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South Holston Fly Instructions

Holston River Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on 
our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not 
guess work. We base fly suggestions on 
imitating the most plentiful and most available 
insects and other foods at the particular time 
you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop 
trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the 
insects in the Holston River and in all stages of 
life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to 
fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a 
much higher degree of success use Perfect Flies, 
92% of the thousands of our customers will 
use nothing else.

There are two basic ways to fish the Holston 
that are almost opposite of each other. One is 
using small imitations of midges and the other 
is caddisfly imitations. Midge larva, pupa and 
adult imitations will catch trout year-round. 
Many anglers use a tandem rig with both a 
larger mayfly nymph and a small midge larva 
or pupa fly. Most of the midges are either 
cream or red (blood) midges.
Most of the time, midge imitations are the best 
choice of flies. They will work day in and day 
out.

Caddisfly imitations work when a hatch is 
occurring or egg laying is taking place. There 
are several species of caddisflies that live in 
the Holston River. Caddisflies are the most 
important hatches on the Holston. Most all of 
them are commonly called Cinnamon Caddis. 
Most all of them are net-spinning caddis

Few free-living and only a few cased 
caddis exist. There are several minor 
species or caddisflies that hatch in sparse 
quantities. The hatches start in March and 
peak in May.

Some species hatch during the summer 
but in smaller quantities. A few hatch in the 
fall months. The opportunity to catch larger 
trout on a streamer always exist. The best 
streamers are imitations of baitfish and 
sculpin. Terrestrials work fine in the late summer 
and early fall. Beetles, ants and 
grasshopper imitations catch their share of 
Holston River trout.

Craneflies are plentiful in the Holston. At 
times, imitations of the Cane Fly larvae 
adults work fairly well. Black flies are very 
plentiful and more important in the colder 
months of the year. You should have 
imitations of the Black Fly larvae, pupae 
and the adults.

Sulphurs are the most common mayfly.
There are plenty of bugs to keep trout 
rising on the Holston. Sulphurs hatch in 
May and June.

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