The River Bass Box

The River Bass Box

By Jeff Durniak

The dog days of summer are here.  That means the lengthy rains of spring are long-gone and we simply have to deal with occasional, pop-up thunderstorms.  While those brief storms might muddy-up flowing waters, they usually clear quickly.  That’s great news for our best bet during the dog days: river bassin’!   While a lot of anglers complicate things, river bassin’, at its roots, is really simple and easy.   For new fly fishers, you can enjoy your own Huck Finn days with any old 5,6, or 7-weight fly rod, wading shoes or a canoe/kayak, and a basic bass box.   I’ll tell you the goodies I carry in my box.

That basic box is a simple 3 X 2 concept of water layers and fly patterns.  I’ve got three layers of water to cover (top, middle, and bottom) and two flies per layer, my go-to pattern, and a backup bug.  Only two, you say?  Yep, for a starter box.  Pick the bug size to match your local quarry.  If you need a size to start, buy or tie these on size 4 hooks.  Of course, we can add more bugs and make that box bigger.  That’s what fly fishing is all about, lotsa cool trinkets, right?  But for new fly-flingers, a ton of trinkets isn’t necessary.  Sometimes it’s counterproductive, as noobs spend more time changing flies than casting their first pick into a good spot and working it seductively.  Remember this: Technique trumps Pattern!

Now let’s get to the gotta-have patterns. First, for the surface, I like a white Kent’s Stealth Bomber and a white popper.  They both must have lots of long rubber legs!  Toss the Stealth Bomber into low, clear water along shady banks, and don’t move it. Just let it drift along.  Every now and then, give it a slight twitch to wiggle the legs, then let it drift again for 5-10 feet.  River bass and bream are spooky in summer’s low, clear water, but they’re very hungry and love to hang out under tree limbs, waiting for terrestrial bugs to lose their footing. Fish with patience and you’ll be rewarded.  The backup surface bug is the trusty white popper. Use it to call fish up from deep, fast, or slightly discolored water.  Don’t pop it as much as you did in the spring when the water was cooler.  Pop and drift, then repeat. Use these two surface bugs in the shade and shadows of dawn, dusk, and shaded banks, where your quarry feels safe enough to “look up” for supper and not be a meal for a heron.

When they’re not looking up, go down for the fish.  You can start at mid-column with either the Clouser minnow or the greatest fly of all time, the black woolly bugger.  Fish the Clouser like a nervous minnow.  Cast, let it sink a bit, and retrieve it back to you with erratic strips.  Don’t fall into the bad habit of a constant retrieve.  You’ll catch more fish when they think their lunch is leaving!  You can fish the bugger any way at all: cast upstream and twitch down to you, then twitch slightly as it swings past you and hangs in the current below you, then twitch and strip it back to your rod tip.  One hint: put your rod tip right on the water surface while you’re twitching and stripping.  Striking fish will encounter a tight line and result in more hookups.  Strikes on high rods just pull on a big U-loop of slack – and you’ll have lots of misses.

When your shoalies and smallies are glued to the bottom, especially in the high sun, go knock on den doors and offer them a lobster dinner.  Dens are boulder fields, rock ledges, and logjams, especially the shady side of each.  You can toss Reindeau’s Hairy Fodder upstream and bounce it on the bottom, back to you, to imitate a downstream- fleeing crayfish.  Toss it across the stream, toward the bank, and twitch it while it swings.  As it finally hangs in the current below you, stick that rod tip in the water and short-strip it back upstream.  If you’re greedy like us, tie two feet of 10lb tippet to the fodder’s hook bend and drop the woolly bugger off the back. That dual-dinner menu is hard to resist.

Hopefully, these tips will get you started on some summer fun, while you await the return of trouting in the fall.  Don’t forget a big hat, sunscreen, bug spray, flashlight, plenty of water, and a good fishing buddy (at a distance) for river safety.  Toss one of these six bugs in the right spot, work it like the natural food, and hold on. These river bass have bad attitudes and broad shoulders! And they’ll make you smile in the summer sun.

