Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 10/18/24

It’s another great weekend to fish our mountains!  Streams are low, clear, and chilly. Trouting is good early and even better by mid-morning, once the sun has warmed the water a few more degrees.  Pond fishing is good, especially after lunch, while river bassing has slowed a bit. Reservoir bass have been consistent on top, while stripers are still spotty but improving with each passing, cold night. More areas of North and South Carolina are reopening after the storm, and their wild trout and local businesses are both welcoming our visits.

Catch all the details and Wes’ hot fly list in our full fishing report, as always in our blog here.  It’s worth your extra click:

http://blog.angler.management/

Good luck everyone. Stop in either UO shop (Helen, Clarkesville) for your fall supplies and up-to-the-minute angling intel.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

State/Fed Openings and Closures

1. The National Forest in North Carolina reopened its Pisgah (Brevard) District yesterday. 
2. The Smokies Park update is here:

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Good luck planning your fall trips north of the GA border.

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries: chubby Chernobyl,  orange stimulator, parachute Adams, parachute black ant, tan elk hair caddis.

Nymphs & Wets: 

Pink bead CDC pheasant tail, Duracell, zebra midge, pats rubberlegs, squirminator, gold ribbed hares ear, depth charge caddis. Slush egg. 

Streamers:

Sparkle minnow, buggers & leeches, micro dungeon. 

(Bass) Clouser minnow, party crasher, finesse changer, jiggy craw, crittermite. 

(Panfish) amnesia bug, small chubby Chernobyl, bluegill spider, dry and wet ants, all after lunch in warmer water.

Headwaters: 

They continue to fish very well.  These cold mornings have slightly slowed the early bite, so add a nymph dropper below your dry until the sun rises and warms the bluelines a bit. Got some orange Stimmies?

Athens Jay got into a nice batch of wild bows and a few stocker browns on small, fluffy dries high above Helen last weekend.  He paid some hefty dues for those fish with his steep hike in and out.

Stocked Waters:

There are still some early October stocker browns around for prospectors who cover plenty of ground. See that stocking list here:

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Tailwaters: No recent reports.

Private Waters: 

UO-Helen manager Wes: “As the fall weather continues to cool down the fishing keeps getting better. I ran a couple of guided trips on our private waters this week and the fishing was great! The dry fly bite seems to be tapering off with the cooling temps but nymphs and streamers are very effective right now. My go-to patterns were CDC pheasant tails, girdle bugs, and sparkle minnows.

Don't overlook swinging soft hackles either. During the warmer afternoon hours, we were able to fool quite a few fish on a yellow soft hackle partridge.  We have reopened Nacoochee Bend and the fishing has been great.  Book your UO trips at 706-878-3083.”

UO guide Israel had a fruitful trip to Rainbow Point on the Soque yesterday with his clients. He said, “Flavors of the day were a #16 cdc pheasant tail and #18 purple rainbow warrior.”

UO company manager Jake had anglers out yesterday, too. He said: 

Nacoochee Bend fished very well this morning. The water is very clear, so lighter tippet and natural flies were the key for me. We caught all of our fish on small Girdle Bugs, Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails, and small Duracells.”

UO guide Joseph: “Private water trout were biting good on Wednesday! We were able to pick up some fish in the morning on nymphs deep, but the majority of our fish came on a #6 sparkle minnow in royal or natural sculpin colors. For nymphs, small natural bugs like pheasant tails and Montana princes fished the best.”

Warm Rivers: no reports. They’re getting pretty cold now and the bass bite is probably slow.

Ponds:

They continue to fish well in this cooler weather, especially after some sunshine warms them. Athens Jay said: “Pond fishing in the Piedmont is good in the afternoon. The bass like my black streamers, 

while the trophy bream are succumbing to a rubberleg stonefly nymph.”

Reservoirs:

UO owner Jimmy: “The topwater bite on the mountain lakes tapered off a little this week but the quality of the catch is still good.  Jake put us on some real nice fish.”

UO guide Joseph: “Lanier fishing has still been steady. Stripers are still feeding sporadically on top, but most fish can be found sitting on humps. The topwater fishing for spotted bass has been on fire and we are still seeing large schools of fish around the mouths of pockets and creeks. I’ve had the best luck with serpentine swim baits and walking baits. As the water cools the topwater bass fishing should dwindle slightly. However with the nightly lows in the 40s some amazing topwater striper action is just around the corner! “

Call the UO-Helen shop at 706-878-3083 if you’d like to book a Lanier trip with Joseph.

Afar:

Travel is improving in NC and the fishing has been hot on wild trout streams that weren’t scoured by Helene.  Delayed Harvest stream stockings are still postponed, however, due to the hurricane’s impact on NCWRC trout hatcheries and the stocking access roads to streams.

