Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 5/2/24

May wraps up our great spring season. Right now trout stream flows are decent, clarity is great, and temperatures are still cool enough in the larger streams for continued, great trout action. The biggest challenge is stalking spooky, experienced fish in clear water when the sun is high. Perfect drifts of dries and nymphs and/or effective caddis surface skates bring much higher success. Going early and late, when the shadows are on the water, also helps your catch rates.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1

You may have to dodge some weekend showers, so bring your raincoats. Hopefully the rain will be spotty and the dry fly action will still be hot. Bring a few squirmies just in case the streams stain and the earthworm hatch heats up.

Speaking of hot, the ponds sure are. See Jay’s awesome report. And for jumpshooting, give Lanier a try. See Alex’s report and notice his ditching of the trolling motor to achieve his striper success.  Jimmy has a great story on his bucket list dorado trip, too.

It’s another prime weekend to wet a line in our region, so don’t miss it. Soak up all of our timely intel in the full report before you head out:

http://blog.angler.management/

 (Link in bio)

Good luck.  May you find your fish on top and your flies matching the hatch! Stop in either UO store to resupply.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries: stimulator, 409 Yeager yellow, parachute Adams, parachute light Cahill, BWO, micro chubby, yellow humpy, tan elk hair caddis. 

Nymphs & Wets: 

Yellow soft hackle, gold ribbed hares ear, girdle bug, CDC pheasant tail, fast water prince, red squirmy worm and peach egg for stockers.

Streamers & warm water:

(Trout) Squirrely bugger, sparkle yummy, bank robber sculpin, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers. (bass & stripers) Cowens somethin’ else, gray/white clouser minnow, finesse changer, polar changer, crittermite, jiggy craw.

Headwaters:

Two words: Prime Time! Go while streamflows still hold out and bugs are hatching at high elevations. Carry some yellows along with your tans.

UO buddy RSquared: “I was able to get away to North Georgia this past week & I found some wild rainbows that were looking up in a stream that everyone knows but nobody names! They liked my size 14 Parachute Adams and it was the only fly I used. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I have my kayak loaded into my truck & I'm on the way to the farm where I will be pursuing Coosa Redeye's.  That will be in next week's report!”

UO buddy Splatek : “Snuck out to

IDBIS Creek Monday and landed about a dozen and a half rainbows. Sun didn’t come out like it was supposed to, which I think accounted for them hitting hard early then turning off midday. 

Very little dry action except a few looks; all action was on a small bug drug along the bottom.”

UO-Helen manager Wes: “Atticus and I got snuck away this week on a backpacking trip in the Smokies. We saw lots of yellow sallies and mayflies hatching and caught quite a few specks on 409 Yeager yellows and stimulators.”

UO buddy Skilz:  “Our trio had a great day on our favorite waters north of the GA border, with 74 fish caught in total.  Wild rainbows were abundant among some nice stocked fish as well.  Stonefly in size 8, Walt's worm, and pheasant tail patterns in size 14 & 16 did major damage euronymphed with 5x tippet.  Airborn flies were visible such as mayflies and golden stones but only several rising fish were spotted from morning to midday,  so we did not focus on fishing dries and it paid off!”

Delayed Harvest: 

They continue to be a ton of fun for dry fly flingers that arrive late and fish til dark.

UGA 5Rivers club exec Coop: “Yesterday was awesome! I spent some time catching fish in upper Smith DH via a tiny pheasant tail fished under a buoyant yellow stimmy. Then I headed high above Helen and caught a lot of little wild rainbows on caddis and cahill dries. They were all beautiful. Cahills were hatching and fish were looking up!”

Rabunites Bluejay and Dredger hit Chattooga DH last Friday afternoon.  It was another epic trip. Fish were rising in the first pool they entered around 4PM. Alas, the bows and browns were eating emerging, microscopic BWO’s, so small that their size 22 dry flies were too big to match the hatch. They still caught a few stray fish on the #16 tan caddis lead fly and the BWO trailer.

