A Cast From The Past: Pflueger

Recently while going through some old family items, my wife came across a 1956 issue of Argosy magazine.  Now, you've got to be near or beyond retirement age to even remember Argosy so, if you're younger than that, it was a popular mens' magazine that began publication in 1882.  It finally went the way of the Dodo bird in 1978.  If you do a little research on it, you'll find that over the years the magazine has had some well-known writer's stories.  Horatio Alger, Upton Sinclair, Zane Grey and Edgar Rice Burroughs are among the more notable contributors.

What piqued my interest as I flipped through the aging pages wasn't the stories of Russian cold war defectors or the dangers of hunting wild water buffalo in Brazil.  The thing that got my attention were the ads for outdoor gear.  Mitchell Model 300 spinning reels with extra spool, a new fangled fiberglass rod, rod sack and aluminum tube for only $34.70.  If you didn't have $34.70 to spare, just send them $2.00 as a down payment and take 6 months to pay the balance.

Stevens Model 77 pump shotguns at $49.95.  Genuine Paratrooper Boots for $14.87, postpaid in the U.S.A.  A Smith & Wesson .38 Revolver, WW II issue, for $24.95.  And my favorite of all time, Shrunken Heads straight from the Amazon for only a buck fifty ppd.

The best ad in the magazine that got every angler's attention, however, had to be the one for Pflueger Reels.  The good old Medalist was selling for $8.50.  In today's dollars, that translates to $70.82.  I've always been enamored with the Medalist.  The smooth hefty feel and that sound.  Man, that solid "click, click, click" is as distinctive as the old two-cylinder "Poppin Johnny" John Deere tractor.  Some things just conjure up images of the past and a Pflueger Medalist is one of them.

Chestatee Tribs

Our ol' pal Landon Williams should have been studying for tests on Sunday, but instead did what any self-respecting fly-fishing student would do: went fishing! Here's a brief report:

I fished some Chestatee tributaries on Sunday just for a quick fix before I went back to studying for the day. Air temps and water temps were just about ideal with water temperatures ranging from 49-53 all day depending on the tributary and shade. Bug were hatching from about 10 am on and were thick all day. There were not real large numbers of any particular kind but mayflies seen included size 14 March Browns, 14-16 Hendricksons, and grey and black caddis around a size 14-16. I dredged really early before the sun came up real well on a certain trophy regulations stream with good results but caaught a lot on a 14 yellow stimulator and 14 Parachute Adams but caught just as many on a 16 tungsten bead hares ear 2 ft on a dropper rig once I hit tributaries for wild fish. Enjoy the pics.

Signed,
Test cramming cretin.

The creeks will be a little high with all the rain we've had the past couple days, but the above-average temps should really have the fish active - should be a great weekend on the water!

The Best Spring Break!

Spring Break for many college aged kids involves heading down to FL for a week of fun in the sun with friends.  While this was a realistic concept for me, I decided to spend several days in North Carolina with the hopes of peace of mind and plenty of hungry trout.  During my three-day jaunt, the weather could not have been more perfect with temperatures in the high 60’s and partly cloudy skies until late Sunday afternoon.

Half the trip was dedicated to fishing the Davidson, or “the D”, as many locals call it. There are three sections to the Davidson River that are of interest to anglers. First is the normal catch and keep section which is located the farthest downstream and is closed to fishing until April 1^st.  Next is the artificial lure only Catch and Release section which is located upstream of Avery Creek to the Pisgah Wildlife Education Center which houses a trout hatchery.  Finally the section of most interest perhaps is the catch and release, fly fishing only section located right next to the hatchery. This section of the Davidson is famous for its numbers of large browns and rainbows that are notoriously picky in terms of fly selection and even presentation. As much as I enjoy the challenge of fishing for large fish, I personally enjoyed fishing the lower sections of the Catch and Release section more for the shear fact that there are miles of great water downstream that house both great numbers and even some fish of size.  The fish, from what I experienced, were far less fussy downstream and the water a whole lot prettier and enjoyable to fish.  Smaller hares ears and zebra midges dragged behind a mohair leech or a San Juan worm worked well.

