Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report- 3/28/25

 

Pray for rain!  Our region’s woods and waters need a good soaking. Hopefully Sunday’s storm will extinguish these wildfires in GA and our neighboring states, reduce the threat to our properties, and clear the smoky air. For now, please refrain from all open flames!

https://fire.airnow.gov/#6/41/-98

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BuArHJWvb/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Trout streams are low, clear, and in the prime temperature zone of the fifties. Fish are taking nymphs early and some dries if/when the adult bugs hatch and fly around lunchtime. Both caddis and mayflies are making appearances,  especially on sunny afternoons. 

Stocker fans will appreciate the long GAWRD stocking list as that program kicks off the 2025 season. Gregarious folks might enjoy Saturday’s Helen Trout Tournament. Just bring your own rock to stand on.

The bass and striper bite is on, too, as ponds and reservoirs warm up. Even the river bass have started  to bite, thanks to low, clear, and warming waters.

Check out all the breaking news in our blog, here. 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 your spring supplies, from Powerbait to parachute dries!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries: quill gordon , parachute Adams, Blue quill, Tickle Cripple March brown, Drymerger March brown, emerger caddis, drymerger BWO, Stimulator.

Nymphs & Wets: 

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

Mountain streams: Pheasant tails, micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, hares ear nymph, soft hackle partridge. 

Streamers:

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

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

Headwaters: 

They’re low and clear, with perfect water temps (Spoilcane and Smith DH were both 58F at 3PM today).  

Residents are hungry but spooky, so stealth remains your key to success. Practice your summer drought-trouting techniques and you will enhance your blueline success. A small parachute Adams or elk hair caddis will bring you plenty of looks and a bunch of strikes. Consider adding a short nymph or soft hackle dropper for the deeper pools or cooler mornings when those little wild fish are hesitant to rise.

The UO duo of Jimmy and Dredger spent Sunday afternoon on a blueline high above Helen. The resident rainbows were wary, but enough came to hand to make it a fine fishing trip. Most liked their #16 para Adams or #16 tan caddis. Jimmy convinced a few extra fish to hand via a one-foot dropper down to a pheasant tail soft hackle.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/12JPtzb2Gp5/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Delayed Harvest Streams:

They’re fishing well for folks with small, naturally-colored nymphs, hatch-matching dries, and drag-less drifts. Try dry/dropper rigs and use a long (3 ft) dropper that will get deep during a cold morning and a real sunny afternoon, when fish will hug the bottom. When waters warm and bugs start drifting and hatching, shorten the dropper length (18-24”) to find those fish suspending at mid-depth. It helps to scout a favorite pool first with a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Let the resident fish that you spot (look for tail wags) tell you how to rig up.

As for the bugs, catch a few in your bug net to ensure you match the hatch. Stretch one of these over your trout net and poof, you’ve got a bug seine! 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-Gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-ETS5-HDX/335189946

Carry both your dark March dries (gray and brown) and your tan April dries to cover both possibilities. 

UGA 5Rivers clubber Isabella had a productive trip to the Toccoa DH recently.

Rabunites Bluejay and Jack ran up to Nantahala DH on a cool, windy Monday.  The action started slow but heated up once the sun hit the water. 

Around 1PM tiny (#18-20) black caddis and some small (#18-20)  blue wing olives hatched and brought some fish to the top.  

Those pool risers returned to the pool depths when the bugs quit hatching after an hour.  The duo’s best success was on a dry dropper searching rig (adams and prince nymph) hi-sticked through boulder -strewn pocket waters.

Dredger hiked the Smith DH trail today. 

Most anglers were striking out because they were rookies: casting across or downstream with junk flies (ex: squirmies) and having plenty of drag on their drifts. 

It’s a good time to come in after they leave at 4 or 5PM, sneak up to a prime pool, and quietly cast a dry/dropper rig upstream. Stay til dark, as those fish bite better in the comfort of growing shadows.

Stockers:

Everything is now stocked for the start of GA’s 2025 stocking season.