Author’s Note:  Jeff Durniak recently retired as DNR’s Regional Fisheries Biologist for North Georgia.  He now spends his time terrorizing fish and working his hobby job at Unicoi Outfitters. 

UO Fishing Report -7/31/20

Welcome to Fishing Friday! We think that everyone can sure use a break from all the stress surrounding us, so turn off your TV’s and radios and enjoy this dose of good news.  Whether you can get out locally to wet a line, or stick close to home and enjoy a virtual moment or two with us, we hope that this Unicoi Rx will help all of you, our friends, to refresh your mind and spirit.

First, how about a “breath of fresh air?” We’re adapting the “Moment of Chill” concept from the Orvis Company ( https://www.orvis.com/momentofchill ) to our local lands and waters so you can enjoy nature, whether it’s in person or virtually. Today we’ll visit Unicoi Lake.

Now on to the fishing intel.  Let’s start with trout.  Given the summer heat, the trick is to head high up the mountain, early in the morning. 

TroutBumTrey, our young buck at the new UO General Store in Clarkesville, said that he and a socially distant buddy had slow action on a Rabun County mainstream near his home. The action improved as soon as they hung a right turn up a cold tributary.  They each landed a handful of wild rainbows on dry/dropper combos of a chubby Chernobyl on 5x, with a short 6X dropper down to a copper john or tungsten bead pheasant tail. UO guide Hunter reported similar results for his clients, high in the hills above our Helen shop. He said wild rainbows were usually tuned into a small (16) yellow stimulator.  During the rare times they turned off the stimmy, he came back with either a #18 tan caddis or the chubby with an 18” dropper down to a small pheasant tail or Frenchie, and was back in the action.  He stressed the need for stealth, light tippets (5, 6X) and a raincoat for the daily 30 minute storms. The good news is that consistent rains have boosted summer streamflows, and the headwater wild trout are happy and hungry.

For stockers, shop clients reported good luck on spring holdovers that have been washed downstream into remote reaches of WRD-stocked streams.  Small, flashy nymphs were the ticket. The short public section of the Soque gets a lot of pressure, but folks getting there first have had some shots at a few big summer migrants in search of cold water. Try a big dry before dredging with large nymphs or small buggers.

For more intel on stocked streams, as well as all other public streams and lakes, it’s hard to beat the Friday fishing blog and trout stocking lists from our friends at GAWRD.  Check them out here:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Our guides have reported relatively slow fishing for river bass, especially shoalies, in July.  The combination of muddy water from daily thunderstorms, along with heavy floater traffic (yaks and tubes), especially on weekends, may have them hunkered down.  Jake and Wes have had more luck chucking streamers than the surface stuff recently.  If you go, have some buggers, hairy fodders, and other minnow and crayfish imitation in your box, next to the poppers.  If the rains subside and rivers drop and clear in August, the topwater bite should improve.  Jimmy got out for a mental health moment one evening after work this week.  A nice shoalie crushed his surface diver and put a smile on his face.

Our migrant stripers are in their typical summer moods, too. The bite has been best very early, very late, or after a rainstorm cools off the river and stains it. Dark and/or subtle streamer colors are working much better than white or bright ones, especially in clear waters.  Try a super-fast strip first to imitate fleeing prey.  If the predators are sulking and won’t charge your bug with a reaction bite, then drop the dark flies deep and twitch them slowly back to you.  Hunter had luck this week on the slow retrieve of his Muddy Buddy fly (we’ve got them in the shop).

Another staffer gassed up here and packed his lunch, and then went a bit farther north for a solo day trip.  He was met with muddy red waters, but moved upstream to get above the morning storm’s first surge.  He abandoned his initial idea of dries and Euronymphed instead in the flood flows, which were slowly clearing and dropping.  With wading staff in one hand, he hi-sticked with the other in the soft pockets behind boulders and against the bank, and ended the day with a real nice handful of wild bows and browns.   Flexibility was the key to success, so be prepared and let the stream conditions tell you what to do.

We’ve had enough rain to keep our streams flowing well, so we haven’t yet had a good reason to detour to the small lakes.  They should be fishing well, early and late, but we’ll save them for later yakking in August, if the great stream fishing ever dies.

