Tuckasegee River DH Opens October 1st

Stay tuned for next week.

Outdoor writer, photographer and recent book author, David Cannon http://cannonoutdoors.com/ and I hitch up the Clacka Craft and head up to the Tuckasegee DH to see whats going on. Should be a good time as the two of us look for eager fish willing to pose for a few pictures and eat a few fake bugs as we open the 2009 North Carolina Delayed Harvest season.

J Byrd

TIE 1 ON

Our monthly fly tying session at the Unicoi shop in Helen will be Oct. 6 at 6:30 PM. Everyone is invited--no experience necessary. If you enjoy catching fish on a fly, we encourage you to attend. We're not fancy or fast--we tie simple patterns that catch fish. It's a great opportunity for learning, sharing and just having a good time. There are always Unicoi guides present that share their secrets with us--thanks Joel and Jake. We would also like to thank Jimmy, David, and John for allowing us to use their facility and equipment.

So, if you want to learn how to tie flies or tie better flies, come to the session-I think you'll enjoy it. Bring equipment and supplies if you have them--if not, we'll supply them.

Hope to see you Tuesday--have a great week on the water and at the vise.

Noontootla Creek Farms was alive with sounds of laughter!

If you Google the phrase “infectious laughter”, the most common definition is: One who’s laugh is so contagious that anyone around is overwhelmed with the uncontrollable urge to laugh without cause. Right beside that definition is a photo of this guy.

I had the pleasure of fishing with Rick and Margarita from Miami, who were spending a few days in the mountains of NE Georgia and decided they wanted to give fly-fishing a try. I thought I had met some pretty serious happy-go-lucky people over the course of my life, but then I met Rick.

The slightest thing would set him off with the most jovial laughter I have heard in a long time. I found myself drumming up every joke I could think of just to hear him laugh out loud. The first fish he caught he laughed so hard in excitement that I thought I was never going to land it because I was laughing so hard. I thought he was going to laugh himself into cardiac arrest when he set the hook on a warpaint shiner and launched that poor fish about 20 feet in the air. What a day, this one will be remembered for a long time. We caught several fish today, but that was secondary to the company I had.

The Weather Gods smiled on Saturday!

The weather radar looked very ominous at 5:30am on Saturday as I made sandwiches and put together lunch for the day's float trip. As daylight broke I could see the ever-darkening skies southwest of Blue Ridge. But that is all part of being a fishing guide; sometimes you live and die by the weather, you just hope for the best and take what you're given. I met my two guys for the day, who were more concerned with the fact that they were going fishing over any weather problems and were determined to make the best of it. My kind of guys!

We pushed off from the bank about 9:00am under heavy overcast skies and a falling barometer. That, coupled with the lack of people, just gave me a sneaking suspicion that this could be a good day if the weather holds. As soon as our flies started hitting the water we began to see some action. Very few “large” bugs on the water, but the surface was littered with little (size 28-32) midges. If you saw a rising fish and got a good cast in front of him he either bumped your dry or took a swing at your dropper. We caught a lot of browns today. More than I have been catching over the past few weeks. Fortunately the weather held out for us today. Chad was keeping an eye on the weather radar for us with phone in hand to warn us if things started to get sporty.

After we got back to shop he was happy to report that the huge storm coming out of Alabama had split in two and went around Blue Ridge. I must be living right! All-in-all we boated around 25-30 fish, a mixed bag of 9-12 inch browns and rainbows with a few 14-16 inch rainbows. We missed that many more. Lightning-fast strikes and small midge droppers will make you talk to yourself sometimes. There were not a lot of rising fish to site-cast to, but they were actively feeding and a good drift through fishy looking water usually resulted in a strike. Right as the water caught us a very light sprinkle of rain started to fall, but by that point we were headed to the take-out anyway. The weather Gods smiled on us today.

Prospecting for Rainbow Gold!