 UO buddy, Rabunite Nanette said that she and Rick caught a few Smokies trout last week on dries, but a guide that they met said that his client had an excellent trip. 

Tuck Fly Shop-Sylva manager Nicolay (828-488-3333, nicolay@tuckflyshop.com), said that local wild trout streams have had a great dry fly bite after Helene’s high water passed. Give him a call or visit for excellent intel. 

In fact, we visited yesterday. I left my rod at home and instead loaded up furry daughter #2, all my spare winter clothes and some camping gear, and headed north.  After dropping off our supplies at a Sylva donation center, we hit Main Street for some Christmas gift shopping. We scored some great gifts with Nicolay at Tuck Fly Shop 

and at nearby Black Balsam Outdoors store.  After an awesome BBQ lunch at the Haywood Smokehouse in Dillsboro, we topped off the trip with a stream recon and evening  elk-watching in Cherokee. 

It was a great day in our neighbor state as it recovers from Helene. Consider a road trip and/or donation soon yourselves to be part of the western NC comeback.

Along those lines, here are three good NC info sources that could really use your flyfishing business right now:

1. Tuck Fly Shop in Bryson City

https://reservations.tuckflyshop.com/trips?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACz0Px7TmUaTQWGisHJH15_AUII9c#

1. Maggie Valley Fly Shop

https://www.maggievalleyflyshop.com/about-4

1. Davidson River Outfitters in Brevard:

https://www.davidsonflyfishing.com/contact

Here’s an update from DRO owner Kevin, in Brevard.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/837933258205608/?mibextid=ZZyLBr

Kudos:

Kudos to the UGA 5Rivers club for passing it on! Check out  these activities.

Club member Isabella:  “This past weekend, UGA’s 5Rivers Club hosted a new angler fishing day, introducing students to fly fishing. Experienced club members paired up with mentees for one-on-one instruction and had the chance to fish from both the bank and Jon boats. It was thrilling to see eager mentees catch their first fish on the fly!

A big thank you to a local landowner and UGA supporter for graciously allowing us to fish at his beautiful ponds and providing his boats. It was a beautiful day for the event, making it a memorable experience for everyone involved. We look forward to more events like this in the future, continuing to inspire the next generation of anglers!”

Club member Matt Graf was the program speaker for the Kanooka Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Matt cover the club’s activities, from fishing to outreach to conservation.

Club VP Cooper said: “This past monday, 5 Rivers @ UGA gave casting lessons at The Bridge church to Athens  kids to introduce more people to our fly fishing community.”

The Rabunites (Rabuntu.org) had a great night with their local game warden:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/CpWf8MpEZFkcpY3C/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Get to know your own county warden. Working together, we can all conserve our prized fish and wildlife resources. Find your warden here:

https://gadnrle.org/ranger-hotline

It’s shaping up to be a fine fall fishing season. Just dress in layers so you can “winter-fish” before lunch and then “spring-fish” on the sunny, warm afternoons. Stop in either UO shop to refill your fly box, book a guided trip, or replace those old, leaky waders.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 10/11/24

Welcome to a beautiful week ahead of y’all. The air is crisp and the water is cold and clear.  Stream trout are feisty, river bass are a bit slower, lake spots and largemouths are on fire, and reservoir stripers are emerging from the depths to provide sporadic topwater action. The action will only get better with shorter days, cooling nights, and prime water temperatures.

While many federal and state sites are still closed due to storm damage, many more are reopening just in time for this prime weekend.

We have the updated lists and much more angling intel in our full fishing report, as always in our blog, here. It’s worth your extra click:

http://blog.angler.management/

Let’s continue to remember and support our neighbors to the north and south who have survived these fall hurricanes. Donate what you can or take a trip to the reopened fly shops and businesses in western Carolina. Let’s spread some good will this weekend. 

Good luck everyone. Stop in either UO shop (Helen, Clarkesville) for your fall supplies and up-to-the-minute angling intel.

http://blog.angler.management/

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

State/Fed Openings and Closures

We have much better news this weekend, as resource agency folks worked hard to clear downed storm timber from roads. We have much more land and water available again.  Here you go:

1. Most of the Chattahoochee Forest is open. The east side (Chattooga River Ranger District) still has lots of closures. List here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notices/?aid=90885

1. Most GA State Parks are open. Details and closures here:

https://gastateparks.org/Alerts

1. The Andrew Pickens District of the Sumter National Forest (SC), on our northeast border, has reopened. A few sites remain closed. List here: 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/scnfs/alerts-notices/?aid=91489

1. The Nantahala National Forest (NC) has reopened. Details here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nfsnc/alerts-notices/?aid=90899

1. The Smokies Park update is here:

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Good luck planning your fall trips.

