Reports for the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee Tailwaters

Len Coutinho, was leaving Bloomington, Ind., where he has attended school for sometime. He is a Physicist by training and he has taken a job with a company in Germany to study new treatments and medicines for fighting cancer. My best wishes to him as he begins a worthy career. Len is from Brazil and has had some experience in flyfishing. We decided to try the Oconaluftee River and Len had the best day of any client that I have taken into the Park this year. He had great casting and mending skills and I did not have to give very much instruction to him at all. This turned out to be a day of picture taking for me, as Len caught one fish after another all day long. By mid afternoon, he must have caught at least 25 fish and missed many more. It was a pleasure to watch him fish the
Smoky Mountain Blackbird Softhackle and get strikes in almost every hole. I want to thank him for being such a talented flyfisherman and sharing his talents for everyone to see.
Good luck to you, Len, in your new endeavors.

Hugh

Ed and Jake Nutter, from Cincinnati, Ohio spent the day with me on Little River. It was a good day and I was tickled to death to find some moderately decent fish in the main arm of the East Prong. We did not do so well above Elkmont this morning, so we tried the main river after lunch. It turned out to be very kind to Ed. He managed to hook 7 fish as we went up the river and some of them seem to measure close to 10 inches. All of these fish took the Smoky Mountain Blackbird Softhackle.

We were making our way back home today and a large black bear ran across the road in front of us. That put the finishing touch on to our trip. You could not have asked for a more beautiful day and the fishing, and friends were great to be out with.

Hugh

I had guided David Cummings earlier this Spring in the Greenbriar area and we had a great time. This time he brought a friend with him for his first flyfishing experience. Tim Clinton, is also in the teaching profession and he and David have become good friends. I worked with Tim for awhile on his casting and mending skills and we were off to Elkmont to begin fishing for the day. We started up the Little River trail and David got his first fish while Tim was missing some strikes. It continued this way on up the stream with Tim finally hooking one. He had begun to see just how fast these wild fish can be. He also found out that keeping your footing can be a problem at times. It caused me to think back at all the times that I have taken a unexpected swim in the cold water. He wasn't deterred and kept right on until he landed his first fish. You have to admire tenacity. It turned out to be a very good trip even though we found out as we went up the trail that we had been fishing behind 3 different people. I can admire someone on their first outing who can catch fish when fishing right behind other people. My thanks to David and Tim for spending their time with me on the water. They were great clients and I hope they get back on the water soon.

Hugh

I usually talk about the good fishing experience that my clients have had when I do a guided trip together with them, but this time, I saw something that I considered to be more important. What I saw was love, and giving, and sharing together, and just a time that was real special for two people. The wife (Jane) had taken the incentive to try to give something special to her husband, Pete), at the time in their life when we might not take the special person in our life quite as seriously as we did at one time. I thought the guided trip together was a great anniversary gift that they will both remember for a long time to come. Not only did she give her husband this gift, but she was right in the middle of the stream attacking this new sport just as any man would and having the time of her life. Just look at the first picture and you will see (love exuding from both individuals as they begin their trip on this newly found sport. What a great couple.

Hugh

I was able to spend the day with Mike and Jimmy on the Oconaluftee River this Tuesday. Both men needed a lot of work on their casting and mending skills so the better part of our day was spent working on this. Mike seemed to have a little more luck when it came to catching fish. We did encounter rain during the afternoon and I was hoping it would bring some big browns out to feed. We caught a few rainbows , but did not see any of the bigger fish. We had a great time and we were all pretty tired from wading the creek all day. The important thing is that I hope they will work on the casting skills that I tried to show them. Continued practice will get them there.

Hugh

It was time once again for the annual 4th of July celebration to take place in the Hills of Hancocke County. We were at the home and farm of friends, Jerry and Linda Burke. This very large and popular gathering brought together people from all walks of life to enjoy friendship, and Blue Grass music at the top of Indian Ridge, just Northeast of Sneedville, Tn. This is the original home of the beginning of Bluegrass music, and friends from all walks of life came to see a great Bluegrass band perform. Everyone brought some type of covered dish of their own and it covered two wagon beds. About 200-250 people came, it it was just as good as it gets. Again, our thanks to Jerry and Linda for being such gracious hosts.

Hugh and Carolyn

I met with Dave De Vita at the Dancing Bear Lodge this morning and we made our way to the section of Little River above the Elkmont Campgrounds. Flies were hatching off real heavily and the fish were feeding on top as good as I have seen this year. Dave took advantage of this and caught several nice fish on a Stimulator. We fished until almost lunch time and decided to move across the mountains to the Oconaluftee River.
When we arrived there the fish were feeding just as well and Dave began catching fish right away. He eventually switched over to a Smoky Mountain Blackbird Softhackle and a strike indicator. The fish just kept coming and we caught fish until Dave was tired. It was a great day on two mountain streams. Dave adapted to both methods of fishing and he had one of the best days that I have had in the Park with a client this year. Good luck to him throughout the season.

Hugh

Harry Hardin and I met for a 1/2 day of instruction and fishing this morning on Little River. We were up high, close to the Elkmont Campground. Harry had caught a couple of fish and we were invaded by tubers. We then moved above the campground where Harry caught another nice fish. This area gave Harry a lot of experience and finished the morning by going over many of the things that we had worked on in the stream. Good luck to Harry on his return trips to the Park.

