TIE 1 ON

Our fly tying session will not meet in July since it is the week of the 4th--have a good time celebrating our freedom and living in this great country!

See you the 1st Tuesday in August.

Thanks

Great Smoky Mountain Giant

Even with the frequent rains we've been having lately, water temperatures in mid-afternoon on many streams have been getting a little too warm for a full day of quality trout fishing. So what do you do if you've got an outing with friends planned who don't have to be home before dark thirty? You drive a little farther north and fish the streams in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. When we stepped into the stream, the water temp read 57 degrees; cool enough for me to bail on wet wading. We had hoped to fish dry flies primarily but it quickly became obvious the fish weren't looking up so dry/dropper rig was our second choice. At least it was the second choice for two of us. Jeff, in typical Dredger style, went way deep with multiple split shot and a big meaty fly. A fierce battle with his 3 wt. and 5X tippet ended when Alan netted the big fish; all 21 1/2 inches of it. This is no Cherokee stocked pig; this is a wild brown caught on a small stream in the Park. An absolutely amazing fish!

Hunt for the Wild Tiger

By Carter Morris

I've been very busy guiding fishing trips for Unicoi Outfitters all Spring and Summer, but I finally I had a Saturday free. What does every good fly fishing guide do on his day off? I packed my truck with my gear, some food for lunch, some water and other liquid refreshment, and headed for one of my favorite high altitude small streams to pursue the elusive wild Tiger Trout as my mission. All I can say is that I felt a certain positive energy that day and I firmly believed that I would be successful. I used common sense to choose the stream that I felt would give me the best chance. You need a Brook Trout stream that has or recently has had Brown Trout also taking up residence there.

I drove about an hour from my home in Big Canoe and parked my truck off to the side of the forest service road, put on my hip waders and rigged up my Dan Craft one weight rod with 6X tippet and a 16 Royal Wulff, and then I set off to pursue my quarry. I started at the lower end of the stream and caught around ten small rainbows. As I fished my way up above a barrier falls, I began to catch some very nice Brook Trout, and ended up pulling out around 10 brookies.

I tied on a 16 Light Cahill and continued on up the stream and caught a couple more 8–9 inch Brook Trout. I came to a very overgrown stretch of stream that was impossible to fish so I decided to get out to an old logging road and return to my truck and try another stream. When I got to the old road, I had a change of heart as something told me to go up and see if the stream opened up again. I walked about a quarter mile and came back to the stream and to some beautiful small falls and drop pools. I dropped my Light Cahill in some slow water at the edge of the pool and a big mouth engulfed my fly and took off under a rock ledge. He fought like a Brown Trout and I knew it wasn’t a Brook. I finally forced him out from under the ledge two more times before he finally tired and raised his head and gave up. As i brought him in closer I realized that I finally had my elusive Tiger Trout. I pulled him into some shallow water and got out my camera for some pictures so all of my fishing buddies would believe me. I thanked him for the fight and released him back into his pool and headed back to my truck for lunch and a well deserved cold beer.

Then it hit me that I needed a Brown to complete the Ultimate Georgia Trout Grand Slam. After my sandwich and beer, I tied on some 5X tippet and another Royal Wulff and set out for a Brown. I hooked and lost two fish that could have been Rainbows or Browns. I finally landed a 9 inch Brown to complete my slam! I was tempted to call it a day and spend the rest of the afternoon savoring my unique accomplishment, but it was only around 2pm, so I kept fishing a bit longer. Only a few minutes later and a little ways further upstream, I drifted my fly in a deep run at a sharp bend in the stream and a big explosion took the presentation and headed down stream for a big log jam. I put as much pressure as I could to keep him from the jam, but there was not a lot I could do to tell this fish where to go. Then, he seemed to stop just short of the logs and hold still. He finally shot back up stream and then turned and went back towards the logs again, again stopping just short. He began to tire and I slowly worked him back up stream and into the shallows for a quick photo session...a 16 inch Brown to end up a once in a lifetime day on the water!

