Sidearm!

Experienced Southeastern trouters know we must now head to tight streams at high elevations for our summer trout fixes.  Our little wild mountain trout in those rhododendron tunnels have some of the fastest strikes we will ever encounter. How do we connect consistently?

The answer is a sidearm, downstream, wrist-snap hookset. You’ll hook a lot more fish and save a lot more flies, too, since your missed strikes will send your rigs into lower limbs behind you, where you can retrieve your bugs.

Want a demo? Check out this video of our Smokies friend, Ian (@randrflyfishing) in action.  Thanks to Midcurrent.com and Mad River Outfitters for sharing it.

https://midcurrent.com/videos/setting-the-hook-on-trout/

The sidearm, downstream, wrist-snap hookset worked for our duo on Monday morning in the Smokies. Hopefully it will work wonders for you, too, when fishing our small, cold streams under all those low limbs. Good luck this summer. Stop in either UO shop if we can help you out before you climb the mountain.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Sharpie Tips

How about a few Sharpie tips for your spring trout season?

1. If the water is low and clear and the fish are spooky, try painting over that bright bead on your nymph with a black permanent marker.
   
   
   
2. When the fish are rising to emerging duns and refusing your dry with a white parachute post or light-colored wings, darken them with a gray marker. You’ll match that hatch a lot better and fool more fish.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Write your name and phone number on the inside of every fly box.  A good Samaritan might just find your missing box and return it to you.  That happened to Dredger, who unknowingly dropped his box of attractor dries along Soda Butte Creek a few summers ago. Several weeks later, he received the box in the mail from a kind Utah trouter who fished Yellowstone Park soon afterward.

We hope these three Sharpie tips make your future trout trips even more rewarding. What tips can you share with the rest of us?

Stop in either UO shop or give us a call if we can help you out.

“Net-Fish” First!

The Angler Magazine has a temporary interruption in service, so we are sharing this month’s unpublished column with y’all.

Net-Fish First!

How do you begin your trouting trip? That Rabunite clan (www.rabuntu.org) always fishes first with a net!  Lawbreakers? Nah, they’re all reformed these days. This is a legal method that you should adopt to enhance your own catches, especially in the midwinter cold.  As a card-carrying Rabunite, let me explain.

Savvy Rabunites fish with a net first: the internet!  We use that net to assess current conditions for our favorite streams and to predict what they’ll be when we arrive streamside.

 First we check current conditions via the USGS online stream gauges. Some of our destinations have gauges on them, while others are close enough to a gauged river that can serve as a surrogate for our target stream.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450

All the gauges will show streamflows, while some will measure extra parameters like water temperature. The Hooch-Helen gauge even has a “river cam” showing you real-time video of the river!  

Check online to see if your stream is high, low, or normal. Is it blown out by last night’s heavy rain or already recovering? Are water temperatures above, at, or below that prime zone for trout (50-62 degrees)? Will you be able to toss dries or retreat to dredging nymphs?

Next, we predict the future by checking our weather apps. In my area, the Atlanta TV stations have some mighty fine apps that forecast hourly air temperatures, storm front arrivals, and rainfall totals. Will a warm afternoon boost water temps and turn on winter trout? Will a rain stain the water and ignite the earthworm hatch?

From the warmth of your home recliner, know the present and predict the future before loading your fishing gear, then point your truck in the right direction. “Resolve” to fish first with a net, the internet, and enjoy more trout success in your angling new year. Good luck!

Note: for a deeper dive into this topic, see my past columns in the October 2020 and January 2021 issues of The Angler Magazine- Atlanta edition.

https://coastalanglermag.com/e-magazine/atlanta/

Hookset Downstream

Here’s another tip to enhance your fall flyfishing success:

Hookset downstream! 

