It’s the same old song up here: hot and extremely dry with very skinny water, but still with cooperative fish! Stream temps are rising, however, so mornings are better for stockers, while evenings are still very good for dry fly action. The good news is the arrival of cooler weather on Sunday, which will help. Now we just need rain, lots of it!
This is the region’s worst drought in 20 years, so many areas up here and in NC are now under outdoor burning restrictions. Please refrain from your campfires until our tinder-dry woods recover. Grab your dry flies and have some fun in the shade and at dusk. Don’t forget a flashlight.
Pond and lake bassin’ is still good in the shallows and the bass rivers are starting to warm up, too, so it’s a good time to start your summer bass floats.
Wanna know more? Then dive deeper, into each UO weekly report, here:
http://blog.angler.management/
Stop in soon for your April trout bugs in Sautee and bass lures in Clarkesville.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
Sautee: 706-878-3083. Open 8-5 daily. (2454 GA Hwy 17, Sautee-Nacoochee.)
Clarkesville: 706-754-0203. Open 8-5 from Monday thru Saturday.
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Parachute Adams, para light cahill, emerger caddis, sulfur Drymerger, tan elk hair caddis, yellow stimulator and sally , micro chubby.
Nymphs & Wets:
Squirmies, Mops, and buggers for stockers. Frenchie, sexy Walts, hares ear and pheasant tail soft hackles and nymphs.
Mountain streams: Pheasant tail, prince nymph, small Frencie, soft hackle partridge.
Streamers:
UV polar jig, sparkle minnow, small buggers and leeches.
Reservoir Bass & Stripers:
Cowen’s somethin else, low fat minnow, game changer, Clouser.
River bass:
Dead Ned, crittermite, polarchanger, clouser, sparkle yummy.
Headwaters:
Low and clear and warming in the afternoons. They’re still fishable, but trout may be more cooperative early, before the sun heats the water.
UO guide Sydney: “Did a fun trip after work. Met my buddy Jordan for a “speckulation” trip on his birthday. He caught a nicer 8-inch wild brookie and I caught a few smaller, pretty ones. Small size 16 elk hair caddis, stimulators , and sulphur parachutes did the trick.”
Delayed Harvest:
Low, clear water and a variety of hatching bugs continue providing great conditions for dry/dropper and double dry rigs. Try dry/droppers during the day (in shade and deep pools) and then single or double dries as the sun sets, the bugs buzz the stream surface, and trout rise. Watch for cahills, tan caddis, lingering March browns, and even some early yellow sallies.
Dredger hit Chattooga DH on Monday and said: “Pulled into lot at 420. Started casting at 5 into Boomer’s favorite pool. A few rises, probably to small caddis emergers.
Started with a Small #16 Adams w a smaller caddis emerger off the back. Good luck- a few on the drift, but more on twitches and skitters. The winning jumper hit the air 7 times.
Moved upstream around 6-630. Slow, no bugs, few rises, and caught just 1 or 2 in next hour.
Moved farther up. Cahills came out to dance round 730-745. Caught a nice handful on top. Last fish at 815. Quit at 830, and got back to truck at 9 via headlamp. All fish but 1-2 were rainbows. Enjoy your dark30 fishing while it’s here for next 2-4 weeks.”
UO owner Jimmy had friends from Birmingham in town Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning so he got to get his feet wet this week. Smith Creek DH was good to them on Wednesday afternoon. Several healthy browns were brought to the net on nymphs and Stimulators.
UO guide Sydney: “My guide trip on smith DH went great. My client hadn’t flyfished in a couple of years . We got him back into the swing of things and he caught a few on chubbies and several on dropper nymphs: sexy waltz, softhackles, and midge patterns.
Light tippet and a good drift were our keys to success.”
Reliable sources said Nantahala DH is still fishing well, with good dry fly action in late evenings and dry/dropper action during the day. The same bugs are hatching up there. Don’t leave home without some cahills, both dries and emergers.
Stockers:
Stocker season remains in its prime. GAWRD has another long weekly list for us today. Fish will have better appetites in cooler waters before lunch and hot afternoon sun. Get your kids and trouting rookies out there soon. Whether it’s a worm on a spincast rig or a woolly bugger on a fly rod, get them on a few fish. Check out the stocking list here and sign up to get your own copy each Friday afternoon.
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
UO buddy RSquared: “Friday, my wife Melody and I headed North to Helen Georgia to attend the Foothills Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s annual fundraiser, aptly named, “Hoot on the Hooch.” We checked into the Helendorf Motel which is located on the fabled Chattahoochee River that meanders through this bustling little mountain hamlet. It was nice to walk out the door & be trout fishing within minutes. There was a lot of competition from numerous other anglers for the holdover rainbows that still occupied the stream. I managed to bring a few to hand with Pheasant Tail’s in size 16 and orange & yellow Y2K’s in size 12. Thanks to the Foothill’s Chapter for a great Saturday evening and Ga. DNR Fisheries for the feisty salmonids!”
Private Waters:
Streams are low and clear and fish are picky. They’re warming up in the hot afternoons, so mornings are better.
UO guide Sydney: “I had a couple first-time fly anglers land some pretty fish last week. The same flies have been working for me. It’s the double nymph rig with a heavier nymph in front with a pheasant tail hackle dropped off the back.”
Tailwaters:
UO buddy Ryan: “Last weekend I had a wade trip on the Hooch Tailwater that went fantastic. My client was interested in learning Euro nymphing after having difficulty dialing in his indicator nymphing rig. He caught on quickly and continued to improve in all ways throughout our trip, landing no less than a dozen fish and hooking many more. He dialed in drifts with both a double nymph and single nymph rig.
Being several weeks into stocking, some holes had little action, while others provided back to back hookups. The action was so steady at times that I lost count somewhere around fish #6-8. Fish ate nearly everything we threw at them as long as the drift was quality. Only rainbows were landed this trip. Towards the end of the day, he said his arm was tired and let me get a few drifts in. After more than a decade, I finally caught my first Hooch sucker! It was a great day of fishing while people were watching golf!”
Warm Rivers:
UO owner Jimmy: “Thursday morning was for Shoalies and they didn’t disappoint, including two in the 15” range. Wet wading sure felt good for my Birmingham friends.”
Ponds:
UO owner Jimmy’s grandson, Crosby, landed another whopper largemouth at his local lake. It hit a Zoom Bush Hog.
Lakes:
No recent reports. Web reports suggest the black bass action is still going well.
Afar:
A Rabunite trio hit the Smokies on Tuesday afternoon. Stream temps were on the warm side (64-66F), but cooled slightly as the sun set. Tributary fish looked up all day to a drag-free para Adams. Mainstream fish preferred the frenchie dropper during the high sun, but started looking up just before dark. A double dry rig of an Adams and Cahill did the trick. Size 16 cahills and 18 yellow sallies came out in fair numbers at 8PM. A herd of elk and a sprinting bear across the highway topped off another great day in the national park.
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That’s the latest news and prospects for our corner of the world. Come on up and have some fun. Stop in a UO shop soon for your hot April dries, striper streamers, and bass plugs. Don’t let this great April fishing pass you by.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
