Chattooga Gold

There's no question the Chattooga River running between Georgia and South Carolina is a very special place. It was, in fact, the very first river in the country to receive the designation of a "Wild and Scenic River" by the federal government and has been protected from abuse and development ever since. I've fished a lot of spectacular trout streams across United States and, quite honestly, none are more beautiful than the Chattooga. Just as an expectant mother glows radiantly and becomes even more beautiful during that distinctive time, Fall on the Chattooga River brings an exquisite allure to my home river. Sunday afternoon Jeff Durniak and I made the lazy drive north to Rabun County and the mostly east journey on Warwoman Road as you switch back and forth around Rabun Bald. We had planned all along to hike above Burrell's Ford Bridge but we did take time to check the parking lots around the Hwy. 28 bridge just to see if folks were getting out of the house on this beautiful afternoon. All lots were full but we only saw one angler. It was, after all, a great day for hiking as well as fishing.

We arrived at Burrell's Ford Bridge at 1 PM. Air temperature was 48° as was the water temp. Both held steady all afternoon. With a little layering of Capilene and Windstopper fleece, I was very comfortable. My only mistake was forgetting to throw a ball cap in the car. All I had was a wool beanie which was perfectly comfortable but I never truly realized how much glare the bill of a ball cap cuts out. Note to self: don't get so excited about going fishing that you forget vital pieces of equipment. The last time this happened was about twenty years ago when I hiked in to Big Bend Falls before realizing I had left my reel in the car. I suppose such an oversight every twenty years can be tolerated. At least this time I was able to fish.

While Jeff immediately went deep (the nickname "Dredger" is no misnomer), I tied on a big attractor dry with a pheasant tail dropper. Almost immediately I had a rainbow rise to the dry but I missed the strike. That was encouragement enough to convince me to stay with my rig...unfortunately. For the next hour and a half, nothing. Switch to a big stone fly nymph and drop the pheasant tail off the back. "Bam!", nice rainbow. Okay, I can play that game, although I didn't really want to.

For the next three hours, we steadily picked up fish here and there but mostly in the deeper runs with moderate current. And while we really wanted to target wild browns, the rainbows were more aggressive on this trip. But the highlight of the day was a beautiful 14" brown the Rabunites refer to as an old-timey original with buttery gold cheeks and belly that mirrored the gold in the streamside hickory and poplar trees. It was a day for making memories!

Lake Hartwell Report

Its on!! Temps have dropped into the 60's and the bigger fish have come up to join in the action. They are beginning to move from the river to the creeks and staying up much longer now. Despite windy conditions today we caught 7 fish on the fly today from 4-7 lbs. Some schools were on bluebacks and others on shad. The key is matching the bait size. It will only get better this week as the night temps drop. Forgot the camera today, sorry no pics. Look for birds and surface activity. If they go down, stay there. They will come back up in a few minutes. Good luck and good fishing.

Buck Ernst
Piedmont Angling
www.buckernstfishing .com

Tuck DH Float with Julian Byrd

Julian Byrd and I floated the Tuck DH on Friday and it was a challenging day. They had just stocked about 10 days prior, so we figured it would be absolutely silly fishing. However, even with an angler/guide as skilled as ol' J-Byrd, it was still one heck of a challenge. We were trying to figure out what was going on for a while when Julian stuck his hand in the water and said, "Wow, this water feels warm". Sure enough, it felt warmer than the 60-degree air temperature we had that day. I had read of several other reports from people on NGTO saying that they had only caught a couple of fish or had caught nothing but the proverbial skunk, but you never know if the person posting is just a lousy fisherman! Of course, Friday night the temps sank to about 34 degrees and the reports from Saturday were the usual - 30 fish, 50 fish, etc. Odds are that cold weather dropped the water temps significantly and those same fish started eating every fly they came across.

If you get a chance, take a float on the Tuck with Julian or Butch. The fall weather is perfect right now, there's water everywhere, these guys know the river well and can get you on these nice and plentiful fish. Here are a few shots from the day:

















David Cannon
CannonOutdoors.com

Nacoochee Bend Fishing Great!

