Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 969 is my conversation with Jonathan Neyman, owner of The Fly Box in far East Tennessee, near Bristol. Jonathan and I talk trout on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers, two of the coldest, most productive tailwaters in the country, where you can fish year-round. He shares how a kid who grew up on Northern California's Eel River chasing salmon and steelhead ended up building a fly shop that is really a community hub.
Listen now: Megaphone · Apple Podcasts · Spotify
Jonathan Neyman is the owner of The Fly Box, a fly shop in far East Tennessee near Bristol that is also a community hub with a deli and a bar. He grew up in Humboldt County, Northern California, fishing the Eel River for salmon and steelhead, moved to Kentucky and then Tennessee, and now guides and outfits anglers on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers.
The South Holston and Watauga are tailwater trout rivers in far East Tennessee, just south of Bristol and near the Virginia and North Carolina borders. Jonathan describes the region, including parts of North Carolina, North Georgia, and Virginia, as offering some of the best trout fishing in the world, with the bonus of being fishable year-round.
The South Holston stays cold because the dam draws water from more than 250 feet deep, releasing very cold water from the bottom of the lake. As a result the river holds in the high 40s to low 50s through winter and rarely climbs out of the mid 50s even in summer, with locals starting to worry only when it reaches the mid 60s.
Yes, because the South Holston and Watauga stay so cold, they do not suffer the hoot owl restrictions common out West when rivers warm up. Jonathan says year-round fishing in both winter and summer is exactly what drew him to open his shop there rather than moving back out West.
Jonathan grew up on the South Fork of the Eel River in Southern Humboldt County, Northern California, fishing for Chinook kings, silvers, and steelhead. Kings in the 40 to 60 pound range were caught in the mid 1980s, and a big steelhead was around 15 pounds. He later fished the Smokies and the Cumberland River before settling in East Tennessee.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 969 with Jonathan Neyman is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the Tom Rowland Podcast feed. The audio version is linked at the top of this page.
I have fished Jonathan's water a number of times and came away genuinely impressed, and the South Holston might be the coldest river I have ever put my feet in, including Alaska. A lot of people think you have to fly to Idaho, Montana, or Patagonia to catch great trout, and those places are awesome, but the Tennessee, North Carolina, North Georgia, and Virginia corner is outstanding and fishable year-round. Jonathan runs a shop there that is really a community builder, and I wanted listeners, especially anyone trying to escape hot Florida, to hear about it.
Press play on the player above to hear it.
Jonathan explains the dam that makes the South Holston so cold, drawing water from more than 250 feet down, which keeps it in the high 40s and low 50s through winter and the mid 50s in summer. While Western rivers get hoot owl restrictions, this water just keeps fishing. Hear him lay out the whole system in the episode.
Jonathan grew up on the South Fork of the Eel River chasing kings, silvers, and steelhead in Humboldt County, then moved to Kentucky for college and eventually to East Tennessee. He talks about what it was like to leave that wonderland of fishing and find new water in the Smokies and on the Cumberland. Listen to that story.
Jonathan keeps up with his home river, which closed to fishing through a rough stretch and is now rebounding with bigger steelhead runs and dam removals on the headwaters. We get into the green boom, water use, and what it did to a place he calls pristine. Worth hearing in full.
More than 95 percent of The Fly Box trips run out of a drift boat, and Jonathan describes the river, the boats he fishes, and why anglers from Atlanta to Louisville come for that experience. He paints the picture of the fishery and the big browns it holds. Press play in the player above for the full conversation.
Listen to the full conversation: Megaphone · Apple Podcasts · Spotify.
What I took away from Jonathan is that you do not have to get on a plane to find world-class trout. There is a cold, fishable-year-round corner of the Southeast that rivals far-off destinations, and he has built a community around it.
If you are looking to escape the heat or the cold and chase big browns, point the truck toward Bristol. Listen to the whole thing.
Press play on the player above, or grab Episode 969 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Jonathan Neyman · The Fly Box · South Holston River · Watauga River · Bristol, Tennessee · Eel River · Humboldt County, California · Cumberland River · Tom Rowland (host)
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Jonathan Neyman is the owner of The Fly Box, a fly shop, deli, and community hub in far East Tennessee near Bristol, where he guides and outfits anglers on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers. Raised on the South Fork of the Eel River in Humboldt County, Northern California, fishing for salmon and steelhead, he later fished the Smokies and the Cumberland before settling in East Tennessee to build a business around two of the coldest, most productive year-round tailwater trout fisheries in the country.
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