Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 8/5/21

This week’s intel is best summarized as “heat respite,” as recent clouds and showers dropped most of our daily highs from the intolerable 90’s to the acceptable mid-80’s. And the fish responded to cooler water temps and a few flow bumps with slightly better appetites. It looks like we have a few more cooler days ahead before returning to really hot weather, so take advantage of them if you can.

Best bets remain the same: headwater trout before lunch, stockers in high elevation streams with recent GAWRD truck visits, river bass during the first or last two hours of daylight, river stripers after a storm, and pond bass and bream in the shade and shadows. Or take a trip to Belize!  As in winter, this is the season for brief trips instead of marathon adventures. But those 2-3 hours of prime-time flyrodding will net you some fish and put a smile back on your face for your return to reality.

For resident salmonids, skip the skinny stuff and high-grade the honey holes.

Depth and/or overhead cover (ex: wood, roots, turbulence, and rock ledges) are your keys to morning blueline success! 

River bassing is better. Fish have been finicky and subsurface offerings have been outperforming topwater bugs. Bring your wiggly crayfish patterns, clousers, and articulated streamers along with your Boogle Bug poppers and Kent’s stealth bombers.  You can then cover the entire water column, from bottom to top.

Wes’ hot fly list and angler reports, tips, and extra pics follow on the long version of this report at our Facebook page and at blog.angler.management.

Wes’ hot fly list:

Dries: Quick-site beetle, 409 Yeager yellow, Parachute Adam’s, stoneflopper, royal trude, bear’s hi-viz roberts.

Nymphs: Drowned ant, wired caddis nymph, hare & copper, Green weenie, little yellow sloan, lightning bug, Slush egg.

Streamers & warmwater:

Sparkle minnow light olive, sweet baby cray, , Finnese changer, Mr Wiggly, stealth bomber, transformer.

Headwaters:

Cooler weather turned on local headwater residents. Aim for our highest elevation streams here and also north of the border.  Also note that north slope streams fish better in summer than their south slope counterparts, which catch more daily rays, so head toward the better, “summer” side of each mountain.  (During winter, hit the opposite, warmer side.)

Israel, in our Helen store, said a customer did well earlier this week  on the upper Hooch with a green weenie. Another secretive shop customer said he did well this morning on “blueline wild trout on dries” - and that was the limit of his shared intel.

Dredger waited for the weather break and then hit a small creek north of Helen on the first cooler morning. He tossed a real small chubby Chernobyl  on a short, 4x leader and had a big time on small but colorful and spunky wild bows to 7 inches. One upstream migrant, a fat 9-inch stocker brookie, was an unexpected surprise and an added treat. 

His said his final tally was “trout = trees.”  On these tight headwaters, we all snag limbs about every 3-6 casts and accept those unintended “catches” as part of our blueline game. We reduce our tree count by using short leaders and abundant roll casts (instead of backcasts) whenever possible inside these tight rhododendron tunnels.

With better than a dozen fish to hand, and an even higher number missed, Dredger had a great morning of topwater action before quitting at noon. 

For anyone who enjoys light rods and rising fish, summer’s a fun time for dry fly fans. The abundant rises make up for slight fish size. And a 9-inch “native” sure feels like a trophy in these tiny creeks!

PS: Dredger said not to forget your chamois and dessicant, like he did. Ride your dry very high through the drought refuges of pools and logjams, and you’ll be rewarded. 

Stockers:

Folks really enjoyed the stocked brookies last week from WRD and USFWS.  There should be some of those fish left for prospectors willing to cover more instream distance.  Spring stockers will now be scarce, so tune in to the newest Friday WRD stocking report for your best chance at late-season stocker success. Remember to aim for cooler water for the most cooperative fish. A stream thermometer (about fifteeen bucks) is a gotta-have now and once again in the dead of winter, so buy and use one to enhance your catch.

As mentioned in a prior report, GAWRD cuts back on stocking after July 4, but the streams stocked now still provide nice late-season opportunities. Sign up at the agency website for those Friday WRD stocking lists, delivered to you via text or email! 

Rivers:

The bite picked up a bit, but so did the storms, so check river gauges and fly shops for water clarity before you go. Subsurface is outfishing topwater right now.

