Dave Miller and I floated the South Holston River in East Tennessee yesterday, Sunday, September 6. The Sulphurs came off good on high water. Actually Dave and I had a darn good afternoon dry fly fishing. We were lucky enough to get a number of 15+” fish. Just like Jack Prater did the other afternoon with Knox. ” We caught nothing under17.” So we actually did not do as well as Jack. I told Jack, I thought he had quit drinking. Ah , such is the way of the river and it’s people. { now please do not take this as Jack drinks. Because he doesn’t. Edith would not let
him. Of course she will not let him smoke either….. ]

Looks like TVA is backing off it’s runningf this week some. They are projecting 900 CFS instead of the 1400 they have been generatring. This should be at least 5 less hours. If TVA does not begin running til 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon, you should come and fish the sulphurs on low water.
Happy Labor Day.
Rod

Matt guided Ryan Curley and his friend yesterday on the South Holston River in East Tennessee. It was a full day float. During the a.m. float, they caught fish well on nymphs and streamers. Matt guestimated around 30 in the morning . The afternoon float brought the Sulphur hatch on. So it was dry flyfishing . It was foggy, but that did not keep the Sulphurs away. They hatched well. Matt said the dry flyfishing was good and about the same number of fish wewre caught in the afternoon as in the a.m.. I think Ryan caught some fish on streamers in the afternoon also.
My son , Matt, has become of a fly tyer. I was the one always tying the bugs. But Matt has become an adapt streamer tyer. He is whacking out some pretty funky articulated streamers for both trout and striped bass. And they have been very effective. I don’t know how many striped bass he has caught on them this year- a bunch. And yesterday , one was pretty darn effective on trout. I would like to think he learned this stuff from me. But as usual, Matt is ahead of me even when he first begins something. Having paddled him around a right good bit this year, I have seen how good a fisherman this man is. I can watch and emulate his retreive with exact opposite results. He catches fish and I mean big fish and I don’t. Well, sometimes I luck in to a few, but that young man catches them; one right after another.
That is just the way he has always been. God gave him a gift. It is just natural to him.
His gift is like the one I ran into as a young tennis or basketball player. I was a good player. But when you crossed paths with a gifted player, the light went on. No matter how much I practiced, I could never acheive the talent those guys have. God gives certain talents to certain people. The good news is that we don’t have to be an extra gifted person to enjoy this sport. This is a very subjective sport. We do it because we enjoy the outdoors . And we enjoy a “ring” from a trout rise. Or a head popping up and sipping a mayfly dun. And yes, even the me’s of this world catch fish. And can actually get pretty good at it. And since fishing is a non competitive hobby, it is not me aagainst Matt. It is just me trying to catch a trout on my terms. You know what I mean?
Maybe this means, it is time for Matt to give me streamers; a little payback for all those past years…..naw, I want to catch fish on my versions of streamers. Isn’t that what tyers do. The ” if it ain’t mine, I am not going to fish it ” deal.
See you on the water.
Rod Champion

Matt and John [ two of our guides] had the day off so they went fishing themselves. Sun was hot, but sulphurs did come off.
Matt said dry fly fishing was actually pretty darn good. Presentation was still and will always be the key. But if you got a good drift , they would eat the comparadun. The guys caught several 16″ rainbows on drys. The overall trip was productive.
Tight Lines Jim,
Rod Champion

For me anyway. The Sulphur hatch on the South Holston River was long and heavy this past Sunday. TVA ran form 10-11:00 a.m.. That triggered the Sulphurs. I left at 3:30 and they were still on the water. It rained hard Saturday night and the river was muddy on one side , murky down the middle and fairly clear on the other side. These conditions + a big sulphur hatch made for the best dry fly fishing I beleive I have ever had. Of course I think that everytime it is very good. But this time the overall size of the fish was nothing but sensational. I don’t believe I have ever caught as many 15+” fish on dry flies during a 3 hour period as happened Sunday. As they say, all the stars had to line up. And they were.
I looked up and down the river many times. It looked like a Blue fish blitz at the beach. Everybodys rod was bent over. And there were plenty of people but there was more than enough fish to go around. Darnest thing you will ever see. Fish on everywhere. Guys were swimming emergers , fishing dries, doing dry dropper rigs and who knows what else. And they were all catching fish. Pretty good stuff.
Well , you can feel fall around the corner now. Soon these hot days will give way to the cooler ones. The big browns will start moving and the sulphurs will begin phasing out to the BWO’s. Until then, the sulphurs will more than be enough to cure your thirst.
Please hit our online catalog spot. Us small timers need and want your business more than Cablelas and the likes. And we will tell you about what is happening on the river. They won’t.
So I hope you choose to use us some. We will get a good coupon program going to pay you for your patronize.
As southerns say” You are much appreciated.’
Rod Champion

Actually rained on and off all day on the South Holston River. But it was a warm enough day for the rain to not bother you. As Bill Fiesler said; if he rose and you covered him, he ate. He , being the trout. And that was exactly how it played out. The sulphur hatch started late. It began somewhere around 3:00. Sulphurs like sunshine. And just the hint of it will bring them on. And when the hint happened Saturday, the sulphurs emerged. Actually it was good dry fly fishing for a couple of hours.
Matt and John had two couples on the primtime afternoon float. John Ross and Rick[ if I put his last name I will butcher it] had their mates for the float. Today is Rick’s birthday, so he was given the trip as a birthday present. It ended up being quite a present. Rick finished the day with a measured 28″ long and 15″ girth wild Brown trout. An 8 to 10 lb. beast of a fish. A picture of this beautiful creature will be posted next week. Happy Birthday Rick!
We have a couple of books on our web page that will interest you. TYING AND FISHING TAILWATER FLIES by Pat Dorsey is about na good a book as there is on Tailwater fishing. It shows 500 step by step photos for 24 proven patterns and how to fish them. A 192 page Hard Back cover book with rich color photos of flies and fishing on tailwaters like the South Holston River. This definetly a one of the best books for our kind of fishing there is. It cost $39.95 , but remember our August coupon.
Also we have tons of Simms shirts and T- shirts on sale on our web page. The Guide Superlite shirt normallt runs for $99 ; we have it on sale for $58. It is the lightest , most comfortable shirt you will ever wear. Just go to our on line catalog or call us .
As Carol Fiesler says” Happy Trails.” Got to love those lady cowboys who flyfish.
Rod Champion

That is why you must check schedule in the a.m. .
I hate it to. I was planning on fishing the Sulphurs on low water , myself.
But , we take what we get. We live and die by TVA.
Well , not really. It is only fishing. The power of Life and death is not controlled by TVA. Just the fishing part of it.

TVA is running full generators from 3:00 p.m. til 7:00p.m on Friday. Shoulds be a dandy low water sulphur dry fly schedule.