Unicoi Outfitters is north Georgia's premier guide service and fly fishing outfitter, located on the Chattahoochee River near alpine Helen. Look for fishing reports, gear and book reviews, and general musings here from our staff and guides.

Friday, September 6, 2024

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 9/6/24



Sorry for the late report!  My Rabunite buddies and I had a very long and productive day of flyfishing instruction to guests at Burton Hatchery today.


Here’s your scoop: headwaters are low and clear and cool! They’re once again a best bet, but only for stealthy stalkers with soft casts. A stimmy/ant combo is still hot. Plenty of holiday stockers are left over for anglers willing to cover more water and find their hiding spots away from the well know and hard-fished stocking points. River bass are active in the low, clear flows. Like headwater trout, you just can’t spook them. Quiet stalks, no wakes pushed over them, and long, soft casts will score you some redeyes and shoalies.


The latest fish fibs from our staff,guides, and buddies are in our full fishing report here:

http://blog.angler.management/

(Link in bio)


Good luck on this nice, COOL weekend!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com


Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries: micro chubby Chernobyl,  yellow stimulator, parachite Adana, parachute black ant, tan elk hair caddis.


Nymphs & Wets: 

Hard body ant, gold ribbed hares ear, Quasimodo pheasant tail, zebra midge, olive mop for stockers.


Streamers:

Squirrely bugger, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers. 


(Bass) jerk changer, Con man, wiggle minnow, boogle bug popper, Kent’s stealth bomber.


(Panfish) amnesia bug, small chubby Chernobyl, bluegill spider, dry and wet ants


(Carp) headstand, squirmy hybrid. 


Headwaters: 

They’re low and clear, but cool. Be stealthy and give them a shot. Downsize your tippet and flies and soften your casts and fly landings. Residents are hungry once again!





UO buddy Nan:

Sitting on a log in the Tallulah having my sandwich. Enjoying missing a ton of strikes, seeing many refusals, and LDR on a bunch more. Did manage to “land” two tiny wild rainbows on a #16 stimmie. It is so quiet today (Thursday) and I have loved being able to wade and wander where I want. Life is perfect at this moment! 

Update: Finally caught a couple fat stockers. September fish on a dry fly -check!”



Stocked Waters: 

There is no fresh stocking from WRD this week, after last week’s holiday blowout. But there are plenty of Labor Day leftovers in the larger streams. You just have to cover more ground and hunt them. Cooler water temperatures will have them hungrier.


A young man came into our shop at midweek, forlorn about his slow morning on a stocker stream with no fish to hand. UO staff set him up with the right tackle, technique, and fishing spot and he left for an afternoon rematch. That evening he replied via a google review that he had limited out!   Stop in the shop and we’ll set you up, too.


UO buddy Stash said he’s been doing well on a stocked Habersham stream. The highlight of his last trip was not the trout, however, as he showed me a video of a big black bear that slipped down for a long drink from the river. Truly a Nat Geo moment for our Cumming buddy!


Tailwaters:

No recent reports. Remember to fish the Hooch downstream from Hwy 20, where dissolved oxygen finally recovers.


Private Waters: 

Just about all waters managed by GA’s private operators remain closed for the summer to protect their heat-stressed trout. Same goes for Dukes at Smithgall Woods.


Warm Rivers:

They’re low and clear due to a lack of rain. They’re also a bit cooler, which should enhance the bass bite. Throw your streamers and poppers into heavy cover, where residents are hiding from the herons and otters. Have a stealthy approach and make longer casts so you don’t spook them and you should be rewarded.


UO-Helen manager Wes:

Redeye bass streams continue to fish well with the low late summer flows. I was able to get out for a few hours one day this week. I caught a handful of fish and missed a few others. All on a stealth bomber 



UO buddy Jay:

Piedmont Rivers are still low, clear and suitable for wading/floating. River bass will still eat, especially early and late. I’m still having luck matching the hellgrammite/crawfish hatch with weighted, articulated black streamers. “




Jay also added this bonus tying tip:

“These little olive nymphs worked on both stocked browns and on wild rainbows. I don’t usually tie olive nymphs.”




