Friday, April 26, 2024

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 4/26/24

 



Due to a dry week, our trout streams are clear and flowing at seasonal norms or slightly lower. Water temps are perfect, ranging from the high 50’s to the low 60’s. The spring bug buffet continues, with caddis and mayfly hatches in full swing, and some early arrivals of yellow Sally stones. It’s a mighty fine time to be a dry fly flinger. Go late and stay later. Got a headlamp?



Stocker streams are getting large doses, and many stockers are larger than past average sizes.  Big, wide stocked streams are great places for flyfishing beginners to practice and score early success. 


Ponds are hot, while reservoirs have been fickle for fly rodders. Bass are the better bet, but the lake surface temps are still cool enough to keep some stripers in the shallows. Again, large size is compensating for their smaller numbers. 


UO will be at Orvis-Atlanta on Saturday and Orvis-Alpharetta on Sunday in support of those stores’ fundraising efforts for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Stop in and say hi!


Cast farther, into our full report, to catch all the secrets of success by our guides and fanatic fishing friends. You’ll be glad you did. Just ask “Spangler.”


http://blog.angler.management/

 (Link in bio)


Get out there soon, before May’s warm days start heating up our waters and make the fish finicky. Good luck!


Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com


Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries:  Rage Cage Caddis, tan elk hair caddis, parachute light cahill, tan sparkle dun, Drymerger March Brown, parachute Adams, griffiths gnat, yellow Sally or small stimulator, or small micro Chubby Chernobyl as a headwater dry for your droppers.


Nymphs & Wets: 

Yellow soft hackle, gold ribbed hares ear, girdle bug, CDC pheasant tail, fast water prince, red squirmy worm and peach egg for stockers.


Streamers & warm water:

(Trout) Squirrely bugger, sparkle yummy, bank robber sculpin, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers. (bass & stripers) Cowens somethin’ else, gray/white clouser minnow, finesse changer, polar changer, crittermite, jiggy craw.


Headwaters:

Flows are slightly normal, they’re crystal clear, and temps are prime. Fish are looking up for hatching bugs. Clear water makes them spooky, however, so your stealth game is tied to your drift game in terms of importance. Sneak up and drift a small, buoyant chubby, stimmy, or caddis and you’ll score.


https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1


USGS Current Conditions for USGS 02176930 CHATTOOGA RIVER AT BURRELLS FORD, NR PINE MTN, GA


https://littleriveroutfitters.com/pages/fishing/report.htm









The UGA 5Rivers duo of Van and Conner: “We got into some big wild brookies high above Helen last weekend. They ate Chubbys, stimulators, pheasant tails, and hares ears.”  They asked us to plug their noble fundraising cause and we are obliging:


https://givebutter.com/casting/university-of-georgia-30





UO staffer Iz hit some local headwaters on Wednesday and said: “The Micro-bows were pretty darn feisty. The green weenie and a stimmy above it were getting it done.”




UO buddy RSquared: “I took a 4-day trip north of the Ga. Line somewhere in the Nantahala National Forest. I focused on high altitude, native Brook Trout. A Parachute Adams was my most effective dry fly. However, with the rain & high, fast streamflows, a jig-head Pheasant Tail produced most of my fish. It was time well spent!”


Delayed Harvest: 

It’s the GADH home stretch. Those release rules end on May 15, so don’t miss this spring’s chance to load up on dry fly eaters. And if the dry action is dead at midday, just dredge some small, buggy nymphs and soft hackles while you’re waiting for the shadows to fall and the adult insects to fly.


You have more chances at NCDH streams, since that state’s special regulations end in early June. Fish locally now and plan a few road trips north for late May.



UO buddy Spangler: “Thanks for the advice. Smith Creek DH was a good call.  The hour before dark starting about 730 was insane…they were jumping out of the water grabbing bugs. I shook hands with about 12 on a little cream colored elk hair caddis, but only brought 7 to the net. Was an awesome evening!”


