Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you have a great 2013
Here is the first newsletter for the year, it contains all our trip specials and what shows and fly shops we will be at. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.
So you want to target big browns with streamers, we can make it happen. It doesn’t matter if you have never thrown big heavy flies on sink tips or sinking lines. I have developed the right rod, reel and line systems that make it possible for everyone to have a chance at one of these big trophy browns that the South Holston and Watauga Tailwaters are known for. Here is a sampling of some of the fish from the past week.
Don’t forget about the Winter Smallie Floats, yes thats right smallies in the dead of winter. A float this past week yielded 30 smallies and some nice rainbows all in the same stretch of water. If you want to try some winter smallies, I am having a introductory price for these new floats, $295 for a trip down this awesome section of river. Here is some of what’s available.
We are launching a new website after the first of the year and are already promoting it on Facebook, click here: East Tennessee on the Fly click on the like button and be sure to send your friends to like it as well.
until the snow is flying. The browns on the Watauga and South Holston are making redds and beginning their spawning ritual. The colors on the browns have been spectacular this year.
Soon it will be time for our Winter Float Trip Specials and you can go sling some streamers for the big trophy trout these tow tailwaters are noted for. Keep an eye on this blog for the Winter Trip Special pricing announcement.
Mark your calendars for November 3rd and 4th, 2012 and be sure to attend the WNC Fly Fishing Expo at the Ag Center in Asheville, NC. It is located across the street from the Asheville Airport. If you want to learn more about Tenkara casting and fishing techniques then be sure to come to the show. I will be giving casting and fishing technique demos on the casting pond throughout the weekend. When I am note giving casting demos, look for me in the A & S Outfitters Fly Shop booth, you may also find me in the TFO, Chota and Flymen Fishing Company booths as well. I hope to see you there.
The rivers of East Tennessee are rocking with great fishing. The South Holston is giving us better float generation schedules and the Sulphurs are hatching all over the river. The Watauga is getting into consistent summer terrestrial beetle and ant patterns. The smallies and carp on the Holston Proper are awesome!!!
Just remember when you come to fish the South Holston during the wade generation schedules on the weekend, be prepared for the big crowds. Here is a shot from the weir area bridge last Friday.
Stay cool this weekend, we are going to have record high temperatures so be safe and drink plenty of fluids while enjoying the outdoors.
The smallmouth bass fishing on the Holston Proper, near Kingsport, Tennessee is as hot as the recent weather we have been having in the Tri-Cities. With record temperatures being set last week, we were out floating the Holston River and doing very well for the smallies. The river is clear and has good flows, the smallmouth were feeding on minnows so it was minnow imitating baits we were throwing. For the spin rod guys it was flukes and tubes, for the fly rod folks it was one of our new design flies and the old stand by.
The South Holston is wade only right now as the TVA starts filling South Holston Lake near Bristol, Tennessee. It has been BWO’s and we are also seeing some Sulphurs coming off in the afternoon. The Watauga is doing good, it is starting to show signs of the caddis starting to hatch, we are seeing stoneflies and cranflies coming off as well as the daily BWO and midge hatch.
The Cadiis Hatch is soon here and April is booking up solid, there are a few dates left so give me a call, 423-360-1468 and get your date booked.
Until next time, may your lines be tight and your nets heavy!!!
With the winter weather finally showing itself here in East Tennessee, my thoughts are turning to warm weather and chasing some “Golden Bones”. The Holston River in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee, has a very large concentration of carp. The river has all the right things to make fishing for them something very easy to learn. Water clarity, good flows for food sources, great feeding flats, and fish willing to eat. If you want to learn how to fish for and catch carp, give me a call. The carp when hooked make those hard reel screaming runs like saltwater bonefish, and they never give up, fighting all the way to the net. Here is a video we shot last year, enjoy.
Well the last float of 2011 was a Winter Trip Special on the South Holston. The weather was great and the brown trout were willing to play. The water was clear, lots of black midges and BWO’s hatching all day. There is nothing like the bull dog fight these browns give you. The Winter Trip Special price of $250 runs through March 9th. Here is a video of the days activity.
