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August 6, 2010
What an excellent week for fishing on the East Tennessee tailwaters. The Watuaga is getting low and clear, typical summer water, but the fishing was good. I took Reba and Todd B. on Reba’s birthday float. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Reba. She had an excellent day of fishing along with learning more about the river system so when she and Todd float their raft they can have better results on the Watauga Tailwater.
Then there was a fishing school for Aarron F. He wanted to take up the sport of fly fishing so we went to the South Holston for casting, knot, water reading and then catching a few fish. He was amazed at the amount of fish in the water around him taking the sulphurs and blackflies off the surface. He is going to ETSU full time and needed some way to relax and get his mind off things and fly fishing is just the sport for that.
I had father and son Carl and Ethan E. on the South Holston. Ethan is a beginner to fly fishing but took to it quickly. His father has spent considerable time fly fishing around the world and I feel Ethan will be going with him from now on. The South Holston gave up plenty of those beautiful butter belly browns to their fly imitations. It was great to see their smiles as they caught those browns on nymphs and sulphur dries during the high water float trip.
This has been and incredible summer of fishing, but it is still not over. Give ma a call and lets go fishing like these folks did.
July 27, 2010
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.
 
 
July 24, 2010
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.
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
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.
 
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.
 
 
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
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.
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 6, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
June 29, 2010
We are officially in summer now and the fishing is as hot as the temperatures we are experiencing. This past week was great trips with returning clients who landed excellent fish. John L. loves to float in his canoe after spending a day with me during his multi week stay on the Watuaga and South Holston Tailwaters in East Tennessee. Here is a sample of his morning on the South Holston.
Gary H. and his nephew Hunter are great fishing buddies and always take a day with me each summer when Hunter comes to visit. Hunter and Gary had an excellent day on the Watauga, then spent the rest of the week wading the South Holston for trout and floating the Holston Proper for smallies. Hunter said it was a great week. Hunter then went to Myrtle Beach and fought a 6 foot shark for an hour before being broken off.
Gary T. and Chad W. wanted to float the Holston Proper for smallies and the day was hot as well as the fishing. These gentleman were excellent fishermen and casters. We tried various patterns with success, even one smallie right beside the boat as the fly hung at the surface while rowing downriver to the next hole. Chad has some really good patterns and this proved it.
To finish out the week before spending the weekend at the South Holston Fly Fishing Fest at Rivers Way, I had a great day guiding father and son Tim and Mike C. on a trip down the Watuaga. Tim bought this trip I donated to the Project Healing Waters Fall Tournament near Spruce Pine, North Carolina. I enjoyed giving them a chance to make some great father/son fishing memories based on Tim’s comments in an email.
Well a day off for me and then back on the water for the next week, we still have some dates available for the summer float trip special, so give me a call or email and get booked for a great summertime adventure.
June 20, 2010
We have had a great week of fishing this week in the Southern Appalachians. We started the week floating the Watauga Tailwater in Elizabethton, Tennessee. It was a very rewarding trip for Nat and Tony. They each fished hard and landed some nice trout throughout the day.
 
Then it was on to the Southwest Virginia private trophy trout waters. The river was stained from the rain the day before, but the big fish were biting. Nat and Jim put there best cast out there and were rewarded with some nice fish to get the “Grip n Grin” pictures.
 
Then it was back to the Watauga Tailwater and Holston Proper for brothers from Ohio. They loved their first float on the Watauga and enjoyed many double hook-ups during the float trip. The next day we floated the Holston Proper for smallies. They got to feel the fight from the Holston’s river smallies as the fish loaded up their 8 wt rods and put them through the paces during the fight. They each had big smiles at the end of the day.
 
Give me a call and lets get your summertime fishing trip on the calendar. I have a summer time special for the months of July and August. Book and take a two person float trip during these months and the trip will only cost $300, an $80 savings.
June 14, 2010
The fishing is great this summer in East Tennessee. The Watauga and South Holston Tailwaters are fishing really well for trout. The Holston Proper is fishing hot and the Nolichucky is fishing good.
The Watauga had sulphurs, craneflies, and midges hatching most of the day. We also are seeing a full yellow mayfly. The recent trips have produced some nice fish. We have been using nymph rigs until the hatch gets into full swing and then is is a dry/dropper rig. There is nothing like a big shouldered brown digging deep or high jumping rainbow when they put a good bend in the rod.
The Holston Proper is fishing exceptional, the topwater bite is wide open. They smallies are just flaring and sucking them down. If it is an explosive bite we pull in some nice panfish.
 
May 28, 2010
Well it has been a good week for fishing. Started out on the Watauga this week, those sulphur hatches have been excellent and the catching has been right there with them. Then it was floating the Holston Proper for smallies and they were very cooperative. As it has been in the past couple of trips, you get them on streamers in the morning with the cloud cover and then when that sun pops out it is a good topwater bite. The Todd’s Wiggle Minnow was the ticket this trip. Then to wrap up the week I have some new private water we can fish near Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina. It is some awesome water with some big fish. Be sure to give me a call and lets get you out there to go fishing.
 
 
 
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