Join us as we talk with local guide and purveyor of bucktail, Ellis Ward. We’ll be discussing:

• How Ellis Ended up in East Tennessee
• How we got connected
• Streamer Fishing, Night Fishing, and Bug Fishing (sometimes in the same trip)
• Musky Fishing
• Long Sales Cycles in Guiding
• Bucktail Processing
• Fishing with Ellis Before Starting a Fly Shop

Connect with Ellis, book a trip, purchase flies, or look for bucktail drops here:

https://www.elliswardflies.com/

Check out why you should buy bucktail instead of processing it yourself here: Bucktail Processing - Deboning and Drying a Deer Tail - Fly Tying, Musky Bucktails, Bucktail Jigs 

Or follow him on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/elliswardguides/ 

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us as we talk with Blake Hall. Blake is the Captain of the USA Fly Fishing Youth Team and will be competing at the world championships in Ireland this July. When he’s not competing or in class, you might see Blake guiding on our local waters. Tonight we’ll be discussing:

• How Blake got into flyfishing and competitive flyfishing
• Making the USA Fly Fishing Youth Team
• Competing in three World Championships and key flies and tactics
• Blake’s preparation for major tournaments
• Guiding our local tailwaters (especially the South Holston)
• Confidence flies and key pieces of gear 
• Applying lessons from competitive flyfishing to our local waters 

Support Blake on his trip to Ireland here:
https://gofund.me/7220e7b6c

Or follow them on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/holston_native/

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us as we talk with local guide and Founder of Trophy Water Guide Service, Justin Shroyer. We’ll be discussing:

• Growing up in a fishy family
• Applying an Environmental Biology & Ecology Degree from App State
• East Tennessee fly fishing history and Appalachian Angler
• River etiquette then and now
• Changes to our tailwater fisheries over the last 20 years
• The switch from rafts to hard boats
• Figuring out “The Low Water Game” on the South Holston
• Establishing Trophy Water Guide Service and holding to a high standard
• Losing a shop to Hurricane Helene and working through the other side
• Balancing a career in guiding with having a family

Connect with Justin and Trophy Water Guide Service here:

https://trophywaterguideservice.com/

Or follow them on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/trophyguides/ 

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us tonight as we talk with guide, and owner of Asheville Fly Fishing Company, Galen Kipar as we discuss:

• How Galen got into flyfishing and guiding in this part of the world
• His background in music and throughlines into flyfishing and guiding
• Making it through Helene as a small business owner
• Galen’s work with the Blue Ridge Guide Association and other conservation oriented groups
• Galen’s forays into farming
• Catching big fish on terrestrials

Connect with Galen or follow him on social media here:

https://www.ashevilleflyfishingco.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ashevilleflyfishingco/

Find the Galen Kipar Project, where you can listen to “Rushing Over My Bones” here: https://www.reverbnation.com/galenkiparproject/songs

A special thanks to Corey J Smith AND Galen Kipar for the amazing music!

Join us as we talk with local guide and owner of Appalachian Outdoors, Korey Hartley, as we discuss:

• How he got into fly fishing and fly tying
• His early trips to the South Holston
• Transitioning from a hectic corporate job to guiding
• What some of those early trips were like
• Some memorable moments on the South Holston and Watauga
• Appalachian Outdoors and everything you wanted to know about his tungsten beads, including
  • How important good milling is to maximize sink rate
  • Rigorous product testing
  • Hot bead colors and sizes
  • All of the effort that goes into sourcing top quality beads and getting them to you at reasonable prices

Connect with Korey or follow him on social media here:
https://www.appoutdoorsco.com/
https://www.instagram.com/appoutdoors/

Check us out and buy Korey’s beads at https://tailwatersflyco.com/

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us tonight as John and Mandy talk about:

• Our most recent South Holston and Watauga River fishing report
• How we’re doing
• New faces in the shop
• Tailwaters Fly Company hard and fast rules
• Tying events
• Trying to fill fly bins thoughtfully
• What’s cool in the shop
• Classes
• Needing help with content production!

Check us out at https://tailwatersflyco.com/ 

Before you step in the shop, check out the Corey J Smith and Braydon Wilhoit’s Instagram pages

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us tonight as we talk with local guide Matthew Guinn as we discuss:

• Diving into flyfishing and learning on your own in East Tennessee
• Battling with addiction and coming out the other side
• Tying over 20,000 flies in a year
• Tips for fishing the Sulphur hatch on the South Holston
• Reading clients and putting them at ease
• Fishing opportunities that complement our tailwater trout in East Tennessee
• Catching a 30lb striper on a 5 weight

Connect with Matthew or follow him on social media here:
https://bristolanglers.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bristol_agnelrs_llc/

Read the Garden & Gun Article here: “The Other Montana”


Check us out at https://tailwatersflyco.com/

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us tonight as we talk with local guide John Stunkard as we discuss:

• Current fishing conditions on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers
• What it takes to become a guide
• Saving up for a drift boat one fly at a time
• What those first few trips are really like
• Using humor to provide clients with feedback
• Tying flies as part of the daily routine

Connect with John or follow him on social media here:
https://southholstonangler.com/
https://www.instagram.com/stunkardguides/

Check us out at https://tailwatersflyco.com/ 

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!

Join us today as we talk with local guides Drayton Moore, Braydon Wilhoit, and Corey J Smith about all the small details that go into a successful day on the water for their clients on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers.  We’ll discuss:

• How have the South Holston and Watauga been fishing?
• How many flies is it common to lose on a day out on the water?
• What are some of the major costs for guides behind the scenes?
• Should you tip extra if you break a rod?
• Is it normal to hook your guide?
• Guide sunburns
• What can you do to be a good client?
• Some of our guests’ best guiding memories from the year

We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed getting together and having this discussion.

Check Out Our Guests Tonight:
Drayton Moore
https://www.instagram.com/draytonmoore_flyfishing/ 
Due South Outfitters 
(828) 355-9109
https://www.duesouthoutfitters.com/

Braydon Wilhoit
https://www.instagram.com/braydon_wilhoit/ 
South Holston River Lodge
(423) 878-3457
https://southholstonriverlodge.com/ 

Corey J Smith
https://www.instagram.com/coreysmit423/
https://www.instagram.com/coreyjsmithmusic/ 
Trophy Water Guide Service
(423) 896-7237
https://trophywaterguideservice.com/


Check us out at https://tailwatersflyco.com/ 

A special thanks to Corey J Smith (as always) for the amazing music!

Join us today for a special episode as we celebrate our first year of being open! We laugh, talk, and tell stories about:

• Our most recent trip and fishing report on the South Holston River
• Why we started Tailwaters Fly Company
• Finding the perfect place to open a shop
• What it’s like to fill your house with boxes of fly shop inventory
• The trout mural on our building
• Hanging slatwall
• Hurricane Helene
• Our favorite aspects of running the fly shop
• The fact that we have amazing customers
• Some of our favorite items in the store
• Ethical considerations of our materials and fly bins
• Thank-You’s to everyone that has helped to make this happen

Check us out at https://tailwatersflyco.com/ 

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music!