The South Holston River, or SoHo as it is called, is living up to its reputation again this summer! The Sulphur Hatches this summer on the South Holston River have been nothing short of spectacular. These little yellow sailboats have almost covered the water on many days this year.
The beauty of this hatch is its longevity; last year it occurred from April to November. Also, on numerous occasions I have fished a sulphur hatch in the snow and when they are hatching it is indeed an everyday affair.
They continue to come off the water regardless of the water level. If the TVA releases water, they will come off and if there are very few releases, they still come off the water. This year they started the season as pale yellow size 16 bugs but for the past several weeks, we have seen size 18’s with sulphur orange bodies, and some 20's with pale yellow bodies.
Probably the most fun of the year on the South Holston was in the spring and early summer when TVA did not run til dark. The spinners were a bright amber color and they were plentiful creating spinner fishing that was a sight to behold. It seemed like every fish in the river piled up at the head of runs to gulp these dying and dead bugs. Needless to say, I fished that spinner fall almost every night well into June.
The good news is that there still remains plenty of time to fish sulphurs on the SoHo, for they are still hatching daily. In the mornings and on a clody day, the Blue Winged Olives have been hatching.
As the days cool, and the leaves change their colors, there will be less sulphurs and more BWO's. The BWO’s will range anywhere from 20-24 and size 22 has always been a good representative size.
This report brought to us by John Champion of the South Holston River Fly Shop.