Your Natural Meter

This week’s rainy forecast spawned today’s UO fishing tip: use your personal turbidity meter! 

Turbidity is a measure of water clarity. Clarity dictates the species we aim for and the techniques we employ. While scientists use fancy meters, we can simply look down upon our natural meters: our submerged toes!  How many feet of visibility do you see?  Then adjust your own techniques to enhance your success!

In blood-red flows, with visibility less than a foot, it’s hard for fish to see anything. Cast big, dark flies on heavy tippet into soft shallows for a small shot at river stripers and trophy stream trout.

With vis at 2-3 feet, you have a great shot!  Again, toss big and dark or very bright streamers for river bass and stripers. For trophy trout, try big, dark buggers and leeches, big rubberleg stonefly nymphs, or bright pink San Juan worms. This is trophy time!!!

As streams clear and vis jumps to 3-4 feet, get more subtle and use more natural flies. For example, I’d look down at my shoes after a few hours at Smithgall and see that had Dukes already cleared a bit. I’d switch my San Juan from hot pink to shell (soft) pink and restore my catch rate. As the stream cleared further, I’d change to a small leech and then small hares ears and pheasant tails on thinner tippet to stay in the game.

So let your toes be your turbidity meters as welcome summer rains recharge area streams.  Judge a fish’s ability to see its forage and use the right bugs to match the water clarity. And, if the stream has some stain to it, remember a big net and a friend with a camera!

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 7/16/21

This week’s theme is “rain or shine” as our rainforest weather continues across the region. Be ready for low, clear summer flows and spooky fish between the PM storms. But be ready for brief, high, muddy slugs right after the storms. Both conditions will fish well if you fish them correctly: a) stealth and dainty bugs in skinny water; b) big ugly bugs/streamers and heavy tippet in the chocolate milk. Remember a raincoat, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug dope, and a headlamp. Head away from the sun for your best summer bets. Despite this being our “slow” season, today’s UO report is chock-full of successful angler stories, so tune into our long version on Facebook or blog.angler.management.

Good luck, fellow summer vacationers!

Wes’ Hot Fly List:

Dries: Micro chubby, Fat head beetle, Quick-site beetle, Parachute black ant,yellow humpy,  yellow sally at dark, and small parachute Adams (16, 18) in the shade.

Nymphs: Drowned ant, Soft hackle hare’s ear, hares ear nymph, Green weenie, Little yellow Sloan, frenchie. For stained water: tan mop, sexy Walts worm, brown Pats rubberlegs, and red squirmy worm.

Streamers & warmwater:

Black leech, Crittermite, Mini dragon tail, Triple double rainbow, Stealth jig, Bugger changer,  white and blue boogle bugs, white and black Kent’s stealth bombers.

Headwaters:

Wes reports: “Smoky mountain bluelining”

Atticus and I headed north earlier this week and fished one of my favorite spots in the Smokies area. We had a banner day on this beautiful and rugged brookie stream. We landed around a dozen natives.  Three of them were over 10” and one southern Appalachian taped just over 11”.  While our legs were sore the next day from the mountaineering,  it was definitely worth the effort!”

Dredger also trekked north to the Smokies last weekend and reported: “I went up late Friday afternoon to fish behind the storms. Water temp was 64F and clarity was good as I slipped into the midsized stream at 6PM.  I hi-sticked a dry/dropper combo through shaded bankside runs and boulder pockets- anywhere with some depth and cover.  The yellow stimmy was a good strike indicator for my deep dropper, but brought few strikes itself. I caught a handful of small browns and bows on the Frenchie, especially as the sun dropped at 7PM. I switched to a tungsten mop dropper at 8PM and its extra calories attracted larger fish.  I caught four nice bows to 9 inches and two decent browns to 11 inches.  The big one must have been a shark week fan, since he breached four times and got two feet of air.  At 830 I switched to just a #16 yellow sally dry and picked a few off the top to end my day. I drove out slowly from the park at slap-dark and was glad I did, as four elk munched green grass inside the Hwy 441 median at the Luftee visitors center.