The weather the past week has been crazy, frosty mornings, cold rains, sleet and snow flurries and it is just October. Even with the early bad weather days the fishing has been very good. The BWO’s and Black Caddis were out in force on the Watauga Tailwater in a heavy rain. Seeing the trout come straight up out of the water chasing the caddis emerging and then in other sections the fish were sipping those size 22 BWO’s.
Be sure to come to the WNC Fly Fishing Expo this weekend and stop by my booth to talk some fishing and tying. Be sure to also check out the new products from the folks who have me on the Pro Guide Staff’s, Chota Outdoor Gear has the new “Hippies”, the best product for getting in and out of driftboats, canoes and kayak’s without wearing those hot waders all day. Temple Fork Outfitters has added some new rods to their lineup, we have been using the new BVK 10′ rods on our trips and the clients really like them.
Be sure to check out Issue #1 of the new online electronic magazine Southern Culture on the Fly, I am honored to be featured in their first issue. We did a smallie float on the Holston Proper last November and they did and outstanding job on the article. Here is a link to view it:
The time is right for the big browns on the South Holston and Watauga Tailwaters, trips are booking fast, so give me a call or email and make sure you get your chance at one of those big browns.
Well the fall colors are absolutely spectacular this year. The rain systems we have been getting are hleping with river flows but they add the needed moisture to make for great colors as the leaves change. We are seeing lots of great colors in the rainbows and browns we are catching as they get fired up for the spawning season so upon us.
The South Holston is seeing a good migration of the browns moving to the spawning zones and they are feeding heavily as they travel. The colors on these fish are amazing. They are deep nymphing techniques are working very well in the deep seams, some of the better fish came on “big uglies” this past week. The sulphurs are still coming off sporadically, but the BWO’s are now becoming the predominant hatch.
The Watauga is fishing varied throughout the week. Some days the upper section is the best and then the Quality Zone is the best on others. The Craneflies, BWO’s and cream Midges are the main hatches each day. Long leaders in the 6x and 7x sizes are what it is taking to get these spooky fish to bite. But if you get it right there are plenty of nice fish to catch as Mr. Noah can attest to. He caught is personal best brown and rainbow on a recent trip with his dad. He has turned into quite a fisherman and just enjoys the days on the water with his dad.
The Holston Proper is slowing down on the bite with all these cold fronts coming through, but if we get several nice 70 degree days the bite gets active again. On the most recent trip we were getting them on small white streamers representing all the minnows in the waters. You had to work it slow and get it down to the mid levels of the water column but the rewards were great.
We will have a booth at the upcoming WNC Fly Fishing Expo in Asheville North Carolina on November 5th and 6th. Be sure to mark you calendars and stop by to see us. For more info and directions go here WNC Expo
Give us a call or email to get your fall fishing trip in before its to late.
It has been a great week with a couple of gentlemen from the Carolina Fly Fishing Club from Charlotte, North Carolina. Steve and Tim wanted to experience all that the waters of East Tennessee had to offer. We floated the South Holston to start off, the sulphurs were coming off on the upper river but the trout weren’t taking them from the surface. We used an emerger pattern that one of my clients tied up for me. It worked very well on the butter belly browns, plenty of these came to hand.
The Sulphurs slowed down on the lower river so we switched to some streamers and worked the banks. After a take cover moment from a heavy rain filled thunderstorm we went back to beating the banks with some nice rewards.
The next float was on the upper Watauga Tailwater. The fish were very cooperative right away on deep nymphs. A Micro Mayfly seemed to be the hot ticket along with some taken on a Barrs Copper John. There was only a few minor hatches so nymphing was the way to fish.
The final day was a float down the Holston Proper for some of its hard fighting bronzebacks. The day started off with a nice juvenile smallie right in front of a group of feeding turkeys, the dominant tom had a nice beard.
As the day went on the weather got hot and so did the bite. The topwater bite for the morning wasn’t there so streamers were the order of the day. I put on a couple of new patterns I have developing for these Holston Proper smallies, the BFGG and Too Slim streamers did the trick.
So if you want to experience all that the Southern Appalachian region has to offer for the fishing enthusiast give me a call or an email and lets get you out there on the beautiful tailwaters of East Tennessee.
