Nantahala Report - Find The Sun!

by Landon Williams

Against my better judgment, I decided to take the trek over the mountain yesterday and headed up toward the "Land of the Noonday Sun."  I think the Cherokee were on to something, so I decided to play the "Old Man" fishing game by sleeping in and not having waders on until 11:00.  Even then the water/air temperature did not make conditions favorable as it barely hit 40 all day and there was still a light dusting of snow on the ground in heavily shaded areas.  I didn't measure the water temperature but it for sure felt below 40 by a good bit. 

Fishing started out slow for the first hour and a half I was there and I really think it was due to being in the shadows and staying cold. Once I hit a heavily sunlit stretch at about 12:30 or so, it was game on!  The same flies I had been throwing earlier suddenly found their way into the mouths of many hungry and aggressive stocked and wild rainbows.  I fished with a "deep" dry-dropper rig consisting of a big Klinkhammer as a strike indicator, with a leech or squirmy worm tied on jig hooks catching most of the stocked fish.  I had a #18 natural pheasant tail dropped below that, which caught most of the wild fish.  In the couple of stretches where I fished in full sunlight, #20-22 Blue-Winged Olive mayflies and small black stoneflies were hatching and a few fish were splashing after them.  I caught several on a tiny BWO parachute, which was a nice change of pace from dredging! 

Once the sun started dropping below the ridge line, the fishing in the DH tapered off significantly and by 3:45 I felt like it was over.  I decided to head down the road and try the lower river, the rafting section.  The water temperature was considerably warmer down there and was certainly above 40 degrees with maybe a couple numbers to spare.  Duke Power was running water but it was not nearly the flow that it is during the recreational releases of the summer. The best part, there were no rafters.  The fishing was fantastic too!  I caught just about as many down there in the last hour and a half of daylight as I did in the whole afternoon up on the DH.  I was doing my same dry dropper rig, but only rigged about 2ft deep down to my leech.  The wild fish in the lower section were absolutely tearing it up. 

Hope you have time to get on the river over the holidays.  Remember, "find the sun"!

Landon

Georgia's Delayed Harvest Streams Open Saturday November 1st

Fall Offers Great Georgia Trout Fishing Opportunities - Delayed Harvest Streams Open Nov. 1

Today's feature comes to us from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Are trout streams calling you to go fish Georgia? Beautiful weather and fantastic scenery await you in the northern part of the state and beginning on November 1, fishing on five delayed harvest trout streams will open, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division.

Trout streams are designated either seasonal or year-round. "Five year-round streams are managed under special regulations called Delayed Harvest," said John Lee Thomson, Wildlife Resources Division trout stocking coordinator. "The 'DH' streams have special catch-and-release regulations from November 1-May 14, and are stocked monthly by WRD and our partner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This combination of stocking and catch/release allows for good trout catch rates and high angler satisfaction."

The five trout streams managed under delayed harvest regulations are:

• Toccoa River located on U.S. Forest Service land upstream of Lake Blue Ridge in Fannin County (from 0.4 miles above Shallowford Bridge to 450 feet above the Sandy Bottom Canoe Access).
  
• Amicalola Creek on the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area (from Steele Bridge Road downstream to Georgia Hwy. 53).
  
• Smith Creek downstream of Unicoi Lake (Unicoi State Park).
  
• Chattahoochee River in Atlanta (Sope Creek, downstream of Johnson Ferry Road, downstream to the Hwy 41 bridge).
  
• A portion of the Chattooga River (from Ga. Hwy. 28 upstream to the mouth of Reed Creek) on U.S. Forest Service land bordering South Carolina.

"Remember, during delayed harvest, anglers on these five streams also are restricted to artificial lures with one single hook," Thomson adds. "When May 15rolls around, the general regulations to designated trout water apply."

In addition to the excellent fall fishing opportunities that these delayed harvest streams provide, other Georgia streams offer ample year-round trout fishing. These streams are:

• Noontootla Creek Watershed: This watershed offers high-quality, year-round fishing for wild brown and rainbow trout, with many of its tributaries offering a chance at a wild brook trout (a real plus since most other brook trout waters are closed to fishing after Oct. 31). Both Noontootla and its tributaries are managed under an artificial lure only regulation and have a 16" minimum size limit in order to "recycle" the 8"-12" trout that make up most of the population.
  
• Dukes Creek: This stream, located on the Smithgall Woods-Dukes Creek Conservation Area, offers year-round trout fishing by reservation (706-878-3087). All fish caught here must be released immediately and anglers can only use artificial lures with barbless hooks. The stream offers a great chance at a trout over 20 inches, so bring your camera for a quick shot before release. Best time to fish is after a rain muddies the water.
  