Athens Jay: 

“Spent a very hot summer day exploring a magnificent Georgia Piedmont stream.  It is amazing to see what a forested watershed means to aquatic health. Overhanging riparian trees, rocky substrate and clear water make for great fishing opportunities. Two anglers brought well over 35 fish to hand and there certainly were some big surprises. The go-to fly continues to be what we now call the “Blurple” (photo attached).

Piedmont River Report: This week brought some nice weather, including a little relief from the heat. River bass appeared to enjoy the change and it was a glorious time for wet wading. Topwater bite has been only fair, but casting big dark streamers upstream and allowing them to drift past fish lurking in deep runs has really payed off. My personal preference is something we call the “Blurple” - an articulated streamer with large dumbell eyes on a wide-gap jig hook in front. I tie it with black rabbit dubbing loops, purple marabou and a little bit of flash. I recently started using a stinger hook in the tail section which reduces the short-strike bites. Target rocky substrate and expect to catch multiple species of predators, including our resident habitat specialists.”

Our Helen staff had no recent striper reports. Folks missed a great chance at Nacoochee Bend this week after Tuesday afternoon’s storm dropped an inch of rain on the Hooch and colored it up (pic). Watch the Helen long-term forecast and book a Bend trip for the morning after the likely storm. Be sure to have at least 20 pound tippet to your streamer to ensure your trophy pose!

Reservoirs:

Landon: “Slow morning til we found the right spot! It wasn’t quite as good as a couple weeks ago, but still pretty good on spots, hybrids, and small stripers.  We used a Keitech on a jig head when they were deep, and burned a fluke through them when they were shallow and schooling.”

Afar! :

UO buddy Darren escaped to Belize for 4 days of fishing at Garbutt’s fishing lodge in Punta Gorda.

He had a big time on bones, permit, and tarpon!  He also had shots at some BIG permit and tarpon, but didn’t connect. He vowed a return.  He just rubbed salt into the wounds of his stateside friends with pics, so we’ll share our pain with y’all.

That’s the latest news from our UO staff and friends,  near and far.  We’re going to try producing our weekly reports a day earlier (Thursdays) to help your weekend planning. Please let us know if you like this change.  

Call or visit our Helen (706-878-3083) or our Clarkesville store (706-754-0203) if we can help you survive and thrive in these dog days of summer.  And remember your dessicant! 

August 6:

Here’s a nice addendum to this week’s fishing report, courtesy of HenryC!

https://m.facebook.com/henry.cowen.16

Carp fishing is still pretty good when conditions allow you to get on the flats. This is the time of year when the flats get warmer and the fish are just more leery from folks using the river and pressuring their feeding places. 

On another note, Lanier spotted bass fishing is still producing nicely but it positively has gotten tougher on flyrodders as fish are on the brush over humps. 

On smaller private lakes in No GA the largemouth fishing has been excellent. We went out on one and, between two of us, we were able to feed over 2 dozen largemouth bass on small poppers. Fish varied in size from 1 to 3+ lbs. We had a great topwater trip!

Terrestrial Tips

Check out Dredger’s  terrestrial tips in the new August issue of The Angler Magazine- Atlanta edition.  See pdf page 24 of 60 for UO’s monthly column.  You can find free copies of this monthly magazine at our UO stores, local tackle shops, and online here:

Atlanta Fishing E-Magazine | The Angler Magazine Atlanta Edition

https://coastalanglermag.com/e-magazine/atlanta/

It cooled off a bit yesterday and the little headwater bows really liked my high-floating Chubby during a brief morning trip.

Have a good week, friends. Call or stop by either UO store if we can lend a hand.

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 7/30/21

“Summer sulking” is the best way to describe our current conditions. The crummy combo of heat, humidity, lack of rain, and maybe some western smoke has most regional action, from human to piscine, real slow right now.  We need a good storm front to blow through, drop some rain, and flush this stagnant air out of here. Grab a big straw hat and some swim trunks. When the action slows during your wade or float, take a swim.

For die-hands, there are still some decent angling opportunities if you know when and where to go. And that why UO is here for y’all!

