Mitchell and Earl came up with a group of guys from Georgia. We meet up at the shop around 2pm for a half day wade trip. We got ready and headed down to the river. When we arrived at the river we saw fish moving around which is a really good sign. I got in the water and hooked a couple of fish right away on a dry and dropper. As we worked our way upstream we really started getting into fish. We were really into fish, and both guys were getting hooking into fish. Mitchell was the first to hook into a good fish after a good fight he land a nice 17″ Brown trout. Then Earl got into the act with a nice 15″ Brown trout. As we work on up Earl got into a couple of big Browns he caught one 20″ Brown and then he followed it up with a 18″ Brown trout. Man we had a great day on the water. The big one that Earl caught fell to a Sulphur dry and the other big fish took a nymph. We really had a great day on the S. Holston. I dont know how many fish we caught, but we were really into them, and we caught numbers of fish in the 12-16″ range. The big fish were feeding and we were able to get a hold of a few of them.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Mark McClean from here in Bristol, TN came over to fish with us on the S. Holston River. Mark had never fished the S. Holston so he was in for a treat. We got in the water a little late, because Mark car broke down an I went to pick him up. After we got everything together we hit the water. Mark had not flyfished much so we worked on casting and presention. Mark missed several fish before lunch and we caught a couple of little Browns. Then we stopped to eat lunch at Webb’s Store. After lunch we headed upstream to fish some Midges that is were Mark got into the fish. From there till we call it a day to go pick up his car from the shop. Mark was into fish all afternoone. We caught several nice Rainbows, and Mark picked casting pretty well.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
South Holston River Fly Shop
Jerry Milhorn and Jerry came to fish with me on the South Holston River. Jerry Milhorn is Houston, TX and Jerry is from Shelby, NC. Jerry Milhorn had fished the river several time, but Jerry had never fished the river. We headed downstream to see if we could get into any Sulphur, but the Sulphur had not started yet. We were able to catch fish on nymphs in the runs. We also had several fish come up and take the Sulphur dry off the top which is a good sign. After lunch we headed upstream, and got into fish. We were fishing Midges and the fish were really eating them. We caught a lot of nice Rainbows on the Midges. We had a great day on the water even though it rained on us all afternoon.
Thanks to James for coming along with me on the trip.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Thanks,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
I met up with Bryan Harrill at the shop saturday for a half day of fishing on the South Holston. Bryan is a school teacher visiting the area and wanted to learn a few things about fly fishing. He had gotten a new fly rod as a gift and really wanted to try it out. After suiting up we headed down river and found a good spot and began to work on casting. After just a few minutes Bryan was casting alot better and we began to search out some fish. A missed strike or two later the pulse water had found us so we changed flies and began to really work over a good looking area. On about the 3rd cast Bryan was hooked up with his first ever Flyrod fish and trout! Bryan pulled several more out of the same spot, some really nice colored bows and browns! After a brief trip back to the shop for a cold drink and bathroom break we stayed up river and worked on casting , fly selection and nymph fishing. Bryans casting had come along way, and he had caught several fish on his very first outting! Good job Bryan!
If you would like a guided Fly Fishing trip on the South Holston or Watauga rivers Give us a call or visit our web sight at www.southholstonriverflyshop.com
Guide,
Kevin Lowe
Carl came over from Hickory, NC to fish the S. Holston River with Me. This was the first time Carl had ever been on the S. Holston so we fished several different place to show him some different access points. We started out in morning downstream, and did really well fishing Midges under dry flies. After a great morning were Carl caught a nice 15″ Rainbow that put a heck of a bow in his Bamboo Rod. We stopped for lunch. After lunch we headed upstream to show Carl what a hatch looked like. After watching the fish rise at the Grates. We headed back downstream we got in the water, and Carl got a few fish to come up to hit the Sulphur dry. There just wasnt much going on so moved to another spot of the river. We were able to catch fish all afternoone, and we catch fish at every spot we stopped at.
It was a great on the water, and I enjoyed fishing with Carl.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us call at 423-878-2822.
Thanks,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Some Sulphurs are making themselves shown , this week. They certainly are much more than last week. Actually got into them pretty well one evening this week. Fish were not looking for duns much that day, but to emergers. Such as yellow soft hackles, split case nymphs and flashback PT’s.