Hugh

Matt decided to give his Father a Gift that he would remember, for Father's Day--A guided flyfishing trip. We hit the Holston River and after some detailed instruction, both fellas were on their own--with me not too far from their side. They both had fish on during the day and missed some strikes as well. It was a fun day for Dad and Matt. I hope they put the instruction to good use later this Summer, and I hope that I run into them on the river again this year. We did photograph another young man with a nice fish as well. Congrats to him.
If we can help with a guided trip, please contact us at 423-586-6198.
Hugh

I fished today with a great Father and Son team from St. Louis, Missouri. Ian and Greg Stroube are visiting the GSMNP. Ian is 13 years old and, just about to turn 14. He really put on a great showing today on the Holston River. After working on some skills, we started up the river. As we neared the top of some riffles, the fish began to feed pretty well. Ian hooked into a great fish that was close to 18-20 inches. He battled it for 15 minutes showing great skills. The fish took every advantage of the current and finally tore the small hook from his mouth. This scenario was to take place again in a few minutes. Ian battled the fish all up and down the river only to lose it as the fish was tiring. Both Dad and Son had some great fish on today and they showed their skills very well under tough conditions. I was so proud of both of them as we neared the end of the day. I hope they get to spend some more time on the water before they go back home.

If you have a young child that you would like to teach about flyfishing, this might be the best time. Carolyn or I can help with instruction and hopefully you can see your child battling nice fish such as you as you see in the above pictures. If we can help, just call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

I met with Mike and Jim on the 26th at the South Holston River Fly shop. They hailed from Hendersonville, N.C. We began our float down the South Holston River using BHPTN and a strike indicator. In just a few minutes, the Sulfurs began coming off and we changed to Spun Duns. We had no takes on this fly so we changed to CDC Sulfur Compara Duns. Still, no takes on this fly. The fish were rising all over the river, but we could not get them to take our offerings. Finally, I put on a Tan Wulff, #18, and on the second cast, a fish took it. As soon as Mike landed this fish, he turned around to the other side of the boat and began casting to another rising fish. This fish took the Tan Wulff on the second attempt. Many more fish were caught as we went down the river, on the Wulff. We had a great time and it was a good day on the water. I hope to see the guys again.

If I can help with a guided float trip on this river, please call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

Bob and Gail were from Baton Rouge, La. They were in Townsend learning about the sport of flyfishing. I got to guide them for a day on the tailwaters and on two different mountain streams the next day. You can see Bob tied into a nice rainbow on the Holston River. He had a struggle getting a good hookset above Elkmont. They were both gracious clients and a pleasure to be with. I hope I get to fly with Bob someday.

Hugh

I spent a day in the Park with a Father and Son team on the Father's Day. We fished the West Prong of the Little Pigeon first and then moved to the Oconaluftee River on the N.C. side. It was a beautiful day and Rolland and Wade showed great improvement in their casting skills as the day went on. Roland managed to hook the biggest rainbow of the season while we were fishing the Tow String Road section. Most of the rainbows in the Park have been pretty small this season, but this one was very close to 12inches. It was a good day of learning and for catching a few fish. I hope that both of them get to fish more this season.

Hugh

I had the pleasure of guiding and teaching Fred Kouser from Ohio today. We met at the Elkmont Campground and started on the Little River Trail. We began with casting and mending techniques, while starting with a double rig of Stimulator and Green Weenie dropper. Fred caught a fish on both of these flies.

Next, we started with nymphing techniques using a BeadheadPheasantail Nymph on a strike indicator. After using the indicator a while, I removed the indicator and taught him how to fish by watching the end of the fly line. He had many strikes and caught one on the BHPTN. Later, we put on a Smoky Mountain Blackbird Softhackle, and he had more strikes than ever. While he missed several fish, Fred also caught several.

The day was filled with lots of instruction on casting, mending, nymphing techniques, "high stickin" and learning to tie the Pitzen and Blood knots. After lunch, it started to rain and we called it a day. Fred was a self-taught flyfisherman, who had learned by asking lots of questions and then practicing; but this was his first formal training. He was already casting long distances beautifully and just needed a few fine tune-ups. Learning techniques came easily and naturally for him.

This day was truly a pleasure to have such a nice client and be back in the magnificent Great Smokies. I wish Fred the very best in his fishing endeavors.

Carolyn

I met with RJ at the Elkmont Campground and we worked on casting and mending skills for awhile to begin the day. When I felt like he was ready to start fishing we placed a BeadheadPheasantail Nymph on with a strike indicator for our setup to begin the day. It did not take long until RJ had caught a couple of fish. He put the new skills to work and off we went up the creek catching fish as we went. Occasionally he would lose one ,but he managed to do pretty well to not have very much experience. We fished in a couple of different places as the morning progressed and by lunch time he had taken several fish. Just after lunch it began to rain so I suggested that we call it a day. RJ had shown himself to be a great learner and the results were many fish brought to hand. I hope he has a good day tomorrow.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call 423-586-6198.

HUGH

This group of pictures is a part of 3 trips to different East Tn. Tailwaters this week. The first two trips were done with Matt Champion, from The South Holston River Fly shop. Occasionally, he has need of another guide and I enjoy helping him on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers. There was a group of four gentlemen from Winston Salem, N.C. that fished the South Holston on the first day and then the Watauga River on the second day. They were great fun to be with and caught lots of nice fish, especially on the Watauga River.
The next group of men, the Fowler Clan, were from Knoxville and near to, Washington D.C. We fished the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam today and everyone had a great time. It was especially good because they were able to spend some quality time with their Father and also catch some nice fish. A couple of them had some experience on the water and one was a rank beginner. They all had fish on today, and they were nice ones. I'll let the pictures tell the story fellas, and you can enjoy the memories.

Hugh

I met today with Dennis and Bradley Sigman, and their relative, Keith Jackson, who lives in Knoxville. We spent a hot , but productive day on the Holston River. The Caddis were hatching this morning so we got both young men into fish pretty quickly. After a pulse passed through, we had to go down deep for them and that seemed to be the favorite way for young Bradley. The young guys were having a great time and were learning a lot about the skills of flyfishing. Bradley was only 13 years old and this is the 3rd very young person that I have guided this week. Just look at the bent rods and the size of the fish and you can just imagine how much fun they were having. Keith managed to land one that he thought was about 22inches long.

