Early Fall Dries and Droppers

We posted the following appeal on our Facebook and Instagram pages and received a lot of great replies from our flyfishing veterans. If you’re new to the game, check out their replies on those two pages and enjoy greater success this month!

Flyfishing Vets, Please Help!

Seasoned anglers, please help us help our flyfishing rookies. What are your favorite fall dry/dropper rigs? Share your hot tips for fall’s cooler days astream.

Early fall is a great time for dry/droppers. The low, clear water requires some stealth, but also allows trout to see your flies from afar. While morning water temps might be too cool for much surface action, the fluffy dry is still a great “stealth indicator” for your dropper before lunch.   Then, when the afternoon sun hits the water and stirs some fall insect activity, we can  catch a few bonus fish on top.

Be ready for some dry/dropper action before truly cold weather arrives and sends our targets to the stream bottom. Then it will be dredging season.

Right now, new fly fishers should BOLO (be on lookout) the comments from our veteran friends and have your fly boxes stocked for the warm afternoons and hungry, hunting trout of October.

Vets, what say y’all? Share your best fall dry/dropper combos.

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 10/8/21

“Dry/droppers” is this week’s theme. What’s dry? The sun returned today and we’re finally drying out across north GA after more than 7 inches of rain this week. And the droppers? Now streams are starting to drop. The best “droppers”  are bluelines first, given their small watersheds.  Head uphill and outwalk the runoff; the higher you go, the lower the flow.

Medium trout streams will soon follow, while the biggest trout streams and bass rivers will need several more days to drop to fishable flows.

Best bets are bluelines with dries, medium trout streams in a day or two with dry/dropper combos or Euronymphs, bass and bream ponds, and some reservoir recons to hunt shallow stripers and spots. Watch out for boating hazards like huge logs that the week’s floods have washed into lake headwaters.

Once  trout streams drop back to your safe wading levels, try these two nuggets of intel. First, use the whitewater to help locate the soft spots- eddies along the banks and behind boulders and submerged trees. The stark contrast between raging whitewater and calm pockets makes it easier to find those prime high-water feeding spots. Hi-stick over the fast stuff to drift your bugs slowly in those tight pockets.

Second, try Euronymphing those slow spots, especially if fish are a bit shy to your dries. Big, heavy, meaty nymphs, especially if the water still has a bit of stain, might connect you with some hefty fish that will test your drag.

The good news is that all the rain was spread across multiple days. While high, most trout waters are already fairly clear.

Forget bass rivers for a while. The Hooch at Highway 115 was a raging brown torrent last night. Big waters will need several days to pass all the muddy runoff.

Check reservoirs early and late for predators busting shad schools. Bring your binoculars. They might be midlake or right against the bank.

Angler intel and Wes’ hot fly list follow on our Facebook page and blog.angler.management. Good luck as we dry and drop!

Wes’ Hot Fly List

Dries: Orange stimulator, tan or orange elk hair caddis, parachute Adams, blue wing olive when flows recede.

Nymphs: bead head pheasant tail and prince, sexy walts worm, brown Pat’s rubberlegs, tan mop, red squirmy worm.

Streamers & warmwater:

Sparkle minnow, bank robber sculpin, hot cone wooly bugger, feather changer, headcase crayfish.

Headwaters:

They’re full and fast, but clear and dropping quickly. It’s another good time for a big, bushy dry (Ex: #14 stimulator or Caddis ) with a nymph dropper (#16 beaded hares ear) trailed a foot or two off the back.  Find the slow spots against the bank or behind boulders to drift your combo.

Two weeks ago, after the last flood, I had a big time on little headwater bows. They felt safe in the heavy water and came up to smash my caddis with reckless abandon. Most were small, but a couple were not. If I hit a flood refuge, I got a look - and often an eat. This  weekend might be a chance for a “rerun” of those prime conditions.

http://blog.angler.management/2021/09/unicoi-outfitters-fishing-report-9221.html

Trout Streams:

Dukes Creek:

It should fish well this weekend for reservation holders and any lucky walk-ons. Safe bank-huggers will use their turbidity meters to choose the right flies and correct weight for the water clarity and velocity.

http://blog.angler.management/2021/07/your-natural-meter.html

WMA streams:

The Hooch just below the WMA boundary was high and ripping this morning. The good news is that it was only slightly stained. It and other WMA streams should drop to fishable levels quickly. Know your own wading limits and pick your spots carefully. When in doubt, don’t get in. Fish from the bank.

