We have not gotten the rain that N.C. did. The South Holston is in good shape.
Rod Champion

Hey Rod,

I thought I would let you know that Saturday evening was unreal on the river. I guess that I ended up with somewhere between 100-150 fish on the day.Three rainbows were between 15″ and 17″ and I got one around the 20″ mark to the leader and lost it on a final downstream run. Most of the fish looked to be stocker rainbows. A few browns came mixed in the crowd. At times, it was a fish on every cast. My shoulder was actually sore at the end of the day, and when I woke up this morning, it still felt tight. The fishing was absolutely amazing. Sulphurs came off good between 1 and 3. A few fish came up on Sulphur Comparaduns, and a few on zebra midges. The rest came off of the Sulive (tentatively named) Sulphur nymph that I’ve been tying. It’s proving to be a rock solid deadly pattern. The Tailwater Flies book is awesome so far. Full of good stuff. Hopefully, I’ll be able to come out and fish one day during the upcoming week. See you in the shop.

Bent rods and tight lines,

Todd Perkins

The Sulphurs came off good yesterday on low water. There were BWO’s , then sulphurs. The dry fly fishing was good . A little murk in the water helps out. Matt said Rich and Pat whacked them pretty good.
TVA is not turning turning water loose til 4:00p.m. today. So it should be a repeat of yesterday. If the water is murky, woolly buggers work well also.
We have some more good books in:
BARR FLIES- by John Barr- this is one of the most helpful fly tying and fly fishing books there is. $39.95

TYING AND FISHING TAILWATER FLIES- by Pat Dorsey. This is a signed editon by Pat Dorsey. A must read for Tailwater Fisherman. – Hard Back copy -192 colorful pages.
$39.95

LEARNING FROM THE WATER- SIGNED EDITION by Renee’ Harrop. A beautiful reflective look back on Renee’s tying and flyfishing all these years. Not only has Renee’ Harrop been a pioneer in CDC flies but is an artist and writer – one of the best of both. This hardbook shows all his talents. 210 Beautiful pages. $39.95

CHARLIE CRAVEN- BASIC FLY TYING. Hardback book- 261 pages. Color step by step illustrations of Charlies Flies. You will love this one. $39.95

MAYFLIES TOP TO BOTTOM by Shane Stalcup. This is a CLASSIC. Shane shows all stages of the mayflies- nymphs- emergers- adults- duns- cripples- and spinners. Many , many color step by step illustrations of how to tie all these stages. One of the best mayfly books ever produced. $24.95

Free Shipping and No sales tax out of Tennessee.
Pleae call or email us on these.
Thank you,
Rod Champion
423-878-2822
email: foreverflyfishing@yahoo.com

Looks like TVA is going to give about the same schedule this weekend as last here on the South Holston River. Should be good dry fly fishing.
See you on the water,
Rod

A REAL Country music Star came in the shop Saturday afternoon while fishing the South Holston River. Luke Bryan came in and he fit like a glove. This nice young man mingled in with the rest of the crowd. I guess I should have figured something when Luke said” Do y’all like country music?” My answer was ” we are in Tennessee aren’t we?” And he promptly offered tickets to his show in Abbington Saturday evening. As it turns out Luke is a true blue fly fisherman. He has a place on the Caney Fork and fishes all the tailraces here in Tennessee.
He had a good afternoon on the South Holston. When Luke came back to the shop after fishing, he said he caught about 30 on sulphurs. He also said the South Holston has the “best dry fly fishing in Tennessee.”
To be honest with you, this Luke Bryan seems like a regular guy. No pretenses, no I am a star stuff..just another flyfishing addict; easy to talk with and down right humble. His love of the sport and his humility just gained him another fan- me.
I had no idea that Luke had recorded so many hits. I have heard them but had no idea they were his: “Rain is a good thing.” You know” rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey ; and whiskey makes my baby kind of frisky…”Luke ‘s song just reminded an old man of a formula that works. Think I will buy me a bottle of whiskey and get my wife to drink it.
Another one is Country Man.

http://ilike.myspacecdn.com/play#Luke+Bryan:Country+Man:15417894:s25260529.9638427.676872.0.2.11%2Cstd_b21d0f12a87c4f88920bdb660250a336

Anyway , good stuff…. Then a regular Jim, tells me he was a “real Rocket Scientist.” Knew all the astronauts.
So many of you gents and ladies are so interesting. It must go along with the sport…
Rod

Looks good so far– today from 3:00p.m.- 10:00p.m.- Tomorrow looks the same.
Sulphurs came off good again today.
Rod

Hi Rod,

Tight lines indeed.  It was a pleasure to see you last Sunday for a few minutes.  I know you are not open on Sundays very often so I went past the shop, saw the lights on, and turned around.  I’m glad I did.  Not only did I pick up a couple of comparaduns that worked but I met a couple of other anglers and we had a nice chat while slipping on our waders in the parking lot.