I called it quits and headed north to Great Smokey Mountains National Park in the hopes for even more scenery and wild trout.  I camped two nights at Smokemont and this last half of the trip was exactly what I had in mind for the whole trip.  Winter Stoneflies and a few Quill Gordons were even dancing for me on arrival.  However it was apparent after flinging various dry flies with meager results that the fish were just not looking up on Saturday.  I think this was in large part due to the fact that the water temperature topped out at a still fairly low at 46 degrees.  I reluctantly went back to dredging and salvaged the last few hours on my same Davidson rigs from the day before.

 

However, as many good anglers say, you cannot rely on what worked yesterday (literally in my case!) Sunday started out much warmer and the bugs were again out in force again by 10 AM. However there was something different and I could feel it after releasing my last trout dredged up in the morning. The water temperature hit that “magical” 50 degree mark and kept going up. After another half hour of fruitless dredging, I took notice of the poking noses in the next pool upstream and clipped off the shot and stuck on a caddis dry with a beadhead hares ear dropper 2 ft. underneath. The rest of the day was just downright silly with wild rainbows and browns hitting the dry and the suspended dropper, even in rather deep pools!

My trip was great, but there were three things that I came away with:

1. Always adapt to changing conditions.
2. Keep an eye on that water temperature.
3. San Juans work very well, despite what locals say!

Landon Williams

Flint River Needs Your Help

  

The Fight to Protect the Flint River at the State Capitol Continues in the House of Representatives Please contact your State Representative in the House TODAY and ask for them to REMOVE THE "AUGMENTATION" LANGUAGE FROM SB 213 OR VOTE NO.  Go here to find your Representative and contact information:http://openstates.org PLEASE make contact with your Representative by 10am Tuesday, March 24th SB 213 revises the Flint River Drought Protection Act of 2000, but contains a poison pill that threatens rivers, property rights, and taxpayers that must be amended out of the bill. The bill passed out of the House Agriculture Committee on Friday and now goes to the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee could amend the bill and they will decide when to send it to the full House for a vote. Background: SB 213 contains a provision that authorizes so-called "stream flow augmentation" projects -- including dangerous Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) projects -- and also prohibits downstream users from reasonable use of any water added by these projects. The provision threatens longstanding Georgia waters rights law, private property rights, and clean water. The augmentation language will allow a hugely expensive, tax-payer funded, multi-million dollar Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)  flow augmentation project to continue to be funded in the lower Flint. The water added by this project will flow to Florida while Georgia farmers and other property owners are denied reasonable use of it. The project is supposedly designed to add to Metro Atlanta's water supply but at an extremely high cost that is projected to fall on Metro Atlanta utility ratepayers, who already pay the highest water bills in the state. The augmentation provisions also allow the EPD director to deny water users that are downstream of an undefined "augmentation" project the use of any of the "augmented" water flowing past their property, without prior opportunity to be heard. This provision allows the State to control (or allow a private party to control) a portion of stream flow and prohibit the reasonable use of it, which is akin to prior appropriation of water -- a short step from western-type water regulation. State ownership of water is different from thestate's current regulation by permit. Property owners in Georgia have a "bundle" of rights that make up their property rights. An essential property right in that bundle is the right to reasonable use of water on or under your property. Allowing the appropriation and state control of water, and not allowing downstream property owners the right to reasonable use of it, radically diminishes that property right. PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE HOUSE and ASK FOR THIS DANGEROUS AUGMENTATION LANGUAGE TO BE REMOVED and if it isn't, VOTE NO ON SB 213.       We will continue to update you on the bill's status and ask YOU to take action for the benefit of the Flint River watershed.

Wild Trout Primer

From our ol' pal Landon Williams:

In case you haven’t heard, Georgia's trout season opening day is less than three weeks away!

For many of us, this reminds us that we will soon have many more miles of streams open to fishing that were previously closed and they will have many new fish stocked into them. However, there is a sort of fringe group that are anticipating this date for another reason:  the seasonal opening of all of the wild trout streams that abound throughout North Georgia.   Now, this is not to say that there are no wild trout streams that do not have the year round designation like our Delayed Harvest streams and bigger rivers such as the Chattahoochee near Atlanta or the Toccoa. However, the vast majority are closed to fishing after October 31 every year until they reopen the next spring at the end of March. Wild trout are a very desirable quarry for many, but some folks find it difficult to find good streams to fish outside of word of mouth from fellow anglers. Despite this, the resources exist out there and many are available over the internet if you are tech savvy!