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Private Waters:

UO-Helen manager Wes: “Private waters trips fished well this week. The bug activity is picking up and several fish are eating emergers and a few are even eating on top! The fish are spacing out and we caught several in faster pocket water in the warmer afternoons.

The best patterns for my clients were tan/black #12 girdle bugs, soft hackle hares ears, jig cdc pheasant tails, and orange soft hackle partridges.”

UO guide Israel: “ The Soque fished well for my clients this week.  A lot of larger stone fly nymphs were crawling on the rocks in the riffles. A Guides Choice Hares Ear was the preferred snack.”

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

Tailwaters:

UO buddy Myles: “I took a trip to Buford Dam yesterday and caught 12; only one was a rainbow. I was using 6.5x tippet with a size 20 hares ear and pheasant tail. I had a friend come out and join me. On his first tight lining (Euro) experience he caught 1 brown and missed a few others on a pheasant tail/stonefly nymph combo.”

Warm Rivers:

They’ve been low and clear and slowly warming up. The river bass bite has warmed along with the water. Deeper offerings (streamers and crayfish patterns) will outpace poppers during this early bassin’ season.

UGA 5Rivers clubber Matt weighed in: “Ryan and I were able to fish some local spots around Athens and found a few good spotted bass! They were mostly holding cover (downed trees, tree cover, rocks) in slower deepish water. They are starting to get warmed up and super aggressive with a lot of bites being aggressive follows by the fish. White streamers worked well for me, anything from a clouser to a game changer. Ryan had luck on the conventional side using a Ned rig black and blue craw. The bite is definitely getting better with this warm weather. Hoping to find some stripers this weekend with this big storm front coming in! I’ll keep ya updated!!”

Ponds/ Lakes:

UGA 5Rivers clubber Ryan shared this report: “Had some luck fishing some public reservoirs in the metro Atlanta area. Fish were concentrated off of vegetated points in the lake. Had the most luck using red/craw patterns.”

UO buddy JH has been working on the crappie for the last few weeks: “

The crappie are starting to move up shallow.  I caught a few on clousers,  but I kept seeing them rise. I was on the bank, back was too sore to drag the canoe back up the hill.”

UO guide Joseph briefed us on his Southern Striper Open experience: “SSO was tough on us last weekend. We ran a total of 95 miles on the first day of the tournament for two bites. On the second day we landed our first and only striper for the tournament but nevertheless everyone still had fun. And the event raised $8,000 for the Project Healing Waters program, which introduces our veterans to fly fishing.

https://projecthealingwaters.org/

Most of the fish we marked or saw feeding were up shallow in the very back of creeks,  or off of points. It seems like there are fish spread out all over the lake. It’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. We got our bites on a variety of flies including somethin else’s, polar fiber minnows, game changers and clousers. Most fish we saw were feeding on small bait. If you’re interested In getting out on the lake give the Helen shop a call at (706)-878-3083. I have a good amount of spring dates available.”

News and Events:

March 29 (tomorrow!) Oconee River Trout Unlimited banquet in Athens:

https://www.facebook.com/share/18c158Wc1W/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Tomorrow: Helen Trout Tournament:

https://helenga.org/events/33rd-annual-trout-tournament/

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

Kudos to the GA Foothills TU chapter and to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper headwaters specialist Becca Risser for their latest Hooch buffer restoration effort. Under the direction of Habersham County extension agent Steven Patrick, a dozen vols planted live stakes along the riverbank yesterday at the Hardman Trail.  Those stakes should sprout, grow roots, and stabilize the riverbank in the years to come.

GATU’s Yellowstone Dream Trip winners are here.  Are YOU listed?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15EJi53UKD/?mibextid=wwXIfr

While the calendar says it’s March, the weather tells us it’s April. And there’s no better month for fishing in north Georgia.   Take advantage of this “prime time” while you can.  Just save your campfires for a soggy week in our future. The trout, bass, and all of us appreciate the trees along our waters.

