Landon's Latest Wild Trout Report

A couple of days ago I hit a wild trout stream up in Rabun Co. with the intention of targeting the wild browns. Clouds hung in the sky for most of the afternoon, making for the perfect opportunity to target these wily critters. Water temperatures were very comfortable in the mid to upper 50’s, making wet wading enjoyable.  Numbers of fish were very good for this stream and the wet winter and spring we've had showed in the health of the fish.

It seems that the fish were more congregated in the good looking pieces of holding water, perhaps due to the lower numbers of “slow” areas where browns usually hold. As long as I maintained a stealthy profile, I could sometimes catch multiple fish per pool, which was really cool for a brown trout stream. I even managed a couple of wash down brook trout that are normally miles upstream as well as a few rainbows down towards the parking area further downstream.

  

There were a couple of consistent trends. I fished a dry-dropper rig with a yellow stimulator and a #14 tungsten bead hares ear below it. In fast pockets shallower than 3 feet, fish responded to both flies. However the fish seemed a little bit skittish of the stimulator in calmer or deeper pools and I’d have to go with a more natural fly to catch them, a size 14 Light Cahill parachute.  I had a hard time getting any fish in really deep pools to come up at all for dry flies. Reluctantly I went down deep to them with big and ugly flies in a couple of pools. Dredging was the way I caught the big fish of the day, a chunky 13-inch brown that doubled over the three weight and even took a little drag! There were a ton of different bugs flying around, but “yellow” was the consistent color with #12-16 Light Cahills and Sulphurs seen as well as #16 Yellow Sallies and Big Golden Stones as well.

We have the best water conditions Georgia has seen in several years so get out and enjoy the streams while the water levels are still great and the fish are hungry.  You never know what is around the next bend.

Landon Williams

Brown Trout Tactics

From our Man In The Field, Landon Williams:

                  There is just something about Brown Trout that get many anglers’ hearts racing and a large grin on their face.  We all dream of catching a large hook-jawed brown that seems as old as the dinosaurs.  They are for many, the most prized and even most frustrating species of salmonid we can pursue here in the Peach State.  Despite our fascination with them, it’s a surprise to many anglers when they do catch one. This is due in large part to the varied habitat that brown trout prefer and the tactics used to target them.

                  Browns have a tendency of not being in the places many anglers expect when targeting trout.  Most anglers will fish in the classic riffles and runs that we think of as great trout habitat. You can certainly find brownies in these spots when they are actively feeding, especially when there are heavy hatches during warmer weather.  However, you are much more likely to find browns in the water you may find much less desirable to fish on a regular basis.  You know the type, usually deep and slow interspersed with structure such as woody debris and large boulders. This is indeed the type of water where you’re most likely to encounter a brown.  At the same time, this water may be the one where anglers are least likely to be successful.  Slower water gives an angler's quarry much longer to inspect the fly before deciding to eat or not.  This game for some can be quite exciting and challenging but for many anglers, who are just out to catch a few fish, it may seem it's not worth the effort.  Fear not however, as there are a few key areas where brown trout get the same type of protective habitat while still having more water flow over their heads and it can tip the scales in the angler’s favor.

There are three types of habitat that can be noticeably improve your chances of running into a nice brown trout, whether it be a Delayed Harvest fish or an elusive stream-born wild fish. The first and, in my opinion, most important structure a brown trout will utilize are undercuts. Undercuts exist here in GA quite often but not in the same sense you may think of in a meandering meadow stream with undercut banks out West.  Rather, I'm referring to large undercut rocks and my favorite, bedrock shelves. It is quite common to find brown trout hiding under such types of habitat, even if it is not particularly deep. 

A second type exists less frequently but still provides great habitat.  It's a back eddy.  Back eddies are usually slow and provide a large volume of food as it drifts away from the main current. It is not uncommon to find browns here and they can be targeted by casting into the “upstream” side of the back eddy (this may even mean casting downstream into the eddy’s current and fishing the drift back upstream.) 

Last but not least are those bank side pockets and runs that many anglers often ignore.  Current along the bank is usually quite slow compared to the middle sections of river.  Brown trout, who are fans of slower current, can be found in runs and riffles right next to the bank, especially if they have overhead cover in the forms of bushes or overhanging trees. This habitat type is even better if they incorporate any of the two previously mentioned attributes.

Fly selection in itself is secondary to having the proper presentation and a sneaky approach to your target area and quarry.  Good Luck and have fun in your quest for a trophy.  I know I will when I go after the large wild brownie who broke me off recently in a log jam!

Landon

Nacoochee Bend Winter Special

Vance Hendon and family fished at Nacoochee Bend on Saturday morning cashing in a few of the $90.00 half day coupons Unicoi Outfitters is offering between now and the end of February.  He only sent one photo but it's a nice 'un.  Here's Vance's report:

"Fished the Bend 1/28 with my son-in law and nephew.  Water flow was a little high, and made getting fly down a little difficult.  We had a good day, as all of us landed fish. In my humble thoughts it was a little slow by Bend standards, but Bend standards are still 10x  that of any where else!

"This Brown was my 2nd fish of the day.......kind of made the rest of the day an after thought. It was a long fight to get him to hand , and it is always good to have someone on net for you !!!  Can't wait to get back up there and see what else lurks in the depths of the Hooch at the Bend!"

