Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 4/18/25

The great April fishing continues for your holiday weekend. Streams are clear and a tad bit low due to a rainless week, but water temperatures are still prime, ranging from the mid-50’s to start the day up to the low 60’s in late afternoon.  Bugs are hatching in the evenings and bringing a lot of surface action. Dries are good all day on headwaters, while dry/dropper rigs are scoring during the day on larger trout streams before dusk brings out the bugs and the surface sippers.

Pond and lake bass and bream are good and will only get better as a lot of fish hit the banks to spawn. River bass are good, too, thanks to good water clarity. Stripers remain scattered, so cover some ground to locate feeding schools of ten pound plus fish.

Hot fishing intel is right here in our blog.  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 some flies, supplies, and advice.

Helen: 706-878-3083. Open 8-5 daily.

Clarkesville: 706-754-0203. Open 8-5 from Monday thru Saturday.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries:  parachute Adams, parachute light Cahill, chubby Chernobyl ant, emerger caddis, tan elk hair caddis, yellow Stimulator, griffiths gnat 

Nymphs & Wets: 

Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, girdle bug, lightning bug, tungsten redneck.

Mountain streams: micro girdle bugs, black ant, hares ear nymph and soft hackle , soft hackle pheasant tail. 

Streamers:

Sparkle minnows, small black and olive buggers for DH streams, mohair leeches, Jiggy Fry, mini shimmer buggers, Thrasher.

(Bass & stripers) clouser minnow, Cowens somethin else, polar changer, crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, Clydesdale stealth jig.

Headwaters: 

They’re clear and a bit low, but with perfect water temps for some dry fly fishing.  

Spoilcane was 61F at 4PM today, while Smith DH was 58F just ten minutes later. 

UO Helen manager Wes: “I got out for a couple hours after my guide trip and hit a local blueline in search of native brookies. In the shallow runs and pools a yellow stimulator worked well, while a conehead bugger fooled fish in the deeper, lumber-filled plunge pools.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIj9nRFhmaq/?igsh=MXRqbWhkMTh5eHIyMw==

UO buddy Nan said she and hubby Rick hit a favorite NC headwater creek today and did well on its wild rainbows via small, fluffy dries.

Delayed Harvest Streams:

They’re clear and fishing well, especially in the evenings when the adult bugs come out for their mating dances. UO regular Tim said he’s been scoring during the day on Smith DH with a griffiths gnat on thin tippet.

Don’t leave home without some cahills and tan caddis, and a peek at “spring dries and droppers” after googling “Secrets of the Rabunites.”  How’s your skitter technique? And your headlamp batteries?

UO guide Sydney: “Smith DH fishin- evening times the dries are workin and the trout are feedin!  I used a ridiculous random fly in my box that had a lot of color- seemed it was an emerger.  I put floatant on it and used as a dry!  

Keeping it 'reel! 

Unicoi Outfitters had a special visitor this week.   I set up a fly rod outfit for Braves legend Otis Nixon!”

Stockers:

Today was a state holiday, so no new stocking list was posted to the WRD trout page.  All of the weekly streams undoubtedly got redosed for the holiday weekend, so give them a shot. Use the 2024 frequencies list on WRD’s trout page for a good lead on streams. Go early or late to beat the midday crowds.

UO buddy RSquared: “Even though we received fresh fish last week, the numbers of trout in NW Georgia have been severely diminished by eager anglers searching for a fresh fish dinner. As the days grow longer & warmer, these same streams will see their Coosa RedEye Bass start to aggressively feed. Keep your eyes open as you walk along the creek banks. I found a nice Timber Rattler this week!”

Private Waters:

UO guide Israel: I had a great week both personally and professionally. My clients’ trout catches were mainly on chubby Chernobyl/ frenchie combo. Local lake Bass fell for Dirty Jigs compact spinnerbait and a sebile magic swimmer, while the Crappie were still partial to small swimbaits. 

UO Helen shop manager Wes: “I did a Gilligan class with first time fly anglers Todd & Steve. They both picked up fly fishing pretty quickly and were able to catch several fish on a dry/dropper rig. Droppers like Micro girdle bugs & Jig CDC pheasant tails were the ticket 

Catch a trip with one of our fine UO guides.  Book soon at 706-878-3083 before the June sun ends our spring guiding season.

https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/guided-fishing/

Tailwaters:

No recent reports.

Warm Rivers:

UO buddy Spangler:  “Had a free day Monday so I wanted to get a jump on the GA bass slam (I came up 1 short last year) by going after one of the Redeye species: Bartram’s Bass. Hit a river above the fall line east of Athens and they were on fire. I caught 30+ in about 3 hours. Most were sitting in the slower seams between runs or against ledges on larger boulders. The ticket was a George Daniel Sculp Snack in olive, size 10. I fished it just like I would for trout: long thin leader, 10’ 3W rod, tight line with a dead drift and occasional jiggle or just tap the rod. Takes were pretty subtle but I was able to pick them up quick with this method.”