As those larger trout streams finally fall to your safe wading levels, try some Euronymphing in the slow spots scattered among the raging currents. With a long rod, reach over the fast current and get some slow drifts in the soft eddies right against the bank and below rock ledges and boulders. Try a heavy tungsten Pat’s rubberlegs or sexy walts worm as your anchor fly, and hang  a small, bright dropper  (surveyor, rainbow warrior, or even a red squirmy) a foot or two above it. Floods are trout food buffets! You just have to locate their prime restaurant seats.

NC:

North Carolina streams are in the same shape as ours. High headwaters should be fishable, while larger streams will be blown out for several more days. Here’s some intel on the Nan, Tuck, and Luftee.  

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?site_no=03504000

http://forum.gon.com/threads/tuck-this-weekend.1003410/

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?03512000

Hopefully you’ve been writing some notes on your smart phone after your past fishing trips and comparing those stream conditions you faced with the USGS gauge data for each day. Then you’ll know in the future,just by looking at the online gauge data, when streams drop back down to your own safe wading level - and when it’s time to burn some gas.

Private Waters:

They fished real well before the storms, but have been blown out all week. They’ll fish really well again, when they recede. All those resident fish will not have seen anyone’s flies for a week or longer.

Rivers:

They’re blown out for several more days, so go somewhere else while you monitor their USGS gauges. 

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02331000

Athens Jay did share a nice, pre-flood report that gives us hope for the weeks ahead: 

“Last weekend the flows were great in Piedmont rivers. Sunday I took one of our UGA 5 Rivers students on a hunt for shoal bass. We founds plenty of fish, but presentation was critical. We found that big, light-colored streamers twitched (not dead-drifted) produced aggressive strikes.

Small Lakes:

RonW floated this report:

“Mixed it up last weekend and fished for some green fish off of the kayak. The fishing was great but the catching was slow...still managed a handful of fish over the weekend.  We caught them on a wacky rigged senkos,  Ned rigs, spinner baits and a few came on a flipping jig with craw trailer. “

Young angling addict Spence is still whacking bass in his honey hole: the pond spillway pool.   Dad said his secret weapon is a mini-minnow fly.

Reservoirs:

HenryC’s Lanier buddy, “Fluffy” said the topwater bite is starting on Lanier. Check out Kevin’s website and latest Instagram post for more intel:

https://www.kevinarculeofishing.com/

Really Far Afar:

Years ago, Jimmy infected young Bryan with the flyfishing bug.  He’s all grown up now and doing great things himself. Jimmy reports:

“Bryan Crumpler took a day off from helping The Fly Fishing Collaborative build a new aquaponics farm in Belize to play with this 125 pound tarpon.”

https://flyfishingcollaborative.org/

There’s your post-flood optimism from our UO gang.  Call or stop by either store as you re-emerge into the sunshine and wet a line somewhere safe this week. Watch those river gauges and remember to wade and boat safely! Good luck.

https://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/how-to-articles/trout-fishing-articles/tips-for-safe-wading

https://gadnrle.org/safety-video

Tricks for Sweet Treats

Are you as excited by October’s cooler weather as we are?  Where are YOU heading this month?

October brings colder water and hungrier trout, but it also brings us the challenges of leaves and twigs. How do you navigate through these windy-day minefields for your flies?

Never fear, for UO is here!  Check out our latest column in October’s Angler Magazine- Atlanta edition.  They are free at your favorite fly shops and also online here:

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

Dive deep into the booklet until you hit the Atlanta insert.  Then turn to page Atlanta-10 and you’ll find our UO column entitled “simpli-fly and stand out.” 

These Halloween-season tricks have treated us to some fine trout among the leafy debris.  Give them a try as the trees shed their summer coat and see if they work for you, too.

And rejoice in the leaf fall, even if it frustrates you a bit.  Why?  Leaves and twigs are the fuel for Southeastern stream ecosystems. Decaying organic matter feeds aquatic insects and other microorganisms, and the instream food chain starts.  Hopefully it ends up in a nice, buttery brown trout in the bottom of your net!

Good luck during leaf season. Call or visit either UO store if we can help you celebrate the season astream. May our tricks bring you some sweet treats!

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 10/1/21

Sorry we’re late this week. It’s been busy at our fly shops and  on our home fronts, too. But hey, we got this out tonight, before you revved your Saturday morning engines, so now you’ll know which way to go after your biscuit and coffee.