I want to take this time to thank the Fathers of these young men for providing a means for them to learn about, and enjoy this sport in a proper manner. It speaks volumes about their integrity and their love for their children to see that they are trained properly at this young age. What more can I say about them? It speaks for itself!
My thanks to all of them for being such great sports and great learners. I hope they continue their journey down this beautiful road.

Hugh

Ty Mc Adams was the 1st, very young man that I guided this past week and he just did an excellent job of learning techniques. Not only did he learn them, but he put them to good use. The 2nd row of pictures in this report show how effective his fishing was after I left for the day. I was so proud of him when I started to leave. This week has blessed me with 2 fine young men who took the training that I gave them and then made me very proud because of how successful they were. This is what it is all about when you are a guide. This is a gift that lasts a lifetime. If you see these young men on the stream fishing, walk up and congratulate them and their parents.

Hugh

Paul Weeks and I arrived on the South Holston River this morning to see it in the lowest conditions of the year. They were working on the Weir Dam again and the flow was extremely low. It was a crystal clear very hot day and that made for some tough fishing. Paul came through with a nice 16 inch brown for is first fish and then his second one turned out to be another brown. The day got hotter and the fish seemed to just turn off. We fished until almost 4:00PM, but did not catch any more. The temperature got into the 90's and we finally called it a day. I enjoyed being with Paul and I hope he has learned enough about fishing this river to tackle it by himself.

Hugh

Frankie Turner, who is 10 years old, is from Birmingham, Alabama. His Dad, Kip Turner, brought him to the Smokies for a guys weekend out, and to learn to flyfish. There are not too many things that are any better than that. He is my youngest client so far this year and we had a great time. He picked up on the casting and mending techniques that I taught him and was catching fish in 30 minutes. We just had a fabulous time and I think that it was a great idea that his Dad came up with to teach him about flyfishing. Frankie caught 5 fish and missed many others. He caught rainbows and browns so he has my admiration. I hope that many other Fathers will try in some way to get their sons and daughters interested in this beautiful sport. Frankie is the same age that I was when I began my flyfishing career. All of my best wishes go to him for many happy years at this sport.

Hugh

Today, the 30th, I spent 1/2 day with a nice young gentleman from Cincinnati, Ohio. Matt Adams was a very fine young fisherman and he picked up every thing that I tried to show him almost immediately. He was probably the closet thing to a natural that I have seen in a long time on the stream. He hooked two or three fish within minutes and missed several strikes in a 100 yard stretch of water. The fish were feeding very well for a couple of hours, but they seemed to turn off in the middle of the morning. Matt caught browns and rainbows, so I was very pleased with him. He was going to try a little higher on the creek this afternoon and I hope he found them feeding again.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call:423-586-6198.

Hugh

I spent 1/2 day giving instructions to Harold and Kathy Dice, who are from New Orleans, La. This was their first time at flyfishing and they were very quick to pick up the skills that we practiced. They both got several strikes from smaller fish and Harold finally landed one. They got the opportunity to fish dry flies and nymphs as well. It was a good half day spent with two very nice people. I hope they can come back to see us in the Smokies real soon.

Hugh

Jerry and Paul SeigFreid are Father and Son, from Mexico, Missouri. Jerry now lives with his wife in Naples, Florida. They are both attorneys, by trade, and both are avid flyfishermen. We spent 4 days together on different tailwaters and I really enjoyed each day. We did both wade and float trips to different places to give them experience on a number of types of fishing while they were here in East Tennessee. These two fellas were great gentlemen and we just had a great time each day that we spent together. I told Jerry that he pleased me more by catching a fish that I have been hoping to come across while fishing the Holston River. It was a brown trout about 8 inches long and literally full of color. I believe that it was a brown that had been born this past winter in the river and it was the first one that I had seen. I have been hoping to see some natural reproduction by brown trout in this water. Jerry was 83 years young and still making his way to great trout streams. How greatly I admired him.
Jerry left on Sunday morning to catch a flight back to Florida and Paul and I spent the day together exploring some new water. Paul really caught some great fish that morning. In the afternoon, it just got better. He caught and landed a beautiful 20 inch brown. The fish fought like crazy and made one beautiful jump. Paul told me that he was shaking after he landed the fish. He did a great job of handling the fish. HE CAUGHT MANY MORE FISH AND MISSED A LOT OF OTHERS AS WELL. We ended the day and it had been a great, father and son outing. As I have mentioned before, it was great to be their host and guide while they were here. I hope they can make another trip in the future.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to a wonderful fishing destination, please call us at:
423-586-6198.

Hugh

Lee and George from Southern Illinois were my clients for Tuesday, and we went to the Holston River below Cherokee. The day was overcast and the winds up. There were no hatches, but we saw occasional Caddis flies throughout the day. Lee and George were very experienced at flyfishing, and I really enjoyed seeing beautiful casting techniques from both. George caught a few Rainbows and Lee hooked a good sized fish and missed a few.. We all felt that the incoming weather front had the fishing down for the day, but Lee and George stated that they had a great time, and enjoyed being on the beautiful Holston River and viewing the emote scenery.

Lee and George were wonderful people, and it certainly was a great pleasure to guide them. I wish them both the very best in their travels.