Best bets will be blueline wild trout, stocker streams in the mornings for this week’s DNR/USFWS gifts of brook trout, river bass in low light, and pond bream.  

One note: low, clear, and warm may not be great conditions for many species, but it’s a fun combo for stalking big, wary river bass. It’s almost like trying to outwit trophy brown trout.  Lighten your leaders, dead-drift your leggy foam bugs through the bankside shade, and be patient as a big bass hovers under your stealth bomber for 5-10 feet of drift before deciding whether to inhale or refuse it.

Low rivers also allow us to wade to better spots, where bass are packed into their summer refuges. It’s a good time to knock out some species for your Georgia bass slam. 

Wes’ hot fly list and angler reports and tips follow on our long version of this report on our Facebook page and at blog.angler.management. We had fewer reports this week as some folks were on vacation and others simply sidelined themselves til stream conditions improved. 

Wes’ hot fly list:

Last week’s list worked well, so we are rerunning it.

Dries: Quick-site beetle, 409 Yeager yellow, Parachute black ant, yellow sally, parachute Adams.

Nymphs: Drowned ant, Soft hackle partridge yellow, micro mayfly, Green weenie, Yellow sally nymph, Copper John, Green mop, girdle bug, Yellerhammer.

Streamers & warmwater:

Black wooly bugger, hairy fodder, , Triple double rainbow, Clouser minnow, Finesse changer, poppers with rubber legs, stealth bomber

Headwaters:

Wes had a trip this morning (30th) to a nearby WMA. His client used a dry/dropper combo of a small chubby and yellerhammer to land a mixed bag of wild bows, a stocker bow, and a couple of fresh stocker brookies.

Longtime UO friend Bama Vic hadn’t trout fished since last spring and was suffering withdrawal symptoms. He contacted us first for intel and then came up for a mountain weekend. Here’s his debriefing:  “ Giving my UO friends a post-trip report as promised.

The Luftee fished pretty well Saturday morning with good consistent action on small bows and some decent browns. Best flies were a beadhead soft hackle PT dropped off a yellow body Hippie Stomper. The bigger fish took the hippie, go figure, including a couple of decent browns in the 10-11 inch range and a nice rainbow with one of the brightest red stripes I've seen on one in a while. Beautiful wild fish. Water temps in the low 60s at 9:00.

Fishing turned off in the afternoon like you said it would. One of the problems with fishing the Luftee on a Saturday in July is you have to go through Cherokee on a Saturday in July. Wow, that place never ceases to amaze. I dealt with it by telling myself the fishing wasn't going to be good anywhere at 2:00 in the afternoon, so that took out some of the sting of the crowds. Still amazing to see it all. Killed some time by driving over to the trophy section of the Raven Fork to see if I could see any big fish from the bridge across from the school. There were two hogs sitting just below, but of course the river was full of tubers and tons of fishermen upstream. Had a conversation with the father of Michael Bradley, the competitive fly fisherman from Cherokee, who had just dropped off some tubers. 

Made it through the Cherokee jungle and headed to the Nan DH. Started off slow, but around 5:30-6:00 it turned on and it really turned on. Fished that long flat stretch where I have run into you before. Started with a big stimulator and the beadhead PT, but took one nice bow on the stimi, then a brown and then another bow. They were long slow takes, kinda like cutthroats in Yellowstone, with slow rises to the fly and then a hookup. Great to watch it all happen! Took off the dropper and consistently caught fish for the next 2 hours, mix of wild and decent size holdovers. Great fun. I was surprised there were as many nice bows and browns still in that stretch, but they were there and hungry. Also caught some decent brookies. Some, not all, were pretty lethargic on the fight though so you know they are hurting. Just a great summer night of fly fishing, especially for July, all on dries. Best of all, nobody else was around fishing.

Sunday I headed over to Fires Creek DH to see if there was anything left in there. There were, including a couple of brutes. Stuck one of those huge rainbows for about a second and a half, but that was it for him. Caught several brookies and rainbows, mostly on a sparkle soft hackle and yellow bodied micro chubby. Again, nobody was fishing so I had the upper stretch of the DH, at least, all to myself. Am certainly not complaining. Perfect summer morning of trout fishing. Water was crystal clear, low 60s, and incredibly beautiful. 

