Carp 101

Henry Cowen, carp guide extraordinaire

Unicoi Outfitters is pleased to announce that we will be hosting "Carp 101 - How To Find 'em & How To Feed 'em".  You will be taught by one of the masters:  Henry Cowen.

John Cross is fond of referring to carp as "the fish of the new millenium" due to their unique ability to survive just about any environmental conditions including a nuclear holocaust.  Global warming, politicians gutting the Clean Water Act, increased angling pressure on our trout streams, whatever your viewpoint, there's no denying the growing popularity of chasing carp with a fly.

We do guarantee you'll fall in love with the sport of fly fishing for carp.  Consider the following:

• There isn't a more wary species swimming the face of the earth.  John says they know when you step into the river, regardless of how careful you may be.  
• They're actually very picky eaters, unlike their reputation for being lowly bottom feeders.  Small crustaceans and aquatic nymphs as well as seasonal fresh berries constitute the bulk of their diet.
• Pinpoint casts are required at just the right time else you'll either spook them or they'll never see your fly.
• Most situations require you to watch closely enough to actually see the fish suck in your fly; a true adrenalin moment.
• The hook set must be a strip set akin to redfishing or bonefishing; and most of us trout anglers can't seem to remember this in the moment.  Expect your hookup percentage to look like a batting average most days.
• If you love the sound of a good fly reel singing as line is smoking it across the water, look no further; you've found your fish.
• These are not wimpy fish.  Use a 7 or 8 wt. rod and expect tired muscles once a fish is landed.
• During the Dog Days of summer, you can find them almost anywhere across north Georgia in lakes and rivers near your home.
• On your first trip, you may consider fishing with a bag over your head but after that first fish, landed or not, you'll be bragging as you sip your Dos Equis in the neighborhood bar about the challenges you've faced going up against carp; some you've won, some you've lost.  Friends and strangers alike will gather round you, mouths agape in wonder at the tales you have to tell.  A carp tattoo may even be considered.

So, make plans to join us at our shop in Helen on August 31, 2013 at 10 am (if you're planning on attending, please let the guys at the shop know so they'll know how many chairs to put out, just give them a call at 706-878-3083).  It will probably change your fly-fishing life!

And if that isn't enough, all attendees at Carp 101 will receive a coupon worth 10% off non-sale merchandise at Unicoi Outfitters!

Bonefish in the Bahamas!

Bonefishing at Crooked Island

As many of you know, our ol' pal Henry Cowen runs a couple salt-water flyfishing trips each year.  These trips usually fill up quickly, and for his next trip to Crooked Island in the Bahamas, that is the case....but he's had two folks who had to cancel, which has opened up two spots on a first-come basis for his trip from April 22 through 30 this spring.  That's six days of fishing, but Henry can also accommodate a shorter stay of three or four days fishing as well.

Click here for more info on Crooked Island Lodge, where the trip is based, or call / email Henry directly at 678-513-1934 / henryc@pastourelledesign.com.  It should be a great trip!

Fish of the New Millenium

As I drove south on GA 400 before sunup on Monday morning, I found myself wondering why in the world I let Henry Cowen talk me into this.  Traffic was beginning to build as I cruised closer and closer to the epicenter of that alter-universe commonly known as Atlanta.  Who drives into Atlanta to fish when they have the southern Appalachians right out their back door?  It was a conundrum; I had no answer.  But Henry's Brooklyn accent was obviously dialed up an octave or two when he called to invite me down to try "the most challenging flyfishing you'll ever see."  Though I pulled into our appointed meeting place 10 minutes early, Henry was already there, checking all the details on his G3 shallow water boat like an airline captain before takeoff.

With Fall officially still two days away, there was no mistaking that Summer was fully in charge this day and my long sleeve shirt seemed like a mistake as we pushed off from the boat launch at Azalea Drive on the Chattahoochee River.  But the cold water that originated in the bottom of Lake Lanier provided a chilly air conditioned zone that hovered above the water as we were enveloped by the dense fog of early morning.  Henry's fleece jacket felt pretty good, even on the short ride downstream.  Quietly, we slipped into one of the many oxbow lakes lining the channel of the river and began scanning the surface for our quarry, the golden ghosts of the mud flats and the object of unwarranted derision in the fly fishing world.  CARP!

If you've ever been bonefishing or cast a fly to trophy reds in the saltwater marshes of the southeastern coast, you've experienced one of flyfishing's most challenging quarry.  And while these species garner well deserved recognition for being among the most difficult fish to catch on a fly, the unpretentious carp finds honor difficult to come by and is more likely to be the object of ridicule than respect.  That's because the vast majority of the criticism comes from anglers who have never tried to hook and land one of these guys. A humble attitude should be the first thing you pack when heading out for carp.  Otherwise, you'll come home mumbling to yourself.

