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Reports 1-23 have been deleted due to website disc space |
| NOVEMBER 19, 2011 | ROBERT WALKER AND MARILYN LOVE ON THE SOUTH HOLSTON |
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Today was Robert and
Marilyn's second trip this year in Tennessee. We fished
the Holston River earlier this year and today we were on the
Watauga and South Holston Rivers. You can look at the first 3
pictures and see just how cold it was when arrived on the South
Holston River. The temperature was 22 degrees and it was
miserable for a few hours this morning. There was not much
happening on the Watauga when we arrived so after a couple of
hours there we went back over to the South Holston River. The
Sulfurs were hatching sort of lightly and we began to get some
strikes. It seemed like the two of them got several strikes ,but
they had trouble hooking up. The fish were not in the best
feeding mood and we had to fish for awhile to hook into the
first one. Marilyn finally hooked a nice one that put up a great
fight and the rewards were a beautifully colored rainbow. The
two of them stayed at it until about 4:30 and we called it a
day. It was good to be back on the river with them and maybe
they can make it again next year. Good luck, and a good new year
to them. Hugh
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| NOVEMBER 15, 2011 | MIKE BRIDGES AND THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN BLACKBIRD SOFTHACKLE ON ARMSTRONG CREEK |
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Mike has been up to his usual
mischief on the stream and he uses the Smoky Mountain Blackbird
Softhackle to bring these monstrous fish up where we can see
them and really be envious. Take a look at these nice browns and
consider what this great fly can do if used properly like only
Mike can do. Here he is telling his story on the stream.
Hugh, I was able to fish
some private water on Armstrong Creek below the hatchery in
North Carolina. I was curious how the Smokey Mountain
Blackbird would perform. Well, it exceeded even my
expectations. I had one nice trout break me off and missed
on a few others, but I was blessed with the two nice browns
in the photographs. I also caught several smaller trout.
The Blackbird out fished everything else and it wasn't even
close!
Hugh |
| October 31, 2011 | A PREVIEW OF THINGS TO COME ON THE HOLSTON RIVER, BELOW CHEROKEE DAM |
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These pictures were sent to
me Monday afternoon and they are of some clients and friends
that have fished the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam this
weekend. I wanted you to take notice of the large 28 inch brown
in the first picture because of the discussion we have had on
the LRO Board about the TWRA and some of it's bad stocking and
management practices in the recent past. This is an example of
what we might see lots of with better management skills. The
pictures of the rainbows are the third set of reports from this
river in two weeks with fish going over 20 inches. Some are less
than that in size, but it is easy to see what growth these fish
have from this great river. The temperatures in the river have
dropped in recent days to 64 degrees at mid river and are
dropping fast as we experience cold mornings. The river will be
back to normal real soon. I think I will start booking trips to
the Holston, below Cherokee by MId - November. Try to get you
name on the list real soon for some great winter fishing.
