I just got off the phone with John Browning, one of our guides here at Unicoi Outfitters. John had two clients float the tailwater with him this past Saturday, and to put it in JB's words, it was "the best trip I've ever had on the Toccoa". That's saying a lot, because John has had some pretty good trips!
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| First Cast! |
Things got off to a great start when JB's client John (a little confusing, no?) got a nice 16" rainbow on the very first cast of the day. And then it just kept getting better. They lost count of the number of fish landed (always the sign of a good trip, IMO), but more than the Standard Nine Inch Trout, they caught a
lot of
nice fish. Good numbers of 14-16" fish. An 18" hook-jawed male brown. Two rainbows over 20". And hooked but not landed was a fish JB said was honestly in the 25" class - they had the fish on for a long fight when it finally got off - JB was relieved that the fly was still attached and his knot had held - the strong fish simply wore a hole large enough to allow the hook to pull free.
In addition to the size, JB was most impressed with how aggressive the fish were. One 20" 'bow moved 5 or 6 feet to take a Wooly Bugger - they thought the fish had spooked, but were shocked when it took the fly. And, they were into fish all day - the only time things slowed down was when they were in a driving rain (they endured three strong thunderstorms on Saturday).
They did use Buggers some, but the best success of the day came on Sulfur emergers. In fact, in the middle of the day just before the first storm, there was a hatch of Sulfurs. Oddly enough though, at that time, the fish weren't taking Sulfurs as you might expect, but were killing the Caddis. That's why you want an experienced guide - they know how and when to change it up, even when you think the correct fly
should be obvious.
JB took the one photo above with his cell phone, but is looking for some more photos from Kevin, his other client...we'll pass one or two along when we get them.
Now is the time to beat it to your favorite farm pond or lake for some blazing hot panfish action. Early morning and late evenings are prime time for outstanding top water action, while midday is the time to go deep and pry those big bull bream from their hiding places. Your standard trout flyrod is perfectly adequate for almost any situation you might encounter out on the lake. Flies used for trout such as a Turks Tarantula, Foam Hopper, or Wooly Buggers will take big Bluegill and their cousins as well as the standard chartreuse popper and sometimes even better. Any wiggly fly that comes to life with a twitch or strip of the fly line will work. A regular weight forward line with a 9'4x leader should suffice. Areas such as the backs of coves with some type of cover such as logs, stumps or grass will hold fish daily through the summer. When the sun gets high resist the temptation to head for the AC . Tie on a wooly bugger and probe the creek channels in the coves. Some of the largest panfish I've ever caught came from 10 feet of water. Although not as glamourous as watching a monster gill suck in a top water bug, slowly stripping a streamer and feeling the sudden thud of a heavy fish is exciting in itself. You never know what just ate your fly a five pound largemouth or a 1 pound bluegill. So, grab your trout stuff and go bream fishing I bet you've already got a place in mind.
(He hooked several of our fat "Bend" fish). Sam took it all in, smiled, laughed, shook his head in surprise at the size and strength of our trout! He looked at me after fighting a 22 to 23 inch rainbow and said "who needs Wyoming!" We had a great morning of fishing and hopefully he'll remember some of what was learned today when he gets out on the waters of Wyoming. Good Luck Sam!!
I'm a small stream addict. There is nothing I love more than working the pockets, riffles and deep runs of a mountain stream, particularly for wild trout. When the mountain laurel are blooming and bugs are hatching, there is nothing more enjoyable than a day on the crystal clear waters of the southern Appalachians. Sunday was one of those magical days. As I drove north to meet my friend Alan Folger at River's Edge Outfitters in Cherokee, NC, I watched the thermometer on my car slowly drop from around 50 to the low 40's. Sure glad I dressed appropriately and even threw in a fleece vest at the last minute. Joe and the guys at River's Edge said it had been down in the high 30's overnight. No rush to get to the river, let things warm up a little.
At the first stop, I was fishing a deep run to the head of a pool and my fishing buddy Ken was fishing from the head of the pool down. I started out with the soft hackle pheasant tail (#14), about twelve feet of leader and 3 #1 Dinsmores. Shortly, I put on a fourth weight but after hanging up a little too often, I went back to 3 and kept plowing furrows in the run.
For thrills at the end of our trip, we head up to the big pool below the dam to see how we would fare against those giants. I had many classic battles with some good fish testing the flexibility of my Winston rod: some I won, others I lost. Jimmy said one that I battled for a while before he broke me off was about a 10 lb. fish. I wouldn't argue, I saw him and he was a hog! I fought so many fish I could no longer hold my rod with one hand and began giving my right arm some relief by two-handing for a while. 