We immediately began to spot fish and within the first five minutes I had cast to three different fish... to no avail.  With Henry on the poling platform at the back of the boat, and my eyes straining to pick up movement in the shallow water surrounding us, there was almost never a period when we weren't stalking a fish as they rooted around, occasionally waving their huge tails in the air, looking for aquatic insects and crustaceans.  Henry's instructions to me were to be able to quickly cast to a target the size of a paper plate 40 feet away and, if I missed by more than 6 inches, to immediately pick up and cast again.  My 7'11" Ross Essence 8 wt. with Sharkskin line should have been up to the task.  The big question being, "Am I up to it?"

The next two hours were about as much of an adrenalin rush as I've ever experienced in flyfishing.  It's like a big game hunt where you're stalking your prey in hopes of being good enough to make the shot when the opportunity presents itself.  I probably cast to 30 or 35 fish and got one to eat.  And that one was worth my trip.  In less than 10 inches of water, the big fish picked my fly from the silty cloud, made a huge boil as it swirled against the pressure of my hookset and took of like a scalded dog on an 80 foot run.  I slowly worked the fish back to the boat but it was in no mood to let Henry grab it's bottom lip.  After running under the boat and out the other side three times, almost pulling the rod out of my hands on every surge, we finally landed it.  It was not an easy chore.  All the while Henry has a sly grin on his face that said, "See, I told you so."

Carpe Diem

From our pal Henry Cowen:

Since I recently (last fall) purchased a skinny water boat I decided to make good use out of it and take it down the Hooch to check out some serious site fishing to golden bonefish (carp that is!). I have caught them many years ago using a fly rod on the lakes back in the motherland (NYC). I even tried my hand some on it here in No GA on Lake Lanier. To pursue these fish on lakes and enticing them to eat the fly is similar to getting a republican to raise taxes (ahem….). In other words it is next to impossible to make these things eat! So I figured I would try to see if these river fish are a little more fly friendly. Bob Clouser  (the Clouser minnow guy) is a friend of mine and has been fishing these things for years on his home waters of the Susquehanna River. He has for years been telling me how much fun they can be to stalk in shallow water. Well Bob could not have been more right! These fish are an absolute hoot (yes……the Yankee said hoot!). Poling around in water from 6” to 3’ allows you to sneak up on these bruisers and fish them as you would redfish or bonefish. You can even get out of the boat on some of these hard bottomed flats and wade for them. All it takes is an accurate caster in the bow and a willingness to pole someone around. I told my good buddy Gary Lowe Jr about it and he said let’s give it a shot. We poled around the area of Bull Sluice (above Morgan Falls Dam) and proceeded to find many happy fish tailing, cruising and EATING! This is a fishery I would recommend to anyone who is into hunting for their quarry. For tackle I would suggest a 7 or 8 wt rod w/floating line and 10 or 12lb tippet fluorocarbon leaders. Flies can range from swimming nymphs (a Clouser favorite) to egg patterns, wooly buggers and San Juan worms. You will not catch many of these river carp BUT the satisfaction of searching, finding, casting and finally feeding one of these fish will have you hooked on a totally new game fish…….The Chattahoochee carp. Seize the day!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Dan Blanton and Lefty Kreh at Nacoochee Bend and Frog Hollow

Rex, Lefty, Jimmy, Dan

Henry Cowen recently hosted Dan Blanton and Lefty Kreh for some Lake Lanier striper fishing, and to help round out the trip, Henry arranged for the flyfishing icons to fish a couple days with us at Unicoi Outfitters. Dan's got a nice writeup over at his Fly Fishing Bulletin Board, here's an excerpt:

"The next two afternoons were spent trout fishing with the guys from Unicoi Outfitters Fly Shop, personally guided by Rex Gudgel and shop owner Jimmy Harris. We fished two different rivers and both were gorgeous pieces of trout water. I’d fished the second river, the Chestatee at Frog Hollow last year with Henry and Rex a beautiful place in every way. It was on this water that I experienced some hilarious afternoon dry fly fishing for trout so big they looked like steelhead holding in the run. I only hooked a couple of them but the follows and false rises from those monsters kept Henry and Rex, who were viewing Jimmy and me from the high bank, in stitches. I couldn’t see as well as they could but it was exciting nonetheless to hear their oozs and awes. I did hook and fight a monster that Jimmy estimated would have weighed eight or better pounds. When we waded out to the bar Jimmy wanted me to cast from, he said to Rex that I was going to hook a monster because he had forgotten the net. We’ll he guessed that one right. Indeed, I finally busted off the fish when it suddenly surged away when Jimmy touched its tail trying to hand-land it. It simply caught me asleep at the wheel. Hey, I don’t get to fish for monster trout every day. I was happy to just have hooked and fought it.