UO buddy CDB: “I heard some of the NC DH waters don't have a lot of fish in them, so I went to check.  There are still plenty of fish there and some good ones.  Leave your eggs and mops at home.   By now these fish have been caught a couple times and have seen roughly 35 million eggs and mops drift by.  You can catch some fish on them, but it won't be nearly as productive as the flies I mentioned in my private waters report. And make sure you put some weight on there and get your offerings deep.  The best fish are deep or tucked up next to obstructions.  I am using a long dropper as well.  The matchstick on the bottom is sitting 18" or more below my top fly, which has typically been the halo point, the higa or a midge emerger type of fly.  With the crystal clear water right now, if you aren’t sure you got the right stuff and are not getting any takes, drop down the tippet size. “


Rabunites Bluejay and Dredger trekked to Nan DH last Monday afternoon. The catching was slow in the high midday sun, with more fish hitting the dropper than the dry. That all changed as the shadows began to fall at 5PM and the “switch turned on.”  It stayed on for the next two hours. A mix of real bugs brought fish to the surface. 







Best dry flies were a small tan caddis and a yellow Sally, fished in tandem. Once again, many more fish hit the upstream skitter than the downstream dead drift. Flatlanders call it “skating:”


https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/pro-tips-skate-way-trout






That duo is headed out the door to Chattooga DH later today in search of more dark-30 action. They’re armed with caddis, cahills, sallies and headlamps.  Follow their lead this weekend.


UO buddy Lucky:  “A few of us with UGA 5Rivers were up in NC this past weekend. We fished two creeks as well as the Nantahala River DH section.  Flows weren’t too bad but the water was very stained, so swinging a black wooly bugger through pools and working up against the current paid off. With the warmer weather, some folks had good luck on tan caddis flies too. Warm weather fishing is here and we’re all ready to go back!”




Stocked Waters:

Stocker fans should have another long list of choices later today. If you’re brand new to flyfishing, pick a large, stocked stream and toss a small, black or olive woolly bugger to score early success in your new sport. Roll cast it downstream into fishy waters, stick your rod tip almost into the water, and retrieve that streamer back upstream with lotsa rod twitches between short strips.


https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout


Private Waters: 

They’ve fished very well this week for veteran anglers and rookies with UO guides.  Resident fish are experienced and now picky in the clear waters with a good supply of drifting insects. It’s been more of a hatch-matching game, with deep nymphs and streamers working better in the high sun.  Perfect drifts have been required for nymph tossers . When there’s shade on the water, some dry/dropper combos and swung wet flies have worked well. Make sure you have some yellow in both your dry and wet fly boxes and a good stealth game when stalking those pools.


UO guide Caleb: “Rainbow Point on the Soque fished very well yesterday morning using stonefly nymphs. We saw a few chases of my client’s streamer,  but a double nymph rig was the way to go. A drag-free drift almost always produced a look, with many resulting in an eat, too, by the river’s feisty rainbows.


UO buddy CDB: “Mostly private water this week, but some DH, but the tactics that worked have been largely consistent.  First, you need to be deep.  Streamers - zonkers, wooly buggers, matukas - have worked well.  Colors like my favorite Thin Mint are still working well, and I am starting to shift to contrasting colors now.  Black and Yellow Buggers are working well.  Olive and White or Brown and White have been good.   Put a BB or even an AB 4 to 6" in front of a bead head bugger.  You might lose some on the bottom, but you need to be deep.  My good friend Bob nailed this monster meat muncher using a size 4 Thin Mint, and did a masterful job battling the fish with his little 5 wt. One of the biggest rainbows I have ever netted.  Certainly didn't expect to see a fish of that size in there - you never know!



Nymphs are productive, especially quill bodies.  Halo Points and Higa's SOS black size 18s have been hot.  Matchsticks size 16 or even 14 make a good anchor fly if you are using a double. “


Tailwaters:

No recent reports. Thanks to heavy rainbow stockings and a lack of rain to muddy them, they should be fishing really well.