I just do a quick, horizontal wrist-snap that helps me accomplish three things: 1) provides a quick, straight connection to fish lips, rather than an upward hookset that creates a big U of slack line before tightening up ; 2) if I miss a strike or bounce my drifted bug off a rock, I can continue my drift, since I often do not lift my flies out of the water; 3) if I do miss the strike and send the flies behind me, I can retrieve them from low hanging branches.  Upward hooksets send my bugs high into the trees and send me back to our fly shop for more bugs.

Dom at troutbitten.com has scribed another great article on sidearm hooksets. Check out the wealth of intel on his website:

https://troutbitten.com/2023/07/12/hookset-direction-downstream/

Enjoy the article and try the technique on this fall’s trout waters.  You just might catch more trout and lose fewer flies, too.  Tight lines from our UO gang.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Sidearm!

 Sidearm! 

This tip has helped my own success rate on landing big fish.  I picked it up 25 years ago when watching a seasoned steelheader land a real good’un on the St. Joes River in Michigan.  I hope it helps some of y’all, too.

Dom at Troutbitten.com has an excellent article on sidearming. Take a look and put more trophies into your own net, too!

https://troutbitten.com/2021/05/23/fighting-big-fish-with-side-pressure-not-with-the-rod-tip-up/

Bookmark troutbitten and enjoy Don’s steady stream of trouting tips. Good luck folks! 

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

May’s Favorite Trout Colors

Trouters, look ahead. While tan bugs are still getting a lot of press during our Dark30 trips, be prepared for this new month’s favorite colors. They are yellow, black, and green.

Yellow sallies are already dancing. As the tan of caddis and cahills wanes, the black of ants and beetles and the green of inchworms will gain popularity.

Are you ready for May’s colors?

Stop by either UO shop and we’ll help you complete the color palette in your fly box.

PS: don’t forget the dessicant!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Double Dries!

Double your Dark30 fun with double dries. It’s that time of the year when several orders of aquatic insects are hatching and then dancing at dark.  For example, I watched cahills, March browns, BWO’s, and yellow stones buzz past me in the Monday afternoon sun.  

If you haven’t already, try giving these fish a choice, especially at dark.  Run a first dry fly that’s larger and easy for you to spot.  Then change your dropper from the nymph or emerger to a second dry fly.  Pick the two most common bugs you’ve seen, or the ones disappearing in surface swirls.  

One of my favorite combos right now is a cahill first, followed by a small tan caddis trailer.  The caddis dropper can be easily twitched and skittered, too.  Match both hatches and let the fish decide on dinner.

Give the double-dry combo a try as soon as this rainy spell passes and the bugs come back out to play. Here’s a nice Orvis video on the setup.

https://midcurrent.com/videos/can-you-fish-two-dry-flies-at-once/

Have fun this spring. Stop by either UO shop to stock up on our great imposters for the “hatch of the week.”  And may you even score a doubleheader on your double dry rig.  That will really test your tippet knots and netting skill!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

A Great Trout and Bass Bug

Whether you tie or buy, make sure you have an ample supply of Pat’s Rubberlegs in your box year-round. I like them in brown, black, and variegated black/brown, while our guides have had lots of recent success on golden models.

You can tie them with or without a heavy tungsten bead and on regular or jig hooks. Just have some on the stream!  They’re deadly not only on trout, but are also a great dropper behind my river bass/bream popper during summer excursions. Those two species really like buggy and leggy patterns.

Here’s a great tying tutorial by national expert Charlie Craven that might help many of you tie this simple, yet frustrating pattern. (The legs always seem to get in the way.)

https://youtu.be/zkez-umis_E

I tie these in similar fashion, with two exceptions. First, I tie in the chenille to the end of the hook just before I tie in the triple strand clump of leg material. Then I’ll wrap the chenille up to and thru the legs. Second, I don’t trim the chenille along the abdomen. I’d rather spend that extra time tying another bug and loading up my box.

Big thanks to www.midcurrent.com for the story link and to Charlie for the great instructional video. If you haven’t drowned a Pat’s yet in your favorite trout or bass river, give it a try. Like us, you’ll be hooked on that pattern, too.