“Hungry but spooky” is how I’d label your finned targets right now. Streams and rivers are low, clear, and cold, thanks to chilly nights and a lack of rainfall. Most fish are reacting with much better appetites, tempered only by their predator avoidance. That bright sun paints a bullseye on their backs in clear water. So find them like you did in the summer, in the shade and shadows.

Speaking of such, we have more.   Shade and shadows, that is.  And that’s a good thing! With shorter days that now end around 730, the shadows start to fall earlier, around 3 or 4PM. And Dark30 ends at that earlier, respectable 7ish hour, so you can quit fishing and get home in time for a full night’s sleep.

Leaves have started to fall, but they aren’t bad yet. Daytime air temps are perfect for a day on the stream or lake. Go soon and don’t forget your waders if you’re thin.  Darn near everything except stocked trout streams (it’s the stocking off-season) are fishing well. And our neighbor state to the north has some great opps for the road-trippers among y’all.

Angler intel and Wes’ hot fly list follow on our Facebook page and blog.angler.management. 

Wes’ Hot Fly List

Dries: Orange stimulator, elk hair caddis, parachute Adams, blue wing olive.

Nymphs: flashback pheasant tail, psycho prince, improved yallarhammer, peach egg, squirmy worm, Pat’s rubberlegs.

Streamers & warmwater:

Sparkle minnow, bank robber sculpin, hot cone wooly bugger, feather changer, headcase crayfish.

Headwaters:

Dredger wandered out late Sunday afternoon and found a few cooperative wild bows. They were glued to the bottom due to bright sunshine and low, crystal-clear water. He might have caught more if he had added a small nymph dropper behind his #14 elk hair caddis or downsized the caddis.  But he was too lazy to change and was content with the level of action on the beautiful day high in the national forest. He fondled about 7 or 8 little bows from 3 to 5pm.  Biggest might have nosed close to 8 inches.

He did better when tossing his bug in the shade of overhanging logs (pics), and sometimes twitching the dry.  It was fun to watch the residents rise from the bottom to inspect his offering. Refusals outnumbered eats by a 3:1 margin.

Trout Streams:

Dredger’s Dukes Creek Tips:

Before it rains again, lucky reservation holders may be humbled.  Those big fish are super spooky in gin-clear water.   Try my stealth indicator technique. Drop a small pheasant tail, hares ear, or WD40 on 3 feet of 6X behind a big, buoyant stimulator (yellow or orange). Sneak in upstream of your target, cast quietly and short, and let line out to drift your combo downstream into the sweet spot.

When it rains next week and boosts the flow and turbidity, be ready with thicker tippet, some split shot, and a pink squirmy or Pats rubberlegs. And a buddy with superb netting and photography skills!

NC DH kicks off:

Remember that Delayed Harvest season kicks off in NC.  Check that agency’s website and plan a fall excursion soon. 

https://www.ncwildlife.org/learning/species/fish/trout/trout-fishing

The Tuck, Nan, and Fires are favorites among north Georgians. If you can hit them on weekdays, there’s lots of elbow room. Weekend crowds also clear out after lunch on Sundays.

Private Waters:

Pampered stream residents have enjoyed their summer vacations away from angler pressure. Now they are enjoying the cold water and have great appetites for fall openers on private waters.

Robert and Caroline had a great trip to The Hooch at Nacoochee Bend this morning (10/1).  UO manager Jake put them on some nice fish. He said the chunky rainbows took a variety of patterns (rubberlegs, rainbow warriors, eggs, and squirmies) fished along the bottom and also at middepth. The trio had to cover more water, as fish were scattered among the new pools and pockets, created by the reshaping of the river channel by our summer floods.  Good luck wherever you go, as you enjoy “relearning” your favorite waters due to these flood-induced habitat shifts. It’s like fishing a new stream!

Rivers

Bass rivers look great for the weekend. Fish them before the rains return. The Hooch at Highway 115 was clear and 68F when I checked it at 4PM today.  Try some poppers, but be ready with streamers if the resident shoalies and spots are hesitant to rise. Again, aim for the cover created by water depth, dusk, or bankside shadows.

Athens Jay broke away from trash-picking with his “litter” of UGA pups long  enough to add:

“Piedmont River report:

River stage is still high for this time of year, but coming down and looking good for the weekend. River bass seem to be keying more on baitfish and less on benthic critters like crawfish and hellgrammites. Best results came by swimming a light-colored game changer using a sink-tip line.”

Thanks for the intel, Jay. And thanks to your fly-flinging clan for picking the dang stuff up!