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

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 3/21/25

Welcome to “Rebound Week.” Thankfully, we were spared from the Saturday Storm’s worst impacts and can now focus on fishing instead of roof repair.  Despite the rain, our woods are dry once again and we need to be careful with any outdoor flames while under a red flag warning.

Fishing success has been the usual March yo-yo due to the changing weather and fluctuating water temperatures. The warm weekend looks good, so the bite should improve. Trout streams are clear and flowing at seasonal norms. The forthcoming warm days should restore the bug hatches and enhance the shallow water bite.

On the flat water front, ponds have lit up while reservoirs have still lagged a bit. Again, we just need a string of warm days to turn on the big lakes up here.

Just like the weather, we saw mixed success from our reporters last week. Catch their truthful intel here, as always, and just scroll to your paragraph of interest: bluelines, Delayed Harvest, lakes, etc:

http://blog.angler.management/

(Link in bio)

Good luck as we warm back up. Enjoy a really nice weekend ahead before the next storm front hits and resets the spring bite. Stop in either UO shop for up-to-the-minute intel and required supplies.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries: quill gordon , parachute Adams, Blue quill, Tickle Cripple March brown, Drymerger March brown, emerger caddis, drymerger BWO, rage cage black caddis.

Nymphs & Wets: 

DH streams: Tungsten redneck, Oil Slick perdigon, crazy leg stone, jig CDC PT, hares ear, CJ controller, Soft hackle partridge. 

Mountain streams: Pheasant tails, micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, hares ear nymph, soft hackle partridge. 

Streamers:

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

(Bass & stripers) Cowen’s Somethin Else. clouser minnow, finesse changer, Crittermite, clawdad.

Headwaters: 

They’re clear and flowing normally for March. The recent cool days have knocked back the hatching bugs a bit, but hatches should resume and those little wild trout should look up again this weekend. Toss some small dark dries to start. A size 16 elk hair caddis or para-adams is a great starting selection.

UO buddy RSquared: “GATU held their quarterly meeting in Rabun County last Saturday. That afternoon I received some intel from a local Rabunite  that wild rainbows lived in a stream near our hotel. I followed his advice & was rewarded with several small but beautiful  bows. Some fish were looking up. I got several refusals on the #14,tan elk-hair caddis. They preferred the #16 parachute adams.”

Delayed Harvest Streams:

All region streams should have received their March stockings and will fish well with rising water temps.

Many fish are now sore-lipped and smarter, so graduate from your eggs and squirmies and start throwing smaller, darker patterns at them to imitate the real bugs. Change from nymph dredging to dry/dropper rigs around lunchtime on sunny days that warm the water.  Match the afternoon hatches by first catching the real bugs in your paint strainer, stretched over your landing net.  Match the size, color, and action (movement) of the real insects as best you can. If dead drifts aren’t producing, add some twitches.

Smith DH will continue to be crowded, so go real early (7AM) , real late (6PM) or real far downstream to avoid the crowds. Dredger offered his Smith decipher technique on a recent NGTO post. Scroll down to it:

http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/NGTO-Xenforo/index.php?threads/quick-smith-report.801/page-2

Rabunite Bluejay hit Smith DH early Wednesday afternoon. The water was slightly off color from the storm and 54F at 3PM.   He had a decent day dredging a small dark caddis larva through pools and pockets on the lower half of the creek. Dredger spotted some 5PM sippers chasing emerging midges, as best he could tell.

UO buddy Hillis: “Three of us fished the DH sections of the West Fork Pigeon, Nantahala, and Tuck in NC, and Smith in North Georgia last week. Fishing was slow Monday and Tuesday, but ended on a high note on Wednesday.

We fished the West Fork Pigeon Monday afternoon for a short period. The wading was a bit tough, it was cold, and we did not catch any fish. We blamed bad fishing on the cold front.

Tuesday morning, after the weather warmed up, we fished the Tuck. Unfortunately wading was very rough due to water release, and we did not last long. Again we were skunked. 

We drove over to the Nantahala Tuesday afternoon and although fishing was slow we finally managed to catch a few. Walts Worms and PT soft hackles were productive.  

