Have some hope! While we have a hot holiday weekend ahead of us, we might see a little rain and then welcome some cooler days next week. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of fall!
Your holiday best bets are stockers before lunch, morning blueline wild trout on north slopes, pond bream and bass in the shade, and maybe some river bass IF those waters don’t get hit by thunderstorms. Rivers are low, bass are bunched up and looking up in drought refuges, and your wading is easier in those meager flows. Watch for a long stocking list posted by WRD later today for the holiday trouting crowds.
Hot tips and great fish stories are in our full fishing report here:
http://blog.angler.management/
(Link in bio)
.Good luck on your holiday weekend. Work around the heat and have hope for our colder September days on the horizon! Come see us for your hot holiday bugs.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
(Wes said this menu is still good)
Dries: micro chubby Chernobyl, olive stimulator, parachute black ant, tan elk hair caddis.
Nymphs & Wets:
Hard body ant, gold ribbed hares ear, Quasimodo pheasant tail, zebra midge, lightning bug.
Streamers:
Squirrely bugger, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers.
(Bass) jerk changer, Con man, wiggle minnow, boogle bug popper, Kent’s stealth bomber.
(Panfish) amnesia bug, small chubby Chernobyl, bluegill spider, dry and wet ants
(Carp) headstand, squirmy hybrid.
Headwaters:
They’re all real low, clear, and warm once again, after the hot, rainless week we’ve had.
UO buddy Jay: “Headwater temperatures dipped slightly thanks to a brief period of cooler air temperatures. I found some feisty wild rainbows who eagerly took a sparsely dressed #18 nymph tied on a jig hook with a tungsten bead and CDC collar.”
Note: see the Smokies report under “Afar,” below.
Stocked Waters:
GAWRD should post a really long stocking list in advance of the last big holiday in the 2024 stocking season.
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
Fish the mornings this weekend for cooler water and cooperative fish. Leftover stockers should hit well all day - - once that cooler weather arrives next week.
UO buddy Jay: “Stocker success! My best fly on a stocked Habersham stream was a #16 Sexy Walt’s with a tungsten bead, under a bobber. When I saw fish rising I tried a #16 stimulator with no luck. I added a tiny BWO behind it and only caught chubs. I switched to a #20 parachute Adams and started catching plenty of browns and had some very athletic takes ( fish leaping out of the water and eating the Adams).
Tailwaters:
No recent reports. Remember to fish the Hooch downstream from Hwy 20, where dissolved oxygen finally recovers.
Private Waters:
Just about all waters managed by GA’s private operators remain closed for the summer to protect their heat-stressed trout. Same goes for Dukes at Smithgall Woods.
Warm Rivers:
NOTE: Don’t forget our native redeye bass contest and Wes’ limited batch of hand-tied stealth bombers here at the shop. Get ‘em before they’re gone!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/kZtghcugUT5WyHes/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Here is the prize list:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_Q91F-pVJR/?igsh=eXM0NGlyN29hc2Fi
Catch a redeye soon and enter the contest before its September 5th end.
UO-Helen manager Wes: “Israel and I got out one morning earlier this week to go after Bartrams bass. We fished for around 2 hours and each caught a handful of bass, all on top. Both black and olive stealth bombers were our flies of choice.”
UO buddy Jay: “Piedmont rivers are low and clear, making it fun to wade. Bass are hanging tight under rocks and submerged wood. I checked out an area I’d never fished before and immediately got a hint on how to match the (hellgrammite) hatch by observing the riparian trees and rocks. I fished a balanced black articulated fly tied on a jig hook with a tungsten football bead with great success. “
Dredger migrated north of the border again and finally found some cooperative smallies in slightly cooler water. Deeper outside bends had better summer refuge habitat. Resident smallies and rock bass ate a black stealth bomber as the sun set and a white one (easier for Dredger to see) at dusk.
Dredger also tried for those big Helen stripers right at sunset on Wednesday night. Alas, they would not play in the low, clear water. He managed just one 12-inch dink on a game changer.
Ponds:
They’ve been good and will only get better as September air and water temps dive. Again, avoid the sun and aim for the shadows.
UO buddy MD: “I'm four months out from shoulder surgery and I'm finally back on some local water here around Athens! Local rivers in the Oconee watershed are low and clear, and I was able to pull a few spotted and largemouth bass out of deeper runs on a hellgrammite fly dropped off a popper.
A recent evening kayak fishing on a local lake turned up the usual warm water suspects plus a nice channel catfish that made things interesting on a three-weight. The cat slammed a little orange jig that would probably make a carp take a second look. Really looking forward to cooler weather!”
Reservoirs:
They’re still warm and full of boaters and skiers. No recent reports to our shop. GAWRD will have the most current intel here:
https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/
Afar:
UO buddy Nanette: “Rabunites Rick, Nan and Dredger dodged elk and wild turkeys on a cool Monday to fish in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In between admiring the scenery they put some gooduns in the net. They landed a decent handful of little wild bows,
one respectable resident brown,
and a 17-inch, kyped city slicker on his summer vacation in the park.
Dry-droppers were the ticket, with a drowned ant below a yellow stimulator or Parachute Adams producing best. Fish took both the dry and the dropper early, with dropper action dominating the afternoon. Water temp 62F to start and 65 when they quit around 4.
It’s time to watch the weather forecasts for a cool morning to get out and enjoy one of the most beautiful places on earth as summer finally starts thinking about fading into fall.”
We hope this timely intel leads y’all to greater holiday success. Watch online water temps and flows,
steer clear of the sun, and make the best of your long weekend. And take comfort in the fact that cooler, better days are on the horizon. Stop by either UO shop in Helen and Clarkesville for your hot holiday bugs. And drive slow in the Smokies!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
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