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October 23, 2012
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.
May 14, 2012
The past week has been a bunch of smallie and trout doubles for my clients. The trout on the Watauga have been on fire for zebra midges most of the day. Jim and Susan were constantly hooking up on doubles as the fished the Upper Watauga near Wilbur Dam and Bee Cliff Cabins. Casting accuracy was needed as we work the midges in tight places to get the bite, their patience and excellent casting skills helped them throughout the day.
Then it was on to smallmouth bass on the Holston Proper and they excelled at teasing those stubborn smallies into biting in some tight cover. The barometric pressure was all over the map that day making the fish very lethargic, but their ability to hit small targets and making their flies look so life like helped them get the bigger smallies to bite. The Double G was the best topwater fly and the Tequeelly was the best streamer for the day.
A father and daughter duo from Cincinnati, Ohio had another great day on the Holston Proper. They had never fly fished for smallmouth bass or thrown streamers and big popper flies, so we had a little casting lesson first thing that morning and then off to fishing. Hillary picked up on how to fish for them quickly. She really got a nice smallie as her first about a hour into the float. After landing this hard fighting smallie she said, “this is absolutely awesome and I will be back to do this again SOON”. She became very good at sight fishing, seeing the bass in the shallows and casting her fly to the best spot and enticing the bass to eat. Dad was just happy to clean up any fish that she left in the spots.
Well this coming weekend is Troutfest. I will be in the Temple Fork Outfitters booth with my good friends, Rick Pope, Bob Clouser and Lefty Kreh. Be sure to stop by and register for a float trip with me. There will be an old wicker creel with sign up slips on one of the tables in the booth. Hope to see you there.
October 24, 2011
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.
April 2, 2011
The trips this week have been new fly fisher persons who came to the Appalachians Mountains of East Tennessee for their “Spring Breaks”. I enjoy teaching new folks to cast and catch their first trout or smallmouth on the fly rod. The smiles on on the faces say it all.
March 5, 2011
This week has been absolutely excellent on the South Hoslton. There are BWO’s coming off, midges as well, so dries can get some. The nymphing techniques are bring plenty of fish to the net. Then there is the streamer “Chuck & Duck” method, which ahs been top shelf, lots of really nice browns coming in for the obligatory “Grip and Grin” shots. It looks like we will have plenty of generation the next week due to the rains this weekend, so give me a call and lets go wear out your arm slinging streamers.
February 17, 2011
It was an awesome day to do a float/wade trip on the South Holston Tailwater. We started the morning nymphing some soft seams and picking up some nice browns and one lonely bow. All the bites in the morning came on the swing or lift at the end of the drift. The BWO’s started popping off as we were eating a nice streamside lunch and the fish started feeding heavily as we put things away from lunch. It didn’t take long to get hooked up on a beautiful bulldogging brown, he fought hard but we got him to the net. Then for the next two and a half hours it was browns only on BWO dries. As the clouds rolled in in the late afternoon we switched to streamers, had some monster trout chase them got a few to bite but most would just give up and swim off, just wasn’t going to be a good streamer evening today.
It was an excellent day and looking forward to more trips in the coming weeks chasing those beautiful wild South Holston brown trout.
January 9, 2011
 
 
Hello everyone from Troutfishers Guide Sevice
I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for fishing with me this past year. It was a good year. The South Holston gave us great Sulphur hatches and the Watauga was productive with the Caddis and Crane Flies.
I have been blessed to have such a dedicated group of customers. I greatly appreciate each of you for choosing me as your guide.
I will be doing four shows this year:
Fly Fishing Show in Raleigh NC, January 29th & 30th
Great Southern Fishing Show in Atlanta GA, February 19th & 20th
Kentuckiana Fly Fishing Show in Louisville KY, February 26th
Troutfest in Townsend TN, May 14th & 15th
I hope you can attend one in your area. Be sure to stop by and visit me.
I am currently booking trips so don’t delay to make sure you get the days you want. The Caddis Hatch occurs on the Watauga in April. Sulphurs on the South Holston are best from mid May thru October and Smallies on the Holston Proper from early April to November.
I am offering special pricing of three separate (3) full day float trips for the price of two (2). Full payment for this offer is required by February 28, 2011. Trips can be scheduled on available dates of your choice any time during 2011. This offer does not apply to multi-boat or corporate trips.
The Winter Float Trip Discount of $235 for a 6 hour float trip is still in effect for trips taken before March 13, 2011.
We also have special rates in effect for 2011 for the Trophy Trout trips on our private waters, call or email for details.
With Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day all coming soon, my gift certificates are a great way to tell them how much you love them.
I look forward to seeing you again in 2011.
Thanks
Randy Ratliff
Troutfishers Guide Service
Kingsport, Tennessee
423-360-1468
November 21, 2010
The Watauga is fishing at both ends of the extremes as far as fly sizes. Those drive you crazy itty bitty midges, size 26 to 30 are working very well. Small midge dries and emergers can be tough to fish, but the rewards can be excellent. Grey and black are the best. Then you can also have a great day swinging and stripping big bad to the bone wooly buggers. Seeing those fish come up behind the fly as you strip it and them, WHAM!!!, the fight is on.
The South Holston is fishing good with Sulphurs stil coming off in the mid-afternoon. The weather this coming week will probably bring out more of the BWO’s. The big browns are staging up for the spawn and some nice big colored up browns are being caught. Now is the time that those big browns will be the most accessible during wade fishing. Give me a call and lets get you on the water.
November 16, 2010
The South Holston Tailwater is fishing good, still have plenty of sulphurs coming off in the afternoon. The small size 20 BWO’s come of in the morning and then the sulphurs come off good in the mid afternoon. The browns sucking them off the surface make a popping sound. Fish rising everywhere make it tough to choose where to cast your fly.
The Watauga is fishing good, cranflies and BWO’s are the hatches coming off. The Caddis Riflle has been fishing good and we are seeing some nice browns on the redds in the river. Skating a yellow palmer has been the ticket for the hovering cranflies and our new CWO pattern is taking them when they are locked on Blue Wing’s.
The private waters are getting recharged this week with plenty of rain and the fishing is excellent. We are using small nymphs and midges on lighter tippet and it really tests your skills at landing big fish on light tippet.
October 26, 2010
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