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries: chubby Chernobyl,  orange stimulator, parachute Adams, parachute black ant, tan elk hair caddis.

Nymphs & Wets: 

Pink bead CDC pheasant tail, Duracell, zebra midge, squirminator, gold ribbed hares ear, depth charge caddis. 

Streamers:

Sparkle minnow, buggers & leeches, micro dungeon. 

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

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

Headwaters: 

They’re low and clear and cool and prime for blueline fans! My furry sidekick and I toured White County yesterday and found the headwaters topping out between 58 and 61 degrees at 4PM.  Toss your normal fluffy dries (chubby, stimmy, Adams) after a careful stalk. Add an ant or pheasant tail dropper if you find a deep pool with no takers on top. Don’t forget a tiny dinsmore shot to sink any unweighted wets.

Several folks prospected for specks last week and showed me some pics of plump, colorful jewels they caught and released from undisclosed destinations. It’s a good time to prospect yourselves before those water temps dive and cool off the dry fly bite.

GT 5R clubber Will checked in: “Huge thanks to Rabun TU for donating waders to us. They really helped get our new anglers out on the water!

This past weekend, the Georgia Tech 5 Rivers Club took a trip up to north Georgia for our first camping trip of the semester. The fish were not picky with what they ate as long as it was within the ballpark, and catch rates were more impacted by the angling pressure that the fish had already seen than fly selection. Things like walt’s worms, pheasant tails, france flies, and much more all worked. Out of our 16 participants, half of them were completely new to fly fishing, and everyone caught fish, including most of the newer angler’s first trout on the fly! A few of them even hit a few blue lines with their mentors on Saturday afternoon and got the chance to catch their very first couple native brook trout as well! It’s always so fun to go blue lining with friends, and while nothing was bigger than 6 or 7”, the colors on the fish always make it worth the hiking and bushwhacking, especially this time of year. All our members thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and we can’t wait to put on another one next month!”

Stocked Waters:

Last week’s stocker browns are still around for prospectors who cover some ground. See that stocking list here:

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

UO buddy, Rabunite Nanette: “Spent a couple of AM hours fishing the Tallulah last Monday. Fascinating to see how Hurricane Helene changed the river. Moved big trees that were already in the river, added a bunch of new “trout structure,” scoured other areas pretty good. Some of the areas we regularly fish are quite different now and we have to adjust. 

Water very clear, still moving at a good clip, with morning temp of 61 degrees. Getting close to time to abandon wet wading and dig out the smartwool socks!

We found some holdover stocker browns that ate both dries (orange stimmies and elk hair caddis) and droppers (drowned ant). Finally picked up a couple of pretty wild rainbows on caddis and parachute adams.”

Tailwaters: No recent reports. Watch the generation schedules carefully, since dam operators have been trying to bring lake levels back down for some time. Be careful!

Trophy Waters: 

We have reopened Nacoochee Bend and the fishing has been great.  Book your UO trips at 706-878-3083. Art at Smithgall (706-878-3087) said Dukes has opened angling to reservation holders on 10/2.  Anglers have had good luck over there. GT 5R clubber Drake had a great day last week, landing a big bunch of bows and one brown from 2 to 20 inches on worm patterns in the higher water.

Call the park soon to reserve your Dukes slots for prime fall dates. And stop in our Helen shop for flies and advice from our seasoned staff who have fished Smithgall for years.

Warm Rivers:

They are clear and cool and recovered from last week’s flood flows.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02331000&legacy=1

The Hooch at Highway 115 was 62F at 6PM yesterday, so the topwater bite might be over for the year.  Wes had a slow day there last week, right after the flood, so some fish might have been displaced. Or they might not have emerged from their bomb shelters yet. Try stripping streamers or bottom-bumping crayfish patterns if you decide to float.

Ponds:

They should continue to fish well with this cooler weather. Athens Jay said: “Quick after-work piedmont farm pond report :

Perfect weather this week with lots of active fish in shallow water. All I had was a 5 weight and some trout flies, but a brown Pat’s Rubberlegs combined with a red San Juan worm got lots of eats.”

Reservoirs:

They’re on the fall rebound. Just watch out for floating debris. Slow down!

UO owner Jimmy: “The "mountain lakes" are still fishing well as things cool off. I went out with Jake one afternoon this week and we landed a nice bunch of bass on blueback imitations. Folks can book Jake for a mountain lake bass trip by calling our Helen shop at 706-878-3083.”