Great weekend. Thanks again for the tips. Not sure when I'll be back, but hopefully soon if things keep going well.”

Stockers:

As mentioned before, GAWRD cuts back on stocking after July 4, but the streams still stocked provide nice late-season opportunities. Check those Friday WRD stocking lists! Note today’s WRD blog that even says there are brookie treats for you this week. Try a short fly rod and a woolly bugger and get your daughter or son on their first fly-caught trout. Aim for the cooler mornings.

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2021/07/30/georgia-fishing-report-july-30-2021/

And have a plan B (ultralight spincast rod and worms) in case the fly fishing is slow.

Splatek: You’d  be proud of Spencer and me today. We hit a favorite spot loaded with rainbow trout. There was a family there taking a dip in the creek. The dad -of five little ones- was looking interested. I finally stick up a conversation with him. Turns out he was a Florida surf angler. Never fly fished. 

I gave him a 2 minute stream side lesson and in a dozen casts he has caught his first ever fresh water trout. 

Smile as big as Spencer’s!! 

Gotta pass it on.

I reckon next time his family takes a family vacation to the north Georgia mountains he’ll be carrying a small fly rod.”

Ed note: you two get two gold stars from UO!

Rivers:

They are low, slow, and lazy. So are the fish in them!

Landon:

“I waded a Hooch shoal early one morning this week.  I caught a couple shoalies on a hairy fodder early.  I was hardheaded and stuck to a popper for the rest of morning. It was pretty slow, with only 4 to hand over a couple hours. Saw a timber rattler, when getting out late am, down under a rock ledge by the trail. It’s time to watch where we step as everything is searching for some cooler spots.”

Sautee:

“ Our duo aimed for Chattahoochee shoal bass yesterday evening (28th) . We landed 5 shoalies up to 14". None on top as all fish seemed to be hunkered down in the warm water. Hairy fodder worked best for me, with 2 fish landed and one lost. My buddy landed 3 on a blue/black stealth bomber. “

Wes had a midweek float trip and said the bass action was slow. They started early and caught some fish on top and on some minnow patterns. The bite died by noon.

We had no striper reports. Those fish are typically very lazy and very discerning in low, clear, warm water. They have too much time to inspect and refuse our streamers. We need some rain to increase the stain and current velocity.

Small Lakes:

No reports, as our pond fans were away on vacation. They’ll still fish well at dawn and dusk on leggy terrestrial patterns “plopped” under the overhanging tree limbs.

Reservoirs:

No reports, as most predators have gone deep or way upriver in search of cooler water. The attached pic is a nice one of Kathy hooked up to a chunky Lanier spot several weeks ago, when the topwater bite still existed.

That’s the latest from here: slim pickings. But we will always shoot straight with you so you know what to expect when you hit north GA waters. And fishing still beats work or lawn care, even when the catching is a bit thin. Good luck and may the shade be with you, somewhere! Call or visit either UO store for flies, supplies, and dose of hope.

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 7/23/21

 

This week’s advice is a rerun of last week’s intel due to similar F-Squared: flows and forecast. Pack your summer, low water equipment and techniques for most days. In addition,  bring your stormflow tricks in case you’re lucky enough to have an afternoon shower boost and muddy streamflows. I often pack 7/3, 9/4, and 9/6 or 9/8 flyfishing outfits when I am road-tripping this season. I also toss into the Tacoma my fly vest and my river bassin’ sling pack.  I’m ready for anything from blueline specks to river bass, and let the water conditions dictate the “club” I grab out of my angling bag.  

Best bets continue to be blueline wild trout, cold stocker streams on today’s GAWRD list, river bass when clarity’s at least 3 feet, river stripers at dawn and dusk, and pond bass and bream at low light.  Wes’ hot fly list and angler reports and tips follow on our long version of this report on our Facebook page and at blog.angler.management.

Wes’ hot fly list:

Dries: Quick-site beetle, 409 Yeager yellow, Parachute black ant, yellow sally, parachute Adams.