When that action died, they hiked upstream further to a new series of pools and found slightly larger BWO’s hatching and fish busting them. 

Here their BWO dries were small enough for a match, and it was game on for hours.  Fish were caught via dead drifting and skating, with about 4 on the BWO to each one crushing the caddis.  A few more caddis and Cahills hatched as the sun set, but the main attraction remained those tiny BWO’s on that heavily overcast day.  Last fish was fondled at 830PM and the satiated duo hiked out via headlamps at 845.

Stocked Waters:

There should be another long Friday list posted again this week. Stockers are suckers for drifted eggs, squirmies and rubberleg stones and small streamers twitched often while slowly stripped back upstream. Put your rod tip just a few inches off the water surface during the retrieve and you’ll hook more streamer eaters.

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Private Waters: 

They continue to fish well, but now require better techniques due to clear water and educated fish.

GATU Dream Trip runnerup prize winner Linda Schultz enjoyed her prize this week. She had a very successful trip to the Hooch at Nacoochee Bend.

UO-Helen manager Wes: “I fished with Scott and Colin on private water last weekend. With the right fly and a good drift, we were able to fool some big fish. Changing tactics at each spot was important. In slower pools and runs soft hackles and chubby’s worked well. In faster runs streamers and stoneflies were the ticket.”

Tailwaters:

UO buddy RonW: “The trio hit the Dam last Saturday with plans of trying something new. We got in at our normal entry point and fished our way down to the top of Bowman's Island. We went to the left and fished all the way down to the bottom of the island and then crossed the main stem of the river and worked our way back up the trail to our starting point. 

It certainly wasn't a high numbers day although fish were caught by all. We found plenty of risers but just couldn't get them to commit to our tiny #20-24 dries.  Overall it was another great day on the water for some much-needed hydrotherapy.  It's always nice fishing new water, especially in good company! “

UO buddy Spangler: “The Hooch yielded only a bunch of stocker rainbows but it’s better than a skunk! Almost hit for the cycle: got one on a streamer, one on a nymph under an indy, one euronymphing, and one under a dry. Nothing on the dry, though.”

Warm Rivers:

UO guide Joseph: “First wet-wading fish of the year for me and it was a dandy! Caught this fish in the river overhand-stripping a game changer in super fast water.”

Reservoirs:

New UO buddy AJ: “I fished Tuesday AM and had a really good morning! Water temp was around 68* when I put in at 6:30am. Throwing topwater at points and blow throughs at first light got me into spotted bass. Around 7:30am, I looked across the lake and saw a good group of stripers busting bait on a clay bank. I took off over there and got a solid 12lb striper on an intermediate line and a Finesse Changer. That group came up 4-5 more times over the next 45 min, but they were up and down extremely fast. I managed one more striper after giving up trying to chase them down with the trolling motor. 

After that school disappeared, I went back to hitting reef markers and clay banks/points for spots. Caught some decent fish throwing bone colored topwater and chrome magic swimmers. I started seeing some schools of stripers on top again around 10am. Some really good groups too, but they were up and down quick and moving FAST! I managed to get 2 more stripers running and gunning on schools with the big motor. 

Went back to spot fishing the rest of the AM and continued to get fish on spinning gear and managed to get a few on Game Changers as well. I was getting ready to head in, but decided to hit one more blow through with the chrome Sebile and landed a good 3lb spot. As I went to lip the fish, he decided to flop, burying a treble DEEP in my thumb. I immediately remembered why I quit fishing with treble hooks! Get out there while the getting is still good! Summer water temps will be here before we know it. And remember to pinch those barbs!”

https://www.instagram.com/lanier_on_the_fly?igsh=MTJ1MDNwcG5mZW5oMw==

Ponds:

UO buddy Athens Jay: “Pond fishing is prime now. Fish are finally starting to eat on the surface, but a dropper will definitely produce more eats and the delightful possibility of a double. Brown Pat’s Rubberlegs with no bead is still the top producer for a mix of bass and bream. A Boogle Bug or a black/yellow Stealth Bomber will make a great strike indicator. If you have a bamboo rod, use it for some real entertainment. “

Afar:

UO owner Jimmy: “I recently returned from a trip to Argentina where we fished for Golden Dorado.  Our group of 5 anglers was hosted by SET Flyfishing, one of the most professionally run organizations you'll find.  Dorado have been on my bucket list for quite some time and, as they say, I ain't gettin' any younger.