If Hugh or I can be of assistance, just let us know: phone: 423-586-6198 or:

Hugh at flyfisherman1@charter.net Carolyn at beeboflyfishingguide@hotmail.com

I had the pleasure of guiding Steve and Chris this weekend and it was a first at flyfishing for Chris. We worked hard on casting and mending skills for all of the morning without getting too many strikes. We had lunch and went to a place a little lower down on the river, which is one of my favorites. In just a few minutes after getting back into the river, we started seeing a Sulfur hatch begin. The fish immediately started feeding and Chris was getting strikes. He wanted to revert back to his bass fishing days on a few strike, but finally, he connected. He fought the fish long and hard right up to his feet, only to have it tear the hook out at the last minute. We moved on upstream getting more strikes and finally he connected with very large fish that looked to be at least 20 inches long. This turned out to be a long battle and the fish was getting the best of it by getting farther and farther downstream. Chris held onto the fish until his Dad got right up to where he was reaching for the fish. It decided at this moment to make it's escape and tore the hook out . His Dad estimated the fish to be at least 20 inches long. We finished the day up with Steve catching one more fish. It was great to fish with this Father and Son team and I hope that we get to meet again.

Hugh

Phil Pustenjovsky, from Middle Tennessee was my client for today and it began with drizzle and wind. We did have the continuation of a Mayfly hatch taking place when we stepped into the river. Phil had a lot of problems with hooking fish today. He wanted to revert back to old Bass fishing techniques and it caused him problems for several hours. After lunch, we moved to the upper part of the river and tried fishing with just a Beadhead Pheasanttail nymph and a strike indicator. Phil hooked one of the largest rainbows that I have ever seen and it went down the river in a wild dash and leaped 3 feet into the air. It was easily a 5-6 pound fish and would have measured at least 25 or more inches.. The fish broke the 5X tippet without even straining and we were both pretty disillusioned. We said goodbye to a beautiful wild fish. He may have originally come from a hatchery, but he is wild now. He's one of the biggest that I've ever seen. Phil continued to fish the afternoon out and caught a few more. It was great guiding him and good luck to him in his endeavors throughout life.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please call: 423-586- 6198.

Hugh

Today, I met with Glen Allgood and Daniel Drake of Little River Outfitters. These are two of the most knowledgeable fellas in the flyfishing industry. They are also great flyfishermen. We made our way to the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam and it was raining and gloomy when we got on the water. It was very foggy and hard to see very much of the river in the early part of the day. As you can tell by the pictures, it began to brighten up some and as the morning wore on each fellow hooked several fish. For some reason, many of the fish were lost. The water came up just a little and we went to lunch to give it a few minutes to go back down. We got back in the water and fished for another hour or two and did not see very much happening on top. We retraced our steps and started over back down the river to see if things might have changed. We began to see some feeding fish just above us and in just a few minutes, a hatch began to take place and the fish really turned on. This was a Mayfly hatch and I was surprised to see this type of fly really hatching off on the Holston River. It has always been known for it's Caddis hatches and I was surprised. Both Daniel and Glen began to take fish and in just a short time, Daniel hooked a very nice brown. He played it right to the net and it turned out to be a beautiful 18 inch fish. Daniel and Glen were hooking one fish after another. The rain got a little harder after awhile and we decided to call it a day. It had been a great day for all of us and I hope they remember it for a long time to come.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to the Holston River, just call us at:423-586- 6198.

Hugh

Bill Freuler and I made it out into the Holston River just in time to catch a fish and then it started to rain. I thought that the day was ruined , but in just a few minutes Bill hooked a fish that was real close to him when it took the fly. The fish did not make much of a commotion about being hooked and Bill related that he did not think the fish was very big??? I SAID TO HIM, THAT YOU CAN NEVER TELL HOW BIG A FISH IS UNTIL YOU SEE HIM . Just a minute after saying this, the fish took off downstream and made a wild leap into the air. He had hooked a huge brown and did not realize it. The fight was on and 25 minutes later, he landed a beautiful 20 inch Holston River brown. The day was just getting started. We fished right on through the rain for 2 hours more and after catching a few rainbows, he caught another 20 inch brown. This is the first time that I have ever had a client to catch two large brown trout. He finished the day off by landing a few more nice rainbows. What a great day! It was great being on the water with Bill and I hope to see him again soon. I have been telling you what a great river the Holston is this year. This is visual proof.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to this fine river, just call 423-586-6198.

Norman Frede from Houston , Texas and John Burns, from Maryville spent the day with me on the Holston River. Norman had just bought a new Sage rod and it may have been a little heavy for him. He had the bad luck of breaking of numbers of fish. We worked on his hookset for hours. John started with a spinning outfit and I think that I might have converted him over to a flyfisherman before we left. He caught 3 fish and really enjoyed the long rod. We had a great day on the river and everyone enjoyed the beauty. I hope to see him back some day.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call: 423-586-6198.

Hugh

I met today with Dave StrIcker and his son, Tom. We headed to the Holston River and really had a great day. The weather was just recovering from some very hard wind and rain the day before and there were still some clouds and wind through the early part of the day. We caught some fish early in the morning and after lunch, the clouds moved out and it became a beautiful sun shiny day. The Caddis began to hatch and we just had some great fishing all afternoon. Dave and Tom really enjoyed them selves and both caught fish all afternoon. It was great to see both of them having so much fun. I hope they can get back to the river soon.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

Scott and Patrick Fugate, from Knoxville, made a trip with me to the Holston River today. We started out by working with Patrick, and we focused on casting and mending skills. This was all very new to Patrick and it took a while to get Patrick to the point that he was able to cast very far. Handling the flyrod on big water is never easy when you are first beginning, especially when you are only 14 years old. As the morning moved along I would move from Scott to Patrick and eventually both began to get strikes and hook up with fish. They had begun to work out some of the mending problems and now hookset was showing it's ugly face. Timing on hooksets is always a problem when you are first beginning, today was no exception. At first, just hooking the fish was the problem and then after they began to hookup, breakoffs were the next problem. We retied on flies and moved along, but landing fish after they were hooked was a real nemesis. Many times both fellas had hookups but they were never able to land the fish or sometimes they would allow the fish to break off, when doing a hard run. It was not an easy day for both guys, but in the afternoon, Scott finally did land a fish. Patrick stayed with the fishing all afternoon, but the fish just would not stay on the hook for him. I know both men will want to get back on the water soon to reconcile themselves.
On the way back to the car, everyone decided to have a milkshake at the Marble Slab Creamery. This is where Patrick showed us how a professional operates when there is ice cream to be had. While his Dad and I got milkshakes, Patrick got a big scoop of chocolate ice cream with another scoop of cookie dough blended in to make a big cone of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
Who said teenagers aren't smart??