Good luck plotting your next excursion. I might give it a go this evening. Stop in or call either UO store if we can help your own trip prep. We have plenty of Pat’s in our fly bins.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Watch, Cast, and Catch!

The trout switch is “on” up here as we really get into caddis and cahill season.  Come late and stay late to take advantage of the evening bug activity and the resulting trout rises.  A young Atlantan heeded my suggestion this week and enjoyed a great 30 minutes of Smith DH trout on top at sundown. You can, too.

But, before you crash into the stream and start casting, stop and WATCH first. Find a good, high spot on the riverbank and watch closely: for bugs and feeding fish. Be the eagle. Then you’ll have a much better chance to match the hatch and have your “eats” far outnumber your refusals.

First, the bugs. Are they mayflies or caddis? Or even stoneflies? Have you caught a bug or two in that paint strainer you’ve stretched over your landing net?  Are they adults, nymphs, or that funky bug in the middle: an emerger?

Next, the fish. Where are they feeding? Are they flashing deep, sipping nymphs at mid-column, or coming to the top? When on top, can you detect their rise forms?

Here’s some great web intel on rise forms. Study up now, ahead of your next trip. And when you arrive at the river, stop and watch before you wade and cast. Patience will land you more fish during this wonderful season of Dark30.

A great video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO8cmBftNM0

Two articles:

https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/understanding-trout-rise-forms/152245

Rise up: Understanding trout rise forms | Hatch Magazine - Fly Fishing, etc.

Watch, 

then cast and catch.

http://blog.angler.management/2023/04/the-evening-dance-is-back.html

http://blog.angler.management/2023/04/two-vital-dry-techniques.html

And share your fish tales and pics with us!  Good luck making more of your own hatch-matching memories at Dark30.  Stop in either UO shop for the latest intel and the right flies to match the hatch. 

PS: Got a flashlight?

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

The Evening Dance is Back!

The Evening Dance is back!   I shot these videos yesterday (11th) from 7-8PM on the Hooch and its  trib on the WMA.  Enjoy the egg-dropping dance of some cahill spinners and a guest appearance or two from some smaller duns that just popped up.

It’s time to check your flashlights’ batteries and your supply of #14-18 light cahill dries, hares ear nymph droppers, and maybe a few emergers, too, for evening festivities.

Here are some tips for you tyers. First, tie some cahills with dun posts and add to your supply of the white post bugs. And for your spinners, add a little orange or ginger dubbing to your cream dubbing for the abdomens.  For an easy emerger, try my recipe: cream thread, short trailing shuck of brown z-Lon or Antron, hares ear-dubbed abdomen, light cahill-dubbed thorax, and a swept wing of one or two dun cdc feathers. Dunk in a good dessicant like the products we have at our shops and trail it on two feet of 6X behind your dry (the strike indicator you can spot in the dying light).

Enjoy the start of this year’s Dark30 action. Go in the afternoon and fish your normal daytime favorites: double nymphs in depths, dry/droppers in skinnier water, or streamers to cover lotsa ground . As the sun falls, BOLO bugs and match the hatch. Right now, you might just luck into some cahills.  

Then walk out with the aid of the moon and a good headlamp.  Always have a backup flashlight in your vest or sling (don’t ask me how I learned this lesson). And maybe a coveted granola bar or Snickers.

Good luck. Stop in either UO store if we can supply you with the right stuff to celebrate spring. Hopefully you’ll be lucky enough to experience an Evening Dance or three!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Suspenders

Check out the Nan DH “suspenders” that I spotted last week. How many can you count?

May this video brighten up our dreary day and give us hope for some great spring action when we warm up and dry out.

Like UO buddy CDB reminded us last week, be careful not to drift your flies too deep this spring. Dry/dropper combos will beat deep dredging during the prime spring days of aquatic bug abundance.

