Darlington School Flyfishing Club at Nacoochee Bend

This in from Hamp Cross:

Henderson Stegall with first trout on a fly rod - a 14" 'bow

On Saturday November 13th, we took the flyfishing club from the Darlington School near Rome, Georgia out on a Gilligan Special.  The party was made up of five students and three adults.  The students have just recently started this club in their high school and this was their first outing as a club.  The group ranged from rank beginners to some pretty experienced young fisherman.  After brushing up on their casting skills out in the field, we broke up into parties of two to fish for a couple of hours.  I had the privilege of fishing with Director Gordon Hight and club member Henderson Stegall.  Hight was an experienced fisherman and quickly was into fish landing around five or six in the couple of hours and letting a few go on the long distance release.  His best fish was an 18" 'bow that took a size 18 Mirco May dropped off a Stimulator.   Henderson, an experienced spin fisherman, was just getting his feet wet with the long rod and had some early hookups before we were prepared to finish the battle.  After working hard for two hours and greatly improving his casting and line control, he was able to take two of his best trout ever in the last few minutes, landing a 16" 'bow that was not happy about being hooked and gave us several awesome jumps before coming to the net, with the other students watching.  I had a great time guiding these folks and commend them as a well-mannered and polite group of young men.  The world could use more teenagers like these guys.  Thanks again for letting Unicoi be a part of your club and look forward to seeing you in the future.

TIE 1 ON

Take a vet fishing.

Thanks veterans,

Knee Deep and Loving It

Great weather, stunning North Georgia mountains in the fall, willing fish, and good friends--what a great week of fishing! Thanks Tony and Rick, and to all of Unicoi's customers, for allowing me the opportunity to fish with you--can't wait to do it again.

Thanks,

Ron

Autumn Fishing Reports

Hello Folks,

It’s been a while since I have been able to post any new fishing stories. I’ve been fishing, but I have mainly focused my time and energy into my new family member.

But, recently (11/6) I floated the Toccoa DH on one of the coldest days I’ve fished this season. Fishing was sort of slow with the mid part of the day being the most productive. Meat –n- Tater flies still fooling fish.

The new stretch of Mountain Town Creek, Mountain Town Plantation, is a special place. The quintessential North Georgia trout stream and it has all the fixings! Pocket water, fast riffle sections, deep slow pools, long shallow runs, you name it, Mountain Plantation has it. Look out NCF, MTP is beginning to change my opinion about where I go to get away. It’s absolutely packed with hungry trout and the opportunity to fish for them over a variety of fishing situations.

I’ve had a few trips on the Tuckasegee DH this fall since it opened, and it finally gave me a good trip last week. Jim C. and I floated it Friday October 27^th after the rains that finally lifted the water level up to “Just Floatable”. Steadily caught fish all day hooking and fighting a 20”+ Brown that Jim winched to the boat once before making a power run that ended up in the trout’s favor. But, I know where he is!

All in all, it has been a good fall. Especially since the heat has subsided and we are finally able to wet our lines in water lower than 70dgs. Next trip will be the newly reborn Toccoa River to see how the fishing is.

Till Then,

J Byrd

-Life is short, fish as often as you can!

Hamp Cross

Hamp Cross (left) with client Jimmy George at Frog Hollow

By the age of 10, Hamp was following his father around north Georgia's trout streams with flyrod in hand. In addition to helping out at the shop and guiding for Unicoi Outfitters, Hamp has also guided in Alaska and won several awards over the years including being on the winning team for last year's Gold Rush Cup Challenge held at Frog Hollow.  Read more about Hamp on our website.

TIE 1 ON

The fishing is great right now--the recent rain has really turned them on. The last few trips I have guided have been gang busters. The fish are aggressive, my customers have been family trips which I really enjoy, and the fall colors and weather are unbelievable--what a blessing.

So it's time to crank up the vise and "tie 1 on". Our fly tying session will meet this Tues (Nov.2)--tomorrow--at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen at 6:00 PM. Come and show us how to tie your favorite fly or come and learn how to tie the flies you like to fish . We tie simple flies that catch fish--guaranteed. Don't have the equipment or supplies to get started--that's OK--we'll supply everything for you. Everyone is invited, hope to see you there.