UO owner Jimmy:

“Cool, almost Fall- like evenings have found me on the river harassing the Shoal Bass. As much as I wanted to force the topwater bite with a Stealth Bomber, they just weren’t having any of it on Wednesday. I totally struck out. Last night I went back for some R-E-V-E-N-G!  I got down and dirty with them, fished the exact same pockets and ledges as Wednesday, but this time I proved to be the superior species. Seven brought to hand in a little over an hour and another 4 really stout fish came unbuttoned. I may go back tonight!”



Ponds:

No reports. They should fish well with this cooler weather.


Reservoirs:

UO guide Israel: “ We went grocery  shopping with cut bait, dragging in 15ft deep flats moving at .75 MPG with a 2 ounce weight. We invited several nice cats to dinner.”



GAWRD has some great walleye and lake trout intel here:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/


UO buddy Nanette took a lunch break today between her fly casting lessons to a large group of Leadership Georgia guests at Burton Hatchery. 


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/SneZ3TgEk1qWBBQ4/?


She caught several bream on a white foam spider at the mouth of the creek and said it was a fun lunch break!



Grab a kid, a fly rod, and a popper/dropper combo and introduce the youngster to the sport right there, with that big school of cooperative bluegill under the footbridge to the park.


Afar: UO owner Jimmy recently returned from a Colorado trip. He rubbed it in a bit with this pic of a mighty fine Gunnison River brown.  We are attributing his catch to Powerbait, since we are spiteful while stuck here in Georgia.



Dredger ran back up to the Smokies on Labor Day and had a decent morning bite from the resident rainbows.  A few hit the stimmy on top, while most ate his sunken ant and the two best bows preferred more calories - a brown pats rubberlegs.  A highway elk jam once again topped off his trip.





Tooga Tips

UO staffer Dredger might just have loose lips about Chattooga fishing next week. Give the Atlanta Fly Fishing Club a try on the 11th at Manuel’s Tavern and see if you can net a coveted Rabunite secret or two.

Atlanta Fly Fishing Club • Home


That the latest intel late on this Friday night. Hope you have a chance to read it before you point your vehicles north in the morning. It’s gonna be a beautiful weekend, so wet and line if you can. Good luck! Stop in either UO shop for flies, supplies, and intel to enhance your own winning percentage.


Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 8/30/24

 



Have some hope!  While we have a hot holiday weekend ahead of us, we might see a little rain and then welcome some cooler days next week. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of fall!


Your holiday best bets are stockers before lunch, morning blueline wild trout on north slopes, pond bream and bass in the shade, and maybe some river bass IF those waters don’t get hit by thunderstorms. Rivers are low, bass are bunched up and looking up in drought refuges, and your wading is easier in those meager flows.  Watch for a long  stocking list posted by WRD later today for the holiday trouting crowds.


Hot tips and great fish stories are in our full fishing report here:

http://blog.angler.management/

(Link in bio)


.Good luck on your holiday weekend. Work around the heat and have hope for our colder September days on the horizon! Come see us for your hot holiday bugs.


Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com


Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

(Wes said this menu is still good)


Dries: micro chubby Chernobyl,  olive stimulator, parachute black ant, tan elk hair caddis.


Nymphs & Wets: 

Hard body ant, gold ribbed hares ear, Quasimodo pheasant tail, zebra midge, lightning bug.


Streamers:

Squirrely bugger, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers. 


(Bass) jerk changer, Con man, wiggle minnow, boogle bug popper, Kent’s stealth bomber.


(Panfish) amnesia bug, small chubby Chernobyl, bluegill spider, dry and wet ants


(Carp) headstand, squirmy hybrid. 


Headwaters: 

They’re all real low, clear, and warm once again, after the hot, rainless week we’ve had.  


Give the south slope drainages a rest again this weekend and drive to north slopes for cold water, especially before lunch.  You can return to your favorite south slopes once the mountains see fifty-degree mornings next week. Sink an ant a foot or two below your buoyant stimmy if the residents are slow to rise.

UO buddy Jay: “Headwater temperatures dipped slightly thanks to a brief period of cooler air temperatures. I found some feisty wild rainbows who eagerly took a sparsely dressed #18 nymph tied on a jig hook with a tungsten bead and CDC collar.”



Note: see the Smokies report under “Afar,” below.


