Summary:
Welcome to August! It’s a good news/bad news time of the year for region anglers. First, the bad news: it’s still hot and fairly dry. Many trout waters have been too hot for much success.
And now the good news, of which there is plenty. Did you see the weather forecast??? Hooray! We have a cooler week ahead of us, which will reduce headwater trout stream temperatures and give y’all a shot at stockers and high elevation wild fish. The two icy tailwaters will still fish well, and GAWRD has another decent stocking list posted today. The river bass bite has been very good when waters clear between summer storms. A few stripers are a bonus catch. And Lanier spots are still in play!
Details are in our blog. It’s new every Friday and will help you boost your own catch rates.
http://blog.angler.management/
(Link in bio)
Reward yourselves for getting past a steamy July by taking a fishing trip during the cooler days at hand. Do it before August heats up again! Stop in either one of our two UO shops for supplies and timely intel. Our guests are always glad that they did!
Helen: 706-878-3083. Open 8-5 daily.
Clarkesville: 706-754-0203. Open 8-5 from Monday thru Saturday.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
(Wes said that last week’s list is still solid)
Dries: purple haze, tan elk hair caddis, parachute and hard body ants, micro chubby Chernobyl, Royal Wulff.
Nymphs & Wets:
Stockers: red squirmy worm, peach egg, micro girdle bug, black woolly bugger, tan and olive mops, pink tag jig.
Mountain streams: hares ear, drowned ant, pheasant tail nymph and soft hackle, UV green weenie, prince nymph.
Streamers:
small black and olive buggers, bank robber sculpin, micro dungeon.
(Bass & stripers) two tone stealth bomber, crawfish jambalaya, dead ned. Supernatural peanut, sweet baby cray.
(Panfish) mini stealth bomber, Boogle popper #8, brim reaper, girdle bug.
(Carp) squirmy hybrid, carp bitters, identity crisis.
Headwaters:
Most small creeks have been getting recharged by afternoon storms. Unfortunately, the rainfall runs off quickly and streams warm back up when the sun shines again.
Cooler weather is forecast, so the wild trout bite will be resurrected as long as those nighttime air temps drop back down into the 60’s. Float an Adams or ant at high elevations and north slopes to fool a few wilds before they resume their summer siestas. Hit the drought refuges , where fish are packed in, spooky, but competitive for the few bugs in the drift.
Ian and Charity just provided a nice Smokies update on their headwater wild trout. Tune in here:
https://randrflyfishing.com/the-fishing-report/
Stockers:
GAWRD published another decent stocking list today. Hit those streams early to catch cooler water and more cooperative fish. The higher uphill and earlier you go, the cooler the water. Take those stockers home for dinner, as the “double trouble” combo of warm water and angling stress will do most of them in.
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
Private Waters:
We are shut down for summer. Feel free to call our shop now to reserve your prime fall weekend dates after October 15, a rough estimate for our reopening of private trout water opportunities.
Reminder:
We are still offering flyfishing-only striper trips at Nacoochee Bend. Call the Helen shop at 706-878-3083 for details and to make your reservation.
Dredger struck out on them last night, as post-storm visibility shrank from 2 feet to 6 inches by 9pm. Athens Jay did slightly better this morning, landing 3 small stripers in the stained but clearing river.
Tailwaters:
They are our only large stream trouting opportunity during the heat of summer. Hit them early before the sun bakes your heads. On the Hooch, try streamers and junk flies for freshly stocked bows, and zebra midges and tiny black stones for resident browns that aren’t big enough yet to eat stockers and little browns.
UO buddy Spangler: “Hey Dredger, some overdue tailwater if you need: Lanier tailwater has been good last couple weeks in hour-or-two spurts when I can get out. Last week I actually got some to eat a dry right at dark in some pocket water and several came up to make a swipe but they missed it or I missed them. I shook some bushes walking along the bank to see tiny cream colored midges fly off, so closest thing I had was a 16 Griffith’s Gnat with a CDC wing I came up. Maybe it looked like a cluster of them but the little wind browns were into it. One tip I picked up was by dusk I couldn’t really see my dry well, if at all (not that I ever can) so I use some of those paint markers to add a sighter above my flies (since I’m high sticking them leading them through) and I could see where they were tracking from that and just wait for the splash when they took the dry.”