Ponds/ Lakes:

Athens Jay shared some fodder from his friend’s family : “June had a good day over her spring break. Piedmont pond fishing is good right now as fish are in the shallows.”

Reservoir stripers:

UO guide Joseph: Hit Lanier Wednesday afternoon with my lady. Fishing was fairly slow for the most part, with some small spots keeping us entertained.  I was still able to catch one nice striper on the fly. We mostly focused on fishing structure like points, humps, pockets and clay banks. Most success we had was on main lake or secondary points. For spinning tackle, paddletail swim baits on jig heads or serpentine swim baits worked best for us. On the long rod clousers, game changers, somethin else’s were the ammunition of choice. If you’re interested in getting in on some killer spring fishing give the Helen shop a call at (706)-878-3083!  Lanier’s magnum spots will be spawning along the banks and are a ton of fun on fly or light spinning tackle. 

UO owner Jimmy shared a great fish story about his grandson here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AgtEgW2S6/

Afar:

UO buddy Ryan:  “The rain this past weekend had our favorite NC stream high and pushing, but it made for great tight -line nymphing conditions.  Many stocked and wild fish were willing to play, mainly eating natural-colored nymphs size 16-20.  A good tuck cast, and leading the flies with proper slack management as they rushed downstream,  allowed for a proper presentation that fooled approximately 84 fish between the two of us.”

UO buddy CDB: “The Idaho mountains have been good to us.  Streamers in the mornings and usually some dries in the afternoons. Skwalas are starting to come off.  These cutthroat are just beautiful. Lots of cool stuff like glacier Lillies, speedwell and western trillium.

Water is coming up fairly fast so fewer  streams are fishable.  Will have to head south soon. Back to the canyon!  Tight lines! “

News and Events:

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

Stop in one of our shops if we can help you out. Helen 8-5 every day; Clarkesville 8-5 Monday - Saturday.  Good luck and happy Easter, everyone!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 4/11/25

The weather and water conditions have been accommodating and the fishing remains very good for nearly all finned critters. Tops on the list is still trouting, but pond bass and bream are a strong second.  Reservoir stripers and bass are still shallow, too.  They’ve just got to be located, since they’re spread out across acres of reservoir space.

Dry fly action remains good, so get a good helping of it soon before it wanes in another 4-6 weeks.

Hot fishing intel, as recent as today’s trip reports, are right here in our blog.  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 some flies, supplies, and advice.

Helen: 706-878-3083. Open 8-5 daily.

Clarkesville: 706-754-0203. Open 8-5 from Monday thru Saturday.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries:  parachute Adams, Tickle Cripple March brown, Drymerger March brown, para light Cahill, emerger caddis, tan elk hair caddis, yellow Stimulator.

Nymphs & Wets: 

Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, Duracell, girdle bug, lightning bug, tungsten redneck, pheasant tail soft hackle.

Mountain streams: micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, hares ear nymph, soft hackle pheasant tail. 

Streamers:

Sparkle minnows, small black and olive buggers for DH streams, mohair leeches, Jiggy Fry, mini shimmer buggers, Thrasher.

(Bass & stripers) clouser minnow, Cowens somethin else, polar changer, crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, Clydesdale stealth jig.

Headwaters: 

They’re in good shape: clear, flowing at seasonal norms, and in the prime temperature zone of the upper 50’s.  

Try straight dries first (see Wes’ hot patterns) and add a short dropper only if you have to. Be ready with some cahills and tan caddis, as those hatches should take off any day now.

UO guide Sydney: “I did some more small stream fishing this week, this time on a rainbow stream.  Got a few on the dropper  (bird of prey nymph) and a few on top via my parachute Adams.”

UO buddy Myles: “In addition to my tailwater adventures with my brother, I did some midweek bluelining for wild rainbows and browns. Using 6.5x tippet, a dry dropper rig, and a size 20 nymph below, I caught a good amount of rainbows and 2 awesome browns as well! “

Delayed Harvest Streams:

It’s the last month of Georgia’s DH season, so take full advantage of it. Several streams got a DNR redosing this week, 

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

so try some buggers and squirmies for the fresh fish. For the more experienced residents, go late and stay late for the risers. Start with a dry/dropper combo to start, and use a nymph or soft hackle as the dropper. As the sun sets and fish rise, shorten the dropper line and add a small, second dry as your trailer.

UO buddy JS: “Took my grandson to Smith Creek today (11th) and he caught and released three fish.  They were his first trout on a fly rod. 

O

He also caught several last week at Boggs Creek with his spinning rod.

It made my day to see him catch those on a fly rod.”

Stockers:

The GAWRD and USFWS truck fleets have their pedals to the metal. Master stocking list and this week’s schedule are here:

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Grab your kids and go this spring, while the streams are cool and the stockers are abundant.

