Imposter?

Can you find the imposter? Take your last shots as Brood X cicada mania draws to a close in north Georgia.  We received a small resupply of these great imitations yesterday in Helen, so grab a few and hunt the region soon for this hatch - and the carp, cats, and bass cruising the shallows.  Your best strike indicator: your ears.  Cruise the lakes and rivers and listen for the swarms.

I’m excited to try my leftover bugs for shallow river bass and big pond bream in August, too.

Leave your 6x tippet at home with these plump bugs and their plump predators.  Good luck!

Fathers Day Memory-making?

Would you like a great gift idea for Father’s Day? Give Dad a lifetime memory! Purchase a gift certificate for a Unicoi Outfitters fishing trip and include it with your perfect card.  Feel free to call our shop (706-878-3083) to discuss your certificate options, or view and purchase them online here:

Gift Certificates - Unicoi Outfitters

Whether it’s a summer striper wade,  a Hooch bass float, or a trout fishing date next fall, we have an option to fit your budget and Dad’s schedule. With certificate in hand, he can just call our shop and reserve a date.  Certificates can also be redeemed for merchandise, in case Dad has his eyes on a really nice rod or reel.

In the meantime, have fun finding the stripers hiding among the trophy trout at Nacoochee Bend. Each will put a bend in Dad’s rod and will make a memory that will last him a lifetime.  Good luck “fishing” for your perfect gift for Dad.

UO Fishing Report - 6/4/21

It’s trouting “breakfast time” in northeast Georgia, as our streams are low, clear, and warming.  For trout in larger streams, fish the mornings, while headwater trout in small, shaded streams will still play throughout the day.

Low and clear streams give us advantages and disadvantages.  On the positive side, fish are now packed into their summer niches of deeper pools, dark ledges, and shade under submerged logs and overhanging limbs. On the negative side, the fish are nervous about predators and you’d better bring your stealth A-game.

“Low and clear” is a good combo for river bass and stripers, so try another float or wade trip and aim for the shade. With clear rivers, bass and stripers will be good targets, especially in the low light of dawn and dusk and way back along shaded riverbanks. Bass are starting to look up, so take some poppers along with your streamers and crawdad patterns.

Pond temps are still good, and bass and bream will be hungry. So are lake predators if they’re lucky enough to find some bugs dropping from lakeside tree limbs.

Best bets are headwater trout, shady river bass, dawn river stripers, and dusk pond bream.

Enjoy our extended report , with Wes’ weekly hot fly list and our guide & UO buddy fishing reports, on our Facebook page and at 

http://blog.angler.management

Wes’ Hot Fly List:

Dries: tan elk hair caddis, Deckers yellow sally, Yellow stimulator, Micro chubby Chernobyl, and parachutes in these patterns: adams, light cahill, black ant, and royal coachman.

Wets and nymphs: Yellow soft hackle, Yellow sally stone, Lightning bug, Frenchie, Girdle bug, black fur ant, small pheasant tail soft hackles and hares ear nymphs, brown and black WD40’s, green weenie or mop, and red squirmies and small olive buggers for leftover holiday stockers.

Streamers and warmwater:

Kreelex, Mini dungeon, Krystal bugger, #4 black woolly bugger,  hairy fodder, BoogleBug, Finesse changer, gray/white Clouser, Bugger changer.

Headwaters:

Headwaters are low, but cool, and a great bet for sneaky anglers. Rabunites always say, “dress like a rhododendron bush and fish like a blue heron.” Follow their lead to higher catch rates. For wild fish, toss your favorite, high-floating dry (see our list) into those summer flood refuges.

For kids, try stockers!  Grab a short fly rod and leader and have them swing the smallest of woolly buggers through the pools and boulder fields of heavily stocked waters like Cooper, Rock, Dicks, and Tallulah. There should be leftovers from last week’s heavy holiday stockings by our GAWRD friends.   A downstream roll cast is fairly easy for kids to learn. Just have a zebco and Powerbait in the car trunk to save the day if the flyfishing is slow.

Bugger tips here:

http://blog.angler.management/2021/03/untangling-trout.html

UO’s newest sales associate, Joseph, got out to do some creek fishing this week.  He had lots of luck on a green mop for the stockers, while a chubby Chernobyl and soft hackle PT combo picked up the holdover and wild trout. 