Hugh |
| October 30, 2011 | BOB AND GAIL DOSSER FISHING THE SULFUR HATCH ON THE SOUTH HOLSTON RIVER |
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| Bob
and Gail Dosser are friends from Baton Rouge , La. and I have
guided them on several occasions in years past. They were in
East Tn. finishing up a long series of trips and they wanted to
end it with a good tailwater trip to the South Holston River. We
had to wait until later in the morning to get on the river
because of cold temperatures and heavy fog. TVA did a pulse and
as it was going down the Sulfurs started hatching. This was a
great time to hit the water and it wasn't long until Gail caught
her first fish. We spent the rest of the afternoon with Bob and
Gail catching fish on the Rockhold Sulfur Emerger. It seemed to
be mostly rainbows and an occasional brown. We had a great time
and I bade them farewell at the end of the day. Bob showed me some great pictures of a trip that he and Gail did this summer on the Bow River in Alberta, Canada. I asked if he would share them with everyone and tell about his experience there. He agreed to do this and we can look forward to a great trip to the Bow River in a short while. Hugh
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| MIKE AND ADAM GOFF ON THE WATAUGA AND SOUTH HOLSTON RIVERS |
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Mike and Adam Goff are Father
and and Son fly fishermen from Mississippi. They were visiting
the Smokies and wanted to try a tailwater trip. We headed out
early Saturday morning and it was still raining some as we drove
to Elizabethton. The temperature was just above freezing when we
got into the Watauga River and we sure felt it. We fished until
lunch time and both fellows caught a few fish. They did better
that I expected with the weather being rotten through out the
morning. All of the fish that we caught here were Rainbows
except for one small brown. The size was good on most of them
and I was pleased with their performance. It was time for the
water to come on on the Watauga and time for TVA to turn it off
on the South Holston River. In just a few minutes we were on
that river and a Sulfur hatch had begun. The rest of the evening
was fun and many fish were caught and some missed. It was a
struggle trying to help both men cast in a strong wind, but they
managed and several fish were brought to hand. I had a great
time fishing with Father and Son and I hope to see them in the
Smokies again. Hugh |
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| October 25-26th,2011 | TOM, GREG , AND DAVE WADE FISHING AND FLOATING THE SOUTH HOLSTON RIVER |
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| Tom,
Greg, and Dave were a delightful and very intelligent group of
men to be on the river with this week. We spent the first half
of the day wading and fishing farther down river hoping to catch
some fish, but more than anything, I wanted to work with them on
their casting and mending skills so they would be prepared for
the strong water when TVA started generating and we made our way
downriver in a drift boat. Most of the fish caught early were
caught on the South Holston Miracle Midge. The fish that were
caught while we were floating seemed to like the Rockhold Sulfur
Emerger. We had a great time and they learned a lot while were
fished. I hope they make it back next year. Hugh |
| OCTOBER 16, 2011 | WHAT A GREAT DAY OF FISHING ON THE SOUTH HOLSTON AND WATAUGA RIVERS |
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It was an extremely beautiful
Fall Day in Upper East Tennessee and the fish were just trying
to show themselves. The brown trout seemed to be really excited
about something today and I just caught one after the other. The
rainbows were just as aggressive and full of vigor as well. I
tried to split the day up by spending some time on each river so
that you could see just what is happening at this time of the
year. The browns seemed to be coloring up and quite aggressive
as well about feeding. All of the fish were caught today on
tandem rigged nymphs. There has been some discussion on the LRO
board about tandem rigged nymph fishing and what is the best way
to tie on these flies. Today I was fishing the Split Case PMD
nymph and the Flashback Pheasanttail Nymph dropped about 14
inches below the top fly. These flies were all tied on with a
Pitzen Knot and the dropper was connected with a Pitzen Knot
tied in the air around the bend of the hook. This is a total of
three Pitzen Knots used giving 100% strength knots from top to
bottom. The leader will break before the knot when the Pitzen
Knot is tied correctly. The tippet material used was Rio 5X all
the way through. This is the strongest setup that I have found.
I strongly recommend that you learn how to tie this knot if you
are going to used tandem rigs. I hope that we have some more
days like today and that all of you can get out on the stream at
this most beautiful time of the year.
If I can help with a guided trip or if you need any flies, just call 423-586- 6198. Hugh |
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| OCTOBER 12, 2011 | RICK COOPER AND KEITH WILLIAMS IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK |
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Rick and Keith are from near
Ocala, Florida. We had intended to fish on the 11th ,but the
rain caused us to postpone the trip for 1 day. We met in
Townsend and made our way to the Park and looked for a small
stream to start casting lessons on. In just a few minutes Keith had a small fish on and just after that Rick also caught one. We fished this stream for an hour or two and moved to a larger one. It was only a few minutes until each of them were catching fish on this stream. For our last stream, we moved to the Elmont area and right away they were into fish again. It had been a productive day for Rick and Keith and we talked on the way back about fishing a tailwater the next time. Both of them had gotten to the point that they could go to a stream and catch fish fairly well by themselves and maybe they can get some time in, on their own before going home. I had a great time with Rick and Keith today and I hope to see them again soon. Hugh |
| October 11, 2011 | THE MASTER OF THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN BLACKBIRD SOFTHACKLE |
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Mike Bridges has
continually sent me pictures of extremely nice fish that he
has caught on the Smoky Mountain Blackbird Softhackle. A few
minutes ago he sent the ones that you see in this report.
