Thursday, April 28, 2011
Best Wishes
Here is hoping that all our neighbors and customers in Alabama made it through the awful tornadoes alright yesterday. We got hammered here too, but nothing like you guys did. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone that was effected by the storms.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Fly Shop Update
We continue to be busy at the shop. Our spring merchandise continues to arrive and we are adding a few different lines to our inventory. We are adding Simms and Rio for sure. Don't know what else yet, but we definitely need to add another line of reels as well. We'll see how that goes. We usually add products based on customer requests. To be honest, I can't remember anyone requesting that we carry any different reels. Maybe we just think we need to add something. Oh well. Like I said, we'll see how it goes.
We have been adding to our fly tying department lately. These items are highly sought after by most fly fishermen and the stuff sells very quickly. It also takes up very little room in the shop. We recently had a display rack made just for these items. It looks pretty good but it is still a work in progress.
The guide service growth has been amazing! I can't believe how much it has grown over the last couple of years. We now have 5 guides on staff. I think that makes us the largest guide service on the river. I could be wrong, so don't quote me on that. It's an unofficial title anyway, so who cares.
We have been adding to our fly tying department lately. These items are highly sought after by most fly fishermen and the stuff sells very quickly. It also takes up very little room in the shop. We recently had a display rack made just for these items. It looks pretty good but it is still a work in progress.
The guide service growth has been amazing! I can't believe how much it has grown over the last couple of years. We now have 5 guides on staff. I think that makes us the largest guide service on the river. I could be wrong, so don't quote me on that. It's an unofficial title anyway, so who cares.
Relief in Sight
The spilling continues on the Hiwassee at a rate of more than 5,000 cfs. This is predicted to drop to 1,680 cfs tomorrow. This is a little more than a 1 generator flow. They are scheduled to get 1 generator back on line this Thursday with the other scheduled to be back on May 8.
This will bring things back to normal flows on the Hi for this time of year. The recreational flow schedule is right around the corner as well. This will give us guaranteed flows for our float trips. Things just seem to go smoother when you know what the flow schedule will be. Especially when you book alot of guide trips months in advance. Our business, as well as the rafting business, is very dependant on friendly flow schedules. That is the purpose of the recreational flow schedule. It gives us as much of a guarantee as possible that we will have adequate water flows to float the river during a certain time period. This allows us to plan and book trips in advance. The recreational flow schedule is a good thing!
This will bring things back to normal flows on the Hi for this time of year. The recreational flow schedule is right around the corner as well. This will give us guaranteed flows for our float trips. Things just seem to go smoother when you know what the flow schedule will be. Especially when you book alot of guide trips months in advance. Our business, as well as the rafting business, is very dependant on friendly flow schedules. That is the purpose of the recreational flow schedule. It gives us as much of a guarantee as possible that we will have adequate water flows to float the river during a certain time period. This allows us to plan and book trips in advance. The recreational flow schedule is a good thing!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Crazy!
The Hi has been fishing like crazy this spring! The flows have been great for the fish and the fishermen. Yes, they are running water but there are several people wading all up and down the river and catching alot of fish. We even caught a couple of these things on the upper river Sunday!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Spring Fishing
I can sum up the spring fishing in one word...INCREDIBLE! So far we could not ask for much better. The winter rains and early spring rains that we have had so far have really made a difference. Our insect activity is on pace and the fish have responded. Water temps have been good and we should continue to have good temps throughout the season, barring another low rainfall summer.
TVA is still spilling water down the old riverbed to bypass the generators. We have been getting about 2300 cfs lately, which is just shy of a normal 2 generator flow. They have been doing some work on the penstock and this flow should last through April. This makes for perfect drift boat fishing on all sections of the river. The trout and the insects love the constant flows.
So far this year our business has been outstanding (knock on wood)! The fly shop and cabin rental numbers are up significantly from this time last year. Our guide service numbers are also at an all time high for this time of year. We have had some multi-boat days already and have alot more on the books. The guide service growth amazes me each year. Every spring we book more and more trips as compared to the prior spring. These are the numbers that I like to see grow. These tell me how effective my winter marketing plans were.
We get lots of return customers too. Return customers are always great to fish with. We already know and like each other or they would not be returning. They are familiar with how we guide and we know how they like to fish. No adjustment period needed. Just a day of fishing and laughter.
TVA is still spilling water down the old riverbed to bypass the generators. We have been getting about 2300 cfs lately, which is just shy of a normal 2 generator flow. They have been doing some work on the penstock and this flow should last through April. This makes for perfect drift boat fishing on all sections of the river. The trout and the insects love the constant flows.
So far this year our business has been outstanding (knock on wood)! The fly shop and cabin rental numbers are up significantly from this time last year. Our guide service numbers are also at an all time high for this time of year. We have had some multi-boat days already and have alot more on the books. The guide service growth amazes me each year. Every spring we book more and more trips as compared to the prior spring. These are the numbers that I like to see grow. These tell me how effective my winter marketing plans were.
We get lots of return customers too. Return customers are always great to fish with. We already know and like each other or they would not be returning. They are familiar with how we guide and we know how they like to fish. No adjustment period needed. Just a day of fishing and laughter.
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