Good luck this week, whether you get outside and stay distant while astream, or stay close to home and just “fish” with us here on your favorite web channels.  Call either the Helen (706-878-3083) or Clarkesville store (706-754-0203) if you need a hand with supplies and intel for your own mental health day to the woods and waters.  Thanks for your patronage.   Stay safe, everyone.

Hot Fun!

Hot fun with Rodney Tumlin and Nacoochee Bend summer stripers. Watch this video of his epic battle:

 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=631824117431219

Bass Handling

We love our shoal bass more than any other and we want to encourage anglers to take good care of them, keep em wet, and don't take a chance on injuring them with this outdated technique simply for a photo opp. Thanks!

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.orvis.com%2Ffly-fishing%2Fpro-tips-stop-lip-grip%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0SVkb295VLYXVev_ZUEwHJaY7dDtFXFlubGhRtBVKn7aIrcwaJQZ0JWOc&h=AT1AWZdjwEgm18QPZWlRrADuUA3ZPTD1gQaPnl9-0Kpj-eVkbuRSXvpYc9E44XeIBnsVaNhzP7JhDghTK7DOCe_F8iaN1tcAHdRJmF8MhzqHvWk5fqgQ81aip0b4324Q1dYP-ZbWSnoJ88-171O4Tf3qEtf-9_ZPN6EyMtADlqNUGUGXpTDrql6KbN8fpdImBtUce0d3PFjM91pdCJZU0kAdWgf_Fz82qiy2ty5YAz20c4EaLcxScceB3YZpnjfr4IsYp1AtWccDebqNXSCynGyP-PSidYqlj5gt15xT-TjctiCxqDQeuXo-0o5gxedrJuFRkvHyofwHpyHy9BqK7BYUYNTHb8zFTefJDcLdI_o-2UFQe6BCqWAPIub1PchB61C-SU-yRza2MJ4RiT2jov8mwigKRVjPYcWGSi-CZLzohurp4-M7KmONd0Nj0VYm9zQ3lJREYkuFE9hu3xzIgo-gX1BHyrF1kUtPdclWfjm77J-OZeQMEEcI98lUUMEDUpXhu47rD9N4Bm147baC0lzlNmW4-MwDRNWeJHp6kZeINP5u_YYJdoxJ8UXYwryh5F8FMQCHKfRcvSrt

Summer Bassin'

 

Jim was able to grind it out the other day and find some good ones!  Summer is just getting started. Get with us if you wanna go after some north Georgia shoal bass.

Our New Clarkesville Store!

The curtains have come down, we're in the home stretch. Unicoi Outfitters General Store will be open for business this Wednesday (6/17). Store hours will be 10 AM til 7 PM Tuesday through Saturday. Stop by and see us on the square in downtown Clarkesville!

Blueline Time!

Beautiful scenery, low fishing pressure, and wild trout willing to rise to a dry. Grab a map and go explore some blue lines.

New Skipper at Orvis

As an Orvis Endorsed Outfitter, we have been working with Simon Perkins for a number of years. There is no doubt the company is in great hands with his promotion to President. Congratulations, Simon.

https://www.forbes.com/.../a-millennial-takes-the.../..

Lovin' our Local

Quite possibly the coolest wild fish we have in north Georgia. Nice Sunday evening chasing shoalies on the river.

Nice Bycatch

UO Manager @jake_a_darling with a real nice bycatch on his recent river bass float. We will take that any day!

The Best Fly You May Have Never Used

Jeff “Dredger” Durniak

Unicoi Outfitters

Want a great pattern that’s easy to tie, easy to fish, and deadly on river predators from trout to bass?  Then sit back and enjoy the tale of “Secret Weapon #1.”

Back in my former career, our division hosted the annual meeting of southeastern wildlife agency trout biologists at Unicoi State Park.  When Trout Committee business concluded, our guests had a special treat waiting on them: guided trout fishing on local waters with some of my friends, the best volunteer fishing guides from GA Trout Unlimited.

I had paired up Missouri DNR’s Mike Kruse with The Ole Rabunite, better known as Rabun TU founder Doug Adams, for an afternoon on the Dukes Creek trophy stream. It had rained the night before and stained the stream, so they quickly departed.