This is an extremely nice native rainbow that he has caught
this weekend and it is one of many that he continues to
catch with his great fishing skills and the use of the
Blackbird. I just don't know of any fly that continues to
produce year after year in the manner that the Blackbird
does. I want to congratulate Mike for being one of the
finest fishermen that I have known and for showing everyone
how he has mastered the use of what we both consider the
greatest fly in the Southern Appalachians. You need to buy a
few of these great fly patterns to see for yourself. Hats
off to Mike Bridges and the Smoky Mountain Blackbird
Softhackle! Here is Mike in his own words:
had a great day of
fishing after church on Sunday with your Smokey Mountain
Blackbird. I was fishing a small mountain stream in
North Carolina and this trout hit the Blackbird almost
the moment it hit the water. It took a while to land,
but it measured 19" and was released.
The Smokey Mountain
Blackbird is simply an incredible fly. I will be
ordering more soon. Please use the photographs anyway
you desire. Thanks again.
Michael B. Bridges, Esq.
Dobson, Jones, Ball, Phillips & Bridges, P.A. Attorneys at Law |
| SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 | FLOAT TRIP ON THE WATAUGA RIVER WITH JERRY HOWELL AND BARRY TILLY |
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| Barry and Jerry are out of North Carolina and we had originally
wanted to fish the South Holston River. TVA was not cooperating
so our only choice left was the Watauga. It was raining lightly
when we started down the river, but we started catching fish
right away. This lasted until about 4-5 boats pushed right by us
and things became a little tougher. Farther down the river we
began to use streamers and that began to produce some good fish.
We were seeing feeding fish, but they just would not take any of
our offerings. We pushed on down the river and the clouds began
to turn dark. In just a few minutes the skies opened up. We were
getting pretty close to the take out and if it had rained very
much longer I think the boat would have filled up. Luckily, it
stopped and we loaded the boat up and made our way home. The two
fellows were great to be on the river with and I hope I get a
chance to fish with them on the South Holston sometime in the
future. Hugh |
| SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 | NICK MISLOW IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK |
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Today I met with Nick Mislow,
from Homestead , Florida. He and his family were vacationing in
the Smokies and he was looking for something interesting to do.
He decided upon Flyfishing and we met in Pigeon Forge. Nick
turned out to be one of the fastest learners that I have had the
opportunity to guide. Things started off a little slow on the
West Prong and got steadily better as we fished the Middle Prong
and then the East Prong. The fish averaged pretty small, but
they were making up for it by attacking the flies that Nick was
presenting to them. The temperatures have moderated in the last
week and wet wading for a Florida boy was very telling. It also
has livened the fish up. The fishing got progressively better as
we went through the afternoon and Nick caught several decent
fish. I was really proud of him as his skills improved and the
results were very evident. There are not many first timers that
catch 20 or more fish and lose a really nice one on their first
trip. All in all, it was a great day on the stream with Nick and
I wish him well as he tells his friends in Florida about his
first trout fishing trip. Hugh |
| SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 | BOB AND MARILYN MAKE THEIR FIRST TRIP TO MONTANA |
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Bob and Marilyn are old
friends and clients. Their home is in Florida and they are
nearing retirement age. Bob travels a lot and does both
hunting and fishing trips. He had never made a trip to Montana
and after talking with him several times about some of my
experiences in that area, he decided to give it a try this year.