Reservoirs:

New UO buddy AJ: “I was only able to get out Sunday in the past week. Fished 9-3 and I was hoping to find some schooling stripers with the overcast and rain. No stripes to be had, but lots of good spotted bass, throwing topwater Zara Spooks and fishing Magic Swimmers on points and blow throughs. Water temps were low to mid 70s, so stripers should still be around for a few weeks until warmer water sends them deep for the summer.”




Ponds:

Athens Jay is still wearing out his pond bream. He reports: “Earth Day and the impending full moon compelled me to make a brief kayak trip this week. I fished prime time after work and had a very productive trip. Many large bluegill were found in shallow water, and many bass were lurking nearby. All were quite interested  in the brown Pat’s Rubber legs I offered (no bead, no bobber, just a slow erratic retrieve). I think a popper/dropper rig would have worked really well and hope to test that theory soon.”





ATL Road Trips:

UO will have a booth at both Orvis Events this weekend that will support Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s programs. Dredger will man the Saturday booth at Orvis-Atlanta, while Caleb will hold down our fort on Sunday at Orvis-Alpharetta. Stop by and chat with us in between the great seminars offered by Orvis guru Tom Rosenbauer.


https://www.facebook.com/share/v/XzGPH2jVESqEjJoq/?mibextid=WC7FNe


Closing Kudos:

UO buddy and GATU state council prez RSquared: “This past weekend, GATU & the Cohutta Chapter of TU hosted the SouthEastern 5 Rivers Rendezvous in Western NC. We had over 50 students from eleven universities & one high school ( North Paulding High School) Every student caught trout, they networked & traded ideas, conducted a major clean up on local streams, had a great meal provided by GATU & Cohutta TU.  Despite the rain, they enjoyed nightly campfires and left the campground cleaner than they found it.  They are the enthusiastic future of fly fishing & cold-water conservation!!!”





Good luck this weekend. You still have a lot of opportunities to choose from, so go make memories before our hot Georgia summer arrives. 

Stop in either UO store (Helen, Clarkesville) for supplies and intel or visit either UO booth at the two Orvis stores this weekend for a few extra fish tales. Tight lines, y’all.


Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Friday, April 19, 2024

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 4/19/24



Prime Time continues up here! Last nite’s rain was minor and our trout streams will be clear for your Saturday adventures.  Sunday will be a different story with the storms rolling in, so you’ll have to wait til early next week for your next rematch after Saturday.


On trout waters, pick your time and match your technique to it. Drift some nymphs or soft hackles before lunch. If you’re a dry fly fan, match the midday midges or prospect broken waters with a tan caddis.  But if you really want to score on top, then go late, stay late, and take full advantage of the evening hatches that are in full swing. I did last night!


Pond bass and bream are prime, while lake stripers are starting their downriver trips after their early April spawning runs. You can still catch some fish upriver, but most will soon be back in flat waters, keying in on the shad and herring spawns in the dawn shallows.


Don’t miss this month! It’s been great and should continue for several more weeks.  Folks who dive deeper into this note will find our specific recipes for success here:


http://blog.angler.management/

 (Link in bio)


Take a look and you’ll know why my shoulder aches after last night’s epic trip, and why some of y’all should should book a half-day getaway ASAP with Iz, Wes, and Caleb. Take a break and cash in on this hot April action. We sure are!


Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com


Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries:  Rage Cage Caddis, tan elk hair caddis, parachute light cahill, tan sparkle dun, Drymerger March Brown, parachute Adams, griffiths gnat, yellow stimulator, or small micro Chubby Chernobyl as a headwater dry for your droppers.


Nymphs & Wets: 

Gold ribbed hares ear, pheasant tail nymph and soft hackle wet, holy grail, soft hackle partridge, biot epoxy stone, squirminator for the Sunday rain, fast water prince.


Streamers & warm water:

(Trout) Squirrely bugger, sparkle yummy, bank robber sculpin, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers. (bass & stripers) Cowens somethin’ else, gray/white clouser minnow, finesse changer, polar changer, crittermite, jiggy craw.


