Welcome to UO’s second report of the month. Weather and water conditions remain the same and the fishing is still very good, despite low stream flows. Headwater trout are still hitting dries, even during these warmer mornings, while newly stocked Delayed Harvest trout haven’t been very picky in their selections. Lake bass are still good and reservoir stripers have come on strong! Take advantage of this mild weather while it lasts. Check out all the details and some fine fishing videos in our full report.
It’s worth your extra click here:
http://blog.angler.management/
Stop in either UO shop in Helen and Clarkesville for some hot fall flies and even hotter intel. Good luck everyone!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Dries: chubby Chernobyl, orange stimulator, parachute Adams, parachute black ant, tan elk hair caddis.
Nymphs & Wets:
DH streams: Eggs, squirmy worms, buggers, lightning bugs, red tag jig, soft hackles.
Mountain streams: Pheasant tails, micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, drowned ants.
Streamers:
Sparkle minnow, buggers & leeches, micro dungeon, bank robber sculpin.
(Bass) Clouser minnow, party crasher, finesse changer, jiggy craw, crittermite.
(Panfish) amnesia bug, small chubby Chernobyl, bluegill spider, dry and wet ants.
Headwaters:
They remain low, clear and cool with these dry days and mild nights. Dries are even a best bet in the mornings because our warm overnight temperatures haven’t chilled those bluelines. They may be easier to fish than larger streams during the next two weeks, as fewer leaves will clutter their smaller flows.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1
Delayed Harvest Streams:
The naive November 1st stockers hit just about anything thrown their way last weekend. NC stockers will also be gullible over the next two weeks.
After some sore lips, they should be smartening up a bit. Try some dry/dropper combos in smaller streams like Smith DH. Try a small chubby or stimmy for the dry and then cycle through some small (#16-18) nymphs on Wes’ list til you find the hot pattern of the day. Start with 5X tippet but be ready to go to 6X when the water is low and the sun is high. On larger waters like the Toccoa and Chattooga, try an indicator rig while fishing upstream. Use a big attractor nymph (rubberleg stone, egg, squirmy) for the first fly and drop a smaller nymph (rainbow warrior, lightning bug, beaded pheasant tail) a foot behind it. Then strip a woolly bugger or sparkle minnow on your downstream return to your vehicle.
A Maryland vacationer used our intel to have a fine Saturday morning on Smith DH and shared these pics.
UO buddy RSquared: “Several North Carolina DH streams received fish this week. They are biting almost anything right now but they smarten up and get picky very fast!!! “
UO buddy CDB:
“I fished North Georgia DH Waters this week. The freshly stocked fish are still very eager. Egg patterns were fairly reliable and if you were willing to drop down to very small size eggs, the catch rate went up significant. Peach in about a size 20 was most productive. If you are comfortable using a double nymph set up don’t be afraid to begin the transition to more realistic patterns. Blowtorches worked as did size 18 pheasant tail patterns.
Private waters were all low and while they have some tannic color from the leaves in the water, they are still relatively clear. And the slow water gives the fish a long time to look at your pattern. Mottled Pats rubber legs and microleeches fished deep were effective. Don’t be afraid to use extra split shot to keep your line as straight possible. Takes are fast and subtle. I spent a great afternoon at Nacoochee Bend. I dropped tippet size to 5.5x, and quill body jigs like Halo Points were the top producer followed by black Higa’s SOS.”
Tailwaters:
No recent reports. It’s still a fine time of year to headhunt for Hooch and Toccoa trophy browns with big, articulated streamers in the stained water. The males should be in fighting mode during spawning season.
Private Waters:
Book with us soon!
https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/guided-fishing/
How many trout can you count in here?
UO-Helen manager Wes: “The fall fishing remains great on private waters. I ran a few trips this past week and each day was successful. Bugs like soft hackles, hares ears, micro girdle bugs, and drowned ants worked well for me.
Streamer fishing was also great on the cloudy days. Flies like sparkle minnows and bank robber sculpins were the top producers. “
Jimmy, Kathy, and several more UO staffers had a big time guiding the Casting for Recovery-GA retreat guests to fishing fun last Sunday morning. All the gals, brand-new to flyfishing, hooked leaping rainbows and nearly all landed fish.
Smiles and high-fives were unlimited! Check out Glenn’s pics here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15cN4pvW1L/?
Click here to learn more about CFR, donate, or to apply for a future retreat:
https://castingforrecovery.org/about-our-retreats/
Warm Rivers:
UO buddy Athens Jay: “I coached 3 ladies from the UGA 5 Rivers club last night on river bass fishing. Anna, who is new to fly fishing, caught her first bass on a fly!”
Lakes:
UO owner Jimmy and his grandson, Crosby had a fine mountain lake bassin’ trip with UO manager Jake recently. They caught some nice spots and largemouths on blueback-imitating plugs.
Here’s one more good look at Gayland’s 9.82 pound mountain largemouth, caught on last week’s trip with Jake.
UO guide Joseph: “Striper fishing on Lanier has been getting better by the week. We’re starting to see catchable fish on top on a very consistent basis around open water, humps and coves. While most schools don’t stay up for long, we are finding some very nice fish that are staying on top for several minutes at a time. As far as tackle we are still having success on conventional gear when fish are moving fast, but we have been catching some nice fish on flies. For lures serpentine swim baits, walking baits and other topwaters have been doing well. For flies small game changers, clousers, and Henry’s somethin else have been effective. It should only get better from here on to January. Call the shop to book a trip!”
UO buddy AJ: “Fished yesterday with a buddy of mine and we had a great day on Lanier.... Double digit stripers on the fly kind of day. Good groups feeding on top throughout the day. Figuring out what they wanted and how to present it was key. Don't be afraid to play with your retrieve. I'm a firm believer in strip strip pause, but yesterday they wanted a very fast retrieve. Unweighted baitfish patterns were the ticket. Some gulls and loons have started showing up, so that always makes things a little easier. Reach out if you're interested in getting out there with me! My website is finally up and running: www.lanieronthefly.com”
Afar:
UGA 5Rivers buddy Adam: “Spent a day and a half fishing in the salt marshes south of savannah. High tide only produced a few speckled trout on conventional tackle. Day 2 was when redfish were caught. The falling tide exposed oyster beds and lowered water levels so that redfish were visible. After having no redfish sightings, we had a finally had a follow. after that, we beat the bank and found were the redfish were. Two redfish ended up in the boat. Both of them were first time saltwater fish on a flyrod. Unfortunately , 90min after the first fish was caught, we were at the boat ramp and on the way home. One fish ate a craft fur shrimp pattern and the other ate a black leech pattern, both tied by our boat captain, Nathan.”
Athens MD’s far afield report:
“Great few days on the Gulf of Mexico in the FL panhandle last week. Several species of fish pulled from the clear water on the fly rod. I was shocked twice by lesser electric rays while making my way to the outer sand bar to target fish feeding on the surface. I also cast to pods of small crevalle jacks cavorting with their backs and yellow tails out of the water yards from the beach. Caught angry bluefish in knee-deep water, and had a four foot shark drag my conventional surf rod into the…surf. As happens with our “vacations”, I wore myself out and slept well.”
The weather and fishing are mighty fine. Don’t let this month pass you by. Stop in either UO store and we’ll point you toward November success.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