Perhaps the most useful tool that one can acquire for researching wild trout streams is a quality map of the Chattahoochee National Forest. There are many maps that not only show the forest service roads but also many of the streams and their names as well. My personal favorite can be found by clicking here and the different areas of the forest can be accessed by clicking on the map.  The digital copies are nice but an actual in-hand copy is invaluable when you are out and about actually looking for the streams.  For those who are more adventurous and familiar with the technology,  GPS units are also handy when you get way off the beaten track, as you often do with this type of fishing.

Aside from finding the streams, there are a few things to remember in your search. Rainbows and browns are the most likely trout you are to encounter in our trout streams here in North Georgia.  They are quite numerous and can prosper in streams even at relatively low elevations. There are not many streams predominated by brown trout, but they do exist, especially at the lower elevation (1500 ft. or so) and lower gradient streams. Rainbows tend to take over as the water speed and gradient of the stream increase. Both species certainly do mix but these are generally good trends to follow if you are also following along with your research with a topographic map featuring elevations.

If you are interested in the highly coveted Brook Trout, generally the angler will have to go much higher up in elevation. This is not necessarily due to their demands for colder water but in large part due to being outcompeted by invasive rainbows and browns. Brookies are usually found in sections of streams located above large waterfalls that inhibit the movement of rainbows and browns into their sections of water. Many regular brook trout anglers are convinced that a section of water located above a “barrier falls” and 2500+ ft. in elevation is the formula for finding brook trout regularly. Also of interest are the “Back the Brookie” streams that have received stream enhancement projects from TU, GA DNR, and the Forestry Service. They are a great starting point, especially for new wild trout anglers.

Good luck in your research efforts in the coming weeks. The wet winter that we have had should have stream levels in great shape for this spring!

Gearing Up For Spring

Chuck Head got in a bit of fishing this week and he's fired up about the spring:

This egg heavy female smashed a large crawfish
pattern drifted deep through a prime looking run.

As surely everyone has noticed, we have actually had a winter in southern Appalachia this year. Unlike the last couple of dry and relatively warm winters, this year gave us more than a couple of good snows, and a few pretty incredible floods. This is often seen as an inconvenience, with favorite rivers swollen and unfishable for over a week at a time, leaving anglers with few options within a reasonable drive from home. However, there is a longer term payoff to the angler in exchange for a few more weekends spent at the tying desk or watching a favorite fishing DVD for the fifteenth time.

All of that high, cold water has done an incredible job of making our water look better than it has looked in a decade. Years worth of silt deposits have been flushed away, leaving the water to run clear and cold over rock instead of sand. This is a very good thing for the insects that populate the stream bottom, which, in turn, benefits the trout. The fish have eaten well all winter, have fought hard when hooked, and look bright and well fed when held and released. Standing high on a bank on the Hooch or at Dukes, watching the big boys feed, sliding actively back and forth, they look, for lack of a better word, happy. Plenty of food to eat and plenty of water over their heads: about as much as a trout could ask for.

 So what does all of this mean to the angler getting ready to head to the stream after being washed out this winter? I would say the key to consistent angling success this Spring is to adapt to conditions on your "new" home waters. If you haven't gotten a chance to get to your favorite stream this Spring, I'll go ahead and tell you - it looks different than it did last Spring, and better. Something some anglers don't realize is that high water events can change the way a stream looks and fishes completely. It doesn't matter if a favorite pool produced well last Spring, there may only be one or two fish calling it home this year, if that spot is even there at all. Floods change streams. I always tell people to fish where there should be fish, not where success was had in the past. Fish have no emotional ties to a spot in a stream, and as soon as it stops producing what a fish needs in terms of food and shelter, it will leave without as much as a kiss goodbye.

Another large part of success this Spring will lie in the angler's ability to get the flies in front of the fish. More water means more weight. Last Spring, I remember fishing one of my favorite spots with a single #1 split shot, while currently it takes four BB shot to get down to the fish. Having flies in front of the fish is more important than the flies themselves; they can't eat what they never see. Once down, flies with movement, color, and/or flash are a good way to get the fish's attention in the higher water. That fly is moving past the fish much faster than it was last Spring, so something needs to jump out at them. Using a Rubberlegs, San Juan, or a Lightning Bug type fly in front of a more natural trailing fly (Hares Ear, Pheasant Tail) is a good way to get a fish in line with your drift and then give the fish a choice of which fly he wants.

