Summary:
Region trout streams are still real low and clear. Tonite’s rain might boost flows a bit if we get enough, but they’ll probably drop back quickly to skinny water . Check the river gauges in the morning for any bumps in streamflows and match your bugs to the flows (low and clear water equals light line and small bugs; big water equals bigger and brighter bugs).
Consider taking two game plans with you this week. Retain your fall plan for those warmer days and skinny water this weekend and possibly next. Dry/dropper rigs are still a good bet on smaller streams. Also pack your winter dredging game for the cold days and icy water on Monday and beyond. Indicator and Euro rigs will get your bugs on the bottom, where trout will sulk when water temps take a nose-dive. Let your stream thermometer dictate your technique.
Lake bass and stripers are a decent bet. It’s all about right place/right time, but one ten pound striper will let you forget several skunkings. Carry both fly and conventional gear for them.
Don’t miss Trout Tunes in Athens on November 9th! UGA event leader Emery said: “We had a blast last year, and can't wait to be back at Athentic Brewing Co. On November 9, at 6 p.m! We are so excited to have Dire Wolf jamming some Grateful Dead tunes all night, and some amazing items to raffle off! Tickets are $10 now, and $12 at the door, which each come with two raffle tickets. Don't miss out! Get your tickets now: Venmo @tu5riversuga with your name and # of tickets!
Check out @5riversfishing_uga on instagram for updates.”
Catch all the fishing and event intel here:
http://blog.angler.management/
(Link in bio)
Stop in either UO shop if we can help you out.
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:
Dries: Orange Stimulator, chubby Chernobyl, parachute Adams, blue wing olive, various midges.
Nymphs & Wets:
DH Stockers: twister egg, tungsten pheasant tail, Duracell, psycho prince, root beer midge, ruby midge, micro mayfly.
Mountain streams: hares ear, zebra midge, soft hackle, prince nymph, crazy leg stone.
Streamers:
Mini shimmer buggers, sparkle minnow, Jiggy fry.
Reservoir Bass & Stripers:
clouser minnow, wiggle minnow, somethin else.
River bass:
Thrasher, polar changer, crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, dead ned.
Headwaters: Low, clear, and cool. Flows might spike if we get a significant shower. Start with a dry/dropper and make sure the dropper sinks to fish-eye level. Try a tungsten nymph or a tiny tin shot four inches above an unweighted nymph or soft hackle.
Delayed Harvest:
The GA streams got doses last Saturday and the Hooch DH got some more stockers this week. I’m sure the fish have been pounded with eggs and squirmies, so be ready to try dead drifting some small nymphs like lightning bugs, frenchies, and bright perdigons behind a small egg fly.
Stockers:
Wait til March, or fish downstream from DH boundaries to catch DH wash-downs after flood events.
UO buddy Nanette hit the Tallulah today:”Spent a couple hours solo on the Tallulah this afternoon. Still a few stockers hanging on, plus wild bows. Caught on dry-dropper rigs. Most ate the nymph dropper but a few went for the dry. The best part was having the river completely to myself! That was a first and I absolutely loved the solitude. The fall colors were outstanding too.”
Private Waters:
UO-Helen manager Wes: “I did a couple of private water trips on the Soque this week. The fishing was quite good! The key to success was lighter tippet and midge patterns. Almost all of our fish either ate a size #18 Root beer or Ruby midge.”
UO buddy CDB: “On private water with Veterans flyfishing just after the rain. Water was up a little and nicely off-color. The fish were active, so just about any on the standard fly patterns, presented properly in the zone, would produce a fish. Bead Head Black Pat’s Rubber legs produced very well, but the top producers were smaller flies (size 16-18) such as wet hackle pheasant tail, frenchies, blow torch and Walt’s Worms. Your offering should be dragging as close to the bottom as possible right now. If fishing a double rig, that point fly should be bouncing off the bottom. Make sure you finish the drift if you have a wet hackle - sometimes that swing at the end of the drift is irresistible. “
Tailwaters:
No recent reports.
Warm Rivers:
No recent reports.
Ponds: no recent reports.
Lakes:
UO guide Joseph: “We’re starting to see some good signs on Lanier. Stripers are still slightly inconsistent. Over the past week we’ve seen some good groups pop up in open water and stay up for a good amount of time. The majority of schools have been scattered over open water. Most fish I’ve seen have been feeding on small threadfins ranging from 2-3 inches in length. For flies somethin else’s, small clousers, and polar fibre minnows are the best bet.
With this front moving in the beginning of next week will probably be slow fishing, but as the pressure stabilizes once again the fish should wake back up.
I have a few last minute openings for the rest of November and December, so if you want to get on an amazing topwater bite now is the time to book!