Hugh

Bryan Kennedy, from Iowa, met with me at Little River Outfitters yesterday and we moved immediately to the East Prong of Little River to begin our day. We arrived at the Millsap Picnic Area and lots of flies were hatching off. We got into the water and Bryan fished hard for n hour, but could not get a fish to move. We decided to move across the mountain to the Oconaluftee River and that is where we finished out the day. Bryan had to do a lot of work on his casting and mending skills so we spent a lot of the afternoon doing that. He caught one fish and made one long distance release. He also missed a lot of strikes. I asked Bryan to work hard on all of his skills so that he would not forget the techniques that I taught him. I hope to see him again on a tailwater.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please call:423-586-6198.

Hugh

Glenn Allgood, who works at Little River Outfitters, scheduled a trip with me to the Holston River today. Who could ever known that it would turn out to be the greatest fishing adventure that I have ever been on with a client. From the very first part of the morning, Glenn began to hook nice sized rainbows that would set his reel to screaming and take off line almost down to the backing. The smallest fish that we saw all day was about 13inches. The remainder of the day was a continuous series of hook, play, and release, scenarios that seemed like they only got bigger, and bigger, and bigger. I lost count of the 15, 16 , and 18inch fish that he caught and released. Some were long distance releases. He hooked 2 fish that we estimated to be about 20 inches and 1 fish that appeared to be at least 25 inches and would have weighed 5 pounds. This is by far, the most fantastic fishing that I have ever seen anywhere! Glenn proved to be an excellent angler and really knows how to stay at the sport all day. I can only repeat what I have just said. It was the most fantastic day of fishing that I have ever known. I encourage you to stop in at Little River Outfitters and talk with Glenn about the trip. He can tell you about some hookups that took him down the river for 100 yards before he could get the fish to even think of slowing down. This is really Glen's story and you should hear it firsthand. It was great to be out on the river with Glenn today and I hope we get a repeat trip like this next week.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to any of our tailwaters, please call 423-586- 61298.

Hugh

This is the second time that I have guided J.C. and Adrienne and we chose to try the Holston River on this trip. I was not sure that we would be able to get in a full day because of the weather. We had rain and thunderstorms coming our way about lunch time. The rain came but the rougher weather did not materialize. We were able to finish the day out. The weather did have a negative effect on the fish. They were feeding when we first started and Adrienne had one on pretty quickly. The feeding just slowed down after the rain began, and by the middle of the afternoon, it had completely turned the fish off. Both of the clients were able to catch some fish before the weather put the fish down. We had a great time and I also learned that the attractive couple had just gotten engaged the night before. Congratulations to them! I hope they get to visit East Tenn. again next year and I look forward to seeing them again on the water.
If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to one of these great tailwaters, please call us at:
423-586-6198.

Hugh

Fred Snyder and I got together for a class on Advanced Nymphing. Fred worked as hard as anyone that I have ever had in a class. It seemed that his difficulty came when he began to get strikes. This is always a tough time for people who have not had a lot of experience at "nymphing". There were numbers of times that he just could not see the fish hitting the fly. We talked about things that he could do to make his flyline more visible. Lots of small rainbows were feeding on the Oconaluftee but they will have to meet Fred on another day. We talked about him continuing to practice the skills that he had learned and I hope to see him again soon on the water. He was a great gentleman to be with.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

Bill Kramer came up from Atlanta, Ga. and we had one "winged dinged heck of a day". It was a day of learning for Bill and the pressure did not let up until the day was completely over. We put in such a strong day that I am sure that he is sore physically and his ears are sensitive as well from hearing me give out instructions. We were into some awfully nice fish and I hated seeing him lose the battle with a few of them. I'm sure he got tired of hearing me bark out instructions, but I wanted him to absorb as much as he could in the day that we were together. He was a great sport and a very nice person to be with on the river. I hope that he will retain as much of the instructions as possible. I know without a doubt that he will want to be back on the Holston River soon. He has a few old scores to settle with some big fish.
If you would like to engage in battle with some of these bruisers that we saw yesterday, just call Carolyn or me at 423-586- 6198 and we will get you on the river and involved in some of the best fishing in Tennessee.

Hugh

Yep! If you haven't taken a guided trip to the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam; you are missing one of the best flyfishing experiences that you can find in the Southeast . These pictures were taken on Saturday, a day off for me. We only fished about 1-1/2 hours and both Carolyn and I hooked several fish that would rival any you could find in size outside of the White River in Arkansas. All of the fish that we caught were between 14-20in. in size. The rainbow that I am holding in the first two pictures was about 19 in. long. The brown trout that I am photographing is 18 in. long. The last picture of the rainbow was about 16 in. long. Carolyn had fish on that would have gone 18in. Boomer got tangled in the line and that was the end of that. The bottom line is: You need to get yourself booked for a trip on this river while the Caddis are hatching off. You can't find fishing like this anywhere else in this area.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to this fabulous tailwater. please call us at 423-586-6198.