UO buddy Rodney T also went north of the border and said: “Wild bows on dries in the upper XXX River at high elevation.

The drive was worth it.” Ed note: we think his lucky hat contributed to his success.  Get you one, too!

Stocker streams:

Athens Jay set aside his bass box for a day and did a trout trek. He reports: “Cooper Creek was very crowded but I had a few minutes and thought “what the heck.” Your easy egg pattern caught trout, chubs and war paint shiners. It was a nice, cool break in the national forest.”

The post-July 4th period is actually a good time for stocker stalkers, if they’re smart.  Here are some UO tips to fill your frying pan.  First, check the abbreviated DNR stocking lists each Friday.  Second, stalk the wash-downs. The pool under the bridge is known to everyone as a stocking site and fished by all, so skip it.  Park there, but walk the road downstream for a couple hundred yards before hopping in. Then fish back up to your vehicle. Hit each nook and cranny with two casts and keep moving upstream to cover some ground. My favorite baits are 1/3 of a night crawler or a small ball of Powerbait hiding a size 10 bait holder hook,knotted to 4lb mono. My ugly stick indeed bends, but never breaks, as I bushwhack through the instream rhodo thickets, where few anglers venture.

If you or your kids would like to flyfish instead,  use a short (6.5-7.5 ft) rod, short leader (7.5 ft, 4X), and small (#10 or12) black or olive woolly bugger. Get in at the bridge, roll-cast quartering downstream, stick your rod tip in the water, and twitch and short-strip the bug back up to you. Wade slowly downstream for 200 yards and hit the pockets. Swim the bugger under overhanging branches and just above knarly logjams. Twitch more than strip to give stockers plenty of shots at your wiggling streamer.

http://blog.angler.management/2021/03/untangling-trout.html

Mornings will fish better due to cooler water and fewer anglers, so be the early bird.

You’ll find the wash-downs that other anglers have walked past for weeks.  Drive up to the next likely stocking site and repeat the technique.

Save your afternoons for a streamside cookout (fresh trout?) and then some instream splashing with your kids, and you’ll be known as the champion fishing guide!

Trout Fishing | Department Of Natural Resources Division

Tailwaters:

Landon hit the Hooch and shared this: “I fished Buford Dam the other day until it got crowed around noon. My dry:dropper rig, fished in boulder fields and woody structure,  caught good numbers on 6x and a good drift. My rig was a stimulator with two tungsten bead midges below it.”

Rivers and Lakes:

UO guide Palmer checked in:

“We floated a Lanier river the other day, when it cleared a bit, and caught most of everything on bass poppers. The topwater action was fun.”

Landon hopped aboard his buddy’s boat and reported;  “Good morning on Allatoona! Spots and a few hybrids were chasing  bait on the surface, off and on, all morning! We caught most on a fluke/ keitech, with a few crushing our chug bug on top, early.”

Hank the Yank remains happy: “Nothing has changed since last week... carp and striper fishing in rivers is very good, especially for trophy stripers. Topwater bass on Lanier continues to be a wonderful option, especially with the full moon only 1 week away. “

Check out Henry’s Facebook page for more intel and some great pics:

Henry Cowen

That’s the latest fishing news from the hot, humid rain forest of north Georgia. Go early or late to avoid the sun and the afternoon showers and you’ll still have a great time.  Enjoy your wet-wades and the fact that you can feel your fingertips and toes. You’ll remember this summer fun when you’re shivering in a December trout stream. Call or visit either UO store if we can help you out.

The Real Deal!

Unicoi Outfitters is pleased to announce the addition of Mr. Israel Patterson to our staff. We are truly lucky to have Israel decide to include us in his homecoming plans!

Raised in the southeastern United States, Israel grew up testing the Georgia reservoirs for Largemouth Bass and exploring southern Appalachian streams for trout. He has fished from Baja, Mexico to Alaska, and east across the United States.  His photographs have been published in The Drake Magazine, The FlyTying Artist, and in multiple industry catalogs and advertisements.