Fly Fishing 101

Here's a quick notice that we're having our first Orvis Fly Fishing 101 session of the year tomorrow beginning at 10am at both Helen and Blue Ridge stores.  FF101 covers Knots, Rigging and Outfits and Casting Tips and is free.  Participants receive a coupon valued $25 off Orvis purchases.

For more info or to register, call the Helen store at 706-878-3083 or our shop in Blue Ridge at 706-632-1880.

Stay tuned for info on future FF101 classes, as well as Fly Fishing 201!

Dukes Creek Report 6/5/11

Reported by Bryan Crumpler

There is just something special about the feeling an angler gets when he pulls into the Dukes Creek access of Smithgall Woods. Maybe its because it is a rarity for me to be able to fish this little slice of heaven since I am a landlocked Alabamian, but last Sunday I got the chance to head that way on a lovely morning with little fishing competition.  As I rigged up my rod with the special attention to detail that is required to succeed at Dukes, I pondered my fly choice. The thought had crossed my mind that perhaps due to the warmer weather there could be chance that I could fool some willing participants on a hopper pattern, and what a thrill to fish terrestrials on a small stream to rising fish!  Soon after preparations were complete, I made my way to the bottom of section 1 and immediately began to get into 4”- 6” wild rainbows.  The coloration on these stream born fish is beautiful and a welcome sight for eyes that have seen a large proportion of stocker rainbows with their ubiquitous presence in most North Georgia streams and rivers. A methodical dissecting of each run and riffle lead me upstream inch by inch until I offered up the hopper/dropper to a nice little run that meandered by a submerged log against a cutbank. Almost as soon as the hopper struck the water's glassy surface a good brown announced his presence and hammered the fly, leading to brief but thrilling acrobatic upstream run.

Several more vividly colored small rainbows made their way to hand as I continued upstream and each one was a pleasure to observe as they inspected the hopper before ultimately falling to the offering.  One nice rainbow briefly teased the end of my line before ultimately coming off, which was a repeatedly occurring event on this day, but I didn’t mind because it was all great to experience on a beautiful stream on a beautiful day, and on a hopper nonetheless. 

After a small break to retie and re-strategize I set out upstream again. I quickly got back into more small bows again before making my way to a nice looking deep run with some fast water beating down into it creating a scene of crisply folded current and foamy water. Several casts yielded more of the previously noted fish, but I just knew there had to be a larger specimen lurking in the darkness of the run.  The tumultuous current kept swallowing my now smaller hopper and taking it down to the depths of the run. Instead of pulling it out, I tried a few drifts with a tight line highstick technique to let the bead head prince dropper bump the bottom. The line became tight and a much larger fish appeared in the shallows of the run.  To my surprise, he was attached to my line! After a brief staredown between him and myself (I honestly don’t think he realized he was hooked), he fully grasped my incompetence and fragility and took line screaming off my reel as he torched his way downstream.  A frantic and acrobatic man vs. beast battle ensued culminating with the beast relinquishing power to my net, just in time for me to slack line and scoop as he flopped for one last moment of glory, and my barbless fly was hurled upwards as he mocked me and swam away back to his lair.  Proof?  I have none. Sense of accomplishment for “landing” a good Dukes fish in the “16- “18  range, I have!  You’ll have to take my word for it!

Overall it was a great time to be in the water, and what a place to experience. It is getting hot up that way with the water temp reading 62 by mid morning, so get on up there if you want to have some luck. Hoppers and princes along with a peach Y2K were the ticket for me. Tight Lines!

Tie 1 On

Hot enough to "tie 1 on"?--I think so--let's do it this Tues., June 7, at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen at 6:00 PM. Ask Parks Davis with the big wild brown if the tying session is worth attending and I think his answer would be "yes" with a smile.


Parks was a member of our intro. to fly fishing and fly tying class we teach at church each winter and has really gotten involved with this sport. He attends most of our tying sessions and learned how to tie a simple "soft hackle" just last month. Guess what he caught this big boy on--you're right--a soft hackle. There's just something about catching fish on your own flies. So attending one of our "tie 1 on" sessions may help you to "tie onto 1" like the brown in this picture. Thanks Parks, great job!


