The weather and water conditions have been accommodating and the fishing remains very good for nearly all finned critters. Tops on the list is still trouting, but pond bass and bream are a strong second. Reservoir stripers and bass are still shallow, too. They’ve just got to be located, since they’re spread out across acres of reservoir space.
Dry fly action remains good, so get a good helping of it soon before it wanes in another 4-6 weeks.
Hot fishing intel, as recent as today’s trip reports, are right here in our blog. 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 some flies, supplies, and advice.
Helen: 706-878-3083. Open 8-5 daily.
Clarkesville: 706-754-0203. Open 8-5 from Monday thru Saturday.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Dries: parachute Adams, Tickle Cripple March brown, Drymerger March brown, para light Cahill, emerger caddis, tan elk hair caddis, yellow Stimulator.
Nymphs & Wets:
Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, Duracell, girdle bug, lightning bug, tungsten redneck, pheasant tail soft hackle.
Mountain streams: micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, hares ear nymph, soft hackle pheasant tail.
Streamers:
Sparkle minnows, small black and olive buggers for DH streams, mohair leeches, Jiggy Fry, mini shimmer buggers, Thrasher.
(Bass & stripers) clouser minnow, Cowens somethin else, polar changer, crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, Clydesdale stealth jig.
Headwaters:
They’re in good shape: clear, flowing at seasonal norms, and in the prime temperature zone of the upper 50’s.
Try straight dries first (see Wes’ hot patterns) and add a short dropper only if you have to. Be ready with some cahills and tan caddis, as those hatches should take off any day now.
UO guide Sydney: “I did some more small stream fishing this week, this time on a rainbow stream. Got a few on the dropper (bird of prey nymph) and a few on top via my parachute Adams.”
UO buddy Myles: “In addition to my tailwater adventures with my brother, I did some midweek bluelining for wild rainbows and browns. Using 6.5x tippet, a dry dropper rig, and a size 20 nymph below, I caught a good amount of rainbows and 2 awesome browns as well! “
Delayed Harvest Streams:
It’s the last month of Georgia’s DH season, so take full advantage of it. Several streams got a DNR redosing this week,
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
so try some buggers and squirmies for the fresh fish. For the more experienced residents, go late and stay late for the risers. Start with a dry/dropper combo to start, and use a nymph or soft hackle as the dropper. As the sun sets and fish rise, shorten the dropper line and add a small, second dry as your trailer.
UO buddy JS: “Took my grandson to Smith Creek today (11th) and he caught and released three fish. They were his first trout on a fly rod.
He also caught several last week at Boggs Creek with his spinning rod.
It made my day to see him catch those on a fly rod.”
Stockers:
The GAWRD and USFWS truck fleets have their pedals to the metal. Master stocking list and this week’s schedule are here:
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
Grab your kids and go this spring, while the streams are cool and the stockers are abundant.
UO buddy RSquared: “Rumor has it that many of our NW Georgia streams will have freshly stocked rainbows if not now, then certainly by the end of the business day Friday. After 4+ inches of rain, our trout streams are still high, fast, & muddy which means the fish will spread out quickly with the majority moving downstream from the stocking locations. With the fast water, coupled with low visibility, larger, colorful flies should entice these now hungry salmonids into taking your offerings.”
Private Waters:
They’re fishing well, thanks to good flows, water temps in the high 50’s, and eager trout willing to feed anywhere in the water column, from the top to the bottom. That’s what we look forward to each April!
UO guide Sydney had some very good trips today. Her clients scored at Nacoochee Bend on dry/dropper rigs.
Catch a trip with one of our fine UO guides. Book soon at 706-878-3083 before the June sun ends our spring guiding season.
https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/guided-fishing/
Tailwaters:
UO buddy Ryan: “My brother Myles and I have hit the Hooch Tailwater four times at multiple access points over the past two weeks. Between stockings and wild browns, the river is fishing well. On my guided wade trip, both clients caught multiple fish including wild browns and a big Hooch sucker as we dialed in fish while indicator nymphing. The past 2 weekends we brought a friend out who'd never fly fished before, so we started him off by euronymphing. Trip #1 he missed a number of fish and landed one at the buzzer on the final swing of the night. On last weekend's trip he dialed in his drifts and landed no less than five fish! He missed a number of fish as well, making for great action with caddis hatching all around. A few double hookups were landed, which was fun. Natural nymphs on 5x tippet did damage, and of course we managed to catch some nice fish as we rotated guiding.”
Warm Rivers:
Last call for spring river stripers! The first two weeks of April are prime time in north GA. After that, most go back downstream to shad-packed reservoirs. Some will come back upstream in June when reservoirs heat up and the bigger fish need a thermal refuge. Got a jetboat, a yak, or a motorboat with plenty of extra props?
UO guide Joseph: “ Hit the river this past week and ran into this 14lber. Fishing was slow for the most part however when wading for striper one bite is plenty. The fish seemed to be sitting in slightly slower water than usual but just before dark I was able to get some action. For flies medium sized game changers fished on intermediate or sinking lines are always my go-to. I also generally opt out for a bigger 9wt-10wt rod especially when wading. The bigger stick will give you a bit more leverage to aid in fighting these larger fish in moving water. “
The Hooch was clear when I crossed it today, so river bassin’ in the Reservoir tribs should be productive, too. Aim for spots and shoalies with some big streamers and bottom-bumping crayfish imitations.
Ponds/ Lakes:
Ponds are still a best bet! Go soon while fish are shallow and hungry.
UO buddy Athens Jay: “Blooming native azaleas and an approaching full moon mean Piedmont panfish moving into really shallow water to spawn. I could only fish for a couple of hours, but I saw lots of activity right up against the pond bank. The fish were spooky, but a stealthy kayak approach and careful presentation yielded good results. I fished a double nymph rig and caught equal numbers of fish on a brown Pat’s and a red Squirmy.”
UO guide Israel went after supper: “Got enough for a sandwich on a local lake. Blowdowns near main lake points seemed to be the key. I used a two inch swimbait for most of them.”
UO buddy AJ: “I've had a couple of really good trips over the past week. Water temps are in the upper 60s and the bass and stripers are feeding well! Right now fish can be found just about everywhere. Backs of creeks, up the rivers, clay banks, points, and humps are all holding fish. Casting larger Clouser minnows, Cowen's Coyotes, and Game Changers on intermediate and sinking lines will move fish. And topwater has really turned on over the past week or two as well. This pattern should hold up for the next 4 weeks or so and can make for some great trips! I have some availability through April and the first week or two of May. Let's get out there! My website is: www.lanieronthefly.com”
UO owner Jimmy hit Lanier today (11th) and shared this intel: “Lanier stripers are getting a little more active between these strong weather fronts. They seem to be keyed in on larger threadfin shad patterns. Clouser Minnows are producing better than the smaller Somethin Else for me.”
Jimmy did pretty well last Sunday, too, while fishing with Hank the Yank Cowen.
Afar:
UO buddy CDB: “ Wrapping up our first leg of the trip at Pyramid Lake. I have to honestly say I have never been in a situation where everyone was disappointed because of good weather! Some good quality fish this year, however, it definitely was not a numbers game. Especially with the sunny weather. A mix of stripping, black woolly, buggers, and indicator fishing with chironomids.
Beautiful sunrises, and some interesting critters running around. Common side blotched lizard, Uta Stansburiana. Just wandering, not lost. Next stop, Idaho!”
News and Events:
Recent rains have extinguished most of our region’s forest fires. Enjoy your return trips to some of those trout waters that were previously off limits.
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
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