He had first planned to go earlier in the summer, but because of
high water from snow melt he did arrange a trip to West
Yellowstone this week. He sent pictures of his trip and I wanted
to show everyone what a float trip looks like on the Madison
River. Bob and Marilyn used Big Sky Anglers out of West
Yellowstone, Montana for their guide service to do a float trip
on the Madison River. Their guide was Joe Moore. Here are some
pictures of the trip and I want to thank them for allowing me to
use them. Also, you might want to contact this guide service if you are taking
a trip to the Yellowstone area. this address will connect you
with them. Joe@bigskyangliers.com. Thanks again to both of them and I
hope that all of you get a chance to fish this great river. Hugh |
| AUGUST 8, 2011 | FISHING THE HOLSTON RIVER WITH CHRIS WAHOSKI |
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| Chris and I made our way to the Holston River early this
morning. There was no one else there and we got into the water
while watching hundreds of Swallows gliding around looking for
hatching insects. We worked on casting and mending skills for
awhile and then started moving out into the river. I could see
an occasional feeding fish now and then , but we could not get
any takes when we presented a fly over them. We fished for
almost two hours at this first spot and did not have any
strikes. We decided to move up river and when we arrived there
Chris had a take on the dropper almost immediately. He lost this
fish and then he missed a couple more on the dry fly. It seemed
like this was a day to lose fish and after losing two more we
slowly moved across the river and finally a hookup came. This
one did not come loose and Chris was very proud of it after a
hard fight. We moved back to our starting point and left the
river for lunch. We fished at our final spot for about 3 more
hours and Chris had more hook ups but just could not hold
onto them. A storm moved in and we called it a day. It had been
fun, but sometimes frustrating . Chris wants to try it again
next year and I look forward to seeing him. Hugh |
| AUGUST 5, 2011 | FISHING WITH MATT GUINN ON THE SOUTH HOLSTON RIVER |
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I needed to check the South
Holston River out before an upcoming trip on Monday and Boomer
and I went up early this morning hoping to catch a pulse at
10:00AM and see if the Sulfurs would come off then. When I was
pulling my waders on I heard the siren blaring and I knew that
we would arrive on the river at just the right time. While
walking down the trail I met a gentleman coming out and I
thought he might be leaving at the best time. Just as I got to
the river I met a young man who said the water was coming up and
I asked if he was leaving. He replied that he was. I told him
that the rising water would cause the Sulfurs to start hatching
and I encouraged him to stay. He told me that he was just a
beginner and I told him that I would help him if he needed me to
do so. I could see some fish beginning to rise and I told him to
get in the water and try for them. He got a strike or two on a
Sulfur Softhackle, but did not connect. I handed him my rod and
reel that was rigged with a Tan Wulff and a Rockhold
Sulfur Emerger to try. In just a cast or two he had a fish on.
He fished it for awhile and caught more fish while I took
pictures. Boomer was close by and was giving his approval to all
the fish that were hooked. We fished on upstream until it was
about time for the water to start generating. It had been a very
enjoyable morning meeting a nice young gentleman and catching
some very nice fish. I hope to run into him again on the river. Hugh |
| August 2, 2011 | CHANDLER GRENIER ON THE HOLSTON RIVER |
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Chandler is back in
Morristown on vacation, after working in South Korea. For a
second time in two years we did a guided trip together. Our
first trip had been to the Smokies and this time he wanted to do
a tailwater trip. I had told him that the fishing would be quite
a bit different and on his first hookup it turned out to be a
huge fish. The fish ran all the way to the other side of the
river and went around a snag. Since Chandler was fishing with a
6X tippet the fish broke the leader without even slowing down.
Chandler said he had never seen a fish run so far without even
slowing down and he was very disappointed to lose a huge fish. A
small Caddis hatch started and he had another strike or two but
did not connect. A very rude fisherman came walking right
through the run we were fishing and we decided to leave for
another spot on the river. We arrived down river at the new stretch of water and the place was completely empty. It was only a minute and Chandler was into fish. This kept on for a couple of hours and he caught numerous fish. This was our best location , but the water was about to reach us and we moved farther down river. The last stop had been fished pretty hard that morning and we were not very successful here. We had experienced a great day and by mid afternoon we called it a day. I hope to see Chandler again and good luck to him.