When they returned to the lodge for the evening meal, Kruse sported a big smile while Adams had bug eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. The Ole Rabunite explained that Mike had laid out the big rainbows on his own, home-made fly pattern, the Mike’s Mohair Leech. He said the recipe was on his agency’s website.  Link:  https://www.missouritrout.com/mikesmohairleech.htm

We looked it up and then cooked it up ourselves. Lo and behold, it worked magically!  It was a slinky woolly bugger.  We held the secret weapon close for a while (actually a long while), and perfected its use on both stream trout and river bass; olive and small (#10) for clear water, big (#6 or 8), and black for dingy water, and huge and black  (#4) for river bass. It worked dead-drifted, stripped, and even as a dropper behind Craig Riendeau’s Hairy Fodder crawdad fly. It took credit for countless Dukes Creek trophies, hefty trout from the Southeast’s Delayed Harvest streams, upper Hooch shoalies pushing 20 inches, countless NC smallies, my first big Yellowstone Park brown, and an unexpected monster brown from the Smokies that nosed close to 22 inches.

When we were asked how we were catching our biguns, we few Rabunites in-the-know dutifully replied, “I don’t believe I said.” But, after a while, the guilt set in and we finally started fessing up. I shared the love on North Georgia Trout Online’s forum around 2007, via a post called “Secret Weapon #1.”  Soon leeches of various sizes, shades, and beadheads started showing up in fly boxes and trouting reports across north GA.

If you haven’t tried one yet, you should. And then pass it on to that rookie angler beside you. He or she will catch more fish, think you’re a Pro, and soon join your conservation army.  

If it wasn’t for the benevolence of Mike Kruse and Doug Adams, I might have missed out on this secret weapon. Instead, our trio has enjoyed it and we now pass it on to you. Give it a try, pass one to a buddy, and have some fun while you adopt and conserve your favorite “home” waters.  Good luck. Don’t forget that good buddy, armed with a net and a camera!

UO Fishing Report - 3/27/20

How about another dose of good news? Whether it’s fly tying, watching fishing shows, casting a new rod bought online, basking in the backyard sunshine, or even getting on some open waters, we all need a responsible distraction right now. Hopefully this report will make you smile.

For those of you who are not under a “shelter in place” mandate and want to get some fresh air while socially distancing, we’ve tried to summarize your angling opportunities that are still available. Pack your lunches from your safe home caches and be ready to roll. At the time of writing, it looks like GADNR properties are still open. Undeveloped lands of the Chattahoochee National Forest are still accessible, while the USFS developed sites such as visitor centers and campgrounds are closed. All lands and waters of nearby national parks such as the Chattahoochee Rec Area and the Smokies are completely closed to visitors, as is the Cherokee Nation https://www.facebook.com/VisitCherokeeNC/ On Lanier, some boat ramps remain open, while the Corps developed sites such as campgrounds and restrooms are closed. https://www.facebook.com/LakeSidneyLanierUSACE/ Remember that many other ramps are operated by local governments, so you may have to check those websites for the status of ramps that are not on the Corps list. https://www.hallcounty.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=746 For facility updates, see the list of agency websites on our prior Facebook post. Dukes Creek remains open to anglers with reservations (706-878-3087), while the Smithgall visitors center is closed Our private waters are open and, with the tight restrictions on angler numbers, provide great social distance destinations.

Now let’s get to some fishing reports! We had three inches of rain Tuesday night, but flood flows are dropping and the weekend is dry and warm. It should be a great fishing weekend everywhere: ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. Just be careful when wading the big streams!

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?02330450 https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?02176930 See our Facebook post for a Nacoochee Bend Special! https://www.facebook.com/unicoioutfitters Our big fish were crushing streamers during this week’s high water. They should change their tastes back to small nymphs and maybe some dries as the river drops and clears. On the local front, both Pescador and RodneyT have been wearing out pond bream and bass with their fly rods.

