Even on a slow day, guided fishing tour enjoyable |

BRISTOL — Given a choice of what to do on a perfectly cloudless September Sunday, a guided fishing trip down the river would rank high on the list for some folks.

When the float is on the renowned trout waters below South Holston Dam, with some 8,000 bug-happy fish per mile, then it’s a no-brainer. Nevermind the $43.50 for a (three-day) license.

And a man doesn’t have to be a skilled fisherman to enjoy such a treat. It doesn’t even matter if the action is no good on an overcrowded, Labor Day-weekend afternoon.

“If it was good every day they’d call it catching instead of fishing,” Marcus Adkins said to his two fishing buddies. “Nobody caught anything out there today. The odds were stacked against us.”

Adkins owns Sandbar Guide Service, located along the tailwaters of the South Holston River, which has fast-become one of the premier trout fisheries in America. A bartender by night, the Coeburn, Virginia, man is keeping up as best as he can with his newfound profession.

“I learn something every time I go down that river,” said Adkins, who began guiding in 2017. “I love fishing and I love the rowing part of it. I’d love to do this full time for the rest of my days.”

One float with the 43-year-old Adkins gives every indication that full time will come much sooner than later.

“That’d be OK with me,” grinned the affable Adkins, who is often booked through his affiliation with the South Holston River Fly Shop, his (mostly affluent, fly-fishing) clientele rolling in from anywhere. “Bartending is a young man’s game and I’m sure not getting any younger.”

LOTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Adkins got into his fledgling business in a roundabout way, beginning in 2015 when he was invited to join New Jersey native and longtime national guide Matt Ippolito on a Holston float.

“One trip and I was hooked on the fishing part,” said Adkins, who fished the Clinch and Guest (Va.) rivers as a boy. “Matt works for a boat company in Colorado and he was really pushing for some sales for his company, so he brought a demo (fiberglass drift) boat out here and dropped it off for me, for me to try to sell some boats. That’s when I learned to row.

“So when the whole boat company thing ended for me, all the guys were encouraging me and saying, ‘You have the stuff (after buying the demo boat) and you know how to row, so why don’t you guide?’ And the guys at the fly shop said, ‘We’ll give you jobs; you should guide.’ And the man with land on the river (where Adkins houses his business) said, ‘I’m going to be building two cabins, so why don’t you guide?’ So I had about 10 people pushing me in that direction.”

And the good guide cashed in on the gift of gab he has honed for 20 years as a barkeep.

“Matt, who along with (local guide) Todd Hare taught me everything I know, said, ‘You’ve got the personality for it and people love you. You deal well with people,” Adkins said. “Plus, I was looking for a second job as a way to fill my afternoons. My nights were full up. It all just fit.”

FISHING AT WORK

Guiding offers many benefits for Adkins, who gets $300 or $425 for half/full-day floats.

“You meet some great people, you get to spend your afternoons out in the most beautiful place on Earth and you get to catch some really beautiful and sporty fish,” Adkins said, noting that 85 percent of the South Holston’s population is wild (not stocked) brown trout. “One of the main things I like to do is to take and teach kids. Like, I’ve donated many trips to the Boy Scouts.”

Adkins also gives free trips to organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Project, and there is most always a space for longtime buddy Brooke Carr or other friends.

“If I put something on there for you to throw, there’s a good chance it’s going to work,” said Adkins, noting that he’s often seen 20- and 22-inch browns caught, and even a rare 30-inch specimen. “Except for Brooke — he’s much too hard-headed to ever listen.

“It’s nice to do something you love and get paid, too. It is. But why would I do any of it if I couldn’t take my friends? Besides, it’s hard to fish and row at the same time.”

And a man needs a strong hand like that of Adkins to safely navigate the always-cold, generated water that comes from the bottom of South Holston Lake.

“This is why I’m here,”’ the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Adkins said, addressing a mean stretch of rapids halfway to the take-out point. “Working this boat is like going to the gym. When I began rowing I lost 15 pounds. It changed my body. I’m nowhere near as soft as I was three years ago.

“And that helps if I’ve got to row my guts out to get to safety when a lightning storm rolls up.”

SLOW DAY

A slow day on the water can sometimes produce a stinkin’ empty feeling, however.

“It really bothers me when my people don’t catch fish — like today — because I’m a competitive person,” the passionate Adkins said to his backseat angler, who did catch six small ones on this day, throwing crankbaits and spinners. “I insist you come back to fish with me again. I mean it.

“I want everyone who ever gets into my boat to have fun. Because the more people you get into that boat, the more people you’re going to have wanting to get into that boat.”

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Sandbar Guide Service

Marcus Adkins

276-494-3120

321 Sand Bar Road, Bristol, TN 37620