Hugh |
| August 1, 2011 | KEITH JIMINEZ ON THE HOLSTON RIVER |
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| Keith is a young Urologist from Huntsville, Alabama. He has a
mutual friend that I have guided and he wanted to get in a day
of tailwater fishing while he was vacationing in the Smokies. We
met on Monday morning and made our way to the Holston River ,
below Cherokee Dam. We are getting close to the point where TVA
will begin drawing down the lakes in East Tennessee so these
trips in the next few weeks will be some of the last trips
through the middle of the week until late in the year. We
started at Mid River and worked on skills but a pulse was coming
through that section and it had put the fish down. We fished for
about 2 hours and moved downriver to see if it would be better,
and it sure was. We were fishing a Little Dark Olive Caddis and
using a South Holston Miracle Midge as a dropper. This gave
Keith the option of fishing a dry along with a midge dropper.
The fish seemed to want both flies. The problem was holding onto
these very large fish after hooking one of them. They have
attained a very large size now and it is like hooking brutes.
When you set the hook on one it would tear the river up and set
the reel on fire from some of the runs they would make. I told
Keith early on that they could make a grown man cry when they
make long blistering runs and finally break you off even though
you are doing the best that you can to try to get them slowed
down. I thought for a few minutes that he might pull his hair
out in frustration, and finally he began to land some of them.
Even though it is frustrating, it is fun and some times the fish
have to get the better of you. You can see by the pictures
though that he had a successful day and I talked to him a few
minutes ago and he is going back to seek retribution.
Hugh |
| July 29, 2011 | DOUGLAS RENEGAR ON THE WEST PRONG OF LITTLE RIVER |
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| Douglas Renegar and I met this morning in Gatlinburg and we
could see that the rivers were still running a little high. This
lead me to think that the West Prong might be our best choice.
We got an early start and the fishing seemed to be a little
slow. Doug kept at it all morning and brought a couple to hand
and missed a few along the way. He was making progress with his
casting and mending skills and that is what really counted.
I wanted him to get the basics down and then we could get to
some serious fishing. Doug is retired and he looks forward to
getting back to the Smokies. He has more time for the fishing
now and he plans to spend lots of time on the stream. After lunch we got back in the water and the fishing seemed to be picking up compared to this morning. The strikes were coming faster and Doug was connecting with more fish. By mid afternoon he was really getting tired and it seemed like a lot of fish were hitting the strike indicator. This was frustrating and his last fish to strike the indicator was the largest one that we saw all day. It looked to be an 11 inch fish. He hopes to make it back to the Smokies soon and I hope that we get to do a tailwater trip then. My thanks to him for allowing me to guide him. Hugh |
| JULY 24, 2011 | THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE LAST FULL DAY WADE TRIPS FOR AWHILE ON THE SOUTH HOLSTON RIVER |
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I have made a series of trips
to the South Holston and Watauga Rivers in the last two days.
The fishing was tough Saturday morning even though the fish were
feeding. When they are cued in on size 40 midges, it is really
hard to convince them to look at something else. We caught a few
,but they were scarce and small. Yesterday, we went to my
favorite section and a mid morning pulse had started the Sulfur
hatch. We arrived as it was tapering off and I spent the first
half hour helping a fellow fly fisherman get rigged up with some
productive flies. Carolyn and I then proceeded to catch some
nice browns. The hatch slowed down and made fishing a little
tough , but we had a great time and we were worn out from a
great day of dry fly fishing. We caught fish and helped another
person on the river. What could be better than that? Hugh |
| JULY 16, 2011 | A GREAT TRIP TO THE SOUTH HOLSTON RIVER |
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"Today was one of the most
memorable days that I have ever spent on the river, flyfishing".