The warm shallows have brought fish close to the bank, where they are looking up! Black bass, stripers, and hybrids are chasing bait in the stained, warming reservoir shallows, especially when the sun is low. Upriver migrations should be in full swing for whites and hybrids, and just starting for stripers. There was some great intel in last week’s GAWRD fishing blog, and we’ll bet that this week’s report will be loaded, too. It’s time to take those small boats up the Hooch, Chestatee, Tugalo, Etowah, and Coosa! https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/ This weekend is the traditional start of trout stocking season and we expect the state and fed trout trucks to roll. Last week’s stocking list was long, but might be outdone by tomorrow’s posted list. The popular sites are crowded on this traditional opening weekend, so this may be the year to avoid those crowds and socially distance yourselves to less popular waters that are lightly stocked. http://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Better yet, hike into some remote wild trout waters. RodneyT reported yesterday, “Some wild fish from this past weekend. Social distancing was rewarded with several wild & native trout which included a nice 13” Rainbow somewhere in the CNF!”

Smithgall has an angler quota of 15 and distancing is easy over its four miles of trout water. SammyC hit Dukes on the 25th and reported: “Fortuitously my buddy Adam and I set March 25 on our calendars - and the Dukes list - months ago. Despite the highest water I’ve ever seen, it was a very welcome relief from our jobs as doctors, and we are thankful to the State and staff for keeping Smithgall Woods and in doing so in a safe manner. The water was turbid and truly ripping - favorite runs were unfishable and unwadable. Pat’s rubber legs and heavy jigs on tight lines, dropped into eddies and slow deep runs were the ticket. Fishing picked up as the day warmed and we landed a half dozen between six and 16 inches and lost a bruiser to frayed tippet just before I could get the net under it. We really enjoyed our day astream.” AthensAlan reported: “Early ‪Saturday morning‬ light showers in Athens gave way to a beautiful sunny and warm day on the Chattooga. The lot on the Georgia side of the river was full but I pulled into one of a couple open spots in the SC parking area. Started hiking up the South Carolina side and counted 8 anglers in the water before stopping and fishing a nice run. The water was still up and a little off-color. I had checked the Hwy 76 gauge before leaving home and it was showing 2.05. Started fishing a size 12 purple haze with a small Pheasant Tail Dropper. Had two refusals on the dry in the first run and no action on the P.T. Decided to go to a smaller size 14 parachute Adams for my top fly and small size 16 caddis for a double dry set up, wasn’t able to get the refusals to come back up for another look. Walked on up river (saw another 6 anglers) and settled In at the upper end of the DH section. Tied on a #16 parachute Adams and picked up the first small rainbow. The action was slow but I was able to entice a couple of small browns hanging close to the bank. Best fish of the day was a pretty 12” rainbow that jumped 4 times and put a nice bend in my 4 weight (picture to follow). ‪Around 5:15 the bugs started coming off and a saw some caddis in the air.‬ Tied a tan caddis on behind my Adams hoping that the fish were going to start looking up, but never saw a rise unless it was a fish coming up to my fly. Watched a nice fish come up from a deep hole and chase my caddis downstream, but was a little quick on the trigger and didn’t let him take it all the way before sticking and missing him. I ended up with six to hand for the day, so not a tremendous amount of action, but was a great mental health day and a beautiful place to practice social distancing😎” Toccoa Aaron’s Tooga report: “Landed 3 fish total. Missed about 8 lol. Had rises starting at about 10 am. The first little rainbow went after a size 16 copper stonefly/orange biot wings that was hanging off a chubby Chernobyl with 5x. The second was on a single size 14 elk hair caddis on a dead drift. And the third went after a size 14 stimi on a single rig with dead drift action. Of course, the junk flies did their jobs and attracted many hits. Good action on the trusty dusty creme mop. We just weren’t fortunate enough to get them to the nets. It was still a great day on the river.” Be safe and find a way to smile, whether it’s online, at the tying bench, in a back yard game with your kids, or alone on a remote trout stream. At least it’s spring, so the weather and the banter within our angling community will help us smile this week. Call or email the shop if we can help you further with your hydrotherapy prescriptions.