UO guide Joseph: “Water temps are still a tad warm but Striper fishing on Lanier is starting to heat up. Schools of fish can mainly be found in open water on or near the surface. Fish are few and far between and don’t stay active on the surface for long. Bass on the other hand have been feeding aggressively near main lake points and humps adjacent to brush. This time of year we typically see fish eating either blueback herring or threadfin shad. For conventional tackle I’ve been having the most luck on walk the dog style top waters and serpentine swim baits. For fly flingers clousers in sizes 4-6 have produced the most fish. We’re starting to see some nightly lows in the 40s and 50s so the bite should be getting good very soon! 

Call the UO-Helen shop at 706-878-3083 if you’d like to book a Lanier trip with me.”

UO buddy, Lanier guide AJ: “Been hitting the lake about once a week the past month. There are definitely some decent groups of stripers popping up, but they've been up/down very quickly. Heard reports of some groups actually staying up, but biggest window I've seen is about 30 sec. Found that this AM and our duo was able to double up throwing spinning rods. Water temps hovering around 72-73. Topwater should really start picking in the next couple of weeks!”

You can contact Alex at (770) 654-2413 if you’d like to book a Lanier trip with him.

Afar:

Travel is improving in N.C. and the fishing has been hot on streams that weren’t scoured by Helen.  Here are three good local info sources that could really use your business right now:

1. Tuck Fly Shop in Bryson City

https://reservations.tuckflyshop.com/trips?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACz0Px7TmUaTQWGisHJH15_AUII9c#

1. Maggie Valley Fly Shop

https://www.maggievalleyflyshop.com/about-4

1. Davidson River Outfitters in Brevard:

https://www.davidsonflyfishing.com/contact

UO manager Jake and accomplices Lee and Jim are putting the smackdown on some hefty river smallies right now.  Jake’s best one hit the five-pound mark. They’re fishing with legendary Smallie guide Steve Hacker at smallmouth.com.

UO buddy RonW: “Saturday 10/5/24 : We decided to have one last day in Yellowstone National Park to fish the  Yellowstone River again. We wanted to see if we could strike gold and find some more Yellowstone Cutthroat.  Well.....we found them, in good numbers, all nice fish with one absolute specimen! 

We left our cabin in Idaho shorty after 7am, headed to West Yellowstone and then into the park.  We were treated to the most amazing Sunrise one could ever dream of while crossing the Henry's Fork of the Snake River in Idaho..... 4 moose including a Bull Moose with Antlers were standing in the river drinking water with the sun rising over the mountains behind them.    It was absolutely incredible to witness and a moment I'll never forget.   This absolutely set the tone for the day and what a day it was! 

We got to our spot on the river in the Park around 9:30,  geared up and had our boots wet by 10am.  We were into fish by 10:10😁 We ended fishing 3 different sections of the river for about 4 hours total. We were battling some serious winds again but we made the most of it.  We landed 8 Cutties between the 3 of us and lost another 3, 2 of which were giants. My biggest was a 22" Cutty that went bananas as soon as it felt the iron.  Kurt won the fish of the trip award with an insanely colored up and large 24"  Yellowstone Cutthroat. 

 We bailed around 3pm to do a little more sight seeing, checking out the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone before making the drive to our of the park and back down to Idaho for our last night. 

This was a trip to remember and one we've been talking about for years. The memories made with my brothers, the laughs, the ball busting, the fish caught, the fish lost, the wildlife and of course the views will be forever engrained in my brain. 

We saw numerous wildlifeover the last 8 days.... 1 Fox, 1 Coyote,  multiple Mule Deer, Antelope and Elk, 2 Mountain Goats,  2 Grizzly bears, several Bald and Golden eagle, numerous water fowl,  5 total Moose and about a gazillion "Tatankas" 

We fished multiple rivers including the Madison, Yellowstone, Firehole, Gibbon, Soda Butte, Lamar and the Gallatin Rivers.  We caught Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Whitefish, Cuttbows, West Slope Cutthroat and Yellowstone Cutthroat. 

To sum it up, this was a trip of a lifetime and one I will always remember. I'm still in awe of what my eyes have seen on this trip. It will take a few weeks to really take it all in. I'll relive this trip thru the 500+ photos and nearly 60 videos I took. I will be thinking about this trip until I come back, which won't be nearly soon enough! 

UO buddy HenryC passed this along from his KY buddy, Tyler Befus:”Hey Henry. Hope you’re doing well! Wanted to send you a video from tonight’s session. They’re loving the Cowen’s Coyote on the Tennessee River right now!”

Good luck as we all count our blessings, enjoy this fine fall weather, and support our neighbors to the north and south as they recover from the storms. Get back outside soon!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com