Our rainless October continues to result in low, clear, and cool stream conditions. Trout fishing has been excellent for little headwater wild residents and for trophies in the larger, private waters further downstream. Stockers are scarce, but still possible for prospectors covering lots of water. Many flyfishers eagerly await the 11/1 kickoff to GA’s Delayed Harvest season. Ponds are still good, while reservoirs were iffy for last week’s bass and striper fans. Lake fishing should improve when water temps drop a bit more with next week’s cooler weather.
Don’t miss a great fall of fishing. Just leave your matches at home and pass up on your campfires so we protect our dry forests until it rains again. Catch all the details and Wes’ hot fly list in our full fishing report, as always in our blog here. It’s worth your extra click:
http://blog.angler.management/
Good luck everyone. Stop in either UO shop (Helen, Clarkesville) for your fall supplies and up-to-the-minute angling intel.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Dries: chubby Chernobyl, orange stimulator, parachute Adams, tan elk hair caddis, Griffiths gnat.
Nymphs & Wets:
Pink bead CDC pheasant tail, redneck, Duracell, zebra midge, partridge and yellow, slush egg.
Streamers:
Sparkle minnow, buggers & leeches, micro dungeon.
(Bass) Clouser minnow, party crasher, finesse changer, jiggy craw, crittermite.
(Panfish) amnesia bug, small chubby Chernobyl, bluegill spider, dry and wet ants, all after lunch in warmer water.
Headwaters:
They are low, cool, super-clear, and full of leaves. We haven’t had much wind, so the leaves are just stacking up along the edges and haven’t been a problem in the water column for fly fishers.
Wild trout fishing has been excellent. Just use your stream thermometer and fish accordingly. Cold nights will drop water temps near or below 50F and you might need a dropper below your dry until the midday sun warms the water. At 4PM today, upper Smith was 54F,
Dukes at Smithgall was 56F,
and Spoilcane was 58F.
Warm afternoons and nights boost water temps well into the 50’s and residents will nail your fluffy dries like stimmies, caddis, and Adams. A stealthy stalk and good drift are more important than fly pattern in these skinny streams. Try some pros-Speck-ting for colorful natives in your favorite brookie streams.
UO buddy Spangler: “Hey Dredger, here’s some intel for Friday’s report.
Headwater Streams:
Fished a fairly well-known headwater stream but a very overlooked stretch. At 1800’ elevation the water temps at mid day were 55 so, prime time!
I fished a dry/dropper on a micro leader with my 10’6” euro rod and this combo was absolutely deadly. I used a dry ant and a little perdigon as the dropper but also landed a few on a mayfly imitation. Most fish did come on the dropper still but a few were eager enough to come up from the depths and grab the dry. Fish were a mix of rainbows and browns, with most of the rainbows being wild and the browns appear to be holdover stockers (at least I think…the further upstream I got, it became all browns).”
Stocked Waters:
Pickings are slim for off-season stockers, but there are still a handful of browns hanging on in the larger streams stocked at the beginning of the month. Cover a lot of ground to find them. See that stream stocking list here:
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
Tailwaters:
UO buddy Spangler: “Speaking of browns, I fished the Buford dam tailwater for a couple hours one afternoon and with the same dry dropper rig I landed 13 wild browns. Water is severely stained but fish were quite active around softer water near timber and boulders. The little fluffy dry fly is the best indicator I have found!”
Trophy Waters:
https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/guided-fishing/
Our stretch of the Hooch has been on fire for both guided and unguided anglers with some experience. A young TN marine lucked into an open slot yesterday afternoon and cleaned up on our rainbows. His fly of choice was a drifted egg pattern.
Last Saturday’s guests, the 30 teenaged girls from Becca Klein’s All Kids Fish event, all caught trout. It was a first trout for many of the gals, who had superb help from their volunteer guides.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBeNrmpPkqm/?igsh=YjUxMGlvOHdpdDJy
UO guide Israel had a great morning trip today. His Nacoochee Bend client did the best on drifted and swung partridge/yellow soft hackles.
Iz also said: “Rainbow Point on the Soque was good yesterday. Flows are low so stealth was key. Bunyan Bugs, Waltz Worm, and Frenchies were the preferred snacks.”
UO guide Joseph: “Private water fishing was great yesterday morning! We caught lots of fish and were even able to trick a few big ones as well. With yesterday morning being a little warmer than what we have been seeing over the past two weeks, the dry/dropper rig was a major player. For fly patterns we had most success on size 14 chubbys in olive accompanied with a size 18 redneck for the dropper.”
Lakes:
UO guide Joseph: “Fishing on Lanier has slowed with high pressure days and bluebird skies. Stronger winds are also not helping. We are seeing occasional groups of stripers on top in open water or sometimes near humps. Water temps are finally right and steady. I’ve marked several schools of fish down deep or moving quickly as well. Hoping for some better fall days ahead but as of right now it can be very hit or miss. If you give it a try, having both an intermediate and a fast sinking line is advantageous for fly anglers. Small clousers anywhere from 3 to 4 inches in length should get the job done. I’ve also seen schools of fish on small threadfin as well which is usually atypical for the time of year. For these fish Henry Cowens somethin else and polar fiber minnows are best.”
Call the UO-Helen shop at 706-878-3083 if you’d like to book a Lanier trip with Joseph.
Kudos:
Kudos to UGA 5Rivers clubbers Sophia and Emery, who organized an introductory flyfishing trip for new women members of their club. Emery said: “We had an awesome opportunity for some of the girls in the club. We’re all so stoked they all got their first fish on the fly!”
Fellow clubber Matt said: “On 10/24 we had a river cleanup on the North Oconee River right here in Athens! We had over 10 participants from the club show up and with their help we were able to get over 8 bags of trash and 10 tires out the river and surrounding area. It was a great evening of giving back to the river we love, and fun time of fellowship.”
GA Tech 5Rivers clubber Avril said: “ We appreciate the wader donations by Rabun TU. Here are some pictures of those waders in use! Our club had a stream cleanup last weekend and we really put them to work!”
We hope your Halloween week goes well, both with fishing and with your Delayed Harvest plans and preparation. Don’t forget those spunky lake spots and stripers, too. Enjoy the peak of leaf season while casting a line in your favorite north GA waters. Stop in either UO store for your favorite fall flies and lures.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