We're planning on tying some sulphurs this week and will also have something special on our program. Captain Milt Smith will be there to show us some of his flies that he used 30 or 40 years ago. You will enjoy what Milt has to say--he's a great guy.


I hope to see a lot of folks at this month's session. If you tie a lot or you are just getting into it, I hope you can be there--Unicoi provides all equip. & supplies if you need it--thanks Unicoi.
Henry also makes a great cup of coffee for us too.


See you Tues--thanks,


Ron

A 25" BENDER

The following report is from Rex Gudgel:

We had a great time at The Bend yesterday! Fishing with Tony Land and Rick Hill (long time patrons) for a half day. The action was just about non-stop. Lots of hook-ups and most of these made it to the net. You could tell these guys have spent time together as good fishing friends by the way the ragged on each other all day long. If you can't rag on or poach your friends, then who?

Great day, guys! I hope you'll come back soon. By the way, I will be down to St. Pete to do some inshore fly rodding with you.


Tony, congrats on the 25 incher!


Rex Gudgel
FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor

More Toads from the Frog!

Today I fished with K X 2...Keith Calhoun and Keith McFarland at Frog Hollow. The morning started out great with lots of takes and several fish landed. Then it s-l-o-w-e-d down! We caught fish through the day but they were hard to come by. The last hour made up for it. K. C. took several fish up to 20" and lost a couple that were on the plus side of 20"....on DRY FLIES. K.M. quietly kept casting, mending, stripping, drifting, repeating and caught a couple. Then, Oh My ! I can't even explain what happened next, because you wouldn't believe it...it was one of those things where you just had to be there ! If we had a video of it we would get a million hits on UTube. Lets just say that big fish can swim up waterfalls and this old guide can still walk on water to land big fish ! All in all "I'd rather be lucky than good" any day ! Great job to both Keiths and here is a picture of KM's 26 1/2 " by 18" 10 pound rainbow. 

Rex Gudgel

FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor

Father - Son Fishing Report

A weekend report in from our guide Hunter Morris, half of a Father/Son guide duo here at Unicoi Outfitters:

Given that I spend many of my favorite days on the river with my Dad, it was especially enjoyable to guide T. and Telfair Parker, a father and son from Charleston, SC, on Saturday at Nacoochee Bend. And it didn't hurt that the fish seemed to be having a very fine day as well. Both father and son landed nice rainbows before 9:30 a.m. and the action kept going strong right up to lunch. The afternoon was slightly slower, but given that we estimated at least 50 hookups in the a.m., it would have been difficult to match that again in the afternoon. We caught fish mainly on size 14 olive soft hackles, size 16 rubber-legged prince nymphs, and size 10 olive flash-a-buggers.

Thanks to T. and Telfair for a wonderful day on the river and here's a photo of the elder Parker with a beautiful Nacoochee Bend rainbow...

Tie 1 On

It's time to "tie 1 on" again and I'm looking forward to it. Our May fly tying session will be Tues., the 3rd at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen at 6:30 PM. Since soft hackle flies were talked about in a previous blog and seem to be a "hot" fly at this time, we will be demonstrating different methods for tying these. We also hope to tie a hackle back dry fly.

This would be the perfect time to start tying your own flies or just to renew your interest in this activity--nothing like hooking fish on your own flies.

Unicoi provides all equipment & supplies, for which we are grateful.

Hope to see all the "old" crowd plus some new "tyers" this Tuesday.

I would also like to say "thanks" to those who helped out with the Nancytown Kids' Fishing Rodeo--we saw a lot of smiling faces.

Thanks again,

Ron

Soft Hackles Rule!