For more hot tips on April dry/dropper rigs, glance back at last April’s UO column in The Angler magazine:

https://issuu.com/coastalanglermagazine/docs/atl_2c68f3dd0ab38b

Don’t wash away this weekend. Better days are just ahead!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Two Vital Dry Techniques

Are you ready for spring dry fly action? Do you have all the right patterns AND all the right techniques? 

Well, UO is here to help y’all once again. Check out our column on page ATL-5 in the new April edition of The Angler magazine.

https://coastalanglermag.com/e-magazine/atlanta/

Don’t miss those two nuggets of wisdom (T&S) that will bring you more strikes this month as we celebrate the return of topwater action. Stop by either UO store in Clarkesville and Helen to stock up on Wes’ hot fly patterns and some fresh leaders for your April adventures. Good luck. Send us your pics!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Stormflows and Fishing

No joke!

Don’t you just love these USGS stream gauges?  Why?  Here’s a quick lesson. The main storm front has just passed us in White County.  We can compare today’s rainfall and streamflow to a couple of past storm events. 

Notice how quickly the Hooch in Helen recovers from a sudden storm that dumps a half-inch of rain. We can look at the x-axis of the flow graph, where each day is 24 hours, and see that riverflow drops quickly right after a brief storm and returns to a slightly elevated base flow within about 12 hours.

Of course, heavier rains will boost flows higher and lengthen the river’s recovery time. 

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1

Fish like a Rabunite and use a net- the internet.  Take a look at USGS gauges on or near your favorite trout streams.  Use the gauge data to help plan your trip timing and technique.  Be ready with squirmies, rubberlegs, and streamers for high, stained water. Anticipate when that stream will clear and fish will again look up for your dry flies. 

https://issuu.com/coastalanglermagazine/docs/atllr

Good luck and be safe. If you’re heading out today, watch out for the winds this afternoon.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Help Catch the Bad Guys

800-241-4113

Memorize that number!

Enjoy the  warmer days ahead, like my buddy Sarah will.  As spring finally arrives and state and federal hatchery stocking trucks roll, we’ll have more company on region waters.  While most of our fellow anglers will be kind, considerate, and compliant, some will not. Here’s a reminder of how to deal effectively with lawbreakers.

Add this phone number to your contacts list and use it:

800-241-4113

That’s the GADNR 24-hour ranger hotline. The program details are here:

https://gadnrle.org/ranger-hotline

Per DNR-LE:

“If you see or learn of a violation, try to write down: a description of the violator; a description of their vehicle; the location of the violation; and the type of violation.”

Your info will be passed along to the appropriate game wardens near your incident, who will follow up.

All of us anglers can help conserve GA’s fish and wildlife resources. Our extra sets of eyes on the woods and waters are a huge help to county game wardens, who have a lot of ground to cover. Let’s do our part to protect our natural resources and report violations to DNR-Law Enforcement.

For more info on dealing with violators, feel free to revisit my past column in The Angler magazine. 

https://issuu.com/coastalanglermagazine/docs/atl_d8b58987219ed4

Good luck this spring! Got that number memorized yet?

800-241-4113

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Timely Casting Tips

Since we are on the verge of topwater season, this nice article might help many of you to perfect your casting game.

https://www.themeateater.com/fish/general/5-easy-ways-to-improve-your-fly-cast

I especially like the tip on a roll-cast startup.  With more line left outside the rod tip, fewer false casts are needed to reach your target.  I’ve been using that technique for decades to limit false casts and spend more time fishing instead of casting.

Special thanks to the late, great RocketRoy Lowe, who taught me the “backwards drift” technique at an NGTO fling years ago. Try the “heavy load” tip in this article and cast farther toward those breaking Lanier stripers.

As dry/dropper season “springs”upon us, give some of these tips a try. You just might find a few more fish on the end of your line this spring.

Special thanks to midcurrent.com for the story lead.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com