I've been fortunate to trout fish the Patagonia Region of Argentina with SET Flyfishing for a number of years but this adventure was unlike anything I've experienced.  The setting for Dorado is in the northern part of the country on the Parana' River right next to Paraguay; we even had an exquisite dinner on the Paraguay side of the river one evening.

Fishing for these giants with a fly rod is an all-day event from sun up to sun down with a nice 3-hour siesta in the middle.  Dorado are vicious hunters and when they attack your fly it's no holds barred.  Their first reaction is to launch themselves skyward in an explosion of water.  After 4 or 5 more leaps, they'll go down and bulldog you.  No screaming runs, no fear of running out of backing; just brute force.  Once you boat one, the fight isn't over.  We were warned from day one to never reach into a Dorado's mouth to remove a hook.  You'll pull back your fingers with all the meat shredded off.  You'll take this seriously after you see their jaws automatically clamp down on your pliers as you try to get your fly back.  They bite so hard there's a resounding "CLING!!!" when teeth hit metal.

It's definitely a bucket list trip, maybe one I have to fill again in the future.”

Your long spring menu of opportunities continues this week. That menu will shorten soon with rising water temps and the completion of some key insect hatches, so don’t delay. Get out there soon and enjoy the great action!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 4/26/24

 

Due to a dry week, our trout streams are clear and flowing at seasonal norms or slightly lower. Water temps are perfect, ranging from the high 50’s to the low 60’s. The spring bug buffet continues, with caddis and mayfly hatches in full swing, and some early arrivals of yellow Sally stones. It’s a mighty fine time to be a dry fly flinger. Go late and stay later. Got a headlamp?

Stocker streams are getting large doses, and many stockers are larger than past average sizes.  Big, wide stocked streams are great places for flyfishing beginners to practice and score early success. 

Ponds are hot, while reservoirs have been fickle for fly rodders. Bass are the better bet, but the lake surface temps are still cool enough to keep some stripers in the shallows. Again, large size is compensating for their smaller numbers. 

UO will be at Orvis-Atlanta on Saturday and Orvis-Alpharetta on Sunday in support of those stores’ fundraising efforts for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Stop in and say hi!

Cast farther, into our full report, to catch all the secrets of success by our guides and fanatic fishing friends. You’ll be glad you did. Just ask “Spangler.”

http://blog.angler.management/

 (Link in bio)

Get out there soon, before May’s warm days start heating up our waters and make the fish finicky. Good luck!

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

Wes’ Hot Fly List:  

Dries:  Rage Cage Caddis, tan elk hair caddis, parachute light cahill, tan sparkle dun, Drymerger March Brown, parachute Adams, griffiths gnat, yellow Sally or small stimulator, or small micro Chubby Chernobyl as a headwater dry for your droppers.

Nymphs & Wets: 

Yellow soft hackle, gold ribbed hares ear, girdle bug, CDC pheasant tail, fast water prince, red squirmy worm and peach egg for stockers.

Streamers & warm water:

(Trout) Squirrely bugger, sparkle yummy, bank robber sculpin, and mini shimmer buggers for stockers. (bass & stripers) Cowens somethin’ else, gray/white clouser minnow, finesse changer, polar changer, crittermite, jiggy craw.