Thanks,

Ron

Chattooga in the Fall

My friend Alan Juncker and I both needed to go stand in a river for a few hours on Saturday. The weight of a week of real work was pressing on our shoulders so we mutually agreed that the Chattooga River would provide the antidote. Our plan was to leave Cornelia at 8:30 AM and be fishing shortly after 10:00 when the sun began to warm things up a little. As we donned our gear at Burrell's Ford, an overnight camper told us his thermometer read 37 degrees when he awoke earlier. Sounds like we made a good decision so far. Even though the leaf color was beyond peak performance, it was still spectacular as we walked in to find the perfect spot to begin. Crystal clear water, with a few leaves, coursed through the granite chutes and tumbled through riffles and plunge pools, drowning out the conversations of the office still rattling around in my head.

A few bugs were coming off, nothing to get excited about but a sure sign that the sun was working its magic in bringing the stream to life for another day. I had my plan all set; dries and droppers all day. A hefty Royal Stimulator trailed by a Soft Hackle Hares Ear about 20 inches back started and ended my day. It was a beautiful day to be on the Chattooga, as most are. The weather was perfect and I only fell in once. Actually, it wasn't a fall but rather a slow, controlled sit-down with only my arms getting wet. Felt soles are still better than rubber.

My morning began working pocket water as I slowly got the kinks out of my body but 15 minutes into the day I made a cast mid-stream to a perfect riffle where I hoped a trout may be grubbing around for bugs in the well oxygenated water. On my second cast, the Stimulator hesitates and I lift my rod tip to the resistance of a fish; a good fish! I give an obligatory holler down to Alan that I have a nice fish on. It took the Hares Ear which happened to be tied to 6X Fluorocarbon. As I reach behind my back to grab my net, I realize I left it hanging in my garage and this fish isn't going to provide me with an opportunity to land him by hand any time soon. But Alan is much wiser than I and he has a net waiting downstream. I carefully maneuver the fish between boulders until I'm close enough to let him drift into Alan's submerged net. "Nice fish! Big brown!", he said. What a way to start the day! Using my outstretched fingers as a ruler, I calculated the fish to be right at 15 inches. The folks in Rabun County who have fished this river for over five decades call this strain an "old time original" brown with sparse but beautiful large spots. What a great day already.

As the sun continued to warm things, we picked up a few more fish. Some stocked rainbows and more wild browns. Some on pheasant tails but the overwhelming majority of the fish fell for the Hares Ear, whether soft hackle or regular bead head. In a little over four hours of fishing, we probably caught 15 or 16 fish but today wasn't about numbers. It was about that water flowing past your legs and renewing your spirit. It was about a day on one of the most beautiful trout streams in north America with a good friend you haven't fished with in a while. The catching was simply an added blessing.

Great Fishing Report!

We know this amazing story has been on NGTO and disseminated by GADNR but we thought it was so cool that we wanted to give it even more exposure. We want to thank Stephen Johnson and Upper Chattahoochee Chapter Trout Unlimited for the report. Read on!

Report by:	Stephen Johnson
Date:	10/23/2010
River/Stream:	Upper Hooch - Andrew takes it up a notch
Summary:
Report:	So I took Andrew out and we went up river from Abbotts Bridge. I told him I didn't think we had much of a shot at any big fish due to the full moon last night and it was bright and sunny today. While we were going up we had to slow down for some canoer's and while we were going by Andrew says he saw a really big fish and he thought it was a brown. So as not to tip off the spin fisher's we kept going up river and stopped and fished down doing quite well. When we got back to the spot we saw the fish there were a lot of fish schooled around the logs and then we saw the big guy. I tell Andrew to take out the 6wt and put the biggest bugger I had in the box (size 4 brown cone head). He throws it into the logs and a 15" brown hammers it but comes off after a few feet. He throws it back into the logs and this time a 10" brown takes it. On the way back to the boat this monster chases it down and swallows it whole. (Needless to say we are freaking out!) I tell Andrew: wait till he swallows it down (about 15 seconds), PUT IT TO HIM! Fish on! Great fight that lasts about 10+ minutes. I net him. 24" brown bull. Awesome! Takes about another 10 to 15 minutes to make sure he is revived before release. Check out the picture if you don't believe me...

