On Friday, May 3rd, members of the St. John’s Fly Fishers headed to Bristol, Tennessee for a weekend of fly fishing on the South Holston river. The South Holston is classified as a tailwater fly fishing destination, which means the river is regulated by the dam release from South Holston Lake. The water is extremely cold and keeps the river at a stable temperature most of the year. This allows for trout to reproduce on their own and is why the South Holston is regarded as a marquee fly fishing destination. This is also why this river is populated with wild (versus hatchery raised) fish: browns and rainbows.
Jeff Pruitt, Jimmy Medlin, Larry Bennett, and Craig Murden met at The Fly Box, a fly shop in between Bluff City and Bristol to hear about the current conditions, water flow from the dam, and the best flies to use. The owner Jonathan took time with us to walk-through the different leader rigs. He recommended and even asked to bring our own rods in so he could rig them up so we could see the specific details. This was super helpful as we would be tying these rigs throughout the day.
Craig towed his wood drift boat along with Jeff’s kayak up from Charlotte. Once flies and leaders were tied and our vehicle was dropped off at the planned takeout location, we launched at the put in spot about a half a mile downstream from the dam. The TVA released water from the dam at 11 AM, and we were putting in about 12:15, so the water was flowing swiftly to say the least! We got underway and had Larry in front seat and Jimmy in the backseat of the drift boat with Craig manning the oars. Jeff launched his kayak and away we went.
Leaders were easy to get crisscrossed and had to be retied, but Larry kept a steady hand on his casts; Jeff ran into a challenge anchoring near shore, the swift water pulled him in and he had a firsthand dip into the 52° water. Fortunately, the water was only waist deep and he was able to quickly right size the kayak and continue downstream. Everything was fine for him after getting back in the kayak, but we discovered later he had lost a fishing pack.
An enjoyable float for sure, with great scenery and crystal clear water. Larry hooked and landed several nice rainbows. Jimmy had several on, but lost them before they could be netted. We ended up missing our takeout point, as we realized in hindsight that it was much earlier in the float than we expected. But the extra float was not a problem, as we drifted not more than another mile down river and found a public takeout. We called an Uber and made it back to the car and brought back Craig’s truck and trailer. We made it back to the Airbnb house we rented and suited up with waders and went down to the river to fish. Interestingly, the water release had just come through this area and was on the other side of the water flow – meaning the water level had decreased in depth. There was just enough water to give us some great spots to fish and we caught a few rainbows and a nice brown. After a full day of fishing, we headed up the hill and settled in.
The house had a great garage/covered hangout area with a gas fireplace table and Adirondack chairs. We had a great dinner together that Jeff had coordinated and enjoyed hanging out together into the evening around the fire.
On Saturday, we took the advice Jonathan at The Fly Box had given us the previous day and put the drift boat in right below the South Holston Dam. The section was said to have some big rainbows in it. The river’s crystal clear water was beautiful as advertised; however, it did not result in any fish for us. It was great to learn of this area, including how to navigate the warning horn for the dam water release. It is exactly a 5 minute warning sounding at 10:55 am for a scheduled 11:00 am release. Right on time, we could hear and see the water rising and increasing in flow speed. By heeding the warning, we were able to get the boat back on the trailer just in time. Again, this was a good experience to have. Larry had to head back to Charlotte so now it was the three of us: Craig, Jeff and Jimmy.
After grabbing a local barbecue lunch, we headed back to the house and encountered rain showers for the next couple of hours. Once things let up, we decided to check back in at The Fly Box. Not only is it a great fly shop, but they also have a small bar with local beers on tap. Guides and their clients were coming in for a beer and to share how they fared on the water. It was fun to meet fellow anglers from both Atlanta and Nashville, and to hear their stories from their day of fishing.
Jimmy headed back early on Sunday morning, but Jeff and Craig stuck around for a few more hours of wade fishing in front of the house in the early morning before heading back to Charlotte.
It was a great learning experience for everyone: We discovered new ways to rig the leaders and coordinate our fishing with the water levels and flow speed from the good folks at The Fly Box. We hope to return soon, armed with the knowledge and experience that will help us be way ahead of the technical challenges of tailwater fly fishing. Please reach out if you have any questions or if you’re thinking about heading up that way to fish. It is important to mention that the Watauga river is right next to the South Holston and offers equally fine fishing. The experts at The Fly Box will advise on which is best and where best to either wade fish or to float fish. You can hire a guide there and they will give you instruction.
We truly appreciated the fellowship opportunity, and the beauty of God’s nature within this river and its banks and the opportunity to catch a few beautiful rainbow and brown trout.
St. John’s Fly Fishers 
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