Those were the words that I heard from my wife as we were
driving home from the South Holston River late this evening. We had worked at home for almost 1/2 of the day before we left for the South Holston. I had fly orders to fill and Carolyn had some much needed house cleaning to catch up on. I thought that we might arrive on the river at about the time the Sulfurs were starting to come off. We passed through numerous showers as we drove up I-81 and it was still raining lightly as we approached the river in the Rockhold community. I always check the river as I'm driving along the route to where I want to fish and I noticed that the river was high and dingy. I kept watching it as we drove along and I thought at first that it might have rained hard and swollen some of the feeder streams. We began to pass some of the small streams, but none of them were "up or dingy'. That left only one possibility and that was that TVA had been generating instead of pulsing earlier in the day. My suspicions were confirmed as we arrived at the Hickory Tree Bridge and I saw the river was back to normal and very clear. We drove on out to the River Bend area and got out of the car in a light drizzle. I had brought the new Mystic 9ft. 3 in. 5wt. Fly rod with a new Lamson Waterworks reel and new Scientific Anglers fly line. This was a second opportunity to see how it handles and to allow Carolyn to test it. I had rigged it with the Tan Wulff ,#18 Sulfur Yellow pattern for a dry and dropped off a Rockhold Sulfur Emerger underneath it. Carolyn left a few minutes before I did and when I was almost to the river I passed three young men who said the water was just coming up. This sort of scared me because I thought that Carolyn might have gotten into the water. They told me that TVA had generated this morning for an hour. I met about 6 more fellows and one had fallen in with waders on and really gotten wet. We talked with some of the men for a few minutes and I gave out a fly or two and everyone was gone , leaving the river to us. They thought it would be at least 1-1/2 hours before the river would be fishable again. There were no Sulfurs or any feeding fish and we were left looking for something to take up some time until the water started dropping. We decided to just walk along the river and watch while Boomer ran to his hearts content. We finally found an opening and stood for a few minutes watching the water and there was not a bug in sight. We turned away from the river for about five minutes talking and when we turned back, I could not believe my eyes. The river was absolutely covered with Sulfurs. None of them were moving at first, or flying. They were just floating down the river. No fish were feeding either. I have never seen as many Sulfurs on the water in all of my days on this river. The entire river was a solid mass of floating insects. In 5-6 minutes I began to see a few fluttering around and a few were beginning to fly off of the water. In another minute or two I began to see one or two feeding fish. In about 5 minutes the fish were beginning to feed heavily all over the river and there was not a fisherman any where. Carolyn was the first to make her way out into the water and I came in right behind her. I missed a strike or two and then I connected with a nice rainbow. A nice brown followed after that. I really liked the way the New Mystic 5wt was feeling and I asked Carolyn if she wanted to swap rods. She took the Mystic and on the second cast she hooked the nicest fish of the day. A beautiful 18 inch chunky rainbow came cart wheeling out of the water and followed with a tail walk. It took a good 15 minutes to land this fish in strong current and the new rod got a great workout. We had left the cameras at home and we can only tell the story as we saw it. In a few minutes the river began to recede and it looked like TVA had only done a pulse this time. We had the river to ourselves and we just caught fish after fish. Surprisingly, the Sulfur hatch died as the water went back to it's normal level and strikes came fewer and farther between. We left the river at about 5:30PM and we felt like it had been a special day for us to have a huge Sulfur hatch and the river all to ourselves. If I can help with a guided trip or if you would like to buy any of the flies that we used , Just call 423-586-6198. Hugh
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| July 14. 2011 | Morning on the Watauga River |
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To prepare for upcoming trips
to the Watauga River I spent the morning in the mid section of
the river and there are usually Sulfurs hatching off in this
area also. I started off with a tandem rig of the Tan Wulff and
a Rockhold Sulfur Emerger. I saw a couple of Sulfurs hatching
off in the river , but I could not get any fish to rise. In
about 30 minutes I saw a few fish rising to a small BWO hatch
but it ended real quickly. I tied on a tandem rig of Split Case
PMDs and Two Bit Hookers nymphs. This did not get any fish's
attention either. I walked over to the bank and sat down to
remove the Two Bit Hooker and replaced it with a South Holston
Miracle Midge. This was exactly what the fish were wanting. I