Headwaters:

They have seasonal flows and only a slight stain that will clear in a couple hours. Spoilcane ran 60 degrees at 11AM today. Toss your favorite tan or yellow dry fly and have fun with all those little wild residents while flows are still good and temps are perfect.



https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1


https://littleriveroutfitters.com/pages/fishing/report.htm


Last Sunday afternoon I watched a true small-stream craftsman at work. Despite the high sun and clear water, DNR’s John “Deadly” Damer picked apart his favorite headwater stream. He drifted his tan X-caddis right next to submerged logs and deep under rhododendron branches to coax a nice handful of wild browns to hand.







UO buddy RonW: “I went up to the Burnsville, NC area for a men's weekend at my friend Rob's Mtn house, which sits at 4000'  in elevation and has a rather gorgeous creek running right thru it.  We did the same thing 2 years ago around the same time but I didn't catch, let alone even see a single fish then which has had me wondering ever since. The water is too clear, too big and too high up not to have fish in it, specifically Specs.  


We pulled up about 1:30pm after the 4+ hr drive from home.  We are in T shirts and it's about 62°.  The temperature dropped 15° in 10 minutes and then dropped even more, which had me reaching for a down jacket.


With me being the only angler in the bunch, you know where my mind was at. I rigged up my rod, tied on a #12 black stone fly with a #18 Frenchie and walked the 100' down to the creek to find a perch as I'm fishing waderless.  It immediately started snowing, which has always been magical to me. Fishing in the snow in a high elevation MTN creek is as good as it gets for me.



 I'm working one of the bigger plunge pools on his property from the top of a big boulder, staying out of site as much as possible.  After about 5-6 minutes of dredging this run my line goes tight.  There were a good 10 seconds where I couldn't see it as it was trying to bulldog me under the boulder I was standing on. I get him out and into the current and finally get a glimpse, of what is definitely the largest wild brookie I've ever had on the line. My heart is beating out of my chest as I'm yelling for my buddy to bring me my net. He gets it to me after a long minute and I hooked and land  my largest wild brookie to date, I'm guessing it was 10.5" - 11".  



It started sleeting and then turned to a light rain which was my cue to head back to the cabin.   Day 1 = PB brookie in less than 10 minutes.


Day 2: Sat morning I woke, had my coffee and went down to the creek. I hook and land my 2nd largest brookie to date on my 3rd cast on a red tag dropper.



Day 3: Sunday am I woke up, had my coffee and then ran down to the creek of course. On my 1st cast I land another chunky brookie on the black stone.  I went back up to the cabin to finish my coffee and start packing and cleaning up.  I got another 30 minutes of fishing in a little later on with no luck so I decided I had fished all I needed to. 


To sum it up this epic weekend....3 days and 3 fish in less than an hour total fishing. 2 of them being my PB and my 2nd PB, both out of the same hole.  An epic high elevation hike, great food, great company and some much needed hydrotherapy in one of the most special creeks I've ever had the pleasure to fish.”


Delayed Harvest: 

These streams continue to fish well for anglers with a good game and hatch-matching skills.  Stocked fish are now experienced and a lot smarter, requiring our better techniques, whether dead-drifting or skittering.


Smith DH was low and clear and made the fishing tough for rookies. One veteran angler had good luck on an olive cone head bugger that he showed me. Try a dry/short dropper combo on 6x tippet and aim for the shade during the day and the shadows after 7pm. Come late and stay til slap-dark for the best action.


UO friend Nan:  “ On Monday I only cast SHORT on the Nan DH and remembered to hi-stick the slow pockets. Caught a lot of fish!


Ken was the hot hand, with superior wading abilities over me and Rick. I think we all got an Appalachian slam. I got 13 fish to hand, Rick six and Ken probably got 20, including a brookie on an Adams tied by Rick. Mostly on nymphs (pheasant tail) with a few on dries. We fished exclusively dry-droppers. Not many insects about (saw a few yellow sallies). Dry fly frenzy never happened. Fun day though, gorgeous weather.  We didn’t leave till 7:30 pm.”