You got to love this. Murphy’s law certainly applies here. I had waited an entire year for the sulphurs to come off in this one hole. And bingo that evening they did. The big sulphurs, here that is size 16 yellow- almost PMD color. I was upstream from the hatch. Big bulges under the water were moving and bugs were floating. I have hooked a couple of 10 lb.[ guestimate - I am a fisherman so guesses weigh more] browns in this stretch during the early sulphur hatch. And the rainbows here are true ” Holston Rockets’. Bad to the bone. And I always look forward to it yearly.
Anyway I was in perfect postion, above the fish. Heads, fins, backs of the fish were being shown. So I quietly made my way down to the fish…….. … splash!. Linesman are putting new cables up for power and one of the guys jumped in the river .. right on the fish!. Here he goes across the river dragging a big cable. Of course he was totally oblivous to my situation . He was just trying to get his job done and go home. And I was looking for a little peace of heaven on earth. And of course, the fish dispersed, went down and were no more. So Murphy’s law is still very valid.
Black fly hatches arer still coming off everyday. Nice fish are being caught on the dries and larva. Guys are also doing well on grey WD 40’s , size 24 olive comparaduns with trailing shucks, and the likes. So fishing is good. It always is on this reiver.
Tight lines- may a linesman NOT jupm on your fish.
Rod Champion
423-878-2822
Micheal and Mark came over from Greensboro, NC to fish the South Holston River. Micheal had fish with me with his Son either this year. We started out down the river and there were Midges and Craneflies flying around everywhere. I saw a few fish rising as we were getting rigged up. So we started out with Dries and Droppers. Mark had not been flyfishing for long so I started out working with Mark on his casting. We could really see fish feeding sub-surface and the fish were eating the dropper I had put on. Mark got his cast down and started to getting hits. While Micheal was getting fish on Midges in some of the slower water. When the fishing started slowing down on us we moved upstream to eat lunch. After lunch we fished some running water, and was able to catch a few small fish. But the fish just didnt seem to be in the swallow runs so we headed to some deeper water. When we got into the deeper water we really got into fish. Micheal was really hooking into fish regularly, and Mark was also into fish. Mark’s casting improved greatly, and it was helping get to the fish. I dont know how many fish we catch out of that one hole, but we really put it to them. Most of the fish were average sized Rainbows, but Micheal did catch one really nice Rainbow. We called it a day around 6pm so Micheal and Mark could make it back to Greensboro.
I had a great time fishing with Micheal and Mark. I hope to do it again.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Peter Copper was down in Johnston City, TN on business, and wanted to go fishing for a day. We meet up at the shop around 9am, and headed to the river. Peter had been flyfishing a few time in the past, but was not a flyfisherman. We we headed down to some flat water to work on casting. Peter picked up casting very quickly, and was getting hits right away. Peter was able to catch a good many fish, before we stopped for lunch. We headed up to Webb’s Store for a good lunch. After lunch we headed back upstream to try to catch somemore trout. We arrived to our next spot, and got into fish right way on midges. Then they started slowing down on us. So we moved downstream some to fish another spot. We got into a few fish in the runs. Then we saw a really big Brown laying in front of us. So we tried everything I had in my box to see if we could hook the fish. We had it look at several different flies, but we never had it take. Man I would have loved to seen Peter hook into that fish, but we just couldnt get it to take. We did catch several smaller fish out from behind the Big Brown.
I had a great time fishing with Peter, and we were able to catch a good many fishing during our trip.
If you would like a Guided Trip give is a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Ron Thomas and his Son came up to fish the South Holston River with me on Friday. Ron is a part time Guide for Unicoi Outfitters. We started out and were into fish right away. We were into a good many fish they were just all small Rainbows, but the fish were hitting. We decided to go eat lunch after a good lunch we headed to another section of river to see if we could get into some bigger fish. We got into fish as soon as we got in the water. We were catching fish on dries and droppers. We were able to hook into some really nice Browns and Rainbows. We headed upstream to see if we couldnt fined some Sulphurs, but we never saw any. We were able to catch several fish on Split Case nymphs, but we didnt see any bugs coming off.