I met with J. Renfro, from Kentucky, on Thursday morning. We made our way to the Holston River on a beautiful morning and set up for the coming Caddis hatch. J. had not done any trout fishing , but he had used his flyrod for Bluegills and Bass. He really found out quickly that there was a great deal of difference in the different types of fish. He did not have a lot of trouble in getting the fish to hit, but he had a lot of trouble in getting the right hookset. Most of the time it was a little too late, but sometimes his strike was too hard. It continued to plague him throughout the day. The fish were feeding heavily, and they provided him with lots of targets to keep him active and trying. I told him to continue to practice on moving water near where he lives and maybe the right timing will come to him. It was a great day to be on the river and we watched a beautiful Osprey taking his lunch on several occasions.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

David Strecker and I made a full day of fishing in the Park today. We were on the East Prong of Little River, the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River, the Ramsey Prong, Porters Creek, and finally, Metcalf Bottoms. It was a hard, full day of instruction, and fishing for David, and it only yielded about 3 fish. David was a great client, and he fished as well as I could have asked for. The fish were just not feeding and nothing we could present to them made any difference. It just turns out that way on some days. It was a beautiful day to be in the Park and I sure enjoyed his company. I hope to get to fish with him and his sons sometime soon.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please contact us at : 423-586-6198

Dan Arnold and I met to fish Abrams Creek on Monday and when we arrived the Green Drakes were hatching. They were beautiful to watch and you would have thought they would have had the fish turned on. They did not!!. We fished hard for several hours and only caught two fish. One turned out to be a respectable 11in. After fishing a beautiful stretch of water, we made our way back to the Middle Prong of Little River. It was getting on into the afternoon and when we arrived a hatch was taking place and some fish were feeding. Dan caught one in the first hole and missed another fish shortly afterward. We finished up the afternoon here and it had turned out to be a beautiful day. I hope that Dan gets back on the water soon and gets to spend more time in the Smokies.

Hugh

Last year I guided Pam Davis, from Michigan, on Abrams Creek. This year we decided to try a tailwater, and I could think of none that were fishing any better than the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam. Pam had brought here Mother and Brother, and her friend, Jen, with her for this trip. Her brother and mother had very little flyfishing experience, so we set out to remedy that with a lot of casting and mending instruction. Pam's friend, Jen, and Pam, are members of a lady's flyfishing group in Michigan, so they get to fish on a regular basis. This was one of the finest experiences on a trip that I have had this year. My wife Carolyn, joined in with me to guide this fine group and we had a fantastic day. It seemed like rods were bent for the better part of the day and especially so, in the last section of river that we fished. The day was gorgeous, and the Caddis hatches were just covering the water. Each person was becoming accustomed to the river and I just took picture after picture of fish being hooked and played. What a pleasure it is for a guide to see everyone enjoying themselves. My thanks to Pam, her family, and friend, for such a great day, and for allowing Carolyn and me to guide them. I hope to see them again sometime in the future.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip or flies, just call 423-586-6198

I met with a great group of guys form Alabama today and we made our way to the South Holston River. None of the fellas had much experience at fishing for trout, and guide Kevin Lowe, helped to instruct this fine group. We had originally planned to do a float trip on the Watauga River, but TVA decided to generate at an inopportune time. That is why we made a wade trip for the South Holston River. There was not much feeding going on for quite a bit of the day and the fellas struggled for sometime to catch fish. In the middle of the afternoon, a good BWO hatch started and the fun began. Things changed real quickly and each of the gentlemen began to get strikes. Timing on hooksets were not always on cue and sometimes the fish just got the better of the situation. We stil had fun and caught some fish. We had a great time and I hope that everyone learned some new techniques. I hope to see them again on the water soon.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call 423-586-6198 or email at flyfisherman1@charter.net

Paul Weeks has lived a good part of his adult life in Connecticut, but he is now to retirement age and he wants to come back home. Part of coming back is to learn the rivers and streams of East Tennessee, so we started with the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam. They were generating early so we started down at Nances Ferry and then moved up to the upper part of the river later in the day. The fish were feeding like crazy when we got into the water and other than working on casting and mending skills, we had a fantastic morning. The generation had slowed the fish down some in the upper part of the river, so the fish were a little slower at feeding. Paul still managed a great day and I want to thank him for allowing me to guide him. I hope to see him again soon on another stream.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call:423-586-6198.

Hugh

John Goss and his wife had come to Carson Newman College to see their daughter. While they were here they wanted to fish the Smokies and maybe a tailwater. Today, we chose to try the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam. By the time that we had finished the day, John said that it was the most fun that he had ever had in his life, outside of his wife and family. I told him that he had probably just finished the best fishing day of all the clients that I have taken out this year. He showed a lot of class and expertise on the water while we were on the river. This good set of techniques proved to land him more nice fish than I have seen all year. Every fish was in the 13-15 inch range, with one 14 inch brown and a 18-20 inch rainbow. This is first class fishing and this is a first class river at the moment. Most of the fish were taken on a small Beadhead Pheasanttail Nymph. I want to thank John for allowing me to guide him and for his fine performance on the stream.
If you are looking for a very good fishing trip, without too much driving, this is it. Contact us and let us take you to a great fishing destination . The Caddis are just starting to hatch and it will only get better. To schedule a guided trip, call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

I met with Robert Hutson at the Sugarland Visitor Center today and we fished the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River, below the Park Headquarters. This water fishes better in the early spring than later in the summer. Our biggest challenge was to get Robert's casting and mending skills up to par. This was something that we worked on all through the day. After lunch, we moved to the waters of Little River just below Elkmont Campgrounds. Robert managed to catch one fish here and we moved later in the day to the West Prong of Little River. It got tougher to cast as the moved on and we finally gave it up at about 3:30. I want Robert to continue to work on casting and mending skills at every opportunity that he has. He is a very pleasant person to be around and an avid photographer as well. I hope to run into him in the Park again.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please call:423-586-6198.