UO Fishing Report- 3/20/20

We all need a little good news right now to give our minds a break from the medical and economic woes. Hopefully this week’s report will meet those needs. Let’s call it “fresh air outdoors.”

We are so thankful for north Georgia’s abundant public lands and waters. The woods, lakes, and streams give us great opportunities to socially distance ourselves, and also to recharge our “psychological batteries” that have been drained down by each nightly newscast. A trail hike, boat ride, or stream wade on a sunny spring day may be just the prescription to keep us going during this unprecedented time in our lives. Give it a try. We did, yesterday.

Jimmy and Jeff drove separately to a Lanier boat ramp and distanced themselves once aboard the ship. They cruised slowly in the thick fog of dawn and watched for “birds,”

first the Humminbird LCD screen above the steering wheel, and then the terns that flew at first daylight. They were treated to a nice bunch of fat spotted bass and one small striper.

They tossed intermediate lines during surface breaks under the birds, and deep sinking lines on their other 8-weight rods when the graph showed spaghetti at 10-20 feet. Henry C’s popular flavors, the Something Else and the Cowen’s Coyote, were the winning patterns. The Unicoi duo also had a few brief shots at bigger, boiling stripers, but didn’t hook up. With lake temps now in the upper 50’s, it’s “game on” at your favorite reservoir. Just remember to bird-watch, as they are both awesome strike indicators!

Whites and stripers are also starting their river runs. We’ve seen good river reports on the GON message board. Other anglers also reported to our staff some success this week on Hooch stripers migrating up from Lanier. There will likely be some good WRD intel later today via their weekly blog:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/

Trout streams also took off as water temps stayed above the magic 50-degree mark. Private water success skyrocketed this week due to the winning trifecta of dropping flows, rising water temperatures, and hatching bugs. No single pattern ruled the week, as our guides and anglers had to adapt to the changing tastes of resident trout. Jake’s Nacoochee Bend morning group had “pot luck” on a variety of nymphs, worms, and eggs, while another angler had sole success on Dr. Dave’s root beer midges. Hunter’s afternoon clients found fish dialed into soft hackles with midge droppers, especially since midges were hatching in earnest. Big fish on the Soque ate well for both George and Stefan’s guided trips, where they again changed flies until the hot pattern of the day got dialed in.

It was a mixed message on public waters. Fresh stockers enhanced catch rates on nearby streams like the Tallulah and small lakes like Vogel and Black Rock. In contrast, Smith DH fished poorly, likely due to low, clear water and heavy fishing pressure, according to folks returning to our shop. The Chattooga DH saved the day for many other anglers as bugs hatched and fish rose off the bottom to take advantage of the drift. We just had a recent angler report of “tan mayflies” hatching. Watch the GON (fly fishing) and NGTO message boards for other “fresh” fishing reports.

Given the unseasonably warm spell, and the fact we’re nearing April, be ready with your April trout bugs, too. That month’s stars are Light Cahills and tan caddis. Go to “Spring Dries and Droppers” at the webpage called “Secrets of the Rabunites” for more April intel. Start big (size 14) early in the month and be ready with smaller sizes as the weeks pass and the bugs shrink.

The bottom line now is that we’re approaching prime time. Most fish will eat what’s on the end of a very good, drag-free drift. When certain bugs are hatching, however, anglers will do better to match the hatch. Have the normal eggs, nymphs, and small buggers in tow, but be sure to carry a few dries (Adams, March browns, gray caddis, Griffith gnat ), and nymphs and soft hackles of our favorite March mays (hares ears, pheasant tails) as hatch-matchers. Toss in the April bugs, too. Study the water for fish and bug behavior and let them help you dial in that day’s winning combination.

If there ever was a time for a fishing trip, it might be now. Go breathe some clean air and run your hands through some clean water. Dab on a little bit of sunscreen and let those rays warm your cheeks. You’ll feel a whole lot better and return to the front lines of our society’s battle with renewed hope and vigor. We sure did.

We wish you tight lines and good health in the days ahead. Call us if we can help you with a prescription for fun in the great outdoors.

UO Fishing Report - 3/13/20

Ugh, on top of everything in the news, today is ... Friday the 13th! Need a little good news right now? We have it.