This morning we drove to Fires. We arrived around 9 and found a parking lot full, so two of us decided not to stay, fish Smith instead, and the other stayed at Fires. My fishing buddy that stayed at Fires reported later in the day that the fishing was slow, but he caught a few. 

As for the two of us that went to Smith we found another parking lot pretty much full when we arrived and overflowing when we left. The banks were lined with people fishing. Regardless we found an open hole and the fish were plentiful and cooperative. I caught several on a Walts Worm, PT soft hackle, and Hares Ear soft hackle. So, a slow week ended on a high note. Thank goodness for Smith! Here are pics of some of the fish I caught. The pics do not do the fish justice. The browns I caught at Smith were really nice!”

UO buddy Lumis: “Hit the Nantahala DH last Saturday.  Not too many fishermen. Cloudy most of the day and some annoying wind gusts. Lots of insects and just as many trying to enter my clothes.

Caught about 18 fish, with two being browns and the rest being split between rainbows (a few wild) and brooks. Mainly used a brown and then green perdigon throughout the day.

Fishing was weird. I expected to see more stocked fish but really wasn't having a ton of success in the usual holes. As always, the pocket water saved me from a bad day. There's always fish in the pocket stretches as long as I cover a lot of water. Still, I thought I would get into more fish and I'm not sure where I went wrong. Maybe I needed to throw more junk flies.

Lots of insect activity as mentioned before, and the wild rainbows took advantage towards the edges of the water. Can't say I really saw stockers taking advantage.”

Private Waters:

The warmer water has really heated up our private stream action. Book soon at 706-878-3083.

UO company manager Jake: “Lynn and I fished the upper Soque at Larry’s Lodge this week, and the fishing was exceptional. We saw a few gray caddis popping off, but could never get one of the fish to take our dry. All of our damage was done on a soft hackle of some sort. The bite didn’t really seem to be pattern specific, just any soft hackle in a size 16-18 would produce a strike. Fishing has been great the past few weeks with the warming temps, and should continue to be great over the next few weeks.”

UO guide Israel: “ Nacoochee Bend fished fairly well last weekend.  It seemed to fish better with each passing day after that last round of rain. Early on, stonefly nymphs were the preferred snack. Later in the week, soft hackles did well again. “

UO guide Joseph:  “Fishing on private water has been good with the warmer weather. We had a nice outing at Larry’s lodge on Tuesday afternoon with Mike and Ed. Most of our fish came on a nymph rig with a #12 pats rubberlegs accompanied with a #18 unweighted pheasant tail. We also had a few eats on a caddis dry with a micro mayfly hung under it. Lastly, we had some good bites on a sparkle minnow.”

UO buddy CDB: “I played more of an administrator and cameraman role this week. However, I made some observations along the way during our veterans fishing trips.  By Monday afternoon, river levels had dropped considerably and were still falling, and the water, while stained, was clearing up nicely.  And wow, did the bite turn on! 

Most flies worked, but the real winners seemed to be dark woolly buggers and small leech patterns. They worked excellent either simply dead drifted, or short staccato strips.  Rubberleg stones also were a big winner, and as you might expect squirmy worms accounted for a fair number of fish in the falling water levels. 

Perhaps most interesting was the number of fish that were in the fast water, aggressively feeding subsurface. As temps move up, and the bottom of the stream beds come alive, I expect that skinny, fast water will begin to count for more fish, and some very sizable ones, just like it does every year about this time.”

Tailwaters:

No recent reports. They should be fishing well.

Warm Rivers:

Our region rivers have slowly cleared from last weekend’s storm. There might be a few walleye still hanging around, but that spawn should be over.  Look now for whites, hybrids, and some early striper migrants.  Resident bass should slowly turn on as those rivers warm.

UO shop manager Wes: “I fished for Shoalies earlier in the week with UO guides Atticus and Israel. The water was high but we were able to find some eager early spring fish. The Shoal Bass somewhere were happy to chase down moving baits. 

