RECOVERY MODE!

Summary

This week's theme is "Recovery Mode" as north Georgia streams shed their second round of major stormflows.  Cold weather may dampen dry fly action for a few days until the Easter warmup begins.  Right now, be ready with a dropper below your dry on small streams.  On bigger waters that finally drop to safe wading levels, be ready with a double dredging rig and hit the flood refuges; aka slow water.  Behind your split shot, try a small streamer, big Rubber Leg Stone, or Tan Mop as your first fly; the attractor.  Drop a small nymph or soft hackle wet off the back as your "money" fly.  Match your flies to the flows.  On big flows, use bigger and brighter flies.  As streams drop and clear, go back to the smaller natural patterns.  Don't leave home without some size 14, 16, & 18 Hares Ears and Pheasant Tails in both nymph and soft hackle wet patterns.

Bugs will also return with dropping and warming streamflows.  Right now it's transition time as March's gray and brown bugs hang on just a bit longer while April's tan bugs begin to heed the mating call.  Be ready for the restart of hatches next week with some Adams, March Browns, Light Cahills, both gray and tan Elk Hair Caddis, and a few midges.

 

Lake fishing for stripers on the fly has been tough with all the extreme weather we've had.  Things were going very well until the storms hit.  Lots of muddy water in many creeks and, of course, working its way down the Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers.  This should change in the coming days as the stripers begin staging to make their annual spawning run up the rivers.  If you've never tangled with a river striper, be prepared for a wild ride!  You may even lose some of your stuff. 

The hot fishing on the lake is for spots and they may certainly be reached with a fly.  Try hitting as many primary and secondary points as you can but beware that you'll likely be sharing many of them with other anglers since everyone knows about it.

Water Conditions as of 4/1

Headwater streams, as we write this, are high and clear if you're a careful wader.  We recommend staying away from the sections of creeks that have dramatic elevation changes.  Now is not the time to be rock hopping.

Mid-size streams like Dukes Creek, the Chattahoochee River in the WMA, and the Tallulah River are high and lightly milky.  They'll be clearing over the next few days but, for now, you may find it best to fish directly from the bank or in calm water adjacent to the bank.

Smith Creek Delayed Harvest is chocolate milk today since Smith Lake (Unicoi Lake) is muddy.  There may be 2 feet of visibility.  One note of caution, the second bridge on Smith Creek (the one at the end of the big field) has washed out.  

The Chattahoochee in Helen is still raging; 1061 cfs.  Nuff said!  

Further North

And don't think you'll be able to drive further north to find fishable water.  Dredger took a ride up to the Park in Cherokee before this last storm blew through and found it unfishable then.  Since they actually got more of the brunt of the storm than Georgia, it'll be a little while before it's worth the drive up there.  He circled back around by the Nantahala and found it high also but fishable from the bank.  He saw a small handful of #18 Gray Caddis and one lone #18 Blue Quill hanging onto a streamside boulder for dear life.  He also watched a few Blue Winged Olives hatch in the afternoon when clouds rolled in.  A few small rainbows were chasing them.  All in all, the high water put a damper on the bugs and, therefore, the risers.  He was content to watch safely from the bank and never wet a line.  As he said, "Better times are just ahead of us."

Until Next Week

Be safe when wading and have a good Easter weekend.  And don't forget these guys will be here soon!

Federal Fish Hatcheries On The Cutting Block Again

Well, here we go again.  The following email was received over the weekend.  Rick Nehrling is a retired USFWS Hatchery Coordinator for the Southeast Region (I'm sure I've bungled his actual title).  This will take a few minutes to scan through but well worth your time if you're an angler.

Hey Folks,

For awhile now I have heard rumblings about the Fish and Wildlife Service's Director Dan Ashe disobeying Congress again - and silently moving forward to close hatcheries with as little notice as possible to hatchery employees, State partners, Congress etc.  During this same time I have not heard anything from anybody in the Service about any proposed closures. 