Delayed Harvest (NC):

The release season ends today and harvest begins tomorrow in our neighbor state. There should still be a good number of survivors over the next week or two for anglers covering some ground to pick off dusk risers.

UO buddy Lumis and a friend  hit the Nan DH last weekend and had great luck, despite the holiday crowds. He dredged Euro nymphs (esp a Perdigons) and friend fished a dry. Both methods scored well.

Dredger wandered up there on Tuesday, after the weekender exodus and slipped into the creek at 6PM.  He had a “great last date” on the DH section via a double dry rig. 

http://blog.angler.management/2021/06/yeller.html

The first niche, a deep & fast run, produced a 9” wild rainbow that crushed the stimmy and leaped two feet straight up before coming to the net.  Niche #2, a deep,slow boulder pocket, gave up a chunky brookie. Target #3, a slow flat in the bankside shade, hid a fat stocker brown that sipped his Adams dropper. 

 His hat trick was scored in only a dozen casts toward the first three “goals.” Good action continued til the yellow sallies went to bed at 8:45.

The aerial show was as entertaining as the aquatics. Midges and tiny mayfly spinners buzzed the surface as he slipped into the 63-degree water.  Soon sporadic chinook copters (aka # 10 brown stones)  motored slowly, at head-level, across the water. Thirty minutes later, big #12 brown drakes did their 4-foot vertical yo-yo’s as they danced and dropped eggs on the surface. The show was topped off with #16 yellow sallies fluttering and dipping eggs - and attracting risers.

Before the Sally show, rises were sporadic because the bugs were, too, at least on the water surface. But most fish were looking up for a meal in the skinny water,  and a well-placed dry usually got a look and often an eat.  The evening date was a great parting gift from NC’s DH program to this GA tourist.

Private Waters:

Bigger, private waters are fishing decently for early risers, but rising water temps that hit the mid-60’s, combined with bright sunshine, are making resident rainbows moody by noon.  Go early, use light tippets, soft Indi’s (a bushy dry or yarn) and stealth, and you’ll still have a morning of fun in the gin-clear waters as you “hunt” these fish.

Wes:  “With the combination of rising temps and falling water, there are two important factors for success on private water.   The first is to get out in the morning. We have noticed a substantial drop off in the fishes’ activity after about 11:30am. The second is to get a clean drift. With the clean water a drag free drift has been key.

Lightning bugs, squirmy worms, hares ears, and golden stonefly nymphs were the recent standouts.”

Afar:

High elevation Smokies streams will continue to fish well. Beware the heavy weekend tourist traffic. If you can slip up on a weekday, it’s fairly smooth sailing. We’ll be heading that way soon as Georgia trouting slows with warming water, and when we want a different “flavor” from our local river bass and stripers, which are now heating up.

Rivers:

UO staffer Lee made a brief stop along an east-side river to prospect  for Bartrams bass. They weren’t interested in his menu until he found the secret weapon, then it was game on.

Instructions for tying the Triangle Bug — Panfish On The Fly

Athens Jay: “Piedmont rivers low and clear. The official State Native Riverine Sport Fish is looking up. “

Landon: “Yellow was the Chestatee color of choice this week.  Boulder fields with current got shoal bass, while wood in slower current gave up spots.”

Flat Water:

Wes: “ I got the opportunity to get on the Brood X cicada action over the last few weeks. I did a lot of research, made some calls, and scouted some water. Once you find the bugs they are very densely populated in the areas they emerge. Definitely an awesome experience for folks willing to put in the time on the web and the water.”

GAWRD provided another great report for us today. Note that it’s National Fishing and Boating Week. Check out the segments on trout stream temperature monitoring and shoal bass research.

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2021/06/04/georgia-fishing-report-june-4-2021/

Good luck this weekend. The water is down and so are the holiday crowds! Take advantage of both factors to wet-wade or float your favorite waters and “launch” your fishing summer. Contact either our Helen or Clarkesville store if we can help you prepare for your Huck Finn moments.  

PS: don’t forget your dry fly dessicant!

Cicada Carpocalypse

The 17 year brood X periodic cicada madness is currently going off in select areas across the south. Truly an awesome event to have witnessed. Sight fishing to cruising fish with topwater flies never gets old!

“Yeller”

If your schedule is flexible, sneak up to Nantahala DH ASAP for an evening of double dry action. Note: harvest starts Saturday on NC’s DH streams.