I swung big and threw large streamers on a 10wt most of the day. While I didn’t find any true giants,  it was fun to see this 18” bass go after my 11” fly. “

Ponds/ Lakes:

UO buddy Athens MD: “Well, this southern fly fisher gets a little too excited when the crappie and friends get shallow. Local lakes around Athens are warming up and developing a yellow skim of pollen, and the 12+ inch crappie are eagerly taking black “jig” flies with marabou tails and damselfly imitations. It’s the most fun you can have with a three or four weight rod. Bluegill seem to be biding their time for the most part, but the shellcracker have followed the crappie to the shallows. Suspending nymphs and jigs under a foam hopper or chubby Chernobyl is all but a sure thing right now. Uh-oh, just got a text about white bass…”

Our Lanier striper contacts are busy today as volunteer guides for veterans. After that, it’s on to their friendly competition at the Southern Striper Open. We should have some fine intel for y’all next week.

The midweek cold spell probably put the fish down for a couple days.  The warmer afternoons ahead of us should pull shad, spots, and stripers back up to the stained shallows and back under the docklights at night. Get out there soon and toss some Somethin Else’s. There are plenty of 10 pound plus fish to tempt you!

UO buddy AJ: “Still pretty tough going on Lanier. Consistency just hasn't been there this winter and spring is starting off the same. Had a really good last week, with double digit stripers to the boat (including two 14'lbers) and followed it up a with perfect looking Saturday, where I grinded out one bass and one striper in 8 hours on the water.

Had the pleasure of fishing with two great anglers this morning with Project Healing Waters for the Alpharetta Outfitters Striper Open. Fishing was tough this AM as well, but we did manage a nice 4lb spot. 

It didn't sound like many of the other boats did much better. The fish we are catching have all been fat though and definitely gearing up for the spawn. Focus on those main lake points and humps and glass into the backs of any of pockets. Sinking lines with searching patterns like Cowen's Coyotes or Game Changers and intermediate lines with Clouser Minnows or Cowen's Somethin' Else should get the job done. Fishing should really turn on once we get a little consistency with the weather and a few more degrees on water temps. Some of my best days have come in the first two weeks of April. Give me  a shout if you're interested in getting out there! My website is: www.lanieronthefly.com”

In middle GA, the bite is better.  From UGA hockey star Ryan:

“Pre-spawn is on. Warmer water temps led to a good day of fishing on Piedmont public waters. Largemouth were concentrated close to shallow flats with aquatic vegetation. Most fish were caught on natural-colored patterns (shad/bluegill). The bite picked up under overcast conditions with a slight wind. Bonus catches included pickerel and bowfin. “

News and Events:

From UO buddy RSquared: “Recently, GA Trout Unlimited, Georgia DNR, and the Georgia Wildlife Federation (GWF) worked jointly to host members of Georgia's legislative "Sportsman's Caucus" to a trout fishing trip on the Chattahoochee River.  GWF organized the legislators, GaDNR provided fish, shuttles & Equipment. GATU recruited Trout Unlimited members and fly fishing businesses to serve as guides & provide advice & flies . This was a first-time event and the feedback we received indicates our legislators would like to do it again next year!”

Left to right: Trevor Santos, Assistant Commissioner GADNR, Scott Robinson, Chief of Fisheries GADNR, Rodney Tumlin Chairman GATU, Mike Worley CEO GWF, Ted Will, Director of Wildlife Resurces Division, GADNR.  

March 22 : Hoot on the Hooch. Georgia Foothills TU’s annual fundraiser on the banks of the Chattahoochee River at the Helendorf Inn in Helen. All Dream Trip raffle winners announced. Stay tuned next week for the list of winners. One of them might be you!

Take advantage of a drier, warmer weekend ahead of us. The bite should rise along with water temperatures, so have your dry/dropper rigs ready on trout waters and your somethin else streamers ready for upper Lanier’s stained  coves.  Just pass up the campfires until we get a couple weeks’ worth of soaking spring rains. Good luck everyone!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com