Stocked Waters: 

GAWRD should post a really long stocking list in advance of the last big holiday in the 2024 stocking season. 

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Fish the mornings this weekend for cooler water and cooperative fish. Leftover stockers should hit well all day - - once that cooler weather arrives next week.


UO buddy Jay: “Stocker success!  My best fly on a stocked Habersham stream was a #16 Sexy Walt’s with a tungsten bead, under a bobber. When I saw fish rising I tried a #16 stimulator with no luck. I added a tiny BWO behind it and only caught chubs. I switched to a #20 parachute Adams and started catching plenty of browns and had some very athletic takes ( fish leaping out of the water and eating the Adams). 



Tailwaters:

No recent reports. Remember to fish the Hooch downstream from Hwy 20, where dissolved oxygen finally recovers.


Private Waters: 

Just about all waters managed by GA’s private operators remain closed for the summer to protect their heat-stressed trout. Same goes for Dukes at Smithgall Woods.


Warm Rivers:

NOTE: Don’t forget our native redeye bass contest and Wes’ limited batch of hand-tied stealth bombers here at the shop. Get ‘em before they’re gone!


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/kZtghcugUT5WyHes/?mibextid=WC7FNe


Here is the prize list:


https://www.instagram.com/p/C_Q91F-pVJR/?igsh=eXM0NGlyN29hc2Fi


Catch a redeye soon and enter the contest before its September 5th end.


UO-Helen manager Wes: “Israel and I got out one morning earlier this week to go after Bartrams bass. We fished for around 2 hours and each caught a handful of bass, all on top. Both black and olive stealth bombers were our flies of choice.”




UO buddy Jay: “Piedmont rivers are low and clear, making it fun to wade. Bass are hanging tight under rocks and submerged wood. I checked out an area I’d never fished before and immediately got a hint on how to match the (hellgrammite) hatch by observing the riparian trees and rocks. I fished a balanced black articulated fly tied on a jig hook with a tungsten football bead with great success. “






Dredger migrated north of the border again and finally found some cooperative smallies in slightly cooler water.  Deeper outside bends had better summer refuge habitat. Resident smallies and rock bass ate a black stealth bomber as the sun set and a white one (easier for Dredger to see) at dusk.





Dredger also tried for those big Helen stripers right at sunset on Wednesday night. Alas, they would not play in the low, clear water. He managed  just one 12-inch dink on a game changer.


Ponds:

They’ve been good and will only get better as September air and water temps dive. Again, avoid the sun and aim for the shadows.


UO buddy MD: “I'm four months out from shoulder surgery and I'm finally back on some local water here around Athens! Local rivers in the Oconee watershed are low and clear, and I was able to pull a few spotted and largemouth bass out of deeper runs on a hellgrammite fly dropped off a popper. 




A recent evening kayak fishing on a local lake turned up the usual warm water suspects plus a nice channel catfish that made things interesting on a three-weight. The cat slammed a little orange jig that would probably make a carp take a second look. Really looking forward to cooler weather!”



Reservoirs:

They’re still warm and full of boaters and skiers. No recent reports to our shop. GAWRD will have the most current intel here:


https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/


Afar:

UO buddy Nanette: “Rabunites Rick, Nan and Dredger dodged elk and wild turkeys on a cool Monday to fish in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.





In between admiring the scenery they put some gooduns in the net. They landed a decent handful of little wild bows, 




one respectable resident brown, 



and a 17-inch, kyped city slicker on his summer vacation in the park.



Dry-droppers were the ticket, with a drowned ant below a yellow stimulator or Parachute Adams producing best. Fish took both the dry and the dropper early, with dropper action dominating the afternoon. Water temp 62F to start and 65 when they quit around 4.


It’s time to watch the weather forecasts for a cool morning to get out and enjoy one of the most beautiful places on earth as summer finally starts thinking about fading into fall.”


We hope this timely intel leads y’all to greater holiday success. Watch online water temps and flows, 

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/02330450/#parameterCode=00065&period=P7D&showMedian=false

steer clear of the sun, and make the best of your long weekend. And take comfort in the fact that cooler, better days are on the horizon. Stop by either UO shop in Helen and Clarkesville for your hot holiday bugs. And drive slow in the Smokies!


Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com