Friend and Fellow guide Brad Wayne and I decided to take a prospecting trip on Saturday last week. I have some fly patterns that I have been wanting to try. Deer season, college football and school have started which tends to thin the herd down a little bit on the river. We started later in the afternoon as both of us had been getting up early the past few mornings and neither one us felt like getting up at the crack of dawn that morning………..it happens……….even to those who are hopelessly addicted to fishing. As best we could tell, we were the only boat on the water with a few scattered fishermen wading around in spots. There were a few bugs flying around with very little surface action, but once we got past the waders, the fish started rising all around us. Started sticking rainbows left and right and just about the time I made the comment to Brad that I had not caught a brown in a while “Wham”, a lively brown trash canned my dry fly. Today was goooooooood day. I won’t mention how many fish we caught in the 5 hours we fished because folks will want to check our boat cooler to see what we’re sipping on, but I’ll just say it was on. We didn’t get to fish long because the DAWGS were kicking off at 7:30 and we both had “obligations” to attend. Fall is here and the fishing is starting to pick up as the crowds dissipate and the temperature cools down.

Gone Fishin'-4-Days

The last two weeks I got the chance to spend four days with Bill Crowell, his son Pierce, and his friend Jeff. We spent one day floating the river and the other three at Noontootla Creek Farms - (It's hard to pass up Size #8 and #10 dry fly action). Fish at the farm are still looking up, some of them explode on a dry just out of nowhere, and others, it's like they are in slow motion. The ones that are so slow are the worst, as you anxiously sit and watch that big dry drift its way downstream, sometimes you can actually see those big fish start their move up from the depths. Usually about the time you think "there should be a fish right there" you will see that move, then is when the patience comes in. You have to sit, almost as if time is standing still, and wait as it approaches. Eventually, if you wait long enough, you will see that head break the surface, and your fly disappear and after what seems like a eternity, then you set the hook.

The guys caught fish on top and on the bottom, but as exciting as the dry fly takes are, the craziest thing happened nymph fishing. Mr. Crowell made a good cast to the top of a run with a big dry and had a good size fish roll at it, but no take. When all else fails get out the nymph rig, he made a cast or two back to the spot with no take. I think it was the third cast, after a short drift, the indicator twitched and he set, right away we knew it was not what we were looking for. As Mr. Crowell stripped it in, we saw that it was maybe a 6" horny head, not what had rolled at the dry. About the time the line got close enough for me to grab, things turned for the better. Suddenly, a sizeable rainbow shot up out of the hole, and after about three or four swipes (about three or four feet in front of me), it inhaled the catch. I could see just the tail of the horny head sticking out of its mouth as it dissapeared off into the hole. For about 30 - 45 seconds Mr. Crowell fought the fish all around the pool just as if it had taken the fly. When it started to calm down, and got close enough for me to see again, it still had the tail hanging out of its mouth. In pretty much the same spot as the ambush happened, the fish turned, opened its mouth and out came the horny head with the fly still hooked and the rainbow dissapeared into the hole. Not too often that you have to worry about something stealing your catch on a trout stream, but it's a blast to fish for trout that are big enough to eat like that. To sum it up, I enjoyed four days on the water, so thanks guys.

Two fun days in Blue Ridge!

This past week, I had the pleasure of fishing with Mark from France. He is an outstanding fly fisherman at the young age of 13. On the first day, we floated the Toccoa. Mark brought several fish to the boat by casting Light Cahill dries with spot on presentations.

The second day, we fished Noontootla Creek Farm tossing big hoppers to big rainbows. Awesome action on terrestrials since July. Mark made some of the most impressive casts I've seen out of someone so young.

If you're interested in some hopper crunching action give us a call!

Tie 1 On with Frog Hollow & Toccoa River Fishing Reports

To all fly tyers and want-to-be fly tyers. Our monthly fly tying session will be Tues. Sept 1 at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen at 6:30. Everyone is welcome and hey, its free. If you have a vise, bring it and any materials you have for a fly you want to learn how to tie or demonstrate how to tie. If you don't have any equipment, that's OK--we'll supply it. We tie simple fish catching flies that won't take you an hour to tie. The session is always fun and its a great time to talk with other fishermen who share the same interest. Hope to see you there.

And while I'm posting, I would like to mention a couple of trips I recently guided. Today I had a trip at Frog Hollow on the Chestatee and it fished good. My customer had 3 or 4 fish that broke us off and landed a 24" rainbow on a Brahma sparkle soft hackle.