"Rex and Jimmy, both superb trout fly-fishers and guides, couldn’t have done a better job for Lefty and Me. Jimmy was my guide and I can’t tell you how many different rigs and flies he tied on for me, mostly because I kept tangling them up – we were nymph fishing with two flies below an indicator and I obviously needed more practice. Jimmy had the patience of a saint. The fishing was tough but we managed to hook a few. In fact, Lefty hooked quite a few but because of his limited mobility (bad knee) he lost many by not being able to follow them up or down the run. A number 20 midge doesn’t hold a big trout too well if you can’t finesse them."

Dan also wrote:

"The mornings were spent chasing stripers on Lake Lanier and the afternoons were spent pursuing trophy trout on gorgeous, Georgia mountain streams – private water that Henry had arranged for us to fish. Henry couldn’t have organized a better fishing program for us – stripers and spots in the morning, trout in the afternoon. I don’t know of many other places a fly fisher can do that." 

That last sentence is so true - we have a wealth of fly-fishing opportunities here in North Georgia!  To read the rest of the report, just head over to Dan's post on his Bulletin Board.  We were truly honored to have these guys fish with us.

Lake Lanier Record Spot

We just received this Lake Lanier report from Henry Cowen:

JUST GOTTA GO!!!! The fishing was pretty consistent this week. Some days showed a few stripers with plenty of bass and other days showed a decent amount of stripers and plenty of bass. Striper fishing is getting better every day. Top water began this past week. For fly anglers it is important to throw a fairly big fly on top as the fish are eating gizzard shad on the surface. Overcast days are best but even sunny days has fish feeding on top for the first 2-3 hours in the morning. There is also a top water bite at sunset. For non fly anglers throwing redfins and walk-the-dog type baits will work. Just starting to see fish busting bait on the sirface. Best bet is to fish as many points as possible. North and south lake are working but I think north is somewhat stronger. We had stripers to 14 lbs this week while I saw fish caught up to 22 lbs on top water artificials.

For just putting fish in the boat anglers should toss an intermediate line and a coyote or a Clouser w/15 lb tippet. 12 lb is even better but may mean a few more bites but probably some lost fish. The springtime fish are fighting incredibly well. Lots of big spotted bass being caught daily. Gary Lowe of Kennesaw, GA caught and released another (his 2nd) IGFA world record (8 lb tippet) spotted bass on the fly. Fish weighed in @ 5 1/2 lbs crushing the old record by just under 2 lbs. Way to go Gary!!!!!! Early May has some dates open while Mid-May is booked fairly solid…..see you on the pond! HC

Lanier Report - First Week of January

All I can say is Brrrrrr……..I got to fish New Years Day with a buddy and it was chilly and WINDY. Managed to get a couple of stripers in the 10-11 lb range on small Clousers. Fish are moving really fast and never saw a fish on top or in the back of a cove. Sinking lines are still the ticket and I would advise a 15 lb test tippet as the water chills and cools down. These fish get sluggish and going a bit lighter in tippet can make a difference. Since that day it has been impossible to fish. It is just too cold! I cancelled 4 trips since Jan 1st. Today was one of those RARE pre-frontal snowy thingamajigger days. Jim Harvey and Dennis Desmond called to see if I would take them out to play with our finned friends. Well they hit it right. At 2 pm the skies got dark, the winds increased, the temp felt like it dropped some, the birds started flying and the fish came alive. We had 8 or 9 eats today. We landed 3 spotted bass and 4 stripers. The smallest fish was probably 10-11 lbs. The largest was 15 lbs. Fish ate both Clousers and the somethin’ else…….Starting to find BIG schools of fish on the electronics. Man I love this time of year! See you on the pond! HC

Dan Blanton at Frog Hollow

We were very excited this past week to host one of fly fishing's true legends, Dan Blanton. Dan is one of the pioneers of west coast salt water fly fishing and was inducted into the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame in 2002. He was in town as a guest of the Atlanta Fly Fishing Club and Henry Cowen was entertaining him with some good old southern fishing for a couple of days: stripers and trout. Dan couldn't have picked a more miserable weather situation to try fishing in Georgia but, as you can see from these pictures, he had a very successful couple of days. We thought it appropriate that we let Rex Gudgel, Unicoi's flower child from California, guide Dan at Frog Hollow.

To find out more about Dan and his fishing exploits, writings and fly designs, you can visit him at his website. If you'll check out his Bulletin Board, you'll find his comments on fishing with Henry and Rex here.