UO buddy RSquared: “Rumor has it that many of our NW Georgia streams will have freshly stocked rainbows if not now, then certainly by the end of the business day Friday. After 4+ inches of rain, our trout streams are still high, fast, & muddy which means the fish will spread out quickly with the majority moving downstream from the stocking locations. With the fast water,  coupled with low visibility, larger, colorful flies should entice these now hungry salmonids  into taking your offerings.”

Private Waters:

They’re fishing well, thanks to good flows, water temps in the high 50’s, and eager trout willing to feed anywhere in the water column, from the top to the bottom. That’s what we look forward to each April!

UO guide Sydney had some very good trips today. Her clients scored at Nacoochee Bend on dry/dropper rigs.

Catch a trip with one of our fine UO guides.  Book soon at 706-878-3083 before the June sun ends our spring guiding season.

https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/guided-fishing/

Tailwaters:

UO buddy Ryan: “My brother Myles and I have hit the Hooch Tailwater four times at multiple access points over the past two weeks.  Between stockings and wild browns, the river is fishing well.  On my guided wade trip, both clients caught multiple fish including wild browns and a big Hooch sucker as we dialed in fish while indicator nymphing.  The past 2 weekends we brought a friend out who'd never fly fished before, so we started him off by euronymphing.  Trip #1 he missed a number of fish and landed one at the buzzer on the final swing of the night.  On last weekend's trip he dialed in his drifts and landed no less than five fish!  He missed a number of fish as well, making for great action with caddis hatching all around.  A few double hookups were landed, which was fun. Natural nymphs on 5x tippet did damage, and of course we managed to catch some nice fish as we rotated guiding.”

Warm Rivers:

Last call for spring river stripers!  The first two weeks of April are prime time in north GA. After that, most go back downstream to shad-packed reservoirs.  Some will come back upstream in June when reservoirs heat up and the bigger fish need a thermal refuge.  Got a jetboat, a yak, or a motorboat with plenty of extra props?

UO guide Joseph: “ Hit the river this past week and ran into this 14lber. Fishing was slow for the most part however when wading for striper one bite is plenty. The fish seemed to be sitting in slightly slower water than usual but just before dark I was able to get some action. For flies medium sized game changers fished on intermediate or sinking lines are always my go-to. I also generally opt out for a bigger 9wt-10wt rod especially when wading. The bigger stick will give you a bit more leverage to aid in fighting these larger fish in moving water. “

The Hooch was clear when I crossed it today, so river bassin’ in the Reservoir tribs should be productive, too. Aim for spots and shoalies with some big streamers and bottom-bumping crayfish imitations.

Ponds/ Lakes:

Ponds are still a best bet!  Go soon while fish are shallow and hungry.

UO buddy Athens Jay: “Blooming native azaleas and an approaching full moon mean Piedmont panfish moving into really shallow water to spawn. I could only fish for a couple of hours, but I saw lots of activity right up against the pond bank.  The fish were spooky, but a stealthy kayak approach and careful presentation yielded good results. I fished a double nymph rig and caught equal numbers of fish on a brown Pat’s and a red Squirmy.”

UO guide Israel went after supper: “Got enough for a sandwich on a local lake. Blowdowns near main lake points seemed to be the key.  I used a two inch swimbait for most of them.”

UO buddy AJ: “I've had a couple of really good trips over the past week. Water temps are in the upper 60s and the bass and stripers are feeding well! Right now fish can be found just about everywhere.  Backs of creeks, up the rivers, clay banks, points, and humps are all holding fish. Casting larger Clouser minnows, Cowen's Coyotes, and Game Changers on intermediate and sinking lines will move fish. And  topwater has really turned on over the past week or two as well. This pattern should hold up for the next 4 weeks or so and can make for some great trips! I have some availability through April and the first week or two of May. Let's get out there!  My website is: www.lanieronthefly.com”

UO owner Jimmy hit Lanier today (11th) and shared this intel: “Lanier stripers are getting a little more active between  these strong weather fronts. They seem to be keyed in on larger threadfin shad patterns. Clouser Minnows are producing better than the smaller Somethin Else for me.”

Jimmy did pretty well last Sunday, too, while fishing with Hank the Yank Cowen.

Afar:

UO buddy CDB: “ Wrapping up our first leg of the trip at Pyramid Lake. I have to honestly say I have never been in a situation where everyone was disappointed because of good weather!  Some good quality fish this year, however, it definitely was not a numbers game. Especially with the sunny weather.  A mix of stripping, black woolly, buggers, and indicator fishing with chironomids.  

Beautiful sunrises, and some interesting critters running around. Common side blotched lizard, Uta Stansburiana.  Just wandering, not lost. Next stop, Idaho!”

News and Events:

Recent rains have extinguished most of our region’s forest fires. Enjoy your return trips to some of those trout waters that were previously off limits. 

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

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