Nymphs: Drowned ant, Soft hackle partridge yellow, micro mayfly, Green weenie, Yellow sally nymph, Copper John, Green mop, girdle bug, 

Streamers & warmwater:

Black wooly bugger, hairy fodder, , Triple double rainbow, Clouser minnow, Finesse changer, poppers with rubber legs, stealth bomber

Headwaters:

UO guide Israel: “This week I had a public water guide trip to stocked waters and my own personal hunt for wild fish.  We had. success using san juans after the rain in softer pockets and edges along the banks.  A few wilds hit a fat head beetle, but the worm pattern was most consistent in the high water.”

Splatek (aka Davy Crockett) checked in: :Snuck out last Friday to pull a few cam cards in the bear woods. After getting tired of walking, I dropped into a drainage that I knew would take me back to the main creek and eventually my truck. 

This “little” drainage was bigger than I thought with some nice, deep pools. I always keep my tenkara rod in my hunting pack so I knew all I had to do was tie on a simulator. The stream was narrow, but running with deep gin clear water. Surprisingly, the canopy was open so I pulled back on my fly to bow and arrow cast to the top of the run and let it fling. The fly landed softly on the water and I immediately saw a flash and a swirl of water under the fly; But no take. Second cast, I caught a standard sized speck. He was hooked deep so I knew I’d be keeping that one. Walked down to a flat area where there was another good run. Third cast and this fish demolished that dry fly. I decided to make a fire right there on some flat ground and eat the little one with some fresh picked chanterelles and take the big one home to try out a smoked trout dip recipe. 

Both meals were great. But there is something about eating a fresh caught streamside lunch that’s unbeatable.

I also hit our local warmwater stream with MiniMe this week. Spencer had a great time micro-bass fishing with dry flies. A good’un is in the eyes of the beholder. Enjoy the pic.”

Rivers:

Wes was busy this week: 

“I got out a couple of times for river stripers and did well.  The combination of high water and low light really helps stack the odds in your favor when chasing these predators in the summertime.

UO staffer Joseph Clark:  Here’s a pic of the striper I caught last night at the Bend.  The high and slightly dirty water was perfect for convincing the smart ones to eat. I had a good time with Wes!

We caught them on game changers but with the water color, any bigger baitfish pattern would have worked well.   We were just stripping it in with pauses. I even caught one swinging it in faster water. Having heavier, weighted flies helped us to get down to the fish in the high, fast water.

UO buddy Darren: “ I had some luck this week wading a big Lanier trib for stripers in the stained water. A real big, articulated white streamer did the trick.  I do enjoy these summer vacationers.”

Wes: “I also did a guided river bass trip this week. The fish were very scattered out, so covering water was key. We were able to catch a few on the surface on stealth bombers. However, the most productive method seemed to be tossing a 3” baitfish pattern and stripping it fast through likely pockets.”

Joseph:

“Here’s a cool pic I got of a dobsonfly this evening on the upper hooch while I was shoal bass fishing this evening. I also caught a few on a stealth bomber in some flat, slow water by casting up under rhododendron.

UO buddy RodneyT:  I got Number 5 for the 2021 Georgia Bass Slam: a Spotted Bass on the Etowah with Boogle Bug poppers. All 5 were caught on a fly rod. This makes my third annual Bass Slam!”

Small Lakes:

Joseph:  “Here’s some pics of hefty bluegills that I caught from a NC friend’s pond on woolly buggers and poppers. I also caught a lot of smaller bass on a black bunny leech.”

Reservoirs:

Jimmy and Kathy gave Lanier a try last weekend and said the topwater bite for spots, and an occasional striper, had slowed. They found a few spots. Best bets will still be offshore humps with brush and marina seawalls, both a dawn.

Clarkesville store:

UO staffer Lee: “We had a small but spirited crew gathered on Tuesday night to tie Wes’ hot summer bass bugs. It was a good time and folks are looking forward to our next sessions. See the Clarkesville store Facebook page for the schedule.”

The dog days of summer continue. The good news is that any dog that rises early, stays late, or hikes way up the mountain can have some really good days in the woods and waters of north Georgia. Call or stop in either one of our stores if we can “point” you in the right direction.