Yesterday I heard from a retiree that  D.C. Booth Hatchery - Spearfish, South Dakota was one of several national fish hatcheries slated for closure effective Oct. 1, 2013.  The Service has owned and operated the DC Booth hatchery since 1896.  The hatchery provides numerous youth and public outreach programs, receives almost 160,000 visitors per year and 14,000 volunteer hours per year, and houses the only Fish and Wildlife Service fisheries archive comprised of approximately 175,000 objects related to American fish culture & management.

http://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/article_9f342c1e-0a8e-11e3-b490-0019bb2963f4.html

In checking out the internet I found the following August 29, 2013 article from the Fishing Wire: 

Officials of the D.C. Booth National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish, South Dakota may have spilled the beans on a plan by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to close many, if not all, of the nation's fish hatcheries on October 1, the beginning of the new federal fiscal year. USFWS officials have refused comment, saying they're "in the middle of a review process". April Gregory, Director of the Booth Society, the nonprofit fisheries friends group of the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery & Archive sent The Outdoor Wire an email late yesterday afternoon saying that word from "reliable contacts in Washington, D.C." say the Booth Hatchery is one of "several" national fish hatcheries set for October 1, 2013 closure." According to Gregory, The Booth Society has "committed itself" to saving the hatchery which has been open since 1896. Our reliable sources tell The Outdoor Wire other hatcheries on the chopping block are "primarily located in the south." We will keep you posted. 

The comment that "other hatcheries on the chopping block are primarily located in the south" really piqued my interest and had me looking on the internet to see what other hatcheries are being proposed for closure on October 1, 2013.  I found the following August 28, 2013 press release from "The Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council":

"Is USFWS closing National Fish Hatcheries October 1st?

Federal budget cuts are threatening to close the 117-year-old D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish, a non-profit group that supports the hatchery said last week.

The hatchery is one of multiple fish hatcheries across the country targeted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which is prioritizing other programs over the National Fisheries Program, according to the Booth Society Inc. The USFWS has not confirmed that a decision to close the hatchery has been made.

Even so, some officials say the USFWS plans to close many, if not all, of the nation's fish hatcheries on October 1, the beginning of the new federal fiscal year.

The federal government is planning to eliminate funding to nine Federal fish hatcheries in GA, TN, KY, UT, MO, ND, and AR, which will result in their closure. The closure of these hatcheries will have a lasting impact on local, State, and federal economies. These facilities also provide enormous ecological and social contributions to local and state communities. Nearly 7 million fish are stocked in waters across the country from only six of these hatcheries.

Planned hatchery closings

KENTUCKY- Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery
TENNESSEE- Dale Hollow and Erwin National Fish hatcheries
GEORGIA- Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery
ARKANSAS- Norfork and Greers Ferry National Fish Hatcheries
MISSOURI-Neosho National Fish Hatchery
NORTH DAKOTA-Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery
UTAH- Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery

The economic impact is tremendous - over 3,000 jobs created and a total economic output of nearly $300 million dollars is generated by privately owned businesses selling food, lodging and supplies to trout fishermen. For every dollar spent on these fishery programs a return of $67 dollars is generated in the private sector, and for each tax dollar spent producing trout, $2.34 is returned to Washington in federal tax dollars generated from private business.

It is ironic that the USFWS is celebrating the 140th year of their fisheries program; the oldest program in the agency. They are celebrating this historic event by cutting the entire fisheries program by 12.4 million dollars. They are getting a 47.9 million dollar increase in their overall budget, but have chosen to spend that money on other programs and new programs, and scrap a program that brings revenue into the federal budget at a 2.3 to 1 ratio and supports over 3,000 jobs in the private sector!!!"
If these press clippings and press releases are true then folks within the Service need to stand up NOW and fight for your program.  You need to try and stop Dan Ashe from continuing to disobey Congress and the American public - and stop his efforts to dismantle the National Fish Hatchery System.
Folks need to advocate for each hatchery proposed for closure by writing, visiting and calling your US Senators and Representatives ASAP!  Also send a letter to Director Ashe and to The Secretary of the Interior.  Remember you do not have to be a resident of a particular State to write to that State's Senator or Representative.  It is very important for everybody to get involved and fight for the hatcheries - and the National Fish Hatchery System.  It is also very important for folks within the Service to stand up and fight for your program!

Rick Nehrling