Pray for rain! Our region’s woods and waters need a good soaking. Hopefully Sunday’s storm will extinguish these wildfires in GA and our neighboring states, reduce the threat to our properties, and clear the smoky air. For now, please refrain from all open flames!
https://fire.airnow.gov/#6/41/-98
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BuArHJWvb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Trout streams are low, clear, and in the prime temperature zone of the fifties. Fish are taking nymphs early and some dries if/when the adult bugs hatch and fly around lunchtime. Both caddis and mayflies are making appearances, especially on sunny afternoons.
Stocker fans will appreciate the long GAWRD stocking list as that program kicks off the 2025 season. Gregarious folks might enjoy Saturday’s Helen Trout Tournament. Just bring your own rock to stand on.
The bass and striper bite is on, too, as ponds and reservoirs warm up. Even the river bass have started to bite, thanks to low, clear, and warming waters.
Check out all the breaking news in our blog, here. It’s fresh every Friday and will help you boost your own catch rates.
http://blog.angler.management/
(Link in bio)
Stop in either one of our two UO shops for your spring supplies, from Powerbait to parachute dries!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Dries: quill gordon , parachute Adams, Blue quill, Tickle Cripple March brown, Drymerger March brown, emerger caddis, drymerger BWO, Stimulator.
Nymphs & Wets:
Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, Duracell, girdle bug, lightning bug, tungsten redneck.
Mountain streams: Pheasant tails, micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, hares ear nymph, soft hackle partridge.
Streamers:
Sparkle minnows, small black and olive buggers for DH streams, mohair leeches, Jiggy Fry, mini shimmer buggers, Thrasher.
(Bass & stripers) clouser minnow, Cowens coyote, polar changer, crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, Clydesdale stealth jig.
Headwaters:
They’re low and clear, with perfect water temps (Spoilcane and Smith DH were both 58F at 3PM today).
Residents are hungry but spooky, so stealth remains your key to success. Practice your summer drought-trouting techniques and you will enhance your blueline success. A small parachute Adams or elk hair caddis will bring you plenty of looks and a bunch of strikes. Consider adding a short nymph or soft hackle dropper for the deeper pools or cooler mornings when those little wild fish are hesitant to rise.
The UO duo of Jimmy and Dredger spent Sunday afternoon on a blueline high above Helen. The resident rainbows were wary, but enough came to hand to make it a fine fishing trip. Most liked their #16 para Adams or #16 tan caddis. Jimmy convinced a few extra fish to hand via a one-foot dropper down to a pheasant tail soft hackle.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/12JPtzb2Gp5/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Delayed Harvest Streams:
They’re fishing well for folks with small, naturally-colored nymphs, hatch-matching dries, and drag-less drifts. Try dry/dropper rigs and use a long (3 ft) dropper that will get deep during a cold morning and a real sunny afternoon, when fish will hug the bottom. When waters warm and bugs start drifting and hatching, shorten the dropper length (18-24”) to find those fish suspending at mid-depth. It helps to scout a favorite pool first with a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Let the resident fish that you spot (look for tail wags) tell you how to rig up.
As for the bugs, catch a few in your bug net to ensure you match the hatch. Stretch one of these over your trout net and poof, you’ve got a bug seine!
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-Gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-ETS5-HDX/335189946
Carry both your dark March dries (gray and brown) and your tan April dries to cover both possibilities.
UGA 5Rivers clubber Isabella had a productive trip to the Toccoa DH recently.
Rabunites Bluejay and Jack ran up to Nantahala DH on a cool, windy Monday. The action started slow but heated up once the sun hit the water.
Around 1PM tiny (#18-20) black caddis and some small (#18-20) blue wing olives hatched and brought some fish to the top.
Those pool risers returned to the pool depths when the bugs quit hatching after an hour. The duo’s best success was on a dry dropper searching rig (adams and prince nymph) hi-sticked through boulder -strewn pocket waters.
Dredger hiked the Smith DH trail today.
Most anglers were striking out because they were rookies: casting across or downstream with junk flies (ex: squirmies) and having plenty of drag on their drifts.
It’s a good time to come in after they leave at 4 or 5PM, sneak up to a prime pool, and quietly cast a dry/dropper rig upstream. Stay til dark, as those fish bite better in the comfort of growing shadows.
Stockers:
Everything is now stocked for the start of GA’s 2025 stocking season.
