2008.02.12
Stephen Hiner with a big South Holston brown trout
Usually, to catch a monster trout like this gorgeous 22-inch long brown on a fly rod, you have to pull out the big guns -- a big streamer.
But Stephen Hiner tricked this big female with a size 18 blue-winged olive (BWO) dry fly, while fishing on the South Holston tailwater in Tennessee earlier this month.
For those of you not too familiar with fly fishing, a size 18 BWO is only slightly bigger than a piece of lint. Or this "X". He was also using 6X tippet, which was probably around 3-pound-test.
Hiner said the only way he was able to get his hands on the fish was because Bruce Wankel of the Virginia Creeper Fly Shop helped him net the thing.
If you want to fish for some of the biggest (and toughest) trout in the country, do yourself a favor and head to the South Holston tailwater.
Congratulations to Stephen on a very fine catch. I can only imagine how tenderly he must have fought that one on 6x tippet.
I've not hit the Tennessee section of the Holston for a couple of years due to the frequency of bad characters breaking into vehicles, specifically those with fly fishing gear in them. Has this problem improved?
Mike
Comment by Mike — February 12, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
I haven't been down there in a few years, either, Mike. I'd heard about the problem with break-ins but wasn't sure if it was really a serious problem or just something getting more attention than it deserved.
The first time I went to the river was with Hiner, Wankel and a couple of other experts. Hiner stopped in the middle of the bridge that crosses the river below the weir dams and said, "Get out." He wanted me to look down at the browns spawning in the gravel. One of those fish had to go 10 pounds.
I saw lots of other monsters that day and didn't get a single strike.
The best fishing I've ever had there was on rising water, when a streamer Wankel set me up with produced lots of browns (none close to this big).
mt
Comment by Mark Taylor — February 12, 2008 @ 2:30 pm
It seems that a lot of the concern over break-ins is real. I've heard that the most recent frustration comes from local merchants, i.e. motel owners, tackle shops, and outfitters, who are experiencing losses due to fly fishermen/customers staying away. I think they've lit a fire under the local law enforcement, so maybe the tide is turning. By the way, a local guy from Salem posted a photo on a catfishing blog of an 11-lb brown trout caught last week in a section of the Roanoke River that doesn't receive strocking. It's most likely an old trout that washed down from the Green Hill section. You can see this at http://www.catfish1.com, open the Virginia section and then click on "Local VA talk". It's titled "great rainy afternoon" by Riverdawg.
Mike
Comment by Mike — February 12, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
Nice fish. Like hooking into a boat motor.
Break in info
http://www.southeastflyfishingforum.com/
forum/ripped-off-theft-information-f62.html
I had heard rumor of that big brown being caught on the Roanoke. Trying to get access now to see pictures. Thanks for the link
Comment by Donnie — February 13, 2008 @ 8:46 am
Thanks for the link to the thread on the break ins, Donnie. I'll check it out.
I appreciate the tip on the big Roanoke River brown, Mike, but apparently visitors aren't allowed to view pictures on the site until having joined and posting at least 10 comments.
I could see how that catfish board would be useful and informative and it probably wouldn't hurt me to join. But by the time I get 10 posts up there I would have forgotten why I joined in the first place.
If someone figures out a workaround, let me know.
Thanks, everyone, for reading.
mt
Comment by Mark Taylor — February 13, 2008 @ 3:03 pm
Same here with the 10 posts. I spend enough time on SEFFF that joining another wouldn't leave me anytime to fish or work. But I would love to see those pics.
Comment by Donnie — February 14, 2008 @ 8:55 am