As you know, I haven’t been fishing on the Holston all my life, just a couple of seasons.  I learn something new every time I go.  I have this slow, 7 ½ foot, 4 weight bamboo rod that I don’t fish with very often, and it is not the ideal rod for the Holston, especially on a windy day like last Sunday.  But I decided to bring it and fish with it because it is different and I love the way it feels with a fish on.  

The sulphurs started rising around 1PM and I had to leave at 2:30, so I didn’t have a long time to fish.  I got a few strikes, kept changing flies, from sulphur to BWO and BWO to sulphur, sulphur to soft hackle.  The sulphur hatch was good around 1:30 so I stayed with an 18 comparadun for a long time.  I got a few strikes but the fish were not hitting it hard.  Because it was a little breezy, and I had this short whispy rod with a long leader, I had a hard time getting a good cast upstream, but the fish were really rising to the sulphurs. 

I decided to fish down stream to get a good float.  I let out all of the line to the backing, no strikes.  I reeled in the line and was preparing to start over.  I made a short cast perpendicular to the bank and got a fish on immediately.  I cast there again and noticed that the fish were hitting the sulphurs very quickly after landing on the water.  I started “flicking” the fly around and got many more strikes and fish.  I let out about 8 yards of fly line and started bouncing the fly all around me, letting it float for 5 yards max before moving it.  I started getting more hits and fish.  Not a bad way to fish on a sunny and windy day.  The last cast of the day coaxed a 17 inch rainbow out of a small run, he self released after about 10 minutes……then it was time to go see Ms. Debbie back in Blowing Rock. 

It was great to see you on Sunday and hope to be back soon.

Jim McDowell

September 17, 2010

Same story as the last 3 months on the South Holston River in East Tn.. The Sulphurs have come off everyday this week on low water. They may not be the huge hatches as in past months. But there have been plenty of bugs. And fish are rising and eating them.
Rod

I just slipped out the back door yesterday and went dry fly fishing on the South Holston River. What a beautiful day it was. Fished from 1:30- 3:30. Sulphurs were on the water when I got there and were still on the water when I left. Fished an emerger, a dun and then a cripple. All three worked but the comparadun was the main ticket.
I caught a true 17 1/2 ” Rainbow that was fat as a pig and fought like she was on steroids. She put the Seaguar 7X Flourocarbon to test. That tippet is so strong. If you have never used it , you will not believe it’s strength. Many other fish were brought to hand. If you like dry fly fishing, this is the place for you.
I have a couple of St. Croix Avids, that have been used once or twice. Each still has it’s lifetime warranty card in the tube. These are as new in tube, Factory St. Croix Avids. You can not tell they have ever been out on the water. One is a St. Croix Avid 9′ 5wt. – 4 pc. for $225.
The other is a St. Croix Avid 9′ 4 – 2 pc. for $204. These are moderate action- dry and ry dropper dream rods.
Shipping $15. No Sales tax out of TN..
Please call or email us on this.
Hope to see you on the river.
Rod Champion
423-878-2822

Today ,TVA is running rom 3:00-7:00 p.m. on the South Holston River. Should be pleny of time to get into a good Sulphur Hatch on low water. Projecting the same for tomorrow. But always check the schedule after 5:00 p.m. the day before you go.
The sulphurs were good on low water yesterday. Everyone was catching fish during the hatch.
Last week , the sulphurs were plentiful on high water also. This does not mean trout were easy to catch dry fly fishing on high water last week. They were picky. How a trout would be picky with a 2500 cubic feet per second water flow beats me. But they are.
Bwo hatches were making their presence known the last two weeks. In the rain, a couple of days ago, the olives came off good. A 20-22 got the job done .
So all is well here on the South Holston. The weather is perfect; bugs are hatching;the schedule is good and fish are eating. What more could one ask for. The only thing missing here is good food and a fine woman. You will have to get your own on that one.
Where in the world is Stan Atkins? Did he get lost out west? If anybody sees him, tell him the Sulphurs are still coming off.
There is word, he got broke from his daughter’s wedding. Or was it, he got married and thus got broke? Whichever one it is, he has missed some dandy dry fly fishing. If you see him, tell him one good hatch will bring him out of his depressive state.
Tight Lines Jim McDowell.
Rod Champion

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