After a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, Israel moved to Colorado and guided in and around Rocky Mountain National Park.  He specialized in backcountry, overnight fishing trips to high alpine lakes, as well as daily guide trips to small mountain streams. 

Israel recently returned to his native Georgia and enjoys chasing trout and warmwater species.  When not guiding UO clients or serving customers in our Helen store, Israel can be found traveling to the next destination in his search for new species and new cultural experiences.  

Israel, thanks for your military service to our country and for sharing your flyfishing expertise with anglers across it. We’re honored to have you join our UO family!

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 7/9/21

Its “summer siesta” time in north Georgia as our annual pattern of heat, humidity,  and afternoon storms settles in.  Rest your casting arm and take an afternoon nap.   

Your best bets are wild trout in cold, skinny headwaters before lunch, stockers in select streams, river bass in clear water, river stripers in stained water, early lake spots over humps, carp on the flats, and pond bream and bass at dawn and dusk. And maybe  a “road trip” to distant destinations, like the coast or the Rockies, if you can pull it off.  Enjoy the pics from UO friends Athens Alan, wildlife-watching at Rocky Mtn National Park, and Waycross Bert, chasing GA coastal reds with boat buddy Don.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Product-Service/Berts-Jigs-and-Things-1378689645475258/

I hear thunder as I write this at noon, so remember Wednesday’s stormflow tips, too. Gotta luv the summer spaghetti hatch!

http://blog.angler.management/2021/07/aim-for-rain.html

Wes’ hot fly list and UO guide and friend fishing reports follow on the long versions of this report at our Facebook page and blog.angler.management.

Good luck!

Wes Hot Fly List:

Dries: Micro chubby, Fat head beetle, Hard body ant, Bear’s hi-viz roberts

Nymphs: Drowned ant, Soft hackle hare’s ear, Green weenie, Trout crack, Little yellow Sloan

Streamers & warmwater:

Crittermite, Mini dragon tail, Triple double rainbow, Stealth jig, Bugger changer

Headwaters:

Small streams were low, clear, and about 65F at 10AM during my morning route. Get on the water early, be sneaky, and make the first cast count as you aim for each handful of fish, now piled into their summer drought refuges.

Hunter reports: “JT and I spent a half-day exploring some public water above Helen this week before the rains came in. We had a mixed bag of stocked and wild fish. We fished a stretch of water with stocked fish that wasn’t too deep, and did good in the low water with a dry/dropper setup of a large chubby chernobyl and your typical legs, eggs, and mops dropped below. When targeting the smaller wild fish, we had most of our luck on extra small terrestrials like micro chubbies, and a few eats on a greenie weenie dropped below it. “

Stocker streams:

Watch for a shorter list this week, by design. GAWRD typically stocks heavily in the spring to take advantage of abundant cold water and higher angler numbers.   

Go to the “frequency” page in here and read the very bottom of pages 1-2.

Trout Fishing | Department Of Natural Resources Division

Remaining fish from this year’s hatchery crop are then aimed at cooler, high elevation creeks and the chilly tailwaters for dedicated summer trouters.  Head for cold spots like Sarah’s, Tallulah, upper Hooch, Dicks, Rock, Cooper, and Buford and Blue Ridge dams for your summer stockers. Open hatchery space is then refilled each summer with 4-inch fingerlings, grown for next year’s stockings.

Rivers:

Rivers are fishing well for resident bass and bream - when they clear between storms. The Hooch at Highway 115 was 70F with 3 feet of visibility at 9 this morning. Conditions may change with the afternoon storms that just arrived here in White County.

Landon said, “Decent pick on a large Lanier trib before the holiday weekend boat traffic picked up.  We had about a dozen bass and a bunch of redbreast between both of us yak anglers. We tossed mainly small poppers to get some surface eats. Angling action died when the floating fleet of tubes and yaks increased just before lunch.”