• Chattahoochee River: For good trout fishing close to metro Atlanta, the Chattahoochee River downstream of Buford Dam offers family-friendly, year-round fishing for stocked rainbow and wild brown trout. The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area parks offer good bank, wading and boating opportunities. The river will be stocked through the fall months to keep angler catches high. Year-round harvest is legal from Buford Dam to Sope Creek. Anglers should note that there is an artificial lure only section between Ga. Hwy 20 and the Medlock Bridge Boat Ramp. Best fishing is at low flow when the river is clear to slightly stained.
  
  
• Some additional notable year-round trout streams include the Toccoa River downstream of Lake Blue Ridge, Tallulah River and the Chattooga River.

Anglers must possess a current Georgia fishing license as well as a trout license to fish for these beauties. By purchasing a license as well as fishing equipment and related items, you and your fellow anglers have helped fund sport fish restoration programs for years, thanks to the Sport Fish Restoration Act. This Act allows funds accumulated from a federal excise tax on fishing equipment and related items to be directed to activities that benefit recreational anglers. A portion of these funds is provided to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources based on several factors, including the number of paid sporting licenses. Sport Fish funds make the following activities possible: managing sport fish populations, raising freshwater fish in hatcheries and stocking them in public waters, maintaining and operating public fishing areas and building boat ramps and fishing piers, and much more!

Where can you get a fishing license? Buy it online or find a list of retail license vendors at www.georgiawildlife.com/licenses-permits-passes or buy it by phone at 1-800-366-2661.

For free Georgia trout stream maps, trout fishing tips and other trout fishing information, visit www.georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout .

A Man, His Dog & A Huge Brown!

Story Submitted by Unicoi Outfitters Guide Chuck Head:


With the unseasonably warm temperatures North Georgia experienced last week, it was a great opportunity for those of us who have been doing more tying than fishing to get out on the river and try some of our wintertime creations.  So my dad, Cracker (dad's fishing dog), and myself loaded up the jeep and headed to Nacoochee Bend for the chance to fish in short sleeves during the month of January. 

It's always exciting to get out with dad and Cracker.  We've been fishing together for quite a while now.  Dad wanted to see what this "Czech nymphing thing" was all about, and I needed to keep my skills sharp, as well as try a couple of new flies.  Its tough to say whether the flies were indeed a hot new ticket, or rather the fish were just feeling good from the warm weather, but they were quite cooperative for us! 

The trip was highlighted by a hook-jawed male brown who measured about 22 inches.  The best part was watching him swim four feet across stream to inhale the fly and feel my line twitch at the same time.  No matter how long I have been at this game, it still makes my hair stand up watching a big fish, especially a big brown, tracking down a fly I tied earlier that day. 

Winter fishing in the South can be phenomenal, and we seem to be blessed each winter season with more than a few days such as the one we experienced.  Fishing pressure isn't as heavy, the fish still feed regularly, and surprises like a big brown trout are the rewards for those who are ready to get on the water during our winter months.

Dredger's Cold Weather Tips

From Jeff Durniak - Ga DNR Region III Fisheries Supervisor


Welcome to January in Montana!

Your very best bets this week may be
a) staying at home, or
b) finishing your holiday shopping at a nice, warm retail store.

This frigid weather will really slow down a lot of our sport fish species and make your "catching" much more challenging, especially if you're new to the game.  Just look at the stream temperatures and you'll see the odds stacked against you!  http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/uv?02330450 In these frigid conditions, even our Burton Hatchery fish will not consume their daily doses of trout chow.  Hatchery managers will be
lucky to fit in an occasional afternoon feeding when the sun shines and the water inches up closer to 40 degrees.

That should give anglers some realistic expectations about the number of strikes they'll have when water temps plummet.  Some anglers call it "zen fishing" in the winter, as the strikes from stream trout are so subtle, they are barely perceptible.  We use small flies dead-drifted on the bottom, and cast repeatedly into good-looking, slow spots in an attempt to bump the fish in the nose.  They simply won't move far for food right now.  We set the hook whenever we "think" something should happen and do not wait until we see an obvious strike!

For those brave, fleece-draped  souls who still need a fishing fix, there are still some great opportunities in northeast Georgia.  I doubt if those anglers will experience any crowding, either! A look ahead shows a small  "window of opportunity" on Friday and Saturday afternoons, a brief spell of warmer weather between the two arctic
blasts.   Lakes are still warmer than streams, too.  Those who time their trips correctly to take advantage of increased water temperatures should have some luck.

