White River

TIME: 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM
WEATHER: Cloudy, Mid 50s
LOCATIONS FISHED: White River, Rim Shoals area
WATER CONDITIONS: 3 Units
ROD USED: 9’ 6 wt Winston LT
FLIES USED: #16 John’s Miracle Fly, #16 Weight Fly
HATCHES: Caddis, Midges, and Light Cahill
OTHER: Fished with Ed and John. We launched at Rim Shoals, and fished downstream for about ½ mile, returning to float this particular reach the remainder of the day. We all caught lots of fish, though no big fish were taken. As a side note, the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop guide (son-in-law of the owner) had two clients out and noted that we were catching lots of fish. He began following us on our upstream run, stopping about one hundred feet downstream of us to start his drift. I was running the motor on our boat, and when I would move over to pass him on our downstream drift, he would shift over blocking us. He did this on 4 separate downstream drifts. He is doing irreparable harm to Blue Ribbon Fly Shop, and as a result of a couple of other stunts he’s pulled working at the fly shop, I have chosen to shop elsewhere, and recommend anyone else to do the same. Also, a couple of other guides, with clients, were fishing the off side of the island at Rim Shoals, where so many redds are located (I counted 27 there one year), and today, I noticed fish on many of the redds. One guide fished there all day with his clients fishing the redds constantly, and they were very successful. Neither of these guides had information on their boats as to who they were, but they constantly pounded the redds. Seems to me this is something the FFF, Southern Council, and local clubs need to consider very carefully. My respect for local fly fishing guides has decreased considerably, with only a few exceptions.