(Editors note: drop that midge 2 feet behind a larger, fluffy dry that you can see. An Adams, para ant, or stimmy is a strike indicator with a hook in it.)
Warm Rivers:
They remain a best bet this week! Hot weather and drought are prime ingredients for a summer bass bite. Just watch for clear water between these PM storm surges. The Hooch at Hwy 115 had three feet of visibility this afternoon and should fish okay tomorrow.
UO guide Joseph: “Shoal bassin’ was good last night. We struck out on stripers in the low water, but that could change with next week’s rain. Our bass came on Ned rigs bouncing the bottom in shoals and along shaded banks. For flies stealth bombers and boogle bugs should be good right now, along with crawfish patterns down deep when the sun is high.”
UO Helen manager Wes: “I did a river bass float early this week with clients Jonathan & Jake. We had a high-numbers day catching shoalies & spotted bass on small swimbaits and topwater poppers. We also caught a few bonus stripers along with the bass!”
UO friend RSquared got back into the action: “Last week I fished a creek in West-Metro Atlanta for Shoal Bass. The fish were small, but scrappy. Most were under the 8" minimum for the Ga. Bass Slam, but 3 were in the 8" - 9" range. Both Crawfish & Hellgrammite patterns were producing fish.”
The UO duo of Jimmy and Dredger had a fun Wednesday afternoon wade on the Hooch, landing north of a dozen shoalies up to 16 inches.
They were in the shoal shelves and along deep, slow, woody pool banks. Fish came on both fly (bottom bounced woolly bomber) and spin tackle (swim and surface plugs). If you don’t have a woolly bomber, try sliding a real small slip sinker on your leader before tying on that #4 black bugger.
Dredger ran north of the border on Monday night for another Smallie fix. He found much clearer water and more eager fish. The switch turned on at 8pm and he landed a handful of Smallies to 11 inches on his small popper. His catch would have doubled if he had remembered a hook hone for the dull point, which he discovered too late.
Ponds: No recent reports. The pond bite will slow with this hot weather that will drive fish deeper. It’s still worth a shot in the mornings before the sun rises above the treeline. Cruise along the shady banks for bass and bream hunting show breakfasts. There are plenty of small lakes in state parks and on the national forest across the region to try.
Jim at GAWRD has a great north GA report today that includes reservoir intel, a list of small public lakes, and special trout fishing opportunities. Scroll to the bottom here:
https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/
Lakes:
The Lanier morning bass bite continues. UO guide Joseph: “Fishing is still steady on the pond. My buddy Tyler and I got out earlier this week and had another great morning of topwater bass fishing. It seems like the fish are moving out slightly deeper on points and humps, however there is still some good schooling action. With water temps rising further it will become more of a conventional tackle game as fish won’t stay up as long. For flies game changers, wiggle minnows, poppers and other 3-4 inch baitfish patterns will work. For conventional gear flukes, serpentine swimbaits, and top water walking baits are the best ticket. With the cold front next week the water temps should stabilize and hopefully we are able to get a few more weeks of topwater! To book a trip call the Helen shop at (706)-878-3083 or visit www.josephclarkflyfishing.com”
Afar:
UO guide Israel got out of Dodge and just reported: “Smallies way up north sure are fun on boogle bugs!”
UO buddies, GATU Dream Trip hosts John and Laine, are still finding some really nice cutts in Yellowstone Country. Here’s Laine with evidence.
UO buddy Splatek shared his young son’s Montana adventure video. Spencer is quite the angler!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAMA-r4k6Zc
UO buddy Mo once again wins our distance award: “Hey Jeff. I hope all is well. Here are some picky grayling from the Vrbas River in central Bosnia.
These fish live downtown as the river runs right thru this city. This is urban fishing at its best. The sound of traffic from the road. Spectators look on and holler as they stroll on the sidewalks along the river. Stream-side cafes right on the river bank if you feel like a cold brew or a macchiato. Small city hustle and bustle and rising grayling in the middle of it all.
Anyway, caught a few and lost a few but won’t forget this experience any time soon.”
That’s the latest from our Helen neck of the woods. Get out ASAP on one of these rare, cool August days. One good fishing trip may help you weather the GA summer til cool September nights recharge all of us and our quarry. Stop in soon to get some prime intel from Wes, Joseph, and Iz… If Iz ever decides to come back to Georgia. Good luck everyone! Wet wade and chill out soon.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
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