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January 1, 2013
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.
January Newsletter
Hope to see you at the shows or fly shop visits.
Thanks
December 21, 2012
As you gather with your family and friends I wish you a joyous holiday season. Thank you for being part of my life and making it so rich and rewarding.
November 19, 2012
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 next week Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
November 5, 2012
One quick note, Debbie Griffith, please call me at 423-360-1468, your email address did not come through on the email you sent me.
So you think that with winter coming your smallmouth bass addiction has to end until next spring? Not here in East Tennessee, we have the privilege of having a smallmouth bass fishery that gives us a great bite on smallies all year. The winter fishing season brings out the Trophy Bronzebacks. You want to try out this crazy winter fishing for smallies, send me an email to fishwithrandy@embarqmail.com and I will send you and introductory trip coupon good from November 26th, 2012 through February 28th, 2013. This coupon will be good for a one or two person, six (6) hour float on this special water for only $295. Smallies in the dead of winter, yeah you heard right. There also may be some big trophy trout in the 4 to 10 pound range thrown in at no extra charge.
Tenkara style of fishing has become very popular and my recent casting and technique demonstrations have really brought out folks looking for information on this new style of fishing. I am seeing a new group of fisher persons who want to get into fly fishing but get frustrated with the traditional western style of rod, reel, line, leader, tippet and fly. Then there is all the casting techniques, mending skills, stripping skills, and such. With Tenkara it is just simply rod, line and fly. The cast is simple and the new rods that Temple Fork Outfitters has brought onto the market make casting effortless. The folks I worked with on casting at the recent WNC Fly Fishing Expo were amazed at how quick they picked up the casting skill needed, you could see the confidence that they could go fly fishing and not have a high level of frustration. The Tenkara style of fishing is bringing new blood into the sport and I like this. I know how much I, my friends and clients enjoy the benefits of being in the great outdoors and it makes me happy to see others joining in on this fun. You need to take a hard look at Tenkara and join in on the simplicity of it, don’t we all need something a little more simple to help bring down the stress we all face each and every day in out lives.
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.
October 1, 2012
That was the question one of my clients asked the other day, I answered “MIDGES”. When you see those little specks of dust with wings then you know its time to break out that special fly box that only measures about three inches by 4 inches and with the center leaf in it, holds over 400 flies. Thats right it’s that time of year here on the South Holston and Watauga Tailwaters where we get serious with small bugs. We usually do a double nymph rig under a strike indicator during these midging trips, but the rewards are great. This year we have started using a new strike indicator that was developed by a fellow guide and it is called the “New Zealand Strike Indicator System” and you can find more info at www.strikeindicator.com
Here is a picture on how this simple system works, it lands softly when casting to those spooky fish and is extremely sensitive to the slightest touch from the trout. As they say in one of the famous marketing slogans “Try it you will like it”. If you local fly shop doesn’t carry them ask them to get them.
Here are the midges we have been having good success with during the midging trips this fall. Get out those 3x cheaters and yes that 7x tippett.
Hope you are enjoying a great day and you are getting to wet a line. Be sure to support your local fly shop and with the holiday’s just around the corner be sure to stop by the fly shop and pick up a gift certificate for that outdoors person this year.
Until next time “tightlines and heavy nets”
September 4, 2012
What a great weekend guiding the Saluda River Trout Unlimited group from Columbia, South Carolina. We did smallies on the Holston Proper, and trout on the Watauga and South Holston. The fishing was good and the company was great. The TVA made it challenging to get our floats in but we worked around the generation schedules and got in the trips. The weather was great except for right at the end of the day on Saturday, we had to take refuge in a riverside shelter in the Cedar Rapids area while it rained cats and dogs. I think I pumped nearly 4 inches of water out of the boat before rowing out in the dark. Here are some pictures from this great weekend.
 
Mark your calendars for October 8th and come see me give a presentation to the Saluda River TU group. I will be speaking about how to be more successful on the South Holston, Watauga and Holston Proper rivers when you come to visit out great fishing destination.
July 30, 2012
The past couple of weeks have been a little more technical, so this week lets take a break and have some hero shots from the trips. The trips have been good, doing some early morning floats, putting on at 6:00 am and being done by lunch before the heat sets in, and some have been late evening putting on at 3:00 and floating until dark. The bite is good even in the stained water using the techniques discussed last week. Now for some “grip-n-grin” shots.
 