I fished Nacoochee Bend today and, man, are there some nice fish in there! The leaves are starting to change, THERE'S WATER IN THE RIVER, and the fish are spread out nicely, meaning there could be a fish in a lot of different runs, riffles and holes now (isn't it nice to see the fish out of drought mode?). I landed fish from 17- to about 20 inches and lost a few others... Speaking of, if you fish there soon, there are three fish on the upper half that I tagged. If found, your reward will be a highly-effective Hurless Nymph! (For clarification, the "tag" is the Hurless Nymph)

David Cannon
CannonOutdoors.com

Tie 1 On

Just wanted to say a word of thanks to everyone that showed up for our tying session last week--especially the 1st timers Kenny and young Jackson--hope you enjoyed it and we look forward to seeing you again next month. Thanks to all the others that were there--our flies are looking much better and we're still having fun tying them. Remember, we meet the 1st Tuesday of each month at Unicoi Fly Shop in Helen at 6:30 PM. If you just want to learn to tie flies, or learn to tie better flies, or teach us to tie better flies, you are invited and everyone is welcome. Bring a vise and equipment if you have them, if not, we have plenty.


Oh yeah, did I say that our flies catch fish? Just ask Jake!



Jake Darling with a beautiful fall-colored brown trout from Noontootla Creek Farms.

"Go Fishing With A Friend" and Get a Winston Ascent Fly Rod for only $65!

Winston Fly Rods "Go Fishing With A Friend" Rod Promotion

I just got off the telephone with the folks out at Winston, and they've got a great deal - just in time for Christmas - or the fall fishing season!

They're calling it the "Go Fishing With A Friend" program - the idea is that you can help get a friend or family member into fly fishing a lot easier if you have a spare rod they can use....we won't tell anyone, but it would also make a great back-up rod for you!

The deal is: From 10/1/2009 to 12/15/2009, anyone who purchases a Winston Premium Rod may also purchase an Ascent Fly Rod (valued $225 to $230) and case for $65. This price includes UPS Ground shipping directly from Winston so that they have a rod with which to "Go Fishing with a Friend".

Purchaser must send premium rod purchase receipt, warranty card, and method of payment for $65 to Winston to order their Ascent Fly Rod. Must be redeemed by 12/31/2009.
 
This is a great deal, and you can choose any of the Ascent rods you wish.  And it's easy to redeem:  just send in the warranty card, copy of receipt, payment of $65, and your choice of Ascent rod to the Winston HQ - no additional forms necessary.

This is a limited-time offer, so take advantage of it while it's here - we've got a selection of premium Winston rods in both our Blue Ridge and Helen shops.  And to get in the spirit of things, during this promotion period, Unicoi Outfitters will include a half-day unguided access to Nacoochee Bend for you and your friend with the purchase of a premium Winston rod!

Discount Flies Online - A Good Deal?

The folks over at Midcurrent just published a great article discussing discount flies sold online vs. quality flies sold at your local fly shop. They've made the argument for quality vs. price much better than we could: give Phil Monahan's "Ask The Expert" column a read and think about it the next time you need flies. We sell only quality flies at Unicoi Outfitters, from such sources as Umpqua, Rainey, Orvis, and select local tiers, including some of our own guides.

Loon Outdoors Shark Tooth Tippet Cutter

We mentioned this in the most recent Liars Club newsletter and have had a lot of requests, so we thought we'd make it easy for you to buy!

The guys were really jazzed about the Loon Shark Tooth tippet cutters they saw out at the fly tackle dealer's show in Denver last month.  I was talking with the Loon Outdoors folks, and they told me that none of the distributors or shops in the southeast had ordered these yet, so we decided to get some in and offer them online for all the early adopters!  They're in-stock at Unicoi Outfitters and ready ship.

If you want some more info, check out the description on our website...or click here to see a video demonstration.  You can order there, or we're making it super-easy to purchase the Shark Tooth here from the Liars Club Blog:  just select your size using the drop-down below, and hit the Buy Now button!  These retail for $4.95: we'll send you three Shark Teeth (Shark Tooths???) for only $16.95 shipped to any USPS address!