Just Another Day In Paradise

If you'll recall my post last week on fishing the Chattooga River New Years' Day, reference was made to the old saying that whatever you do on the first day of the year is what you'll do most often throughout that year.  Not one to trifle with folklore, and certainly not one to pass on a 60 degree day with 30% chance of rain, I gave in to a plea from my friend Alan to fish it again this past Saturday.  Am I seeing a pattern develop here?

Neither of us wanted to fish until dark-thirty because of family and football obligations.  After a bacon & egg biscuit (3 eggs & a half pound of bacon) at Shore's in Baldwin, we left Cornelia at 8:15 headed north.  The plan was to fish the upper end of the DH so we made the 30 minute hike in on the Georgia side.  This helps us avoid the temptation to stop at every good looking spot and fish plus gets your heart pumping hard enough to move the colesterol that biscuit was dumping into my blood stream.

We pop out on the river bank at one of my favorite holes only to find someone beat us there.  We could have stepped in just below him with at least 50 yards between us but lately I seem to have become hyper sensitive to a lack of stream etiquette so we went downstream a good quarter mile before hopping in.  The water temp as we stepped in was a balmy 40 degrees and the sun wasn't hitting the river directly yet so we would probably be doing more casting than catching for a while.  Or maybe not!

As I sat on the bank rigging up, Alan stepped into the riffles where I had caught the big brown last Sunday.  A few minutes later he had the first fish of the day; a pretty 9" rainbow.  This is a great stretch of river, beautiful with perfect water to hold fish.  As I begin working the lower end of the run, Alan hooks into a nicer fish.  Could it be the big 'un?  Sure giving his 4 wt. a workout.  After a couple of minutes, he brings a beautiful brown to the net.  Beautiful but not the ONE!

Observing his success with the basic Y2K Bug, my superior skills and intellect kick in and I replace my stonefly dropper with a Y2K Bug.  Before I could even cast it, Alan was whooping it up as his rod bent double with his third fish.  "Nice fish!" Alan yelled as I pitched my rod up on the bank and worked my way upstream to watch the struggle.  Indeed, it was the big brown again; all 18 inches measured with a tape this time to confirm the size.  Absolutely gorgeous fish with big spots.  Nice to see you again, Babe.  Now stay away from those Y2K Bugs.

The thought runs through my head, "Can I fish now?"  Not really, but it could have in a lesser man.  Retrieve the rod, cast upstream of that one dark area and let it drift through.  Bam! Fish on!  Y2K Bug to the rescue.  Another brown, albeit a 10-incher.  A few casts later my indicator makes a sharp jerk upstream and I gently set the hook on a 17" brown.  What a great way to start the day!

As we began working our way upstream toward the now vacant pool, you couldn't help but be thankful for being where we were, doing what we were doing.  Such a magnificent place.  What a tremendous resource in our backyard.  The fishing continued to yield a few more browns and a small rainbow now and then until we took a lunch break.  We spied some truly huge fish but all we could get was a follow or two from them.  I did manage to hook into one more big brown that was probably in the 15" - 16" range but it straightened the hook on my Y2K.  Again, the afternoon turned slow as it had last Sunday but you won't hear any complaints from either of us.  A day on the Chattooga is good for the soul.

Chattooga Gold

There's no question the Chattooga River running between Georgia and South Carolina is a very special place. It was, in fact, the very first river in the country to receive the designation of a "Wild and Scenic River" by the federal government and has been protected from abuse and development ever since. I've fished a lot of spectacular trout streams across United States and, quite honestly, none are more beautiful than the Chattooga. Just as an expectant mother glows radiantly and becomes even more beautiful during that distinctive time, Fall on the Chattooga River brings an exquisite allure to my home river. Sunday afternoon Jeff Durniak and I made the lazy drive north to Rabun County and the mostly east journey on Warwoman Road as you switch back and forth around Rabun Bald. We had planned all along to hike above Burrell's Ford Bridge but we did take time to check the parking lots around the Hwy. 28 bridge just to see if folks were getting out of the house on this beautiful afternoon. All lots were full but we only saw one angler. It was, after all, a great day for hiking as well as fishing.

We arrived at Burrell's Ford Bridge at 1 PM. Air temperature was 48° as was the water temp. Both held steady all afternoon. With a little layering of Capilene and Windstopper fleece, I was very comfortable. My only mistake was forgetting to throw a ball cap in the car. All I had was a wool beanie which was perfectly comfortable but I never truly realized how much glare the bill of a ball cap cuts out. Note to self: don't get so excited about going fishing that you forget vital pieces of equipment. The last time this happened was about twenty years ago when I hiked in to Big Bend Falls before realizing I had left my reel in the car. I suppose such an oversight every twenty years can be tolerated. At least this time I was able to fish.

While Jeff immediately went deep (the nickname "Dredger" is no misnomer), I tied on a big attractor dry with a pheasant tail dropper. Almost immediately I had a rainbow rise to the dry but I missed the strike. That was encouragement enough to convince me to stay with my rig...unfortunately. For the next hour and a half, nothing. Switch to a big stone fly nymph and drop the pheasant tail off the back. "Bam!", nice rainbow. Okay, I can play that game, although I didn't really want to.

For the next three hours, we steadily picked up fish here and there but mostly in the deeper runs with moderate current. And while we really wanted to target wild browns, the rainbows were more aggressive on this trip. But the highlight of the day was a beautiful 14" brown the Rabunites refer to as an old-timey original with buttery gold cheeks and belly that mirrored the gold in the streamside hickory and poplar trees. It was a day for making memories!