To book or inquire call the Helen store at (706)-878-3083 or visit my website at www.josephclarkflyfishing.com”
The UO duo of Jimmy and Dredger hit Lanier last Saturday morning. It was slow and they only found one striper school on top, briefly. No hookups. They would have had better luck casting for buck deer…
At mid morning they met up with UO guide Joseph, out on a recon mission. Their chat was interrupted by Joseph, who spotted diving gulls. Both boats raced toward the action and Jimmy managed to boat a nice 6 pound striper on a Sebile before the school sounded.
Afar:
UGA 5 Rivers duo Sawyer and Adam went south to the coastal marshes: “It was a great trip though, we found a creek immediately that had some of the wildest fish activity I’ve ever seen. We were chasing packs of 30 inch redfish up and down the creek. The fish were busting up shrimp so hard they were beaching themselves. However, as every fisherman can attest, just because we saw a ton of fish doesn’t mean it was easy fishing. Hard to get the fish to eat your fly when they had thousands of real shrimp to eat. Adam and I finally got a couple to eat, and after some of the wildest fights on a fly rod we’ve ever had, we got them to the boat. Adam was throwing a black and purple creature fly with a purple zonker tail and I threw a flashy craft fur shrimp.”
UGA 5 Rivers gal Anna went north to NC and reported: “I had a wonderful weekend brook trout fishing and thought you might enjoy hearing about!
I ventured up to the mountains of North Carolina and hiked up a beautiful creek. We started off with a dry:dropper but the fishing started off slow. We had a few hits in the beginning but no luck landing fish. After a couple hours of fishing we found ourselves at a beautiful pool. On the first cast I caught my personal best wild brookie. That pool produced a couple more fish and the luck continued as we headed upstream. We ended the day with over half a dozen fish caught on both dries and nymphs!”
Rabunites Nanette and Dredger took a midweek trek up to the Smokies. They found a pod of sipping bows in a flat, cold (46F) pool
around their lunchtime arrival and tried to figure them out.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQsdp17EZF8/?igsh=MTN1MzY5eXAzbDhiMQ==
To no avail. Nan cast while Dredge seined bugs.
The highlights of the trip were the abundant elk herds and the beautiful leaf colors in the afternoon sun.
Today (7th) Dredger returned for a rematch. He got there early( 9am) to catch the start of the midge hatch and figure it out. Water temp was a decent 48F and he had high hopes. Alas, the hatch was sparse and rises were spotty in the long, slow pool. He managed one dink rainbow on his BWO lead dry. He did catch a few bugs and found out that they were half the size of his #28 cream midge dropper, so he quit trying to match the hatch after an hour of flailing.
He went upstream and tossed a dry/dropper into pockets and runs and did well. Nothing hit the October caddis dry, but a good bunch of bows, including a hefty reservation migrant,
liked his #16 copper Frenchie, dropped 3 feet under the dry.
A lone brown nailed the dropper on his last cast at 4PM, as the shadows fell and the water warmed to 54F. The key was covering a lot of ground (I.e. skipping over shallow riffles and big, deep pools) and finding the “right” rainbow water: slower boulder pockets and long runs with 2-4 feet of depth (indicated by a green hue) to provide cover for the fish.
He had plenty of company along his long upstream wade today. It started with a mink around 9,
then a herd of thirsty elk sneaking along the bank behind him around 3,
and ended with a flock of turkeys on his hike back to the truck. It was another great day in the national park!
Supper hint: Haywood Smokehouse!
Events:
Don’t miss Trout Tunes in Athens on November 9th! UGA event leader Emery said: “It is almost time for Trout Tunes 2025! This is an event to support 5Rivers at UGA, a collegiate chapter of Trout Unlimited in partnership with Costa, focused on fly fishing and conservation. We had a blast last year, and can't wait to be back at Athentic Brewing Co. On November 9, at 6 p.m! We are so excited to have Dire Wolf jamming some Grateful Dead tunes all night, and some amazing items to raffle off! (Day trip for two on Nacoochee Bend, anyone?) This is an evening you do not want to miss! Tickets are $10 now, and $12 at the door, which each come with two raffle tickets. This is going to be a great evening to come together and support 5Rivers at UGA, to make fly fishing more accessible for everyone and aid our conservation efforts. Don't miss out! Get your tickets now: Venmo @tu5riversuga with your name and # of tickets!
Check out @5riversfishing_uga on instagram for updates.”
From the Rabunites: ”mark your calendars for Saturday, February 7th. It’s our annual shindig, the Rabun Rendezvous! We’ll have it once again at the Rabun County Civic Center in downtown Clayton. Barbecue, live bluegrass, fish tales, raffle and auction prizes- don’t miss this annual event celebrating clean, cold trout waters!”
The Rabun Rendezvous – The Rabun Chapter of Trout Unlimited
That’s the latest in this late report. I couldn’t pass up one more warm fall day in the park and a pit stop at Haywood on the ride home. We hope your weekend is equally eventful. Don’t forget a raincoat, a stream thermometer, and both your fall and winter fishing games. Good luck!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
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