Small Shark Tooth - Fits most spools from Umpqua, Orvis, Cabelas and Climax

Large Shark Tooth - Fits most spools from RIO, Maxima, Scientific Angler, Cabelas, Frog Hair and Umpqua

                                           

$16.95 - Loon Shark Tooth - 3 pack Small $16.95 - Loon Shark Tooth - 3 pack Large

Loon Outdoors Shark Tooth Tippet Control System Video

Here's a YouTube video that demonstrates the Shark Tooth...



Click here to purchase!

Toccoa River Fishing with Julian Byrd

I'm a little late on posting this, but I was able to float with Julian Byrd and one of his brothers a few weeks ago and we had a great time. We saw some absolutely gigantic browns and rainbows from the high vantage point of the drift boat and even spotted one great big smallmouth in a clear, deep pool. Too bad that guy wouldn't hit a woolly bugger!

Anyhow, we caught some very nice fish, as well. But the best thing is that it really doesn't seem to matter what time of year you fish the Toccoa tailwater - any day can turn out to be a banner day and there's seldom a bad day of catching here.

Here are a few photos (if you want to see the rest of the photos from this gallery, go to www.CannonOutdoors.com, click on 'Clients' in the menu bar and enter the password 'julianbyrd'):





David Cannon
CannonOutdoors.com

Kayak Fishing Seminar in Blue Ridge with Tony Narcisse

Unicoi Outfitters is happy to announce that we will be hosting a free seminar with Tony Narcisse on Kayak fishing. Tony operates a guide service on Lake Lanier, specializing in chasing stripers from kayaks...or as he puts it: "The Ultimate Sleigh Ride". Visit Tony's website to learn more about his services, and come out to our Blue Ridge store on October 10th at 1pm to learn more about kayak fishing - and remember, we always discount kayak accessories 20% with the purchase of a Native Watercraft Ultimate kayak.

Here's a little background on Tony:

"I started fishing for stripers out of kayaks in 2006 and haven't looked back! There's nothing like the adrenaline rush of a big cow taking you for a sleigh ride."  Since his first encouters with striped bass in small plastic boats those few years ago, Tony has pioneered a sport that has taken firm root in one of the nation's most respected striper fisheries.

"Not only is Lake Lanier gorgeous, but she boast some of the best fishing in the country. And there is no better way to see/fish Lanier than by a kayak."

As the Founder of Georgia Kayak Fishing club, Tony's pioneering spirit, warm personality and deep knowledge of Lake Lanier's striper fishery  makes him the perfect guide for your Lake Lanier Adventure, and he'll be sharing some of that knowledge with us on October 10 - come join us!

No Title Neccesary

They say a picture speaks a thousands words. So I will simply let Noontootla Creek Farms speak for it self.

Potential Record Brown Trout in Toccoa River Tailwater

John Damer, Fisheries Biologist with the Georgia DNR just posted this on NGTO:

This beast is out there just waiting to be caught...





This fish was captured using boat mounted electrofishing gear as part of an ongoing study of trout population dynamics on the lower Toccoa River. It was measured at 28.3" in length and weighed 14 lbs, and then it was released (Where, you ask??? Gee, I don't remember ). If caught by an angler it would be the new record brown trout for the Toccoa River.

As an added bonus, any angler who catches this monster will find that it has one of our small green tags attached just below its dorsal fin, as you can see here:



To date we have tagged and released nearly 4,000 hatchery and resident trout in the lower Toccoa River. We ask that anglers help with the study by reporting any tagged fish they catch to 706-624-1161. For anyone who has not seen it, here is a link to our press release that explains the study:

http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/foru...ad.php?t=72424

As explained in the link above, one lucky Georgia angler who returns a tag to us will win a Lifetime Sportsmans License courtesy of the Blue Ridge Mountain Chapter of TU.

Just one more reason, to go fishing... Tight lines!

-John

Tuckasegee River DH Opens October 1st

Stay tuned for next week.

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

J Byrd

TIE 1 ON

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

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

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