Headwaters:

Flows are slightly normal, they’re crystal clear, and temps are prime. Fish are looking up for hatching bugs. Clear water makes them spooky, however, so your stealth game is tied to your drift game in terms of importance. Sneak up and drift a small, buoyant chubby, stimmy, or caddis and you’ll score.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 02176930 CHATTOOGA RIVER AT BURRELLS FORD, NR PINE MTN, GA

https://littleriveroutfitters.com/pages/fishing/report.htm

The UGA 5Rivers duo of Van and Conner: “We got into some big wild brookies high above Helen last weekend. They ate Chubbys, stimulators, pheasant tails, and hares ears.”  They asked us to plug their noble fundraising cause and we are obliging:

https://givebutter.com/casting/university-of-georgia-30

UO staffer Iz hit some local headwaters on Wednesday and said: “The Micro-bows were pretty darn feisty. The green weenie and a stimmy above it were getting it done.”

UO buddy RSquared: “I took a 4-day trip north of the Ga. Line somewhere in the Nantahala National Forest. I focused on high altitude, native Brook Trout. A Parachute Adams was my most effective dry fly. However, with the rain & high, fast streamflows, a jig-head Pheasant Tail produced most of my fish. It was time well spent!”

Delayed Harvest: 

It’s the GADH home stretch. Those release rules end on May 15, so don’t miss this spring’s chance to load up on dry fly eaters. And if the dry action is dead at midday, just dredge some small, buggy nymphs and soft hackles while you’re waiting for the shadows to fall and the adult insects to fly.

You have more chances at NCDH streams, since that state’s special regulations end in early June. Fish locally now and plan a few road trips north for late May.

UO buddy Spangler: “Thanks for the advice. Smith Creek DH was a good call.  The hour before dark starting about 730 was insane…they were jumping out of the water grabbing bugs. I shook hands with about 12 on a little cream colored elk hair caddis, but only brought 7 to the net. Was an awesome evening!”

UO buddy CDB: “I heard some of the NC DH waters don't have a lot of fish in them, so I went to check.  There are still plenty of fish there and some good ones.  Leave your eggs and mops at home.   By now these fish have been caught a couple times and have seen roughly 35 million eggs and mops drift by.  You can catch some fish on them, but it won't be nearly as productive as the flies I mentioned in my private waters report. And make sure you put some weight on there and get your offerings deep.  The best fish are deep or tucked up next to obstructions.  I am using a long dropper as well.  The matchstick on the bottom is sitting 18" or more below my top fly, which has typically been the halo point, the higa or a midge emerger type of fly.  With the crystal clear water right now, if you aren’t sure you got the right stuff and are not getting any takes, drop down the tippet size. “

Rabunites Bluejay and Dredger trekked to Nan DH last Monday afternoon. The catching was slow in the high midday sun, with more fish hitting the dropper than the dry. That all changed as the shadows began to fall at 5PM and the “switch turned on.”  It stayed on for the next two hours. A mix of real bugs brought fish to the surface. 

Best dry flies were a small tan caddis and a yellow Sally, fished in tandem. Once again, many more fish hit the upstream skitter than the downstream dead drift. Flatlanders call it “skating:”

https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/pro-tips-skate-way-trout

That duo is headed out the door to Chattooga DH later today in search of more dark-30 action. They’re armed with caddis, cahills, sallies and headlamps.  Follow their lead this weekend.

UO buddy Lucky:  “A few of us with UGA 5Rivers were up in NC this past weekend. We fished two creeks as well as the Nantahala River DH section.  Flows weren’t too bad but the water was very stained, so swinging a black wooly bugger through pools and working up against the current paid off. With the warmer weather, some folks had good luck on tan caddis flies too. Warm weather fishing is here and we’re all ready to go back!”