Athens Jay:

“Just before the storm, conditions finally got right for wading down here in the Piedmont. I had less than an hour before dark to give it a quick try. Wood is good!

This intruder put up quite a tussle in the flow. Same fly as always.”

Splatek: “Spence and I tried trout worms, whacky-rigged on a euronymph rod in a local warmwater stream.  The rig is making the bream go nuts!”

Lakes/Tailwaters:

HenryC:  “Here's the skinny for metro Atlanta.  Lanier is "still" fishing nicely on the fly for topwater spotted bass. There will be plenty of action, especially this weekend with the new moon upon us. Best areas to target are points and humps  over a 15-30' bottom and you MUST fish over the brush. Sea walls are also still fishing well early in the day, with schooling fish seen chasing herring.

Striper fishing down the hooch is also fishing nicely for fly anglers. While I haven't been myself, I am seeing lots of photos of fish from Morgan Falls Dam and below. Finally and not least... carp fishing is very good when the Corp releases enough water.”

Henry Cowen

There’s your high-humidity report from Helen. Pack your raincoat, bug spray, and floating bugs the night before. 

Then c’mon up early, catch some fish, and snooze with a smile during your afternoon siesta.  UO nap king Jimmy recommends a streamside hammock in the national forest.  Call or visit either UO store for more intel.  Maybe we should stock some pillows, too?

Out Yonder

Jimmy recently returned from his summer trouting pilgrimage to the far West and filed this report. Enjoy!

“I spent a few days in the Yellowstone area at the end of June, hoping to catch the salmonfly hatch.  I was one week too early for the full-blown hatch but that didn't prevent me from having a good trip.  Fishing on the Madison was spotty but good.  Slough Creek was an interesting challenge as I picked a fight with one of the largest cutthroats I've ever seen there.  Over a period of almost two hours, I hooked it twice and had it refuse my fly eight times!  Never landed it.  The Gallatin was the best, and coldest, river by far.  I landed more, and larger, brown trout there this time than any time in memory.  I know the Rockies are dry fly heaven but on this day the big guys only wanted a Pheasant Tail. 

 

It's going to be a hot and dry summer out there this year.  If you plan to go, think about fishing early in the morning and sightseeing the rest of the day; or taking a nap.  Traveling to the NE corner of the park gave me an opportunity to see a grizzly mama and her two babies, two different cinnamon black bears, and three wolves.  So take some time to look around.  

Check with our friends at Blue Ribbon Flies for up-to-date information.

*NOTE:  First two pics are Gallatin browns.  Third pic is Madison Cuttbow.”

Call or visit either of our UO stores if we can help you with your own pilgrimage plans.

Aim for the Rain

As the tropical storm draws near south GA today, we are rooting for some rain events up here. Then we will aim for the rain!

Summer storms often cool north Georgia streams and deliver a slug of groceries to hungry predators, which have had slim pickings in this season’s low, clear waters. The stormflow’s stained waters also provide angler advantages. First, we can sneak up closer to our targets. Second, we can use bigger bugs. Third, we can use heavier tippet to winch in our trophies.

Summer stripers sulk, but come alive on storm surges.  They like to intercept stocked trout washed downstream during floods. Toss big rainbow trout-colored streamers or 6-inch long, black game changers to tempt them. Remember, fifty bucks and your 8-weight rod will get you a shot at Nacoochee Bend’s summer stripers. Call  the shop (706-878-3083) for details and reservations.

Resident, high-elevation trout relocate to soft pockets and bankside eddies. You’ll find them with bulging bellies as they take advantage of washed-in terrestrials (especially the spaghettti hatch) and dislocated nymphs.  Try a red squirmy, # 10 tungsten tan mop, or a #12 sexy Walts in those slow spots.

So watch weather forecasts, check USGS flow gauges, and call your favorite fly shop. (We know some good ones in Helen and Clarkesville.) Then grab your Goretex jacket and aim for the rain this summer!