Also, last Saturday I guided a trip on the Toccoa tailwater and it was the best trip I've had over there in a while. We brought over 2 dozen fish to the net--including at least a dozen tagged fish and we hooked several more. We hooked most of these fish on a Holy Grail and another fly I'd rather not mention.

Being able to fish and have good results like these during July and August is definitely a big change from this same time last year. By the way, the Holy Grail and Brahma soft hackle, along with the Evil Weevil are just a few of the flies we tie at our Tie 1 On sessions....hope to see you there!

Tie 1 On

Ron

Gold Rush Cup Fly Fishing Challenge at Frog Hollow

The Dahlonega, Georgia based Gold Rush Chapter of Trout Unlimited is holding its first "Gold Rush Cup" Fly Fishing Challenge on Saturday November 21. This is a promising fund-raiser for the chapter that could be a fund-raiser for the participant! It is a team tournament based on up to 10 2-man teams, so it pays to register early before the field fills up. For more info check out the Gold Rush website.

This Just In...

August 26, 2009 (FMS 0907) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Forest Service Officials Announce Final Decision on Recreation Uses on the Upper Chattooga

Final alternative allows some new limited boating opportunities on the upper river

(Columbia, SC) August 26, 2009—After considerable analysis and public involvement, US Forest Service officials announced today a final decision on managing recreation uses on the upper Chattooga River and released the Environmental Assessment (EA) entitled Managing Recreation Uses on the Upper Chattooga. The final decision reflects Alternative 4 analyzed in the EA.

“A few minor changes were made to the preferred Alternative 4 released in July, 2008,” said Acting Forest Supervisor for the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests Monica Schwalbach. “However, the final decision still provides additional boating opportunities on the main stem Chattooga River above the Highway 28 bridge while continuing to emphasize, protect and enhance optimal, year-round, high-quality trout fishing. This decision minimizes user conflicts and also takes steps to reduce resource damage from existing and future recreation uses.”

Specifically, boating will be allowed from the confluence of Norton Mill Creek in North Carolina to Burrells Ford Bridge in South Carolina (not including the tributaries) between December 1 and March 1 when the river reaches approximate flow levels of 450 cfs or more at the Burrells Ford gauge. These flows are above those considered optimal for fishing and will produce approximately six boatable days in an average year. This stretch of river provides challenging, whitewater boating in a solitude setting and was rated the highest by boaters for creek boating.

The Forest Service decision also enhances the scenery Outstandingly Remarkable Value (ORV) by reducing the number and size of campsites and closing or rehabilitating user-created trails and campsites. It recognizes the value of large woody debris for aquatic habitat, prohibiting its removal to accommodate recreation in the upper reaches, and acknowledges the important role of tributaries in the restoration of the native brook trout. Additionally, guidelines are established for encounter limits for all uses, primarily to protect opportunities for solitude now and in the future.

“The purpose of this new management direction is to ensure the continued enjoyment of the upper Chattooga by a variety of recreationists consistent with protecting and enhancing the river’s free flowing conditions, water quality and ORVs as required under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,” said Schwalbach. “It also preserves the natural conditions, wilderness character, and ‘outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation’ within the Ellicott Rock Wilderness as required by the Wilderness Act.”

The agency intends to hold at least one public workshop on implementing the final decision in the fall. A separate announcement with more detailed information will be released in the near future.

A copy of the Decision Notice and EA will be available on the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests’ Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms where additional background information can be found.

Lanier Chapter of CCA Georgia Forming

We received info about this meeting to form a Lanier chapter of CCA Georgia and are planning on attending and thought some of our readers might likewise be interested. More info about the organization can be found on their website.

Tallulah River - Fishing Great!

I just got a phone call from Jay Reed of Mt. Airy, GA. Jay reports that he's been spending a bit of time fishing the Tallulah lately and that the fishing's been great. His most recent trip was Sunday, and while the numbers weren't off the chart (not surprising after a weekend of pressure), he caught everything on dries and had a blast. Earlier in the month he had taken 7-year-old Jackson by the Burton hatchery, where they watched 4" trout chasing after flying dragonflies - great to know the instinct hasn't been bred out of the stockers!