Y’all inspired many of us to grab a trash bag this week, too!

5 Rivers Club - Clean My Water

Small Lakes

North metro dweller Spence (age 11) crept down to one of his honey holes, the spillway pool below the dam on his local pond. Using flies he tied himself, he had great fun with some bass and bream. Attaboy Spence!

His dad added this:

“His shirt says:

Sorry I wasn’t listening I was thinking about fishing.”

Real Big Lakes

Henry C sez cooling surface waters have sparked the spots and stripers. To quote the Lanier Lakemaster:

“Well it's October  1st when you are reading this and that means Lake Lanier should be firing up with consistency in about 2-3 weeks. It is easily the most visual and exciting fishing we get on the pond. Striped bass and spotted bass will be chasing both herring and shad to the surface and make toilet flush type explosions all over the lake. It's the start of the striper season as we know it. It will start off more hit or miss and as we get colder at night,  the consistency of the surface feed will become more of an everyday event.  It’s time to clean the dust off your 8-weights and break away to the pond. This photo of Connor and Alayna was taken last weekend. The key to success is to burn gas and look for surface feeders. See you on the pond!”

https://www.henrycowenflyfishing.com

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

In summary, fishing conditions are great, so wet a line before the rains return.  Just employ your summer stealth game (long and light) for best results. And if we do get several inches of rain by Wednesday, wait for flows to drop to safe levels and then use heavier line and your  “down and dirty” game to land a lunker hiding in the stain.

Then share your stories and pics.  We sure enjoy them, too!

Good luck from our UO gang.

Call or stop by either store if we can help arm you for success in either stream situation.  

Unicoi Outfitters:

Friendly.

Local.

Experts.

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 9/23/21

Join us in celebrating the arrival of fall! The weather is great and some prime angling opportunities await us as we finally dry out and streamflows fall after 4 inches of rain.  Just remember a sweatshirt and maybe even your waders, especially if you’re fishing in the mornings. Wet-wading in a T-shirt might be a bit chilly until the afternoon sun hits the water and your body.

Best bets are blueline wild trout, stockers and holdovers in some larger, cooling streams,

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 02176930 CHATTOOGA RIVER AT BURRELLS FORD, NR PINE MTN, GA

river bass once those rivers shed the week’s heavy rainfall, and pond bream and bass while those waters are still warm.

Looking ahead just a week or so, some special trouting opportunities resume.  North Carolina’s Delayed Harvest program returns in October.  

Many of Georgia’s private trout stream operations are now reopening due to cooler water temperatures  for resident, trophy trout. Try an unguided half or full-day trip to the Hooch behind our Helen shop (706-878-3083).

Angler intel, Wes’ hot fly list, a Dukes Creek update, and North Carolina’s Delayed Harvest stocking schedule follow on our Facebook page and blog.angler.management. 

Call or stop by either UO shop for more intel and supplies. Remember tomorrow nite’s Sip & Stroll  event in Clarkesville and that sweatshirt for your morning angling adventure.

Wes’ Hot Fly List

Dries: X-stimulator, fat Albert, Humpy, 

Nymphs: girdle bug, Squirminator, Frenchie, Rainbow Warrior, hares ear.

Streamers & warmwater:

Sparkle minnow, bank robber sculpin, finesse changer, jiggy craw, clouser minnow.

Headwaters:

RonW (aka “Motrin”) reported on his trio’s awsome weekend road trip: 

“Yesterday was another fantastic day in "The Park" for the Trio. We fished a new section of our favorite crick in the Smokies, Stream X, aka "Steep Creek."  With overcast skies, the fish  weren't looking up like we hoped they would, but we did manage to find few willing to eat on top. We climbed waterfall after  waterfall, gaining about 400' in elevation in the  slightly less than 3/4 mile of water we fished. 

After a slow start and only a few fish to hand on the dry, I changed tactics and added a dropper. This proved to be a very wise decision. 

I stepped up to a beautiful little hole tucked behind a small Boulder,  and managed to catch my personal best Speck on the very first cast: 9.5" of pure  Appalachian beauty!  It was awesome seeing him come out from under a rock and absolutely smash the dropper. What an absolute Appalachian Jewel this fish was. That was one fish I'll never forget! 

It's a good thing I tie in 3's, one for me and one for each of my brothers as that fly was a game changer and got it done for the rest of the day.