Carry lots of yellow and ample dessicant, like the “High and Dry” shaker bottle that we stock.  After their trout-induced dunkings, drop both dries in, close the top, and shake them back to dry life.

Try a yellow stimulator and small parachute Adams dropper early (5 or 6), and then change the dropper to a size 16 yellow sally when those beautiful little stones dance at 7:30.

That was my Tuesday recipe for grippin’ and grinnin’. Hope it helps a few of you, too!

Goldfish in our Trout Streams?

Let’s take a timeout for some neat creek ecology. It’s  nearing the season for spotting  “goldfish and pebble mounds” during our  streamside hikes.   Every year stream anglers and other outdoor fans wonder where these large schools of bright orange minnows have come from.

In north Georgia, the goldfish are resident minnow species showing off their spawning attire. A common species in NE GA is the yellowfin shiner. 

The pebble mounds are chub nests.  The chubs actually pile up small rocks to make some great spawning habitat, not only for themselves but for several other species.  The clean mound of stones is a great way of overcoming stream sediments, which smother fish eggs.

Check out these websites for a neat video of chubs in action and more info on the featured fish. By the way, our friend, author Brandon is now on staff at Clemson U.

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=C97B9DBB-1DD8-B71C-0771A18F9759D67A

https://thefisheriesblog.com/2012/09/10/bluehead-chubs-construct-nests-and-welcome-guests/

On your next trouting trek, take a break to enjoy some stream ecology and appreciate Mother Nature. All critters have their niches - even our spring chub construction crews and their “goldfish” tenants!

UO Fishing Report - 5/28/21

First, we honor and thank all of our military heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. Because of these men and women, we are able to enjoy and deeply appreciate this beautiful country, our way of life, and all of our freedoms. 

That includes the freedom to fish! We have a real nice holiday weekend ahead with dry skies, cooling air temperatures, and crystal clear waters.  

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450

And crowds. So we suggest a weekend theme of “off the beaten path.”  “Out-wake or out-walk” the holiday crowds at popular sites by getting up early or staying late to hit your favorite waters at first or last light, hiking farther away from parking areas at bigger streams, or prospecting lesser-known and less-accessible headwater creeks to have more water to yourself.

Best bets are headwater trout, shady river bass, dusk pond bream, and reservoir blueback-chasers and cicada-inhalers.

Enjoy our extended report , with Wes’ weekly hot fly list and our guide & UO buddy fishing reports, on our Facebook page and at 

http://blog.angler.management

Wes’ Hot Fly List:

Dries: Parachute adams, tan Caddis, Deckers yellow sally, Yellow stimulator, parachute ant, and Micro chubby.

Wets and nymphs: Yellow soft hackle, Yellow sally stone, Lightning bug, Frenchie, Girdle bug, black fur ant, Squirminator, pheasant tail soft hackle, small hares ear nymphs, WD40.

Streamers and warmwater:

Kreelex, Mini dungeon, Krystal bugger, #4 black woolly bugger,  hairy fodder, Bluegill mini slider, BoogleBug, Finesse changer, gray/white Clouser, Bugger changer, Pole Dancer.

Headwaters:

UO staffer Lee slipped away to the mountaintop and filed this report: 

“Several days of 90ish temps in May got me thinking about standing in a small stream casting for wild fish.  

So Wednesday after work I headed to [REDACTED].  Average water depth was about ankle to calf deep, so I initially cast to a couple knee deep holes with zero results....and those spots looked really fishy.

Third spot was maybe calf deep, barely above average, but it looked like it might hold fish just below a small sweeper.  First cast and BAM, a 5 inch wild rainbow...about par for this stream.  After shaking him off the barbless hook, I tossed back to the same spot and caught a carbon copy of the first.  I figured two fish from one hole on this creek was pretty good, so I threw back to the same spot and got bit again....but a much bigger fish, this one was a solid 9 inches measured on my rod handle....the largest trout I've ever landed here!  Another cast into the same spot yielded the fourth trout from an area about the size of a paper plate!

After a few more casts I moved on, hitting likely spots, usually with one or none, but there were a couple holes with multiple fish...including one more that gave up four rainbows. Mostly fish in the four to six inch range, all were caught on a number 16 tan elk hair Caddis.  Rod of choice was a 5'6" 3 weight...perfect for dries on this stream, where a long cast was 20 feet, but most were 10 feet.  Total fish to hand was about 12 to 15, with about half that again that released themselves.  And I ended up with three big fish between 8 and 9 inches.  All in all, a great hour and a half respite from the heat.”