Stocked Waters:

Stocker fans should have another long list of choices later today. If you’re brand new to flyfishing, pick a large, stocked stream and toss a small, black or olive woolly bugger to score early success in your new sport. Roll cast it downstream into fishy waters, stick your rod tip almost into the water, and retrieve that streamer back upstream with lotsa rod twitches between short strips.

https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout

Private Waters: 

They’ve fished very well this week for veteran anglers and rookies with UO guides.  Resident fish are experienced and now picky in the clear waters with a good supply of drifting insects. It’s been more of a hatch-matching game, with deep nymphs and streamers working better in the high sun.  Perfect drifts have been required for nymph tossers . When there’s shade on the water, some dry/dropper combos and swung wet flies have worked well. Make sure you have some yellow in both your dry and wet fly boxes and a good stealth game when stalking those pools.

UO guide Caleb: “Rainbow Point on the Soque fished very well yesterday morning using stonefly nymphs. We saw a few chases of my client’s streamer,  but a double nymph rig was the way to go. A drag-free drift almost always produced a look, with many resulting in an eat, too, by the river’s feisty rainbows.

UO buddy CDB: “Mostly private water this week, but some DH, but the tactics that worked have been largely consistent.  First, you need to be deep.  Streamers - zonkers, wooly buggers, matukas - have worked well.  Colors like my favorite Thin Mint are still working well, and I am starting to shift to contrasting colors now.  Black and Yellow Buggers are working well.  Olive and White or Brown and White have been good.   Put a BB or even an AB 4 to 6" in front of a bead head bugger.  You might lose some on the bottom, but you need to be deep.  My good friend Bob nailed this monster meat muncher using a size 4 Thin Mint, and did a masterful job battling the fish with his little 5 wt. One of the biggest rainbows I have ever netted.  Certainly didn't expect to see a fish of that size in there - you never know!

Nymphs are productive, especially quill bodies.  Halo Points and Higa's SOS black size 18s have been hot.  Matchsticks size 16 or even 14 make a good anchor fly if you are using a double. “

Tailwaters:

No recent reports. Thanks to heavy rainbow stockings and a lack of rain to muddy them, they should be fishing really well.

Reservoirs:

New UO buddy AJ: “I was only able to get out Sunday in the past week. Fished 9-3 and I was hoping to find some schooling stripers with the overcast and rain. No stripes to be had, but lots of good spotted bass, throwing topwater Zara Spooks and fishing Magic Swimmers on points and blow throughs. Water temps were low to mid 70s, so stripers should still be around for a few weeks until warmer water sends them deep for the summer.”

Ponds:

Athens Jay is still wearing out his pond bream. He reports: “Earth Day and the impending full moon compelled me to make a brief kayak trip this week. I fished prime time after work and had a very productive trip. Many large bluegill were found in shallow water, and many bass were lurking nearby. All were quite interested  in the brown Pat’s Rubber legs I offered (no bead, no bobber, just a slow erratic retrieve). I think a popper/dropper rig would have worked really well and hope to test that theory soon.”

ATL Road Trips:

UO will have a booth at both Orvis Events this weekend that will support Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s programs. Dredger will man the Saturday booth at Orvis-Atlanta, while Caleb will hold down our fort on Sunday at Orvis-Alpharetta. Stop by and chat with us in between the great seminars offered by Orvis guru Tom Rosenbauer.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/XzGPH2jVESqEjJoq/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Closing Kudos:

UO buddy and GATU state council prez RSquared: “This past weekend, GATU & the Cohutta Chapter of TU hosted the SouthEastern 5 Rivers Rendezvous in Western NC. We had over 50 students from eleven universities & one high school ( North Paulding High School) Every student caught trout, they networked & traded ideas, conducted a major clean up on local streams, had a great meal provided by GATU & Cohutta TU.  Despite the rain, they enjoyed nightly campfires and left the campground cleaner than they found it.  They are the enthusiastic future of fly fishing & cold-water conservation!!!”

Good luck this weekend. You still have a lot of opportunities to choose from, so go make memories before our hot Georgia summer arrives. 

Stop in either UO store (Helen, Clarkesville) for supplies and intel or visit either UO booth at the two Orvis stores this weekend for a few extra fish tales. Tight lines, y’all.

Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com