And speaking of Jackson: he's not quite ready for the fly rod, but has discovered that the Tallulah is a great place to learn about trout fishing....hey, that's where I got my start!

Indeed, many folks don't think of the Tallulah when considering a spot to go fly fishing, but it's got tons going for it. They think it's either too crowded, or it's too small, not a DH stream, or just not "cool".

The truth is, the Tallulah is an awesome river to fish, and learn a lot about southern Appalachain trout fishing. It's not a DH stream because the water temps stay so low during the summer it is a true year-round trout fishery. So low in fact, it is one of the few streams in the state that get extra stockings in the summer when the other streams have gotten too hot to hold fish. Access is great, and while the stream does get a bit of bait-fishing pressure, there is plenty of stream to spread out on. The water is varied, from typical mountain stream pockets to long, slow glides. And there are a lot of truly large stream-raised holdover fish resident on the Tallulah...but they're not easy to catch.

Give it a try!

Hot Fun In The Summertime!

This past Wednesday David Hulsey and I took Jake Moran to Noontootla Creek Farm to give him an idea of the variety of great outdoor activities available there. Jake is the Property Manager with Achasta Community near Dahlongega which has about two miles of the Chestatee River flowing right through the middle of it. Unicoi Outfitters is working with Achasta to develop a series of outdoor adventure type activities for their residents and guests that will include flyfishing classes, guided fishing trips, sporting clays and quail hunts.


The rains we've had this summer have been a true blessing for trout fishing in north Georgia and, while stream levels are low compared with fall, winter and spring flows, the early morning water temperatures are holding steady in the low to mid 60's. The exciting aspect of fishing in August is the opportunity to catch rising fish on big hopper patterns. There's not a much more exciting visual fishing experience than watching a huge rainbow swirl on a hopper, particularly when most of the rivers at this time of year are only fishing well with size 20 and 22 midges. Man, you can SEE a hopper out there! As you can see from the photos, Jake had a good morning at The Farm.

We had a fantastic lunch at nearby VanZandt's Store. If you've fished the Toccoa River in the Dial community area, you're familiar with VanZandt's. It's actually been in business since 1834, long before the area was a playground for trout anglers, canoeists, hikers and bicycle riders. Manager, Greg Johnson has totally renovated the interior of the old store and offers up some rib-sticking meals with excellent chicken salad, stuffed baked potatoes and homemade pies. Take it from an expert, his chocolate pie will make your eyes light up and your tummy say howdy! When the Delayed Harvest season kicks off on November 1st, treat yourself to lunch at VanZandt's Store. Greg is also an accomplished fly fisherman and even has a few leaders, tippet spools and flies in stock just in case you find yourself on-stream without them.

Emerging Dragonfly at NCF

I wanted to share this picture David took of an emerging dragonfly at Noontootla Creek Farm.

Bug life is great at NCF. You will even find the occasional water penny there.

Enjoy!

Sage Rods on Sale - Xi2 & Launch 30% Off

Unicoi Outfitters is offering 30% off list price on all Sage Xi2 and Launch Series rods while supplies last.

The Xi2 Series is a great saltwater rod. Built with Sage's innovative Generation 5 (G5) Technology, Xi2 rods feel lighter and livelier than other saltwater rods. The Modulus Positioning System (MPS) that they developed for these rods provides a startling level of "line feel" throughout the casting stroke. This enhanced ability to feel the rod load allows you to apply power more efficiently. I fish one of these in a 9 weight, and it's truly a great rod!

The Launch Series of rods are great for those just starting out in our sport - or just looking for a good rod at a good price. Developing G5 Technology clearly demonstrated that the key to better casting is the ability to feel the rod load. With the Launch Series rods, Sage applied what they had learned to create a smooth, progressive power curve and an extremely high strength-to-weight ratio. This means Launch Series rods provide exceptional line connection or feel, allowing anglers to cast better and more easily.

Don't miss your chance to own Sage quality at a discounted price - available at both our Helen and Blue Ridge shops.