Delayed Harvest:

Between legal harvest and warming water, pickings will now be slim in Georgia DH streams.  Most will still receive regular trout stockings (as part of the GAWRD catchable trout program) as long as they stay below 70 degrees, so try bait, a squirmy worm, or small woolly bugger for the new  and short-lived residents.

The cooler North Carolina DH streams, however, will still fish well and are worth the drive for anglers willing to travel. That state’s DH season ends in early June. Again, try your early-May flies and techniques up there.

Private Waters:

Private waters have still fished well for morning anglers. PM action has slowed with rising afternoon air and water temps and lower streamflows.

Wes checked in: “I did a couple Bend trips in the last week. With the warm weather the best activity has been from about 8am-11:30am. 

Soft hackles, chubby Chernobyl’s, girdle bugs, and frenchies have been the producers.”

Afar:

RonW survived his mountain expedition and filed this report: “Moe and I fished a high elevation Creek in the Smokies last Saturday. We climbed up "Steep Creek" and gained several hundred feet in elevation, tossing dries all day to angry brookies.  Moe even landed a nice little bow at about 3800'. It was a fantastic day on the water with great weather and even better company! 

Definitely need a few Motrin after this creek!  It is a super gnarly creek with many obstacles, one being an absolutely massive hemlock that you have to climb over.  You get in the creek and you're committed to it for about a 1/2 mile. It just keeps going up and up and up! I don't think my body can take it fishing it more than once a year. But the specks made the gain worth the pain.”

A jealous UO buddy CameronF shared this:

“Another one of Rodney Tumlin’s NPHS protégés and decorated TU member Tucker Taylor went out fishing today and wanted to turn in a couple pics for your fishing report. He went fishing without me when I had a last minute job I had to take care of that day. He used junk flies to catch all of them, dredging with the euro rig “somewhere in NC.”

Rivers

We’ve had no recent north GA reports, but our low, clear rivers will fish well for anglers floating not wading them early, late, and along shaded banks. Be ready to share the water with midday tubers, yakkers, and canoeists. Don’t forget your 8-weight and some big gar flies and striper streamers.

Landon  checked in after his trek south of ATL: “Liked “If yall can swing it, the middle GA rivers are on right now! A stealth bomber with a beefy size 6 bugger or pats rubber legs worked well this AM. Spider lillies out if you know where to find ‘em.”

Flat Water:

HenryC sez, “Catch the Lanier blueback spawn before it ends next week.  Look for fluttering baitfish and surface swirls from spots and stripers.  Look for spawning herring around structure: mid lake humps, points, and seawalls.

Try a topwater fly like a Pole Dancer right at first or last light if you want some surface action.  Then go a bit deeper.  Retrieve your 4-inch game changer or Clouser with three short strips and then a three-second pause. Repeat as needed til you hook up.  If you don’t see predators on the bait, pull back a bit and let your intermediate line sink down 5-10 feet. Predators might be hanging just off the bank.

Lastly, the “cicada apocalypse” has started in north GA. Tune into cicadamania.com and fish those waters where expired bugs have started falling and predators, from carp to cats to bass,  are cashing in on easy calories. You have about a month to give this 17-year event a try.”

GAWRD provided another great report for us today, complete with stocking news and cicada intel:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2021/05/28/georgia-fishing-report-may-28-2021/

Really Far Afar!

UO buddy Darren had a great spring trip “far south of the GA border” and hit the bone/tarpon/permit trifecta. He shared some pics and his desire to return there soon.

There’s your holiday fishing report to help your long-weekend plan. Take time out on Monday for a silent moment of thanks, and then celebrate the day by creating a new, lifetime fishing memory. Good luck and Happy Memorial Day from our  gang at Unicoi Outfitters (706-878-3083).

Rx for Windknots

As we transition to summer, casting will become more important. We’ll wish to reach farther in order to hit the prime lies for river, pond, and lake bass, bream, stripers and gar.

And we’ll tie a few unintentional wind knots in our leaders, at least until we get the rust out of our casting stroke.