Hugh

David and I met at the entrance to Greenbriar this morning and we began practicing his casting and mending skills. The first thing that we saw was that quite a few insects were hatching. My first thoughts had been to try nymphs, but when we saw fishing rising, the dry flies came out fast. It did not take many casts until David began to get strikes. He then began to hook fish, and the day was under way. We broke for lunch about the middle of the day and when we arrived back on the stream, the action had died down on top. We tied on the trusty Smoky Mountain Blackbird Softhackle and he caught a couple more. The water was sort of high and it wore us both down by the middle of the afternoon. It had been a good day and David was very pleased with his level of improvement. My thanks to David for allowing me to guide him and I hope he gets to fish another day or two while he is in East Tennessee.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, just call:423-586-6198.

Hugh

Today I met with Janice and Jill from Memphis, TN for a 1/2 day trip to Nance's Ferry. They had taken some flycasting lessons, but had never been able to put these lessons to use. Both were excited to go to the river and get away from their jobs at a Memphis Hospital.

We started with the basics of fishing safety and etiquette, how to set up the rig, read the water and surroundings and choose the fly. I showed them the Pitzen knot and flycasting techniques were discussed and practiced.

There were several fishermen already on the water, and we had to walk quite a bit. I saw only occasional fish rising, no hatches and a few Caddis and Black flies. The ladies worked very hard on their casting and mending skills. I was very proud of them, and I hope that they will continue to work on these skills that we practiced. I really enjoyed my 1/2 day with these ladies, and they stated that they had a fantastic day.

If Hugh or I can help with a guided trip or flies, just call 423-586-6198.

Thanks,

Carolyn

I met with Richard and Margaret Strecker today and we drove to the Holston River for a great day of fishing on their 20 wedding anniversary. My congratulations to them on this special day. It had rained quite a bit and the weather service was saying that we might have rain until 2:00pm. That did not happen, so we got quite a bit of fishing in during the early part of the day. Each of them caught a few fish before we broke for lunch and we decided to move in the afternoon to a lower part of the river. I thought that the Caddis might be beginning to hatch if we moved lower downstream. The section that we had fished in the morning was completely dominated by Blackflies and we used an Elk Hair Caddis, with a #26 Blackfly, as the dropper.
We arrived on the lower part of the river and it was raining some when we got into the river this time. I moved to one side of the river with Margaret and Richard stayed on the opposite side of the run that we wanted to fish. We were into fish right away and this continued for the next 1-1/2 hours.
The more fish that we caught, the heavier it rained. I was taking fish off the hook for Margaret on a continuous basis. By the time the rain got so hard that we had to quite, Margaret had caught almost 15 fish and had lost almost as many. It turned into a great afternoon for both Richard and Margaret and I was very pleased with them. I wished them a great time for the rest of their vacation and bid them farewell as the day ended.
If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip or flies, just call 423-586-6198.

Last year I guided Bob Powell and his son, Nate. Bob was back in the Park again this year and we decided to hit as tailwater that was close by. We arrived at about 9:30 in the morning and the fish were feeding on Blackflies pretty good. It was just a few minutes until Bob had one on and lost it. In a few more minutes, Ron had one on and lost it. A little later, Ron hooked a very nice fish and played the fish for quite awhile. It keep the pressure on and made it's way farther out into the river until the line fouled around the reel. It promptly broke the leader and went on it's merry way. Even though several fish were hooked, we were not able to land even one. The fish are getting bigger and stronger as the weeks go by. This is the one tailwater that you want to try in the next few weeks. I saw the first Caddis hatching today. It won't be but a few days until the hatch is in full swing. If we can help with a guided trip to the Holston River, just call us at: 423-586-6198.

Hugh

Jerry Wester has been in public education for many years in the state of Louisiana. He has wanted to get into the early hatches in the Park, so after some discussion about water temperatures we decide to try the West Prong of Little River, and them Abrams Creek. We did not see any fish or insects on the West Prong, and when we got to Abrams Creek they were out in force. The insects were out but the fish were holding tight. We tried dry flies and nymphs, but we were only able to get strikes on nymphs very late in the evening. Jerry only managed to hook into one fish and he missed several strikes. He learned a lot about techniques and what happens to fish when the water temps get too low. He was a great student and I hope that he got to fish more today. Good luck to Jerry on future trips to the Park. We're hoping that water temperatures come up to fishable levels this weekend.

If you would like a guided trip in the Park or on a tailwater, please call 423-586-6198.

Hugh

Carolyn, Boomer, and I needed to get away from the house for the day and spend some time on the river. We had several things to do along the way and it was early afternoon before we arrived in the Rockhold section. We fished around the twin islands for awhile and did not see any action taking place, so we moved to Big Springs Road. The wind was blowing pretty hard all day and we started off in this new section tossing streamers. I had not gone more than 100yards before I noticed the fish were feeding on a BWO hatch. I changed rods real quickly and started again with a Tan Wulff and a Matched Quill Winged BWO Dun. I had several fish to take the BWO dropper and after about 15 minutes, I had a huge fish to take the fly. I hollered to Carolyn to start taking pictures where she was holding Boomer along the side of the river to keep him away from the fish. The battle was on and the fish looked as long as my arm. Carolyn waded out close to where I was and traffic began to stop along the Big Springs Road to watch the show. While I was battling the fish a gentleman stopped, and got out to see if I needed any assistance. I was fishing without a net and he had one so he waded out in the river to help. I fought the big boy up and down the river, where he made two beautiful jumps. Boomer got off his leash and went out in the river after the fish, but we screamed loud enough at him until he finally turned around and came back in. The gentleman later told me his name was Stan Atkins, and he waded out in the river downstream from the fish where he was able finally to get the net under it. My arms were worn out from the fight and it took a while to get the hook from the fish. I could never have landed this big bruiser if Stan had not taken the time to come out and help. He had a tape and measured the beautiful brown at 24inches. It was a battle with a great fish that I will remember for a long time. My thanks to Carolyn and Stan for all their help and I hope to meet him on the river again soon.
If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip, please call us at:423-586-6198.