UO Fishing Report - 7/3/21

Welcome to the UO holiday fishing report. Here’s a reminder that our Helen shop will be open tomorrow, July 4th, from 8AM to 1PM.

Our holiday theme is “hunt cold water.” Thursday night’s two inches of rain passed through our headwater creeks yesterday and our larger trout waters today. The Hooch in Helen was only slightly stained and running at low summer base flow this morning (3rd).

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 02330450 CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT HELEN, GA

Down in bass waters, the Hooch at Highway 115 was still pushing the muddy slug through, with visibility of only about two feet, on my way home this morning.

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 02331000 CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR LEAF, GA

Your best bets this week should focus on the coolest waters for trout : bluelines for wild fish, higher headwaters for stockers (GAWRD had a long stocking list to serve holiday crowds), anywhere if a sudden storm cools and stains streams, and the two icy trout tailwaters. Aim for the mornings to find the coldest water of the day.

Local ponds and lakes are good in the cool morning air for bass and bream. These last two species will also feed in warmer water, so the shadows at dusk are a good bet, too. Just avoid the sun, like they do. Give our bigger bass rivers (Hooch, Chestatee, Etowah, etc) another day or two to shed Thursday’s muddy rainwater to ensure higher success on your river floats. Stain is still good for stripers, however, so don’t shy away from turbidity too quickly.

Wes’ hot fly list and our UO staff and friends’ fishing reports follow on our Facebook page and at blog.angler.management.

Have a happy and safe holiday. Be careful if boating, given the huge holiday crowds.

Wes Hot Fly List:

Summer conditions are consistent, so the fly list is the same as last week’s selection.

Dries: Juan’s hopper, Quick-site beetle, Parachute ant, Yellow humpy, Stoneflopper, tan elk hair caddis.

Nymphs: Squirminator, Jigged prince, Green weenie,Frenchie, Bird turd

Streamers & warmwater: Headcase crayfish, May’s identity crisis, Bank robber sculpin, Stealth jig, Feather changer, BoogleBug 

Headwaters:

Landon and Accomplice hit a blueline high above Helen one afternoon this week. Alas, the catching was slow on a caddis dry/prince dropper combo in the low, clear water. Fish were definitely in afternoon fright mode, and Landon suggested that mornings would fish better.

In contrast, UO young gun Atticus hit some north slope headwaters this week and had some good times, scoring the hat trick on little wild bows, browns, and specks on his caddis and stimmy dries.  Best fish was a 12-inch brown hooked and uncapped on his start up the creek, and hooked and fondled on his way back downhill several hours later.

Stocker streams:

These will fish well before lunch and if you beat the holiday crowds. Check out WRD’s long holiday stocking list. Remember that they’ll drive stockings farther upstream to avoid water temps over 70F and give you good shots at the stockers.  Hint: hit the smaller, lesser-known streams early.

Trout Fishing | Department Of Natural Resources Division

UO guide Hunter reports:

“We fished a few public water creeks around Helen yesterday. The key was finding places that had been recently stocked, if you don’t have luck keep moving till you find the fish. Once you find them, small streamers like wooly buggers or dry droppers in the shallow pools with legs, eggs, and worms beneath are the ticket. Water is basically back to normal after that Thursday night rain.”

Private Waters:

They fished well as we wrapped up our spring season on them. Enjoy new UO staffer/guide Israel’s video of the release of a nice Nacoochee Bend bow. 

 Mornings fished well on dry/dropper combos with light tippet, and the bite shut down  by 10 or 11.  As river temps now approach or exceed 70F, we’ll not fish for these trout until cool temps return in the fall.

We still offer guided trips to our USFS-permitted sites in the national forest. If you want to learn trouting basics or chase wild fish, give us a call and line up a guide.