Avid angler and Atlanta TV 5 meteorologist Ryan Beesley just announced this week’s theme: “Spring has sprung!” It looks like we have a very good fishing weekend ahead for both flat and flowing water fans. Last weekend’s time change and more hours of sunlight now give us a lot more fishing time. Given our community concerns, from the virus to the economy, it might just be a good time for a dose of hydrotherapy to get us through this tough time. Streamflows and temps look great,

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?02176930

and the weekend looks dry and warm. Midweek rains may deliver another 1-3 inches of rain up here, so go sooner rather than later. Some good reports support our predictions, so here we go:

We had some very good trips on private waters as our larger streams finally dropped and warmed enough to fire up the fish. It’s important to be flexible, though, and change your patterns and techniques until you dial in that day’s successful recipe. Joe from PA fished unguided at Nacoochee Bend last Saturday and had a great time on streamers. He said he landed eight bows to 25 inches, with only two under 20, and gave me his hot flies: a golden retriever and a Christmas tree (bushy black bugger full of crystal flash). In contrast, Gary B (pic) had a good guided, midweek trip with Ron on a variety of nymphs.

Hunter’s guided party had a good introduction to flyfishing. He reports: “I never was able to find a really solid pattern on the bite, but pretty much all came on the swing. They wouldn’t take a streamer today. Most were on soft hackles, emergers, or midges. A bunch of midges were hatching on the warm afternoon.”

Public water reports to the shop were a bit sparse, but we expect them to fish very well this weekend. As we reported midweek, Quill Gordons hatched on the Soque, so they’re around now on all larger trout streams. Whether you hit hatch day or not is simply the luck of the draw, but those fly patterns should solicit strikes even on the off days. Be ready with both dries and nymphs for this bug, consider driving separately, and “socially distance” yourselves along the Chattooga or Nantahala for a good time, maybe even on midday dries! The March fly pattern lists were in last week’s report, so look back and then check your boxes. Here’s some more good intel from our Vol friends to the north, Ian and Charity:

https://randrflyfishing.com/the-fishing-report/

BOLO (be on the lookout for) the next WRD stocking list, especially if you have kids itching to fish. We now approach the traditional start of the Georgia trout stocking season, so consistent Friday afternoon stocking lists should restart soon. See them here and sign up to have a copy delivered right to you:

http://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

In fact, the 2020 master trout stocking list (all waters stocked and their frequencies) has been posted on that site. Newly redosed Delayed Harvest streams are great training grounds for new fly fishers. A size 10 twitched black woolly bugger or a size 12 red squirmy worm, dead drifted, are hard to beat.

Spring has arrived and it’s now a good time to try the region’s rivers and lakes. The headwaters of large lakes should are finally clearing from the red-muddy river floods of a couple weeks ago. More importantly, these sunny, mild days and nights are warming surface waters and attracting shad and bluebacks to the shallows. And we know what follows them. Have your 8-weights, intermediate line, and Cowens something else, gray/white clousers, and game changer fly patterns rigged and ready for a dawn trip to upper Lanier coves. Follow the birds and bait. Check your drag setting before casting! I just bought a Hydros 4 yesterday and can’t wait to baptize it in Lanier.

Walleye, whites, and/or early stripers should be running up the feeder rivers to Lanier, Hartwell, Allatoona, Carters, and other north Georgia reservoirs. The best intel on these hotspots is the WRD fishing blog, fresh each Friday afternoon here:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/

If you can’t travel far, keep local waters in mind as pond bass,crappie, and bream shake off their winter hibernation.

Pescador has been nailing local small lake bass on streamers. Jay sez: “Bass are moving into shallow water. If you can locate the old creek channel in a pond or lake and fish the drop off, you will find lots of takers. One of our TU members reports awesome crappie fishing as well.”