Hugh

David Mahlik Jr. contacted me wanting to get in on some of the very early hatches in the Park. We made plans to fish on the 17th of March, not knowing exactly what the weather conditions would be. This year the water has been high and the temperatures are low due to a snow pack that has been melting. We were not able to fish the East Prong of Little River because the flow was too high. We tried the Middle Prong first and found the water to be slightly high and quite cold. No insects were hatching before noon and we struggled without getting a single fish until lunch. We did a lot of work with both fellas, teaching casting and mending techniques. David Sr. was new to flyfishing and he is the one that I did the most work with. I also showed them how to fish nymphs in single profile and tandem rigged. Since nothing was hatching and the water temps were low, I felt that this would be the only chance we would have at catching fish.
We moved to Abrams Creek after lunch and when we arrived on the stream, lots of small Tan Caddis, along with Blue Quills and Quill Gordons were hatching. I would have thought the fish would be really feeding since the water temps were close to 50 degrees, but nothing was moving. We fished there until late in the afternoon and moved back to the Middle Prong. The insects had begun to hatch some in the late afternoon, but nothing was feeding. We fished until 5:30 and David Sr. caught one small fish. I commend the guys for all their hard attempts. It was a difficult day to say the least. The water just needs to warm up some to make the fish be more active. I hope the skills that the guys learned will be practiced and built upon until they can come back to the Park again. My thanks to them for allowing me to guide them. Let's give the mountain streams another week or two and they should be back to normal. The water levels are looking much better this year. If Carolyn or I can be of help with a guided trip, just call us at:423-586-6198.

Hugh

Matt Champion asked if I would help guide a large group of people from the Pittsburgh area and we met at his shop to get all things in order for the trip. I had the pleasure of guiding Drew De Piccolo and we headed to the Watauga River for a day of floating. None of the guys had much experience with a flyrod so we helped them to fish for awhile with a spinning outfit and then we worked with them to help learn the art of flyfishing. Drew had two sons with him, Shane and Jordan. They were being guided by Kevin Lowe, and he also worked with them to show them how to flyfish. They were both having some luck as we went down the river , but Drew missed a lot of strikes. After switching back and forth from the spinning rod and the flyrod, Drew was pretty disgusted with himself. I brought out one last fly and gave it to him to try. It was an Olive Matuka and it had worked for Carolyn out in Yellowstone National Park. On the first cast, Drew hooked a nice brown. On the next cast, he hooked a monster rainbow. On the next cast, he hooked another nice rainbow! What was going on here?? On the 5th cast, he hooked another nice rainbow! What kind of magic did this new fly have? We floated the rest of the river and Drew continued to have fish hitting or chasing the Matuka. The day had completely turned around. As it was getting close to dark, we took the boats out and went back to the shop where the trip began. I hope that it was a day that all the fellas will remember. I want to thank Matt and Kevin for being such great guides and for showing me many things about fishing the Watauga that I won't forget. They are both great sportsmen and guides. I look forward to fishing with them again sometime in the Spring or Summer.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip to the Watauga or with flies, just call at"423-586-6198.

Olive Conehead Matuka

Jim and Ernie have been wanting to float the Holston River for a couple of weeks and today seemed to be a great day to be on the river. We tried to catch the last of a 2 hour generation schedule so we would have some water to get us past the first few shoals and not drag the bottom out of the boat. It was a little of a late start so we were in low water conditions for a good part of the day. The fish began to feed on a nice Diptera hatch and when we finally started to get some risers, Ernie showed himself by catching a nice 18in. rainbow, the first thing. The feeding seemed to change from Diptera midges to Blackflies from one set of shoals to the next. We got our flies changed to the right patterns and both guys had fish on in a few minutes. We spent several hours fishing through a number of sets of shoals and we found the water coming up from a pulse. This finished the day for us and it was almost dark when we pulled the boat in to the take out point. It was a great day on the river with Jim and Ernie. This was the first float trip of the year and the fish on the Holston River are so fat that you can't get your hand around them. Please take a look at the flies that we offer that will match the Diptera Midge Adult and the Blackfly Adult.
If we can help you with a guided trip to some fabulous fishing on this fine river, and you would like to schedule a trip, just call 423-586-6198 or email us at (click here).

Today, the first signs of Spring were all around while I was on the South Holston River. Even though, there was some snow still on the Holston Mountain, the temperature was rising rapidly. The fish did not want to cooperate early in the day but after lunch I went to the Big Spring area and I was into a nice Blue Winged Olive hatch right away. The fish were feeding on top as if the Sulfurs were hatching. I used a small Tan Wulff for an indicator and placed a natural matched winged BWO Dun pattern on as a dropper. The fish were jumping all over this fly and I was having a difficult time hooking them. It seemed like it took forever to get a solidly hooked fish, but I wanted to show you what they are now feeding on and what to look for when you are back on this river. These hatches should go on for awhile, until the weather becomes too warm and then the Sulfurs will take over as the primary food source.

If Carolyn or I can help with a guided trip or flies, please call us at 423-56-6198.

Today, Ernie Roberts and I made the trip back to the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam. We wanted to test my new Blackfly pattern in another spot. This time we chose the area of River Point. The fish were feeding like crazy when we arrived and we got right into the water without hesitation. In just a couple of cast I had a fish on and it continued to be like this through the afternoon. We caught fish up to 14in. and Ernie hooked a large brown that ran all over the river before it tore the hook out of it's mouth. The biggest fish that I saw feeding looked to be a 4-5lb. fish. After two cast I had spooked the fish and did not see it again. The new Blackfly pattern worked well today, and I will continue to test it. If you are looking for a great fishing trip right now, you need to take a guided wade trip on this river. Here is the hot new Blackfly. Give us a call at 423-586-6198.