Sorry for the late report; I just got back from a big time at the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show. If y’all have a chance, get down there and enjoy the free seminars on casting, fishing, and fly tying. My two favorites today were the casting tips and demos from Jeff Currier and Kevin Howell at the casting pond next to our UO Booth #436.
For this week’s fishing report, look forward to your “taste of spring.”Warm and mostly dry weather should awaken a lot of fish from their frozen slumber. Delayed Harvest trout aren’t as abundant as they were a month ago, but enough are still around to make your trip worthwhile. And I wouldn’t be surprised if GAWRD redosed them next week.
Wild trout have been frozen, but should thaw and eat this week. You just have to get to them. Some national forest roads are still closed. Each district office will have the best info on its respective road status. Find the districts here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/conf/about-forest/offices
For next week, carry some “hope” and few seasonal dries (winter stones, BWO’s, midges) in case these warm days spur a small hatch or two. In a few more weeks, the tailwaters should host the black caddis hatch, so put some of those bugs in your vest or sling, too.
Stripers are deep and slow and so should your streamers be. See Joseph’s most recent Lanier report. And catch Henry Cowen at our UO booth all day tomorrow for some Lanier intel. Buy his book so you don’t have to remember what he told you.
Catch Wes’ weekly update to his hot fly list and the latest fishing reports here:
http://blog.angler.management/
Stop in either UO shop (Helen, Clarkesville) for your February supplies. Better yet, swing by the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show this weekend and visit with our UO staff (Jake, Wes, Israel, and our young guns) at Booth #436. Enjoy this week’s warmth, indoors and out!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Dries: Micro chubby Chernobyl, orange stimulator, parachute Adams, blue wing olive, little black stone, gray elk hair caddis.
Nymphs & Wets:
DH streams: small Frenchie, tungsten baetis, small pheasant tails and hares ears (both soft hackles and nymphs) slush egg, RS2, root beer and zebra midges.
Mountain streams: Pheasant tails, micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, root beer midge.
Streamers:
Olive and black buggers, sparkle minnows, CDC squirrel leech, bank robber sculpin.
(Bass & stripers) Somethin’ else, Clouser minnow, micro changer, jerk changer.
Headwaters:
Low, cold, and clear, but they’ll be warming up quickly. Try dry/dropper rigs. For forest road closure updates, try the Chatt Forest Ranger District offices: Example: Tallulah Falls RD: 706-754-6221.
UO guide Sydney slipped out to a headwater stream on a warmer afternoon this week and was treated to several little wild rainbows that inhaled her caddis dry fly.
UO buddy RSquared: “A couple of my former students & I fished one of Georgia's best known wild trout streams last Sunday. The fishing & camaraderie were great but the catching was nonexistent. The water temp was in the mid-30's and ice still clung to the shoreline & exposed rocks. We tried multiple tactics but nothing we cast at them could coax a trout out of their lairs. With warming water & air temperatures this week, catching should be much better.”
Delayed Harvest Streams:
They’re super-clear and cold and flowing at normal winter levels. Smith is fishing well and the Chattooga isn’t. The Toccoa should fish better with the coming warm spell. Same with Ami. Just bottom-bump the deep pools with real long, light tippets to find the hibernating rainbows. Save the riffle fishing for April.
New flyfisher Tanner shared this note: “I caught a really nice rainbow on a hares ear nymph at Smith Creek this week. I would not have been able to get him without all the flies, advice and tips from your Helen staff. Thank you UO!”
UO staffer Dredger hit the Chattooga DH last Monday afternoon. Water temp was a chilly 41F and never rose. The river was low and clear, with sand covering half the stream bottom due to the lack of flushing rains. He had zero hits and zero fish to hand for several hours. He finally broke the ice with some recently stocked browns, found in a few tight pods on the upper end via an egg/bugger combo. The river will fish better with warming water temps and another dose of Walhalla stockers. Until then, he suggests heading somewhere else.
Private Waters:
Client trips were few and far between this week. UO buddy JS: “I have fished for 7 straight weeks. Last week was really cold but I decided to go to my son’s property on the Hooch so I could get back out of the water quickly. I couldn’t get a hit on any nymph I tried. I switched to a green bugger with a copper tail, let it swing through the hole deeply with two split shot, and it was on! They wouldn’t touch the fly if I stripped it, but would kill it on a swing. My feet were so cold that I quit after just an hour.’
Tailwaters:
UO buddy Myles: “ Last Saturday in Helen, Myles managed to catch 8 and Ryan caught 3. This evening we fished the Hooch tailwaters. Myles caught 5 browns and Ryan caught 4 browns. Pheasant tails, Hares ears, and stonefly patterns have been the ticket this week.”
Lakes:
UO guide Joseph: “ I got out on the pond for a short afternoon session earlier this week. Water temp in the river channel was 43 degrees and in the back of creeks it was 45-46 degrees. Saw lots of bird activity but they were mostly scattered, feeding on bait just under the surface. Wasn’t able to find the big groups like the previous week but I was able to find a few stripers. Most fish I marked were about 15-30 feet down. Evening I was able to run into a fish on a sinking like down deep. The fish ate a somethin else on a dead fall. It seems over the past few weeks, as the water temps have plummeted, moving the fly very slowly is the key to success. With some warmer days on the way hopefully we should see a little more activity near the surface. If you’d like to book a trip call the shop at (706)-878-3083!”
Learn more about Joseph here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19pR2Xyk72/?
Afar:
UO buddy Steve shared his Ireland angling tale with us. Enjoy:
http://flylifemagazine.com/part-i-trout-fishing-ireland-style-with-steve-hudson/
Events:
THE FLY SHOW - NOW!
Jan 31 to Feb 2 : Atlanta Fly Fishing Show at Gas South Convention Center in Duluth. Stop by our UO booth and swap fish stories. We are back at booth #436, next to Pond A, once again.
https://flyfishingshow.com/atlanta/
Feb 20: Soque River Watershed “fly fishing trip auction” and prime rib dinner in Clarkesville. Details:
Ongoing: Dream Trip ticket sales. Win a week of fishing in Yellowstone for just ten bucks, or one of a dozen great runnerup prizes. Drawing on March 22. Details here:
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.
Enjoy the coming thaw and take advantage of rising stream temps and renewed trout appetites. It won’t be as good as April, but the catching will be a heckuva lot better that it’s been the last two frozen weeks. Got a thermometer? Fish the midday sun! See y’all at the Fly Show this weekend!
BOOTH 436!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
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