Here are some great tips to smoothen your stroke.  Enjoy the article by Midcurrent and the Orvis audio podcast (jump to the 1:09 mark).  May this double-dose of a casting Rx help send your stealth bomber way up and under those overhanging tree limbs this summer -  - where a chunky Shoalie or fat largemouth will politely inhale it!

https://midcurrent.com/techniques/fly-casting-how-to-avoid-tailing-loops/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-orvis-fly-fishing-podcast/id278930814?i=1000517755127

Late Spring Stones

If you ever wondered why a stimulator/Pat’s rubberlegs combo is such a great late spring offering, here you go.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPTPBfIDLb4/?utm_medium=copy_link

Hint: go up a size or two on the stimmy and down a size or two on the Pat’s..

Have fun hi-sticking this dry/dropper setup through some shady boulder fields soon.

PS: Remember our Tuesday fly tying session from 6-8pm tonite at our Clarkesville store.

UO Fishing Report - 5/21/21

We have it “made in the shade” this week.   Streams and rivers are clear and fairly low due to lack of recent rainfall.  Fish can see your offerings, but can also see YOU, so pull out your summer stealth tactics a bit early this year.  Best bets are shaded stream trout, river bass and stripers, pond bream and bass on top at dusk, and the river gar run for “something different.”

GO ASAP,  before Sunday’s heat wave sets in for a week, maybe more.  And aim for the shade.  Use your stream thermometer and you’ll find good trouting where water temps are below about 68F.  Bigger, lower elevation trout streams with open tree canopies will catch more sun and heat up. As their water temps rise into the upper sixties, trout appetites wane.  

Try them at first or last light for the last of the spring hatches. Maybe you’ll luck into a few coffinflies in the tails of silty pools at dark.

If you have extra time and gas, extend your trouting spring and hit some cooler, higher elevation NC rivers with Georgia’s mid-April bugs and techniques.

Cool- and warmwater fish like stripers and bass enjoy those warming rivers, so aim for them in clearing water.   Crayfish and minnow patterns may outfish topwater bugs this early in season.  For something different, go for gar; toss some  gar flies at this week’s spawning runs.

Enjoy our extended report , with Wes’ weekly hot fly list and our guide & UO buddy fishing reports, on our Facebook page and at 

http://blog.angler.management

And remember our Tuesday fly tying night from 6 to 8pm at the UO General Store in Clarkesville. Details on our IG and FB pages.   

Wes’ Hot Fly List:

We are re-running last week’s list, with a few additions, because these bugs remain best bets for another week of low, clear water.

Dries: Parachute adams, Deckers yellow sally, Yellow stimulator, Micro chubby, Stoneflopper, Green River super cicada. Carry a couple big Green drakes and Coffinflies in case you luck upon that hatch in the next two weeks here and a bit later as you drive north along the Appalachian spine.

Nymphs & wets: Yellow soft hackle, Yellow sally stone, Lightning bug, Girdle bug, Squirminator, Depth charge caddis, pheasant tail soft hackle.

Streamers & warmwater: Kreelex, Mini dungeon, Krystal bugger, Bluegill mini slider, BoogleBug, Transfoamer, Finesse changer, Bugger changer 

Headwaters:

Headwaters are in great shape. They’re a bit low and very clear, but running cold. Two Hooch tribs ran 58 degrees at nine this morning.  Dark clothes, stealth, and casting fluffy, visible dries (caddis, small stimmies, parachute adams) into the shade will get you on the weekend scoreboard. For trout numbers, use smaller bugs (16, 18). To cull the smaller fish, aim for a size or two larger on your dry and they won’t be able to eat it.

UO dudes Hunter and Atticus speckulated this week and found a nice handful of natives “somewhere high above Helen.” The water was low and clear, and fish succumbed primarily to a good stalk. The duo’s small chubby Chernobyl’s and yellow stimmies sealed the deal.

UO buddy and Tumlin protege CameronF shared his perseverance story: “I went out to catch some wild brookies in the hills above Blue Ridge, and caught everything but a brook trout! I found this perfect, deep pocket under a downed tree.  I crawled in from the back side and got on my knees to set up my bow-and-arrow cast. Right before I released my fly, I saw this brown rise.

I immediately released. NOTHING! Tried again.  He came up for my fly and dismissed it. Tied on another fly, same thing. After a solid 25 minutes of persistent casting, perfect drag-free drifts, and 5 different flies being looked at and dismissed, I tied on an elk hair caddis and told myself that was my last fly. This fish was teasing me for way too long.  And...He crushed it on the first cast! “

Delayed Harvest:

There should still be some fish left in, above, and below the Georgia DH waters. Watch water temps, though, as numbers nearing 70 degrees will turn off trout appetites. Dawn will be your best bet for survivors.