The good news is that the next extended run of warmer weather should turn on a lot of fish, so be ready to fish the tail-end of a 3-4 day warm spell.

This week's best bets follow:
* Delayed Harvest trout waters (getting a fresh dose of stockers this
week)
* Downstream escapees from DH trout waters (Hooch in Helen, Chattooga
below Hwy 28, Ami below Hwy 53)
* Trout tailwaters due to their warmer water from the reservoirs
(Hooch, Toccoa, Smith Creek)
* Stripers on big lakes like Lanier (54 degrees F) and Hartwell

Toccoa Tailwater 2/25/09 (or, Get A Net, Dummy!)

Well, I just couldn't stand it another day. After taking care of a couple of business chores in and around Blue Ridge Wednesday morning, I hit the Toccoa at 12:30. Was I not paying close attention to the weather this morning or, by chance, did the weatherman get it wrong? Expecting a bright sunny day with temperatures in the mid 50's, I almost didn't bring along a jacket. That would have been a big mistake. As I geared up, it didn't seem like such a bad idea to wear my lightweight vest and my fleece jacket. The skies looked threatening, the wind was howling and if the air temps got anywhere close to the predicted highs, you could have fooled me. To boot, there were no bugs coming off, thus no rises. Man did I want to fish dries this afternoon! By golly, I'm going to fish them anyway... but with a soft hackle pheasant tail dropper just in case. I tied on one of my all time favorite attractor dries, the trusty Parachute Adams in size 14. And that's the only rig I fished all afternoon. I had the river to myself and the fishing was darn good. Surprisingly, with virtually no bugs coming off, over half the fish took the Adams. Today was a clear indication that the Toccoa tailwater continues to improve as a trout fishery. Most of the fish caught today were quality rainbows in the 12" - 14" range. Wild jumpers every one.

A very unusual thing did happen late in the afternoon. I had fished one of my favorite little pockets as soon as I got in the river earlier in the day with no results. I knew there should be fish in there but they just weren't interested. Three hours later I went back there, with the same dry/dropper rig as earlier. First cast resulted in a chunky 13" brown. I moved to the top of the run and made a cast to the far side to get a drift down a narrow chute that has yielded fish in the past. A nice rainbow rolled on my fly and I lifted the rod to set the hook. She looked to be about 13 or 14 inches as I worked her within ten or twelve feet. All of a sudden my reel began to screen as the fish took off downstream! I'm thinking, "What are you doing? You aren't big enough to take me into my backing, but you're just about to do that very thing!" I began working my way downstream to gain some line and noticed it going around a submerged rock. As I positioned myself to work the line loose, the fish made a run back upstream and jumped. Wow!!! How did my respectable little rainbow become a HUGE BROWN? He's tail hooked and jumping all over the place and I'm getting nervous. It's the biggest brown I've hooked into (okay, I know I'm foul hooked but he's giving me a wild ride and I'm liking it) on the Toccoa. Now, all of sudden I can understand the reel smoking run. The brown must have sensed the rainbow in distress and attacked, only to knock her off my fly and then hook himself in the tail in the fray. Now, if you read my last Toccoa report, you will recall that I lost my net just before landing a 20" male brown so here I am locked in a battle with this big guy, foul hooked on 6X and me with no net... again. I had to work the fish out from under overhanging limbs because I was afraid if I went in after him he would bolt and I couldn't maneuver my rod quickly enough to stay in the battle. I would gain a few feet then he would dig back under the bank, looking for a place to hide. Slowly he began to give a little and I finally worked him over to a gravel bar where I reached under the most beautiful golden belly I've ever seen on a fish and lifted him from the water. Still holding him only in one hand, I tried to roll him over on his back to calm him down but he would have none of it. One final flip of the tail, the tippet snapped and he slid off my palm and back into the water. I was stunned! "You dummy, why didn't you get another net?" I truly wish I had a photo as he was prettier than any painting I've ever seen. Dark, dark olive brown with huge black spots, that yellow belly and a burnt orange tail. A solid 22" fish if not more. I don't even care that he was foul hooked, it was exciting. And, in the words of the immortal Rabunite Bill Kelly, "You don't have to believe me if you don't want to." But it did happen and now I'll dream of hooking into that fish again for a long time, or at least until I can get back over there and try for him again.

Frog Hollow Winter Fishing

Kim Kubach's recent winter fishing trip to Frog Hollow with Alex Lunsford. Note not only the size of the fish but the length of the shirt sleeves. Ain't winter fishing in the south grand!