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
Private Waters:
UO-Helen manager Wes: “Private waters trips fished well this week. The bug activity is picking up and several fish are eating emergers and a few are even eating on top! The fish are spacing out and we caught several in faster pocket water in the warmer afternoons.
The best patterns for my clients were tan/black #12 girdle bugs, soft hackle hares ears, jig cdc pheasant tails, and orange soft hackle partridges.”
UO guide Israel: “ The Soque fished well for my clients this week. A lot of larger stone fly nymphs were crawling on the rocks in the riffles. A Guides Choice Hares Ear was the preferred snack.”
Catch a guide trip with one of our fine staffers. Book soon at 706-878-3083 before the June sun ends our spring guiding season.
Tailwaters:
UO buddy Myles: “I took a trip to Buford Dam yesterday and caught 12; only one was a rainbow. I was using 6.5x tippet with a size 20 hares ear and pheasant tail. I had a friend come out and join me. On his first tight lining (Euro) experience he caught 1 brown and missed a few others on a pheasant tail/stonefly nymph combo.”
Warm Rivers:
They’ve been low and clear and slowly warming up. The river bass bite has warmed along with the water. Deeper offerings (streamers and crayfish patterns) will outpace poppers during this early bassin’ season.
UGA 5Rivers clubber Matt weighed in: “Ryan and I were able to fish some local spots around Athens and found a few good spotted bass! They were mostly holding cover (downed trees, tree cover, rocks) in slower deepish water. They are starting to get warmed up and super aggressive with a lot of bites being aggressive follows by the fish. White streamers worked well for me, anything from a clouser to a game changer. Ryan had luck on the conventional side using a Ned rig black and blue craw. The bite is definitely getting better with this warm weather. Hoping to find some stripers this weekend with this big storm front coming in! I’ll keep ya updated!!”
Ponds/ Lakes:
UGA 5Rivers clubber Ryan shared this report: “Had some luck fishing some public reservoirs in the metro Atlanta area. Fish were concentrated off of vegetated points in the lake. Had the most luck using red/craw patterns.”
UO buddy JH has been working on the crappie for the last few weeks: “
The crappie are starting to move up shallow. I caught a few on clousers, but I kept seeing them rise. I was on the bank, back was too sore to drag the canoe back up the hill.”
UO guide Joseph briefed us on his Southern Striper Open experience: “SSO was tough on us last weekend. We ran a total of 95 miles on the first day of the tournament for two bites. On the second day we landed our first and only striper for the tournament but nevertheless everyone still had fun. And the event raised $8,000 for the Project Healing Waters program, which introduces our veterans to fly fishing.
https://projecthealingwaters.org/
Most of the fish we marked or saw feeding were up shallow in the very back of creeks, or off of points. It seems like there are fish spread out all over the lake. It’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. We got our bites on a variety of flies including somethin else’s, polar fiber minnows, game changers and clousers. Most fish we saw were feeding on small bait. If you’re interested In getting out on the lake give the Helen shop a call at (706)-878-3083. I have a good amount of spring dates available.”
News and Events:
March 29 (tomorrow!) Oconee River Trout Unlimited banquet in Athens:
https://www.facebook.com/share/18c158Wc1W/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Tomorrow: Helen Trout Tournament:
https://helenga.org/events/33rd-annual-trout-tournament/
Win a Bahamas Fishing Trip. The Casting for Recovery- GA fundraising raffle lasts through May 4.
https://www.tapkat.org/casting-for-recovery-inc/l5ygVk?promo=GEORGIA
Kudos to the GA Foothills TU chapter and to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper headwaters specialist Becca Risser for their latest Hooch buffer restoration effort. Under the direction of Habersham County extension agent Steven Patrick, a dozen vols planted live stakes along the riverbank yesterday at the Hardman Trail. Those stakes should sprout, grow roots, and stabilize the riverbank in the years to come.
GATU’s Yellowstone Dream Trip winners are here. Are YOU listed?
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15EJi53UKD/?mibextid=wwXIfr
While the calendar says it’s March, the weather tells us it’s April. And there’s no better month for fishing in north Georgia. Take advantage of this “prime time” while you can. Just save your campfires for a soggy week in our future. The trout, bass, and all of us appreciate the trees along our waters.
Stop in one of our shops if we can help you out. Helen 8-5 every day; Clarkesville 8-5 Monday - Saturday. Good luck!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
