Hurricane Helene did her worse in Eastern Tennessee. There has been terrible destruction and loss of life. For its part, the South Holston River Lodge survived undamaged, with all the staff and guides safe.

The South Holston River experienced a high flow of 22,000 cfs. Typical flows are around 1500. During our trip, the river flow was still 3000 cfs., but the water was running fairly clear. The trout adjusted to the extreme conditions better than the anglers. During the storm, nearly all the worms in Eastern Tennessee washed into the rivers, and most were eaten by the trout. 

Our trip was restricted to the South Holston River, as the Watauga was running very muddy. Worm patterns were the overwhelming choice as they had been the previous week.

As the trip progressed, the worm bite subsided, and several trout were taken on the traditional tail water patterns of Frenchies, Perdigons and scuds.

With the October timing, many large brown trout had begun staging for the upcoming spawn.

With the high water, the numbers of fish caught was a bit low, but several large trophy size fish were taken. The fish of the trip was Roger’s 25″ beauty. Guides John Stunkard, Andrew Bright, Brandon Barbour, Preston Vance and Braydon Wilhoit all did their usual excellent job of getting us on the fish.

Lodge dinners included Pork Osso Buco, beef tenderloin, roast duck, grilled salmon, snapper, and shrimp and grits. 

The cost of the trip was $2625 plus tax. Gratuities and license are extra.

Tight loops and tight lines,

Al