I had a get time fishing with these guys, and hope to fish with them again. We were able to catch fish at every spot that we tried.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Fishing has been real good this week. Sulphurs have not arrived yet. I say that , but Tuesday evening, late , a few came off in one little run I was in. Brown’s went ballistic over the ones that did emerge. I put on a big #16 Sulphur Comparadun and immediately caught several 10″ browns . I saw another rise and cast to it. The comparadun had barely hit the water and boom! She was a fat , hard fighting 18 or so inch brown. That is the last of the sulphurs that I have seen. But fish are eating split case nymphs in size 16-18 well. And always, the Little Stripper or David’s Zebra will work.
So the good news is fish are eating bigger nymphs now so the sulphurs are not far behind. Stuck and landed a big brown two evenings ago on 16 nymph. Sorry about no pictures, but sometimes I just like to look at them , take the hook out of their mouth and let em go.
Yesterday evening Matt and I fished an hour together. He came in below me . If he did not catch 10 fish before I could catch my breath. We don’t get to fish together much, anymore , so it was a blast. After his intial on slaught , we matched fish for fish til dark 30. Had at least 3 doubles. Lots of 12-14 inch wild brown that are plum mean. Many put on aerail shows that were breath taking. Man , what a river! Every time out this river awes me. The fishing is that good.
Tight Lines,
Rod C
Lynn Roloff from Greensboro, NC came over to fish with me on the S. Holston. She meet me here at the shop around 9am and we headed to the river. We started out in a hole that we had been catching some fish on, and we were into fish right away. Lynn caught a nice Brown trout right away. Then we were into the hard fighting Rainbows. Most of our fish fell to a Split Case Nymph. As we worked up the river we saw some fish rising so, and we were able to hook into some of the fish on top. We were able to hook into several really nice Brown, but all of them jump an throw the hook. Around 1pm we broke for lunch. After lunch we headed to another run and we caught a few fish on Midges, but the fishing was alittle show. I saw one or two Sulphurs, but the hatch has not started yet. Around 4pm we headed upstream to fish the Blackflies hatch. It took Lynn alittle while to get use to see the little Blackfly dry that she was fishing, but when she did she started hooking into fish. Lynn caught several nice Rainbows, and hooked one really nice Brown that broke us off. When the fish started slowing down we called it a day.
I had a good time fishing with Lynn, and hope she has a good day of fishing tomorrow.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Talked with David, from Blountville, yesterday evening. If I could not fish, second best thing is to talk to someone who has. And David has. a lot. Said he caught a 26 1/2″ Brown the other day on a size 26 midge pupae. David said the fish took all his fly line and went down into the backing pretty darn well before he got it turned around. Paul was there as a ” Witness”. The word is the Brown was gorgeous and fat as mud. David said it would have gone 8 lbs. He would know for he has weighed a many a big brown. I have watched him wrestle several 28″ers. Amazing that a brown that size would slide over into still water and sip a size 26 pupae. Ain’t that something.
As for me, I had my first wade trip since the hernia surgery 4 weeks ago. I seem no worse for the wear, thank God. It was good to be back in the water. Fish were on- period. Many quality fish were had. And man the browns are fat and healty, and mean as a snake right now. Black flies, midge pupae, split case nymphs and david’s midge were the ticket for me. Heard numerous stories of big browns caught and or broke off , today. Don Hastings landed a 19″ brown ay. And I watched George play and all but get a Big rainbow in his net. It was definetly a 20+” bow. I mean I saw it close enough to touch . It was a Big Rainbow trout. So I would say anyone who fished today busted them.
Did I tell you, it was great to be back in the water…Just think, Spring has just gotten here.
Tight Lines,
Rod Champion
Tom and Kirk Lightner came down from Huntington, WV to fish the S. Holston River with me. We took off to the river around 9am. We had some heavy rain come in the night before the trip, and the feeder creeks were running muddy. It made the fishing a little tough. We started out fishing Dries and Droppers to some rising fish and we were able to catch several fish, before we broke for lunch. We headed down to Webb’s Store for a great lunch. After lunch we headed back upstream to the clearer water. We were able to find fish feeding on Midges and catch a good many on Dries with a Midge dropper. After caughting several small fish on the dries and droppers we headed downstream to see if we could find some bigger fish. We were able to catch several fish on streamers fishing them in the mud line. We also caught some on the edge of the mud on Midges, but the fishing was still a little slow. We called it a day around 6pm.
Tom and Kirk are staying all week to fish the S. Holston. The fishing should get better has the water starts clearing up.
