And am hoping all week. TVA is running from 4:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M. today on the South Holston River.
That gives you guys many hours of sulphur dry fly fishing.
My guess is, that will be the way it is all week. Beautiful, cooler weather is expected all week also.
Tight Lines,
Rod
Got to see some old known faces and meet some new people this past week. The Triangle Fly Fishing Club from Raleigh N.C. came up. These guys always have a blast and fish their hearts out. They were met on the South Holston River by some of the biggest Sulphur hatches you will ever see. Dave Fussell[ hope the spelling is correct] told me last night that there were bugs on everey square foot of water you could see. The hatches were huge. But the fish still took their dry flies. Dave said he caught all the fish he wanted to. And that says a lot. Dave is one trout fishing addict. And dang good at it. The slimmer Ned Jones hammered them too. Ned is another trout addict. All those guys love it. I wish I could remember all the names, but this old brain isn’t what it used to be.
I got to fish across from a father and son from Greenville S.C. It is always good to see such a good relationship. They are X bird dog – bird hunters like Matt and I. The son, Theron is an excellent fly tyer. Can’t wait to see his flies in thje Light of day. We fished a spinner fall across from one another. It was a pretty good spinner fall that night also. I think I have finally settled on my best spinner . I have tied and tried so many different ones this year. I beleive the bigger fish have hit a short cdc wing with a biot body. So if I can make myself not tie any other wild versions, then this one will be it. And you tyers know what I mean by that.
TVA is running a schedule this week that should allow for plenty of wade fishing. Today, they are generating form 1:00-8:00 p.m., which means, if you go down stream when water hits up high , you can get a full day in. It is about time to beetle fish down stream.
Tight Lines All,
Rod Champion
Tennessee Valley Authority is giving a good schedule today and projecting the same for Thurdsay and Friday. Today they are generating from 3:00-7:00 P.M. on the South Holston River. The hours may change but the amount of water generated is projected to be the same. Should be good sulphur dry fly fishing.
As ALWAYS, Check the schedule in the evening and in the P.M. to make sure it stays the same.
Tight Lines,
Rod Champion
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Thank You,
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Larry and Alex Chappelear came to float with me on Sunday. They were wanting to float the South Holston River, but TVA was not running any water so we went to the Watauga River. We got on the water, and there was not a single boat on the water. We got on the water, and there was a few fish rising Larry had a Sulphur Comparadun with a Split Case dropper already tyed on so he started with that. He was into fish right away. I rigged Alex up with a Beelte with a dropper. We had some fish come up, and look at the Beetle but no fish wanted to take the Beetle. So I switched him up and Alex got into some fish. Then when the sun got high the fish went down. So we had to start nymph fishing. The fishing was pretty good, but not as good as the morning. Later in the afternoon the fishing got better, and the fish started rising again. The fishing got better most the fish were rising to Midges. It was a hot day, but the fishing was pretty good. We caught a good many fish, and I had a great time fishing with Larry and Alex.
If you would like a Guided Trip give us a call at 423-878-2822.
Tight Lines,
Matt Champion
South Holston Fly Shop
Friday and Saturday the Sulphur Hatches were very large. I wasn’t there Sunday, but bet ya it was the same. Not only were bugs on the water, but fish really ate them on top. The beauty of this hatch is that it is lasting 3 hours or so. Bugs everywhere, fish rising everywhere; what more could you ask for? Seventy degree weather would be nice….Just remember to hydrate well. Keep the water coming. Start well before you hit the water and keep it coming while on the water. I was bitten by the dehydration bug several years ago and it about got me. So prepare for it ahead of time and you will be fine. It never hurt to dip your hat in the water and pour it on your head either. That will cool you down.
I got the priviledge of fishing with Bill from Little River Outfitter on Friday evening . He is a fine flyrodder and an even greater gentlemen. I hope he will come back and fish the sulphurs on high water with me. Bill would enjoy that. Anyone who likes bugs , and I know Bill does, would enjoy seeing them on hig water. And the sulphurs on the South Holston River are usually plentiful on high water. Come on back Bill , we will float it.
I met so many nice men and women this week at the shop. What a pleasure the whole week was. That you to each one of you.
Take Care,
Rod Champion
Sulphurs are here and the dry fly fishing is fabulous. Some, that have been fishing here a long time , say that saturday was as good a hatch as they have ever seen. Now that is really saying something. The bugs are mostly 16’s but there are plenty of 18’s in the pile. I fished the spinner fall Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Thursday was the better fall. Saturday and Sunday , we had hard showers late in the day which probably knocked the spinners down. But there were still plenty and fish were sipping them. And on Sunday , I got to fish the day time hatch. The bugs came off before and after the 1 hour generation. This one hour generation was the full 2400. So please don’t always think the 1 hour generation is a small burp. Treat it as the full wheels, then go from there.
One thing is for sure, the rainbow trout are fairing well. They have grown and many 16-20″ bows are being caught and released by fly fisherman. Many dry fly fishing.
One hint that may help ypu in the future . If the fish are giving you trouble on a good hatch, fish cripples. They work.
Jim McDowell.. If I had the right to sign a book for you again, I would put” To Jim, someone Matt and I consider a friend. A friend who happened to have a sexy wife.” But the emphasis would be on friend.
TVA is projecting a good wading schedule for the next two days. Check after 5:00 today and then again in the morning to make sure.
Til we meet again ,
Rod
One cannot explain the number of bugs on high water this week. They were coming down in pods of 50 and 100 continously. Unreal!
This week end , TVA is backing it’s schedule [ projected anyway] down to 5 hours of running in the 24 hour period of Saturday. Then down to 300 CFS on Sunday. So should be very good wading. You should see Sulphurs… and of course, fish eating them.
See you then,
Rod Champion
I got the privilege of fishing the Sulphur spinner fall here on the South Holston river in East Tennessee, 4 afternoons last week. There were sulphurs on the water as the generation was going down. So was able to catch fish pretty well on dries for a while. Then one of Swisher and Richards old emerger patterns flat caught fish until spinner time. Around 8:30 the spinners poured back each evening . It is like someone is throwing trout chow out continuously. Trout go nuts. A friend of mine, Dave Miller, tied a biot spinner pattern with a very sparse poly yarn wing. That and a yellow comparadun was the ticket for me. You can actually see the yellow hair winged comparadun.. which is nice.
The daytime hatches were big. Some say the largest they have ever seen on the river.
TVA has started generating for the summer now. This area is 5″ behind in rainfall for the year . So the summer schedule should be good to both wade and float fisherman. For instance, tomorrow TVA is running for 2:00 P.m. til 7:00 p.m. . This gives the wade fisherman a full day of fishing and gives the float guys afternoons of sulphurs.
Guide trips wise, this schedule is good for 1/2 day wade and 1/2 day float. This is also good for the prime time floats. Which are the afternoon float trips for sulphurs. Perfect for that.
Tight Lines,
Rod Champion
