Tightlines Fly Fishing Guide Service - May 2007

South Holston

gloomis1297

Hold on to your hats boys....the TVA is releasing regular afternoon water flow on the South Holston. Don't miss this opportunity to float a tremendous river in the middle of a solid mayfly hatch. Normally, TVA starts running water from 2pm to dark during the month of June. They started this past weekend so it's a great opportunity to wade fish in the morning and then float it with us in the afternoon. The sulphers are starting and each day a few more pop. The fish are looking up eve [...]

Smallmouth Success!

gloomis1297

The smallmouth fishing is back on again after their normal hiatus for the spawn. I guess even the fish have to "get some" every now and again! We fished the Lower Holston this past weekend and in one day three boats had over 100 fish to hand. Not a lot of huge ones yet, but consistent numbers and plenty in the 1.5lb to 2.5lb class. The bigin's should start rolling out soon though and we're ready for them. Afternoon water temps are approaching 70 degrees on the surface so t [...]

Watauga River

gloomis1297

The Watauga River underwent a short but scary situation with one of the generators having some unexpected trouble and the water was shut off for a little over a week. The good news is it's now back to good fishing as usual. The river is fishing well throughout it's different sections. The sulphers are coming off with some consistency down low and the fish are looking up. Your best bet is still nymphing or streamers, but you can mix in a little dry fly fishing if you so desire. It [...]

Jackson River Still Fishing Great

gloomis1297

Well folks the Jackson River continues to fish well. The river has dropped a good bit to the normal summer flows. Water temps are up some and the water is running gin clear again. The fishing has been quite successful with plenty of 50+ fish days. The bigger fish haven't been as active with all this bright sun, but we're still averaging 1 or more 20"+ fish a trip. The key to the game right now is swinging soft hackles. The Hendricksons are done and the sulphers haven't quit [...]

S. Holston Sulphers

gloomis1297

With the smallmouth spawn and the TVA issues on the watauga the S. Holston is the place to be right now. Even without those issues, it's probably still the place to be. Consistent and ever increasing sulphers are popping right now in the early afternoon thru about 5pm. Our favorite fly for this hatch is the size 16 CDC comparadun sulpher. It has a narrow profile which is really important. A standard "Lawson's" works fine in the riffles but when you're in the slick, braided [...]

Jackson River Dry Flies

gloomis1297

Boy, last weekend was tough. We caught 65 or so fish on Friday and about a dozen the morning on Saturday but it all went down hill from there. The water has dropped to normal summer flows of about 350 cfs, resulting in clear water and temps in the mid 50's. It's stabilized by this past tuesday and the fishing is back on now. A smaller sub-species of Caddis and some hendricksons are coming off in the afternoon and evenings but your best to stay with the nymph rigs for right now. We're [...]

Smallmouth Spawn

gloomis1297

The smallmouth spawn is in full swing now and while you can fish, the fishing will be slow and you'll only be catching juvenile fish. The juvenile smallies (non-sexually mature fish) have moved into the primary feeding lanes as the larger fish have returned to the spawning beds. You can catch fish during this time, but they will mostly be in the 10-13" inch class or smaller. The larger fish won't be very active during this time. Look for the larger fish to move back into the fe [...]

Wilbur Dam Issues

gloomis1297

Well the TVA had some unexpected issues with the generators at Wilbur Dam. As a result, they are unable to run water for approximately the next three-four weeks. The water temps will rise with these 80 degree days and the algae plumps will explode. You'll also notice a "rust" tint to the water. Your best bet is to stay off this river for awhile. The elevating water temps will stress the fish and catching them will only threaten their ability to survive. If you want good trout fishi [...]

Dry Flies and Big Streamers

gloomis1297

The Jackson has really been on fire the past two weeks and we expect it to continue. With falling and clearing water conditions, this river has been producing numerous 20"+ fish a day on streamers and the hendricksons are starting to pop in the afternoons. We're sticking to nymph rigs in the morning and then transistioning to either streamers or dry flies in the afternoon. Sometimes we're fishing right 'til dark and it's been outstanding. As you might be aware, you' [...]

Spawn Approaching...only 5 more days

gloomis1297

The pre-spawn activity this week has been dynamite on the smallmouth rivers. The spawn should occur on Monday or Tuesday and don't plan on fishing it again until about the 22nd of May. But, if you can get out in the next 3 days, do it. The weather is supposed to cooperate and the afternoon bite has been good. We're mostly fishing clousers in White/White and Chartreuse/White and have been having pretty good success. The "Shag Shad" has also been doing quite well as have the bott [...]

Watauga Still Hot...but limited dry fly action

gloomis1297

The Watauga River is slowly tapering down on the dry flies, but man, the fishing is still excellent. We won't say where we're fishing but let's just say it's been a good few days on the water. Nymphing has produced excellent numbers of fish and some very nice 20+ inch rainbows. One of our clients, Jim Cannon, even landed a 28 1/2 inch brown less than two weeks ago. Streamer fishing is still excellent in high water conditions but the name of the game is the nymphing. Size 14 [...]

Holston Sulphers Starting

gloomis1297

The South Holston is starting to produce the beginnings of its famous sulpher hatch. Today the hatch is limited in both density and location but it's beginning and with the upcoming warm weather we're only going to see it improve. Morning nymphing can be very good to great by using a size 16 pheasant tail and a [...]