Rodney’s been wearing out the pond bream: “With the warming weather, I have been fishing one of my son’s farm ponds. I tie these flies. They are awesome on bream! Need to get after some trout!!!!” That’s a pretty good list of hydrotherapy treatments to help us through society’s rough waters right now. We wish you good fishing. More importantly, we wish all of you good health and safe times ahead as our north Georgia community rallies, helps each other, and survives our current “storm.” May we soak that hot fly in hand sanitizer before sharing it, refrain from carpools and high-fives after a great catch, and take our buddy’s fish pic from a little farther away. May we deeply appreciate our friends and families and the waters of north Georgia as we get through these tough times, together.

UO Fishing Report- 3/6/20

We have a very good weekend ahead of us, with abundant sunshine, warming afternoons, extra daylight hours, lower streamflows, declining winds, and some extra trout gifts from GAWRD giving us some excellent opportunities for the next few days. Get out there and take advantage of the good weather before more rain returns next week, when another 1-1.5 inches is expected.

Most of your success will likely be deep dredging, especially if you’re an early riser. Mornings are gonna be cold, so expect trout to be hunkered down, too, until the afternoon sun warms them and the stream bugs. Best bets will be mops, rubberlegs, soft colored eggs, and small dark nymphs like size 16 and 18 pheasant tails. We’re finally into March, so bigger bugs are now slowly stirring. That’s good news! With each passing day, larger (size 14 and 16) hares ear, prince, and pheasant tail nymphs and soft hackles will soon overtake winter eggs as our best bets for wets.

After lunch, BOLO dries! “Be on the lookout” for black winter stoneflies, quill Gordon and blue quill mayflies, and small dark caddis. As water temps exceed 50 degrees, the first good hatches of the new year will ring in our spring dry fly season. Make sure you put your dry fly boxes back into your vest or sling pack tonite. For more tips on expected spring bug buffets, check out the hatch chart by the Blairsville TU chapter:

http://www.ngatu692.com/Hatch_Charts.html

Rookie fly anglers and spinning rod fans will enjoy this week’s gifts by GAWRD. Smith DH got redosed, and nine other waters got some fresh Buford stockers. Stick a Mepps spinner, small woolly bugger, or red squirmy worm on the end of a new angler’s line and be their champion fishing guide. Check out the fresh WRD intel and sign up for your own copy of the weekly trout stocking list here:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/.../georgia-fishing-report.../

Also notice the start of spring river runs of walleye, whites and even some stripers. Chunky white bass on a six-weight fly rod and small clouser minnow are a blast. And an 8-pound striper on that rig will give you the fight of your life. For the walleye, leave the fly pole at home and drown some nightcrawlers.

Private trout waters have been too high for many safe client trips, so fishing reports are sparse. Those bigger streams have finally dropped to fishable flows and we expect good trips this weekend, since those fish have had nearly a month’s vacation from anglers’ offerings. UO guide Stefan Manole had a good Soque trip today. His angler trio battled high water, but were rewarded with nice rainbows on a variety of Stefan’s secret patterns. Private trout waters will only get better as they warm up and shed some more CFS this spring.

Landon went over the mountain to his favorite NC stream last Sunday. He said DH stockers were scarce, but little wild rainbows were very cooperative:

“All wild rainbows today besides a couple skinny stockers. Few bugs out, couple quill gordons, blue quills, black caddis and winter black stones. Only a couple fish rising and caught every one I saw. Water still ripping through there, wading the flats was safest bet, hares ear on bottom best bet. I had to go to 6x tippet for greatest success in the clear water.”

New fly flinger “Toccoa Aaron” has been practicing, and his batting average is rising significantly! He reports,

"I had luck at Smith Creek with brown and rainbow trout using a single fly rig (cream mop) under a thingamabober. I also talked to a fellow fisher who went to the Chattooga yesterday and landed 17 fish using mops and squirmies.”

There’s enough intel here to get you pointed back north to trout water. Shoot, you might even be able to leave your rain jacket at home for a day or two. What a novel idea! And with the time change, you now have an extra hour of daylight to end your fishing day. Grab the vest, toss the dry fly boxes back into it, and head north before the next storm clouds brew. A day astream this weekend might just help you forget that lost hour of Saturday night sleep. Call or email us at the shop if you need any more encouragement. And you can soon visit us at store #2 in Clarkesville if that site is closer to your Mapquest route to north Georgia trout nirvana. Good luck!