It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns though. We got rained on from about 11am till 2pm when we called it quits and were all completely soaked. Kurt lost his phone and glass, presumably right after he caught a fish. We backtracked looking for it with no luck. I did a scuba diver entry off of a massive hemlock that we had climbed over, tumbling backwards  about 4' to some rocks and landing on my back/shoulder. Luckily I didn't smash my head or break anything. I'm good, just a little sore today but the memory of that fish makes it all worth it. 

Spending the day in the woods with my brothers is food for the soul! It's always an adventure with these guys and the by-product of said adventure is pretty amazing!”

Landon focuses on hunting each fall, but did report on his recent distraction from his primary mission: 

“Location undisclosed, as I went scouting for a bear trip soon. Stopped and fished a couple hours on my way home. Water was stained from rain but I found a couple browns including this

guy!”

Midsized Trout Streams:

Experienced folks can resume their battles with Dukes Creek residents. Smithgall State Park manager Will Wagner and his staff told me that, with cooler water, the stream will reopen to anglers on October 2.  Will said:

“Expect new waters this year with modified hydrological settings from significant flooding events.  However, the fish have fared well through it all with coolers waters and plenty of flow.  They are healthy and ready for a fight.”

The reservation list is already booked for October, so call (706-878-3087) soon to secure a November date. And remember the opportunity to walk-on, if you’re there early and a no-show opens up a fishing slot. Wednesdays are better opps than the two weekend days. If there are no openings, just have your Plan B ready. Right that that plan might be bluelining nearby headwaters with your short rod and fluffy dry.

Make sure you read and follow all the Dukes rules. They’re tightly enforced and meant to protect those big fish for spawning and for your future angling enjoyment. Review them here:

https://www.eregulations.com/georgia/fishing/trout-fishing

or “Regs” under here:

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Bigger waters should start to fish decently again as daily high water temps remain well below 70F.  Try some reunions with your favorites like the upper Tooga, Tallulah, Cooper, Luftee, and Cataloochee. Combine some park dry/dropper fishing with elk watching. And elk hearing, as bugling, sparring, and harem-gathering should now be in full swing.

NC Delayed Harvest:

Remember that our neighbor state’s DH program kicks off in October.  While most streams may hold some wild fish and/or DH leftovers from last season, our fall catch rates are fueled by this season’s stockings. If you or your guest is new to flyfishing, you’ll have a better trip if you can find those fresh stockers.   Check out the agency’s DH stocking schedule here and plan your trips accordingly. See “ stocking schedule” and “Setzer Hatchery” on the agency’s trout page for their latest news:

https://www.ncwildlife.org/learning/species/fish/trout/trout-fishing

Private Waters:

Our private waters will reopen on October 1.  Some prime fall dates are already booked by our longtime clients, but there are still some great opportunities available. HINT:  If you have a bit of experience and can drift a nymph drag-free through the pools, try an unguided trip (half or full day) to Nacoochee Bend, UO’s stretch of the Hooch right behind our shop in Helen. While it’s warm, aim for the mornings. When stream temps steeply drop around Thanksgiving, aim for the warmer afternoons.

UO friend RonW and an accomplice”test-fished” the Bend for us on a cold morning last week and gave their recon mission two thumbs-up.  Small, natural nymphs drifted deep were the ticket. Call the shop (706-878-3083) for more info on “The Bend” and to reserve your fall fishing slots.

Rivers

River bassing was very good on low, clear rivers before this week’s storms. Some fish hit topwater, but more succumbed to minnow imitations fished mid-column and deep. See Wes’ fly list for the hot patterns.

River fans will have to wait several more days for flows to drop and clear. It takes a while to shed 4 inches of rain.  Watch the USGS gauges on the Hooch, Chestatee, and Etowah. Chestatee example:

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 02333500 CHESTATEE RIVER NEAR DAHLONEGA, GA

If you’ve kept a notes page on your smart phone, look back at your last trip notes and compare your floating/wading conditions and fish catch to the gauged flows for those days. My notes page tells me my go/no go options on these large streams following stormflows. Give this “homework” tip a try.

Small Lakes

They’re still fishing well. With cooler weather sliding in, afternoons should start fishing better than mornings for our topwater fans.

Athens Jay recently hosted his best fishing buddy for an extended vacation and the duo did real well in Jay’s local honey hole. It’s clear that Jay inherited his skills from his dear mother who, at age-86, still has a great game herself!

Good luck this week.  Remember the Sip & Stroll event tomorrow nite on the Clarkesville square. Stop in our new store on the square and swap some fish stories!