I enjoyed fishing with Tom and Kirk.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Good Fishing,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Sam Long and his son Bryan came up from Chapel Hill, NC to fish the S. Holston with me. They were wanting to float so we put the boat in when they got here and we started out fishing nymph rigs. We were getting alot of hits and catching a few of them. Most of the fish were hitting the Midge that I had on a nymph. As we headed downstream through the runs we were able to hook up on a few more fish. We got downstream and ate lunch. After lunch we switch over to throwing some streamers in the deeper water. We were able to catch a good number of fish on the streamer, and had alot of good fish come out after the streamers. I had to work on Bryan’s cast, and he got it down pretty good. Sam did catch one nice Brown around 16″ and we hooked into a couple more that was that big or bigger. Both Sam and Bryan were getting tired, and we made it to the truck around 6pm an called it a day.
It was a great day on the water, and I really enjoy fishing with Sam and Bryan.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Good Fishing,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
On day two of my trip with Jim and Wayne we started earlier, because the guys had to drive back home. So we meet up at 8am and headed to the river. The guys wanted to get into some of the larger fish that make make there home in the S. Holston. So we headed to some of the place were I know there were some larger fish hanging around. At the first spot Wayne caught a nice Rainbow right off the bat, and Jim was getting hits. As we worked up through the hole Jim caught a couple of fish and Wayne was missing a few fish. There was not much going on so we headed down to another section of river. We got out into the hole and Wayne missed one on the nymph rig but there was much eating the nymphs. So I switch him over to a dry and dropper rig and he started getting hits as soon as I put it on. Jim worked upstream into some of the deeper water, and hooked into two big fish on the nymphs. Then Jim worked downstream of us into some swallow running water were he caught several on nymphs.
We had a strange thing happen while we were fishing. I saw a stick start moving up the river across from us, and I know there was a fish or something on it. Then I saw the stick come back downstream and stop in front of us. So I throw upstream of the stick trying to catch the line on the hanging from the stick. I mangaged to hook the line and then the fight was on. When we got it up it was a 20-22″ Brown trout on a stringer tyed to the stick. We took the fish off the stringer and he swam away with no problems.
After that we headed upstream and was able to do some sight fishing to Browns with Dries and droppers. We were able to caught a good many fish this way and as we moved upstream into the runs we got into a little BWO hatch. It was great to see the rising fish, and we were able to catch several of them on a BWO comparadun.
I enjoyed fishing with Jim and Wayne, and we had to enjoyable days on the water.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
Jim and Wayne came over to fish the South Holston River with me for two days. We meet up at the shop around 9am, and we headed to the river. At the first spot that we fished the fishing was a little slow, but we were able to catch fish. It was cloudy, and cooler then the last few days. The fish just didnt want to feed to much, but when the sun popped out we started catching fish right away. We caught some nice fish before lunch, and headed to Webb’s Store to grab a bit to eat. After lunch we headed upstream to fish some running water, and to look for a hatch. Wayne started out in some of the slower water fish dries and droppers to some rising fish. While Jim moved upstream into the runs. Jim started catching fish right away on nymphs in the running water. So I brought Wayne up to the running water, and he started hooking fish right away. As we worked upstream Jim found the hot hole, and was catching fish left and right. Wayne caught several out of the run above Jim, but nothing like Jim was into. It got up later in the day, and the fish started slowing down so we called it a day.
It was a good day on the water, and we caught some pretty Rainbows.
If you would like a Guide Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Thanks,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
The second day of our trip was on the Watauga River Brent and the guys wanted to float so we ran over to the Watauga. We started a little late, but that got us out of the rain that morning. It weather was cool and overcast in the morning. When the sun finely popped out it warmed up nicely, and the fish started hitting. We started hooking fish out of the runs on nymph rigs. Both the guys in my boat and the guys in Josh’s boat were hooking up on fish. We stopped for lunch, and caught some fish while wade fishing were we ate lunch. After lunch we really got into the fish. All the guys were hooking up, and we hooked into some really nice Rainbow. Both the guys in my boat hooked and landed a 15-16″ Rainbow. We fished our way down the river, and continued to catch fish out of the runs. Josh got on some rising fish, and they were able to caught some on dry flies. There was some Caddis’s coming off, and there was a few fish rising to them just not many.
