Tailwaters Fly Fishing Podcast

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!

Join us today as we talk with Houston Brown, an East TN native and life-long angler who we at Tailwaters Fly Company consider to be a local legend (even though he’s only 25 years old!). We’ll discuss:

• Houston’s background and how it shaped his passion for fishing
• Some of the best and biggest fish Houston has caught on the Watauga and the South Holston
• The joy of targeting a variety of species
• Houston’s view on the health of the Watauga post-Hurricane Helene
• Some exciting personal news for Houston and Whitney
• And of course, Houston’s famous fish corkboard

We hope you enjoy this unique chat with someone who truly loves and respects our local waters and the variety of fish they hold. 

Follow Houston on social media to keep up with his current fishing adventures… and maybe start your own corkboard…

https://www.instagram.com/houston_brown_/ 

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 guide Clint Waddell as we discuss:

• The most recent South Holston and Watauga River fishing report
• Clint’s near death experience and how it helped him become a guide
• Clint’s wheelchair accessible drift boat and his ability to take people fishing with disabilities and mobility issues
• Some of Clint’s most rewarding client experiences, including catching fish with someone who is blind
• Clint’s new role on the Blue Ridge Guide Association, and all of the great work that they do
• Clint’s outlook and what makes spending a day on the water with him special

Check out the local news story on Clint and his client “Blind Fisherman Celebrates his First Trout in Tennessee”

Follow Clint on social media for some great client shots and reach out to him here:

https://www.facebook.com/bluemountainonthefly/

https://www.instagram.com/bluemountainflyfishing/

https://bluemountaintherapy.com/fly-fishing/ 

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

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

Join us as we discuss a recent study on trout feeding behavior and size of food. We discuss:

• The motivation for conducting this study
• Collecting trout from the South Holston
• How many cockroaches a trout will eat
• Trout difficulties in switching between food sizes
• Potential impacts of biodiversity on trout feeding behavior

Check out the research paper
“Prey Detection by a Stepwise Visual Template Matching Mechanism”

and the accompanying Fly Fisherman Magazine article
“Now I See You: How Trout Appetite Shifts from Hatch to Hatch”

Check out Tailwaters Fly Company for all you need to tie those little South Holston bugs.

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

Join us for a book review (or endorsement) of Dave Zielinski's "Cicada Madness." Dave brings clarity to an often misunderstood flyfishing opportunity, periodical cicadas. Listen as we talk about:

How this Book Helped me Climb the Cicada Learning Curve

Highights from Dave's book

My Process for Tackling Brood XIV

Finding Cicada Success with the Family

Grab a copy of Cicada Madness 

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

Or pick up some periodical cicada flies


A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music

Follow us on Instagram for more great stuff

 Join us for our discussion with Caleb Corona of Reagle Beagle Fly Fishing 

• Caleb’s East Tennessee Fishing Roots
• Life Cycle Details 
• Requirements When Buying a Meat Thermometer to Measure Ground Temps
• Tips on Locating Periodical Cicada Emergences 
• Gear, Flies, and Tactics 
• Useful Periodical Cicada Resource 
• Caleb’s Cicada Patterns and Favorite Materials 

Contact Caleb at about periodical cicadas, tying, or guide trips at his website:
https://regalbeagleflyfish.wixsite.com/regal-beagle-fly-fis
...or find him on Instagram @regal_beagle_flyfishing

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

It's not too late to pick up a copy of Dave Zielinski's awesome book "Cicada Madness"
Check out some of Caleb’s Cicada Flies

Find the materials we talk about in the show: 

• Gamakatsu B10s
• Ahrex SA280
• Widow's Web

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music 

Sit in on our discussion with Matt Reilly as we talk periodical cicadas. Few fishermen or guides have as much experience chasing the periodical cicada hatch as Matt. Listen as we talk about:

• Matt's Experience Fishing and Guiding the Periodical Cicada Hatch
• Life Cycle Basics
• Tips on Locating Periodical Cicada Emergences
• Timing
• Gear, Flies, and Tactics
• What it Takes to be Successful Fishing this Hatch (hint: sometimes it's multiple oil changes)
• Useful Periodical Cicada Resources

Contact Matt and get on his short list for periodical cicada trips at: https://www.mattreillyflyfishing.com/

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

• It's not too late to pick up a copy of Dave Zielinki's awesome book "Cicada Madness"
• Or pick up some periodical cicada flies

A special thanks to Corey J Smith for the amazing music