 
 
Today was a smallie float and used a old/new fly design on the Holston Proper and the smallies were all over it, got a new weapon on the arsenal. Got more smallie trips this week, looking forward to the week.
June 11, 2012
The fishing is awesome. The past week has been spent working with and teaching folks some new ways to fish the tailwaters and rivers of East Tennessee. From custom built bamboo to lengthy low line weight all the way to Tenkara rods, the South Holston and Watauga Tailwaters are giving us many options. The Holston Proper is in a post spawn feeding frenzy and the big boys are HUNGRY!!!!.
The sulphurs and blackfly adults are coming off heavy on the South Holston, we are using parachute sulphurs when the hatch is in full swing and when you see the bulging rises add a size 22 Rainbow Warrior hung about ten inches off the bend of the hook. The Watauga has had the cicadas singing their mating song along the river and the browns really seem to like them when they fall out of the trees, a few pig rainbows also wanted to gorge themselves on them as well.
The post-spawn feeding frenzy is in full swing on the Holston Proper. They spent a couple of weeks recuperating and now they are hungry. The bite has been on minnow and crawdad imitating streamers, we are getting them all throughout the water column. Mr. Bill “Nick” Boyd of the “Dubbing Teasers”, you can watch him tie at Troutfest as well as during the Fly Tiers Weekends at Little River Outfitters Fly Shop. Here he is holding is TWRA Angler Recognition 22″ smallmouth bass.
Nick said the big ones are nice, but it doesn’t matter the size its the tug that matters. The other member of the “Dubbing Teasers” that was along on the trip, Wendy, was enjoying fishing with her Walter Babb custom built bamboo rod as well as what she called “Tourist Mode”
Tourist Mode
Be sure to tune in again when we will be covering some leader techniques and fly selections for Tenkara fishing in East Tennessee.
Heres to tightlines and heavy nets!!!!!
June 2, 2012
The past week of fishing on the South Holston and Watauga Tailwaters as well as the Holston Proper has been as hto as the weather. We have been breaking records for high temperatures each day, whew!!!!
I had the privilege of taking the Bailey Family out for two great days of fishing, one on the Holston Proper for smallies and the other on the Watauga Tailwater for trout. They were a great family who enjoy doing things in the great outdoors together. The smallmouth were on poppers for me and my folks most of the day, nothing like a great topwater bite. We have a new wounded minnow pattern that had the bass going up in the air and coming down on the bait. After I fine tune this fly design I will make a video on how to tie it.
 
The next day it was off to the Watauga Tailwater. The bite was good right from the boat ramp, my folks got right into catching doubles. As the day went on we got into a dry fly bite as well as some good deep big ugly nymphing. The Watuaga is such a beautiful scenic river and catching some great trout throughout the day just made this a great trip for the Bailey family. I look forward to many more trips with them in the future.
 
On Monday, Memorial Day we paused to remember those who sacrificed for us. Thank you too all those who have given their all from the Revolutionary War to present day battles.
I had the great honor to take Vietnam era veteran Ed and his son John from Southwest Virginia on a float on Memorial Day down the Holston Proper. The smallies were feeding on the top as well as crawdad pattern flies on the bottom. It was fun watching Ed using his 4 wt rod going after those hard fighting bronzebacks. Be sure to keep and eye on my YouTube channel for a video of him fighting a nice nearly seventeen inch long smallie.
The next three days were father and son, Bryan and Hunter, on their annual week long trip to fish East Tennessee. Day one was floating the Watauga Tailwater and Hunter picked up where he left off last year. He got a good number of good browns on terrestrials on this float, while his dad was getting all nice rainbows on midges. What a great day with some great guys.
Day two was the Holston Proper for some great smallmouth bass action. The weather had given us a little rain the afternoon and evening before so the river had a little color and the carp where in a feeding frenzy along the banks so the edges were stained out about eight to ten feet. With those conditions we used the sinking lines and Clouser Minnows on the Temple Fork Outfitters Clouser Series 8 wt’s. This system of the Rio Lake sinking lines and Clouser rods make for easy casting and presentation getting the bass to hit the flies with gusto. The Clouser Hybrid series of flies were the hot ticket, they were so good even the dragonflies wanted to bite them. After a great riverside shady lunch of grilled burgers and Karen’s homemade BBQ Beans and Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin cookies it was back to more fishing.
 
 
Day three was on to the South Holston to go after some of those legendary brown trout this great tailwater is known for. We put on as the water was coming over the Weir labyrinth and waited a few minutes for the water to settle out before getting into the first feeding lane. The bite was on from the start and got better with every cast. It was Zebra midges, Scuds, and the G-Man getting it done that day. The South Holston is fishing the best I have seen in years and the river is loaded with some really hard fighting fifteen to seventeen inch browns.
 
The Cicadas are out and about, the fish are eating them with abandon, if you want to get in on this hot action with big cicada dry flies, give me a call. These rainbows that are feeding on these Cicadas are averaging in the fifteen to twenty inch range. Come get you some.
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