first couple of casts right at the boat ramp.

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The day was comfortable temperature wise and the weather guessers missed the forecast again. It was cloudy most of the day and the fish were biting very well. Split Case and Miracle nymph were the best flies, the dry fly and terrestrial bite never materialized today.

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I have been blessed to meet so many great folks in my career as a guide and these guys were no exception. To watch the excitement as they get the bite and fight the fish makes your day so enjoyable. I truly enjoyed the day and look forward to taking them fishing again.

As the sign I saw in Beaufort, South Carolina said, “the is no chance of snow in the forecast for the next 72 hours”, so lets go fishing.

Give me a call or email and come fish to great tailwaters or mountain streams of East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, or Southwest Virginia.

July 15, 2010

A different kind of day on a warmwater river

Today was a different kind of day on one of East Tennessee’s best warmwater rivers, the Pigeon River. The clients caught some nice walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and lots of  redbreast sunfish. It was a bluebird sky kind of day and the river was stained from the recent rains, but the fishing was excellent. The walleye were firsts for Paul and John, a couple of cousins from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. It was great to be able to talk about home, as this is where my Mothers side of the family is from, and where I spent my summers helping the family with the tobacco farms. It was hard work but there are many memories to go along with it.

Back to fishing, here is a pictorial on some of the catches from today.

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If you are vacationing near Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, or Sevierville, give me a call and get yourself booked on a float down the wonderful Pigeon River.

July 9, 2010

Great day on the Watauga

Had a great day on the Watauga with a soldier and his father. Derek was traveling to his next assignment with his father and they called me to take them fishing as they passed through the area. I want to thank this young man for his service to our country. His father can be proud that his son is a fine person.

Can you say terrestrials. They were munching hard all down the river.

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Don’t you just love the topwater bite with dry flies and terrestrials.

July 6, 2010

Happy 4th fishing trips

What a great 4th of July, celebrating our countries birth and having great trips with clients. The weekend started with Sam and Kathy C. on a Watauga float through the Quality Zone. The fishing was great on the usual Watauga Tailwater summertime patterns, nymphs until you could see the noses as they fed on sulphurs and sweat bee dries.

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Then it was two great gentleman who were childhood friends taking another memory filled fishing trip. Buzz and Gren talked about the old days as they fished and had a great time fighting those Watauga Tailwater attitude filled bows.

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Sunday July 4th was Scott and Sarah B. from Atlanta, GA. It was Sarah’s first trout fishing trip and she worked hard at getting the cast down and was rewarded with many bites on her presentations. It was truly enjoyable to watch Sarah become a great fly fisher person as the day progressed. The folks on the “Hooch” better watch out.

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Then it was back with Sam and Kathy  from Richmond, Va on Monday. We fished the South Holston near Bluff City to start the morning off and it was a spectacular day for them on the South Holston Tailwater. We put the wooden driftboat in the water and rowed to the proper spot and in the first ten casts, landed six beautiful South Holston brown trout. The sulphur hatch during the afternoon generation was like a blanket on the water. Watching those fish splashing and slashing going after all those bugs was nothing shoer of amazing. We finished the day with a flurry of better than average browns on dries.

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Then it was on to the Holston Proper for some smallie action with a gentleman who had never caught a smallmouth bass. The weather was hot and the fish were everywhere. Working with his cast with the heavier weight rods only took a few minute to get him into the rhythm then it was lets catch some fish. He talked about the hard fight the smallies put up and from the many deep bends in the rod today he got more than his share of the excellent fighting ability of the Holston Proper smallies.

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I hope everyone had a great 4th and is staying cool in the summertime heat. Its a couple of days off and time for some driftboat trailer maintenance and then back on the water for a good set of trips for trout and smallies.

 

 

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