It was a great day on the water, and it turned out to be a pretty day. We were able to catch a good many fish, and we had a lot of hits that we were not able to hook up on.
If you would like a Guide Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Good Fishing,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
423-878-2822
Brent Craig brought a group of guys up from Nashville, TN to fish with us a couple of days. They arrived at the shop around 2pm and we headed to the river. Because the guys had not flyfished before we headed to some flat water to work on casting and line controll for the next day. All the guys got the casting down good and started getting hits. After working with them on how to set the hook. Everyone was hooking up with fish. Around 6pm the guys decide to call it a day, and go eat some supper. Everyone was able to catch 5 or 6 fish a piece, and got the casting down good. We were catching our fish on a midge pupea fished under a small strike indictor.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Thanks,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
423-878-2822
Because Micheal and Austen were not able to float on Monday we floated a half day on Tuesday. We put on the water around 9:30, and the weather conditions were alot better then the day before. We started out fishing some nymphs in the deeper runs and pool we were able to pick up some fish on the nymphs. We also fished some dries and droppers to the rising fish. When we got down to the deeper slower water we started throwing some streamers. Micheal had a great time watching the fish turn on the streamers. We were able to get several nice fish to follow our streamers with several taking them. At the end of the day Austen was wanting to paddle the boat so I switched places with him and let him paddle throw the flat water. He got the hang of rowing and did a good job rowing us back up river. We took off the water and pasted the stock truck so we followed him to let Austen watch them stock the fish.
It was a great day on the water with Micheal and Austen. I hope that I get to fish with them again.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
423-878-2822
Micheal and Austen Murphee from the Greensboro, NC area came over to fish we me on the South Holston River. We were planning on float on Monday, but the weather changed so we decided to wade fish. The weather went from 70 degrees to us having Snow showers on Monday, but that didnt stop the fish from feeding. We caught fish at every place we fished, and I wanted to let Austen really get into some fish so we went up to fish around the grates. Austen was catching a fish about everyother cast there for a while. While we were eating lunch it was snowing hard outside, and was a pretty snow. While we were fishing up at the grates when the snow would come the fish would start rising, and it would stop so would the fish. It was strange how the would rise during the snow let they were feeding on the snow flakes. We had a great time, and caught alot of fish.
It was a great day on the water we moved around alot to stay warm, and stay on rising fish. I showed Micheal and Austen all the local sites on the river, and how to fish a dry with a midge dropper. I really enjoyed fishing with both of them, and hope to fish with them again.
It was a great day on the water, and I really enjoyed fishing with Micheal and Austen. Even with it snowing on us all day we were able to catch a good many fish.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
South Holston River Fly Shop
423-878-2822
Dwayne Riddle came down to fish the South Holston River with me. Dwayne was wanting to work on his casting, and reading the water. Dwayne got here the day before our trip, and got to fish a little on his own the evening before our trip. On Thursday the weather changed and the wind started blowing hard. The weather change put the fish down some, and it we really had to slow down to get the fish to hit. I worked with Dwayne on his casting, and by the end of the day he was casting very well. The wind started dying at the end of the day and we fished the day catching several fish on dries and droppers.
The fishing was tough, but we were able to catch some fish all day. Dwayne also got his casting down pat, and we were able to catch some nice fish before we called it a day.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Thanks,
Matt Champion
Champion Outfitters Guide Service
423-878-2822
I don’t care what anybody says, catching fish on a 24 or 26 dry fly is a blast. I know you miss a lot, but you catch a bunch also. I still take it out of fish’s mouth way too much. One customer said he was told to say” God save the queen ” before he set the hook. I told him he better say” God save the Vols ” while in Tn….
That is a little to long, but you get the picture. Try to be slow on the hook set. Now with a dropper, throw that idea away. You see the indicator wiggle , you lift your rod for a hook set. Don’t drive it home with power like Bill Dance with a plastic worm. Just tighten line and lift. You feel the fish then set just a little.
Dave Miller – AKA- ” My little buddy”- the lover of fine cigars- caught the hardest fighting brown I have ever seen , several evenings ago. It was around 20″ , jumped very high 5 times and was pure terror. It was caught on a black fly dry- size 26. So never, never over look the tiny little black fly. Fish of all sizes feast on them.
Tight lines,
Rod Champion