It's always interesting to have well-known fly anglers fish with us.  We are either looking to see their surprise when they discover how much fun it is or to see how well their personal technique performs on "our" water.  Yesterday we were privileged to have author Allen McGee of soft hackle fly fame fishing at Nacoochee Bend.  Those of you who follow my own writings know that I think the soft hackle is the perfect fly and I love to fish them.  Having an accomplished soft hackle expert validate my thoughts just makes me want to get on the water right now and swing a few.  By the way, Allen is one of the presenters at the upcoming Southeastern Fly Fishing Festival at Unicoi State Park on June 2nd, 3rd & 4th.  Some of his presentations will be on-stream at Nacoochee Bend.  Here is what Allen had to say about his trip:

"I had a great day up there today! I probably caught 
25 - 30 fish, seriously. Most of the day I fished down at Yaz Crossing and just above there. It is good water for swimming and swinging soft-hackled nymphs. It's really nice in that section. I caught most of my fish on #14 black soft-hackled nymphs with silver bead heads. Also I caught some on Orange Hare Thorax Nymphs #12. I want to thank you very much for letting me fish there today. I think my presentation for the Southern Conclave FFF will be great on that water.  Thanks again, and here are a few pics."

Best,
Allen

Take a Kid Fishing

This could be your kids or grand kids with these great smiles on their faces if you take them fishing. We have 2 upcoming events that will allow you to do just that. On Sat. April 30, the US Forest Service, along with the Ga DNR and Foothills Chapter of TU will sponsor the Nancytown Lake Kids Fishing Rodeo at Mt. Airy.This event is for kids aged 2-15 years old and will start at 8:00 AM and last til 11:30. Volunteers will be there to help the kids. Refreshments will be provided and prizes will be given out. For directions, go to www.gofishgeorgia.com and check the calender of events for April 30. Looking forward to a big turn out of Foothills TU volunteers for this event.

On Sat., May 7, Center Baptist Church will sponsor the "Fishers of Men" Trout Tournament.This event is open to everyone and it's a great place to take kids and have fun. It will be in Helen at the "Cool River Tubing" location. It starts at 7 AM and ends at 11 Am--lunch will be provided and trophies and great door prizes will be awarded including a fishing trip with Unicoi Outfitters. For info, contact Mark Pourbaix at 706-754-6663 or the church at www.centerbaptist.com. The church always does a great job with this event. Take a kid fishing--you will enjoy it as much as they do.

Thanks,

Ron

Man oh Man, What a Fish!

I think I'll just let this video of Chad Peters' guests Monday on the Toccoa River tailwater speak for itself:

Thanks to our long time friend Tuck Tucker for the video. And, of course, a huge thanks to Tuck's son Kent who actually caught the fish.

Nuff said!

"Sweet Ride" on the Toccoa River

We had to share with you our Unicoi Guide Duane Miller's new ride on the water. Duane has to have one of the sweetest rides ever to float on the Toccoa River. We are fortunate to have Duane guiding for us. He is native of the Blue Ridge area and has logged many hours on the Toccoa River as well other streams in the Southern Appalachians. Duane shares his passion for fly fishing with his son Tristen. Duane is not only an exceptional guide but he is very active in the conservation of the Toccoa River. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Toccoa River Watershed Coalition.

Great Time of the Year

Thanks Jimmy for the blog, I really enjoy what I do. And I probably am already paying Unicoi for guiding if you count all the "stuff" I have purchased at the shops.

As a guide or fisherman, I just don't think you can beat spring and especially the month of April for the best fishing of all the year. The water temp is just right, the rivers and streams have plenty of water, and the fish are aggressive and crazy--you can actually catch them on a fly larger than a size #20 midge.

I fished with Bo & Wendy Perry from Macon on Friday at NCF and had a great time. Neither had ever caught a trout on a fly rod--but that quickly changed when we started fishing. Bo hooked a nice fish on his 1st cast and landed several fish before we left the 1st hole. Wendy worked on her casting and presentation and before long she was hooking fish also.

She was very happy when she finally landed this nice rainbow, as you can see from the big smile on her face. We landed several fish and hooked many more. The fish were really acrobatic, just making jump after jump after jump.

I couldn't ask for a day to be much better--we had hook-ups on the very 1st cast and the last cast 0f the day--with many in between.

Thanks to Wendy & Bo for allowing me to fish with them--I believe they enjoyed it almost as much as me.

So leave work early, or do whatever necessary to get on the water, because this is a great time of the year to fish.

Thanks,

Ron

Oh yea, almost forgot--Pat's rubber leg stonefly!!