only moved about 20 yards for the rest of the time that I fished
and I landed 16 fish. They really seemed to be targeting this
great midge. The Watauga River was in great shape today and I
talked with 3 men who had landed some extremely nice fish up
there in past trips. One had taken a 24 inch brown and another
had taken a 28 inch fish. Today most of the fish that I caught
were in the 10- 14 inch range and looked very healthy. If I can help with a guided trip to the South Holston or Watauga Rivers, just call 423-586-6198 Hugh |
| July 8. 2011 | JOHN AND ALLIE ON THE HOLSTON RIVER |
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I met with John and Allie this morning and we made our way to the Holston River to try to get in some fishing before the rain arrived. This turned out to be a day that we just could not get ahead of Mother Nature. They were a beautiful and lovely couple to be around and we went through some casting instruction as I normally do when I first arrive on the river. We barely started fishing and the rain started. It had also rained some time yesterday evening and the river was already muddy and new rains that were arriving just dampened our spirits even more. We went back to the car and waited for the weather to clear and in 1/2 hour we were back in the water. We all worked hard on skills and both John and Allie were doing nicely by lunch time. The weather forecast was going down hill fast and we called it a day leaving the couple to have a good time in Gatlinburg. Some times the weather just does not give you a break and this was one of those days. I want to thank them for allowing me to work with them on their skills and I hope they get to spend time again in East Tennessee. |
| July 4, 2011 | Ernie Roberts and Eric Foster on the Holston River |
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My friend Ernie Roberts has
been under the weather for a few weeks and this Friday the
doctor gave him permission to get back on the stream and start
living his life in a normal manner again. We met at 8:00 AM and
made our way to the Holston River and after a short walk we were
into fish. As you can see by the picture, the fish was a very
nice one. We continued on across the river after catching 3 more
fish and caught several more that were respectable in size.
After a while Ernie felt like he had experienced a very good
morning and we left the river. Ernie had a chance to fish with
the new Mystic Flyrod and he gave it two thumbs up for great
casting qualities. It had been a good morning for both of us and
it was great to get back on the river with my old fishing buddy.
I'm very glad his health has improved as well. After leaving Ernie I made my way to a section of the river where I found my wife instructing my Step Son, Eric, and I got into the river with them. This was his first time at trying flyfishing. He works in Knoxville in the health care industry and is a short time away from starting med school. He had not been off from work very long and my wife had him in the middle of the river casting away to wary fish. I took her place for awhile and worked with him for a couple of hours. Carolyn came back and got along beside him and he was making very nice casts. As we approached the upper part of the run a thunderstorm was getting close and we made our way to the cars. It sure was great to see another member of the family taking up this great sport. I hope to get to spend time with Ernie and Eric again soon and good luck to both of them as the Summer moves along. Hugh |
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| JULY 1, 2011 | NEW FLIES FOR THE TAILWATERS |
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I have been tying the Tan Wulff
and the X Caddis for several years and I did not have all of the
versions listed on
my website. Today I had some extra time and after tying some new
flies I felt like I needed to photograph and place these important
versions on my Tailwater Page. The South Holston Sulfur hatch is
going strong and a good Spinner Fall is taking place late in the
evening. Many people are like myself and do not stay on the river
long enough to fish this part of the hatch. Two or three of my
friends have been spending time on the river late in the day and
have found this pattern to be effective. The top four pictures are
of the RIVER BEND SULFUR CRIPPLE . Try this hot, hot fly for the Spinner
Fall. The next three flies are versions of the Extended Body Tan Wulff. Try this pattern for finicky larger browns. The last picture is a version of the Blue Springs X-Caddis tied with hackle to give better flotation, and I have been fishing it regularly on the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam. The pictures below are of some nice rainbows that I caught with it yesterday.
All of these flies have performed extremely well and they have been used on the South Holston, the Watauga, and the Holston River, below Cherokee Dam. If you would like to purchase any of these flies or take a guided trip and see how they work first hand, just call 423-586-6198. Hugh |
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Phone Number: 423-586-6198 or
Emails:
All Content is Copyright © of Hugh and Carolyn Hartsell
