We are finally drying out and heating up after last week’s cool weather and repeated storm fronts that dropped a total of four inches of rain on the region. Headwater trout streams have cleared and dropped significantly, while bigger streams are still pushing a lot of water. All trout streams should be fishable by the weekend. Just be careful wading in the high water.
Given the hot week ahead, mornings will fish better than afternoons, which boost trout stream temps into the upper 60’s and kill the midday bite. Higher elevation streams will also be cooler. Stocked streams should fish well, while Delayed Harvest streams are now open to harvest and their trout populations are dwindling. NC’s DH streams will be a better bet.
River bassin’ is a weekend washout, while pond and lake bass fishing is still a best bet while the fish are still in the shallows.
Fresh fishing reports and tips are right here in our blog. It’s new every Friday and will help you boost your own catch rates. Wes’ weekly fly list is always spot-on!
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, parachute light Cahill, 409 Yeager yellow, yellow stimulator, micro chubby Chernobyl, hard body ant, goober sally.
Nymphs & Wets:
Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, girdle bug, psycho prince, Red tag jig.
Mountain streams: micro girdle bugs, black ant, hares ear nymph and soft hackle , soft hackle pheasant tail, improved yallar hammer.
Streamers:
Sparkle minnows, small black and olive buggers for DH streams, mohair leeches, Jiggy Fry, mini shimmer buggers.
(Bass & stripers) Stealth bomber, boogle bug, polar changer, clouser minnow, crittermite, Thrasher, Wiggle minnow.
Headwaters:
Headwater streams really raged after this week’s rains, but have slowly dropped back into their banks and down to fishable levels. Bluelines are in great shape for your weekend trips. Spoilcane was back in its banks and 62F at 10AM today,
while Smith DH was 66F.
The Soque was high and stained, but fishable for careful waders chucking squirmy worms and big rubberleg stones today.
Just find the slower pockets and edges that are flood refuges. And if the topwater bite is a bit off due to high water, add that dropper!
That’s what Dredger did yesterday afternoon (15th) high above Helen. The small headwater creek was still raging and just slightly stained, while the water temp was perfect (60F at 3PM).
He landed a nice bunch of small, colorful wild bows. The key was covering ground, reading water, and hi-sticking his bugs thru softer flows behind obstructions, on inside bends, and against the bank.
The high water had him add a two foot dropper, which doubled his catch.
His winning combo was “big and yellow:” a #14 stimmy on top and a #14 tellico below it, four inches behind a #6 dinsmore shot. A wading staff helped him navigate the strong flows.
Delayed Harvest Streams:
Georgia’s DH season ended on the 15th, so harvesters are now working the DH streams hard. You can still find some leftovers in them during the next week or two. Avoid midday fishing, especially if the forecasted hot week ahead boosts water temps into the high 60’s. Most trout will sulk on the bottom until the sun sets and bugs dance.
Try going at 7PM and look for bugs and rising fish just before dark. Yellow sallies should still be strong, and some leftover cahills and tiny tan caddis may add to the evening surface action. Prospect the shady banks before dark with an Adams lead fly and griffiths gnat or black ant dropper. Add a few early, bonus risers to your head count before the evening hatch commences.
NC DH streams should fish really well as their streamflows subside. Due to higher elevations, western NC’s spring runs a week or two later than ours, so yellow sallies, cahills, and caddis should bring plenty of dusk surface action.
LRO always has a good daily fishing report for the Smokies that applies to most streams in western NC.
https://littleriveroutfitters.com/pages/fishing/report.htm
Stockers:
The GA stocking program is still going strong. Hit a heavily stocked stream with your kids and a bucket of red wigglers. Or introduce a new flyfisher to the sport by teaching them how to drift a squirmy worm or strip a small black woolly bugger. Soon they’ll graduate to wild fish on dries.
GAWRD’s Friday stocking lists are always here. Today’s list just got posted:
https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout
Private Waters:
Our spring guiding season is winding down with the hotter days and warmer water on our horizon. We’re now sticking to morning sessions, for the most part. It’s still a great time to book our Gilligan Special and give flyfishing a try. The weather is great for new anglers to get in the river! Catch one of our few remaining open slots ASAP.
https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/learn-to-fly-fish-2/
UO-Helen guide Israel: “the Soque fished decently before the rainouts. The bite seems to be slowing down with rising water temperatures, so we’ve focused on the morning carton. A size 12 green drake scored some nice rainbows for my clients this week.”
Tailwaters:
UO buddy Myles : “On Tuesday I fished Buford Dam for a few hours with a friend. We managed to catch about 60 fish collectively in a few hours with many being wild browns! Though it was pretty windy, we were having success throwing some size 18s and 20s with 3mm beads on 7x and 8x. We used small hares ear variations and some eggs for the stocker pods. We even got to watch an osprey dive and catch a small trout out of the water! The weather has been getting nicer and the fish and other wildlife have been getting more and more active!”
Warm Rivers:
Region rivers are still high and muddy after this week’s rains. The Hooch was blown out at both Highway 115 and Duncan Bridge Road when I crossed it today. It’s gonna take several more days for most rivers to clear enough for decent bass and bream fishing.
Ponds & Lakes:
UO guide Joseph: “Had the privilege of hopping on the boat with Henry Cowen early this week to chase bass and pursue the possibility of a striper. We fished several types of structure throughout the morning including sea walls, humps, and points. All the fish we caught were early on sea walls. Although we did mark several fish throughout the morning they wouldn’t come up to our presentations. For flies, game changers were the ticket. For conventional lures, any walk-the-dog type topwater plug was best. This pattern should only get better over the next several weeks, so if you’re interested in getting in on the action give the Helen shop a call at (706)-878-3083!”
While the birds are gone for the season , the stripers are still around. Substitute the great intel in Henry’s book and you can still find stripers this month, even without those beloved gulls and loons. We just restocked his book at our stores, so pick one up before we sell out again. Grab one at the shop or order online here:
https://shoponline.unicoioutfitters.com/fly-fishing-for-freshwater-striped-bass-henry-cowe.html
Afar:
UO guide Sydney took a break and vacationed at the beach with her family. Of course, she wet a line. Syd said: “Hung out at Port St Joe and caught speckled trout and a few reds here and there. Tried to catch a break from the wind to get out my fly rod, but didn’t get that chance. It was still fun with conventional tackle. “
News and Events:
Athens Jay ditched his fly rod and picked up a minnow seine last week. It was Week 1 of his UGA field course, Fishes of Georgia. Eighteen students will traverse the entire state over the next few weeks to sample and identify Georgia’s diverse fish community.
More news on public land sales. At least this time it’s a bit better news. Stay informed and stay engaged if you care about the fate of your public lands!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19J3qzKhn6/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Enjoy some dry weather for a change. We may still have to dodge a morning shower this weekend, but shouldn’t get run off the river by flood flows. Just bring your sunscreen and bug spray, and fish around that midday heat for your best success. And be ready for a nice, cool break again in another week!
https://www.facebook.com/share/16RJFDmdvD/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Stop in either UO store for your yellow May trout flies and your colorful bass Boogle Bugs. And some timely intel at no extra charge! Right, Todd?
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17rxGs4PUB/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Good luck this week, folks.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