Steve Hudson, Atlanta Fly Fishing Examiner

Steve Hudson is writing a fly fishing column for examiner.com.  Steve has enjoyed fly fishing for many years, making his first casts at the age of eight in the family pond. He has fished from Florida to Alaska, but he will quickly tell you that his favorite waters are those right here in northern Georgia. A professional journalist for more than 30 years, Steve enjoys writing about fly fishing almost as much as being on the water. He's passionate about sharing the sport, too, and he's frequently invited to lead workshops on fly fishing, fly tying, and other aspects of the sport. He lives in Alpharetta with his wife Ann and Chester the Sheepdog. 


Steve's column is full of great, locally useful articles, such as "Go deep for big trout -- learn how at North Georgia Trout Online's Fall Fling".


Steve will also be holding a great Delayed Harvest Fly Tying Seminar at our Helen Shop on Saturday October 30 from 9am to 2:30 pm.  We'll post a schedule next week, or check your Liars Club Newsletter for details.

Mountaintown Plantation: A Piece of Trout Heaven

Mountaintown Plantation opened its incredible water to fishing for the first time yesterday. Fly rods in hand, two lucky guys slid in the crystal clear water at daybreak. Bright Fall colors lined the stream banks and sunshine quickly warmed the frosty morning into short sleeve weather.

Any pocket of water that looked like it should hold a trout received a cast and the fly was greeted by a hungry rainbow. Jonathon, Brian, and I experienced one of those days when we could do no wrong.
The trout were eating almost any fly from my unorganized fly boxes.I told Jonathon and Brian that we should see if we can find a fly they won't eat.

Brian had a beaded fish counting necklace with 30 beads on it. He slid them down one time and up another counting at least 60 trout he caught and Jonathon matched him fish for fish. Over 120 trout ain't too bad for a debut.
Hold on tight for we have big plans for the piece of trout heaven!Give us a call at the shop if your interested in hearing more about Mountaintown Plantation.

Julian Byrd

Byrd has pulled the oars down south and out west, but calls Georgia home.  Like most of our guides,  he got started fishing at an early age...read more about him here.

Trick or Treat

Click for a good look at some nice fish!

Here's a treat from Anthony Rabern via Jeff Durniak:

We sampled Lake Burton today (10/19) and caught a variety of quality fish.  Burton brown trout, like the one pictured in the attached photo, should be moving into the tributaries in November to prepare for spawning.  The one pictured weighed four pounds.  Spotted bass were very abundant in our sampling gear today, especially in the shallows on the upper lake.  The area around the Hwy 76 was particular productive.  I would imagine that spots, trout, and walleye would chase a crank bait in the morning or early evening hours for the next several weeks.

Anglers should also remember nearby reservoirs such as Rabun, Seed, And Tugalo, for some good fall fishing for bass and walleye.  


http://www.georgiapower.com/lakes/home.asp

Anthony Rabern
GADNR Senior Fisheries Biologist
Lake Burton Hatchery

2011 Fly Fishing Gear Guide from "MidCurrent"

After our return from the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show in Denver, we considered writing a review of all the products we thought would be of interest to you. But, we were just overwhelmed and realized our writing skills probably wouldn't do justice to the subject. Now, we're glad we procrastinated. "MidCurrent" has just published an online article covering EVERYTHING! And it's much more well written and has more detail than we could have every provided you. Over the next few days or even weeks, you should take some time to casually read their report. This may also be a good time to start that Christmas list. We hope you'll enjoy this and we are grateful to Marshall Cutchin and "MidCurrent" for their work.  Just click above to go to the guide.

The "Second Season" is About to Start

With the cooler weather and rain we've got in the forecast, it's time for the fall trout season to start up here in the South.  Here's a little video to get your blood pumpin'!  Thanks to David Cannon for the great vid!

John Browning

John has been with the shop guiding for a while now, and as you can tell from the photo, has a bit of fishing experience too!  I'm not entirely sure which one is John, but he is in the photo at right.  Read more of JB's story here.