Private Waters:

Jake had back-to-back trips at the Bend. He said the morning session fished a bit better than the afternoon session. His best technique was bottom-rolling smaller, natural nymphs and soft hackle wets in the main current, especially with some turbulence. Fish in those spots had to make quicker decisions on their potential meals.  His clients were even able to coax a few fish up to dry flies.

Wes: “I did a few trips at the Bend throughout the last week.  The water is clean and the river level is dropping so the fish are starting to wise up. 

The swing was king this week.

Soft hackles & girdle bugs on the swing were the big producers, while a well-presented #18 pheasant tail also fooled a few.

In the late afternoon we are seeing quite a few yellow sallies and golden stones coming off. When the bugs were out and about we were able to have a couple rise up to #14 tan micro chubby’s and a #16 decker yellow sally.”

Hunter:  “My two guests had a great Saturday at Rainbow Point on the Soque.  Our best patterns for the river’s chunky rainbows were squirmies and small soft hackles drifted deep in the shadows.”

Coach Mac:

“Tina and Keith had a great morning on a Gilligan Special at Nacoochee Bend.  

Learn to Fly-Fish – Unicoi Outfitters

We landed some nice rainbows and I think they are hooked on flyfishing.”

Afar:

Extend your spring by going higher up the mountain. NC streams will still fish well due to higher elevations and colder water.  Try your late April bugs and techniques on our northern neighbor’s streams.  Their DH program runs until June 4. 

General Mountain Trout Regulations | North Carolina Hunting & Fishing Regulations – 2020 | eRegulations

You might even luck upon some drakes and coffins at Nan DH.

The Smokies will fish well. These are wild fish, so up your game and drop your expections on numbers to hand when compared to DH streams. But they are colorful, spunky, fun, and wild. Toss in an evening elk sighting and your road trip will be complete.  Our local friends up there at R&R and LRO have some great intel themselves, so peruse their reports before you go.

Fishing Report | R and R Fly Fishing

Little River Outfitters - Fly Fishing Report, May 21, 2021

Rivers:

The Hooch at Highway 115 was fairly low and very clear when I crossed it this morning.  Go soon!  Float or wade it or other region rivers (Chestatee, Etowah) before the next rain blows them out for several days or a week.  Aim for the river’s residents (bass), spring vacationers on extended stay (Lanier stripers), or recent honeymooners (gar). Our DNR friends scribed a great Hooch guide for you a few years ago:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2014/05/21/upper-chattahoochee-river-fishing-and-public-access-points/

UO regular Landon reports that the river is loaded with spawning gar right now. If you’ve never hooked a 3-4 foot long, cartwheeling “freshwater marlin,” you should give it a try. We usually land about one out of ten fish “hooked,” which is fine because unhooking them is a chore. But the fight is worth it, so “jump” some gar soon.

PS: the best gar flies have no hooks; the nylon rope is combed and the thin strands tangle in gar teeth. 

FlyFishGA - Gar

Bring a pair of work gloves and some needlenose pliers to help with unhooking and release. If you wanna try, this “Gar 101” lesson will help:

https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/Longnose-gar-on-the-Fly

Flat Water:

The best and hottest  intel comes straight from the WRD technician’s boat to the biologist’s keyboard and to your smart phone:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2021/05/21/georgia-fishing-report-may-21-2021/

Landon said he did pretty well this week on spots and largemouths on the north end of Lanier. He tossed super flukes toward the bank at dusk.

More than a week ago, he lit them up on the south end:

“We fished the south end by pounding the banks with flukes and the reef markers with chug bugs. We had over 30 in the boat before noon. I brought an 8-wt intermediate and managed a handful of decent spots on a clouser when we saw some schooling. Nice change of place for this north-ender.”

AthensJay reported on his pond gluttony and backed up his tales with pics. Evidently his popper/dropper rig, with a Pat’s rubberlegs as the wet, is tearing up local bass and bream:

“Double bass fun. One ate the popper and the other ate the Pat’s.”

He did not say exactly where these are and he did not invite me. Yet.  :)

There’s your updated intel from the hills around Helen.

Call or come by our Helen (706-878-3083) or Clarkesville (706-754-0203) stores if we can help in any way. Good luck!