We also offer unguided river striper trips in Helen. Fifty bucks will reserve you two hours at dawn or dusk to chase these fish with your eight-weights  and trout-colored streamers while the shadows are on the river. Call the fly shop for details and reservations. If you hit it at first or last light, or in a muddy stormflow, you’ll have a great shot at a couple 5-10 pound, striped submarines.

Tailwaters:

Landon:  “No photos but I fished the Hooch TW at XX. Bridge Tuesday after the am storms. Pick was good on a hares ear jig with a black zebra midge, both under a dry. I caught 4:1 on the midge vs hares ear.”

RonW:  “The fellas and I fished Buford Dam again last Saturday 6/26.  It was a slow day for us all. Moe landed 2 rainbows right out of the gate on a dry. Kurt got one or two as well on the dry. I had  nothing but a single  splash and then it  went dry for several hours. We tried nearly everything in the box with not so much as a tap.  The switch turned on around 1pm with them slamming midges. Still nothing for me until the last 30 minutes when I finally landed a feisty rainbow on the dry part of my dry dropper rig around 2pm.

I bailed after that and headed home to perform my domestic duties with a smile on my face. I bet Mr. Heron cleaned up behind me.”

Rivers:

River bassing has been good when they’ve been clear enough for residents to spot our bugs and streamers. 

Dredger went north of the border last weekend and had a decent dusk for smallies on his stealth bomber. Biggest was only 11 inches, but they were all on top and a fun change of flavor.

UO-Helen manager Wes weighed in:

 “Between guided trips and an afternoon of personal fishing, I have been able to get after river bass a few times in the last couple of weeks. The name of the game is adapting your tactics based on water conditions and how the fish respond. The topwater action has been good in lower flows when the water has good clarity. UO sales associate Joseph Clark got this 19.5” fish on a stealth bomber recently.

In dingy water, baitfish fly patterns or spinnerbaits seem to do the trick. Don't be afraid to dredge as well. On a recent guide trip, we caught a few on top early before the bite dried up. We were able to find a few more bites and some larger fish by swimming a crawfish fly near the bottom.”

UO buddy RodneyT, director of the North Paulding High School Flyfishing club, is once again on the hunt for his GA Bass Slam. He knocked off a few species and shared pics of pretty Bartrams and Chattahoochee bass.

Where? I don’t believe he said!

Slam info here:

https://georgiawildlife.com/fishing/angler-resources/GeorgiaBassSlam

Athens Jay reported on his mid-GA trek, and backed it up with a pic of a Shoalie with wide shoulders:

“There are still fish in Piedmont rivers that will eat a fly, especially a black fly.”

Ed note: he showed me a big, black bunny leech and a fat black stealth bomber.

Ponds:

MiniMe Splatek is refining his newfound bassing game. Soft plastics are scoring on their local “hood pond” and he landed a hefty lagemouth on a pumpkinseed crawfish pattern. Congrats Spencer!

Lakes:

HenryC is still finding some plump , Lanier spots while throwing topwater plugs, bugs, and streamers on midlake humps and along breakwaters, especially in the mornings.  Jimmy and I tried it yesterday afternoon. Alas, we got skunked! It was still a nice boat ride, and we got off the water before the holiday crowds packed it too badly.  Hey, that why it’s called “fishing.”

Henry Cowen

Afar

Wes had a great fish story! Enjoy his South Georgia getaway:

“I headed down to “The Swamp” with my buddies Jackson and Brandon to target Bowfin, better known locally as mudfish.

We had a blast catching these hard fighting natives. You know when a bowfin hits your fly because they slam it hard! Cypress trees covered in Spanish moss, prairies of lily pads and flowers, and countless birds and alligators made for a very scenic trip. In two days of fishing, we probably landed around 40 fish and disconnected with another 20 or so. We also had some cool by-catches including Chain pickerel, Florida gar, and a few large warmouth. “

There you go, everything but the fireworks. Enjoy your holiday time, hopefully wet-wading or floating somewhere cool and shady. Contact either of our UO stores if you’d like a cheerleader to celebrate your angling independence.