We had a fun Wednesday morning on a Chattooga DH guided trip donated to the Rabun TU Rendezvous by our chapter member, Zac. 
 Water still a little high for me (waded to thigh deep) but bottom was good and I felt stable. Lots of fish caught on nymphs, since adult bugs and risers were scarce that early in the day.  An equal number were missed, too.  I got to cast long a bit, which made this Everglades flyfishing veteran very happy.



Lots of different fishing techniques this week. My brain is full of great memories and my back and shoulders are sore! PS: don’t forget your bug repellent!”


Dredger had an epic evening yesterday (18th) on Chattooga DH. He arrived at 4PM to clear, moderate flow and 62-degree water temperature. Tiny caddis adults and swarms of midges buzzed about in the hot sun. Dredger tied on something he could see, a #16 tan caddis, and started prospecting “cover.”  






He found some willing risers by dead drifting the broken water of riffles and by skittering his dry in the runs and shallow pool heads, especially in the shade. The action was steady for the next 3.5 hours and only got better as the shadows grew.



Some #16 cahills started emerging at 730 and sparked more risers. He stayed with his caddis, since it still worked well. At 8PM the cahills got thicker and the fish got pickier, so he switched to a tan sparkle dun. That was the ticket.  Best fish of the day was a 14-inch bow that inhaled the dun at 8:15. Last fish was fondled at 8:35, when Mother Nature finally turned her switch off and the river went to sleep. An equal mix of bows and browns made it another memorable day of dry fly flinging. Go soon, while the bug buffet is in full swing. Don’t forget the hot intel on page ATL-1 here:


https://issuu.com/coastalanglermagazine/docs/atl_7f5d7dec6f4ea9




Stocked Waters:

Stocker fans should have another long list of choices later today. If you’re brand new to flyfishing, pick a large, stocked stream and toss a small, black or olive woolly bugger to score early success in your new sport.

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout





Private Waters: 

UO-Helen manager Wes: “Private waters fished pretty good on Monday and Tuesday. Lots of bugs came out due to the warmer water and air temps. Soft hackles, pheasant tails, and chubby Chernobyls were the best producers.”


UO manager Jake’s clients had a good trip to Rainbow Point on the Soque. His hot bugs were drifted girdle bugs and yellow soft hackles.


Iz told me this morning that his clients had some great days this week at Soque Camp. His secret to success was dead drifting soft hackle wets. Bugs were hatching (mainly midges), but nobody came up to play in the higher, discolored flow. The deeper drifts did much better.



UO guide Caleb: “I had a very productive day at Soque Camp earlier in the week. The streamer bite has turned off while the dry fly bite is turning on!  A yellow micro chubby produced some strikes. Dredging, of course, brought in the most fish. Natural stonefly patterns and lightly weighted, yellow nymphs were my go-tos. Sulphurs are moving!””


Tailwaters:

No recent reports. Thanks to heavy rainbow stockings, should be fishing well around the rains that discolor them.


Warm Rivers:

No recent reports. Watch today’s WRD blog for any breaking news:


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


Reservoirs:

Our reservoir stripers  typically run up the rivers during the first half of April on spawning attempts. They’re successful on the Coosa, but not in our other, shorter rivers where the eggs settle into the sediment.  You can still find sone stragglers up there, but the majority of fish will now head downstream for more abundant groceries in the lakes. Find them in the shallows early and late, and especially at dawn when the shad and herring spawns kick off soon. Find more hot lake intel in the WRD weekly reports.


Ponds:

Athens Jay is still wearing out his pond bream. He said the recent secret weapon has been an unweighted pats rubberlegs dropper under his popper. That slow-sinking bug has been irresistible.

 




Afar:

Ray Van Hassel from afar landed this beautiful 23 pound Dorado on the Upper Parana River in Argentina.



There’s your mid-April update. As expected, it’s been quite a month so far. Get out there soon and cash in on the remaining weeks of this awesome spring action. Just carry the right dries and streamers to match the bug and shad hatches and you, too, can earn a sore shoulder. Take plenty of pics!



Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com