Monster Smallies

I've known Steve Hacker for a number of years and get to fish with him now and then on his home waters in north Alabama.  Steve is probably the foremost smallmouth guide in the region and knows those lakes as well as anyone who's ever fished them.  I get regular fishing reports from him but this most recent was so good I thought our readers would enjoy reading it.

Jimmy

PICKWICK FISHING REPORT

2.25.13
Water temp: 48.2 degrees
TVA discharge rate: spillways reopened; approx. 104,000 cfs/24 hr. period.
Lake elevation: risimg; approx. 419

Pinching myself to make sure that I'm not just having a dream about a day full of giant fish! Mat Lipscomb came over from the Memphis area and met up with former Memphis State college roommate and good friend Rick Benson. Having known both of them for years, I was really looking forward to the day. Little did we know when we launched what kind of day it would turn out to be!

Mat was the keeper of records, as he brought two sets of Chatillon scales with him, and a piece of paper and pen to keep track of what we caught. The first place we fished yielded nothing, but a move proved to be just what we needed.

Our five best today weighed in at almost 32 pounds! Our 10 best liked 2 ounces weighing 53 pounds! Each of us contributed big fish and had something to crow about!

Rick had the big fish at 9-1, a magnificent largemouth, his personal best. Mat had the big smallmouth, I think equaling his personal best, Rick had the big spot, and Mat said that I had the best 5 fish individual string of the three of us at 25-10.

We had a Grand Slam of smallmouth, largemouth, and spot—3 fish Slam—that weighed 17-11! Rick had a Grand Slam by himself that weighed 16-8! Where else can you do that? What a lake!

A couple of fish were caught early on on jerkbaits, but the great majority of the fish were caught on Strike King Pro Model Football Jigs in ½ and ¾ oz weights trailed with Rage Craw trailers. Even after washing and eating supper, my fingers still smell like Kick'n'Bass Craw, and that's just fine with me.

Greatly blessed we were today, as the weather and water conditions were pretty rough, and getting rougher as I write (I can hear the thunder approaching in the distance, and some storms with even bigger winds than the 20-25 mph we had today are forecast for tonight).

Enjoy the pix, and all the fish were released in great shape just as soon as we took these. A replica mount of the big 9-1 is planned.

God bless,
Steve Hacker
www.smallmouth.com

Brown Trout Tactics

From our Man In The Field, Landon Williams:

                  There is just something about Brown Trout that get many anglers’ hearts racing and a large grin on their face.  We all dream of catching a large hook-jawed brown that seems as old as the dinosaurs.  They are for many, the most prized and even most frustrating species of salmonid we can pursue here in the Peach State.  Despite our fascination with them, it’s a surprise to many anglers when they do catch one. This is due in large part to the varied habitat that brown trout prefer and the tactics used to target them.

                  Browns have a tendency of not being in the places many anglers expect when targeting trout.  Most anglers will fish in the classic riffles and runs that we think of as great trout habitat. You can certainly find brownies in these spots when they are actively feeding, especially when there are heavy hatches during warmer weather.  However, you are much more likely to find browns in the water you may find much less desirable to fish on a regular basis.  You know the type, usually deep and slow interspersed with structure such as woody debris and large boulders. This is indeed the type of water where you’re most likely to encounter a brown.  At the same time, this water may be the one where anglers are least likely to be successful.  Slower water gives an angler's quarry much longer to inspect the fly before deciding to eat or not.  This game for some can be quite exciting and challenging but for many anglers, who are just out to catch a few fish, it may seem it's not worth the effort.  Fear not however, as there are a few key areas where brown trout get the same type of protective habitat while still having more water flow over their heads and it can tip the scales in the angler’s favor.

There are three types of habitat that can be noticeably improve your chances of running into a nice brown trout, whether it be a Delayed Harvest fish or an elusive stream-born wild fish. The first and, in my opinion, most important structure a brown trout will utilize are undercuts. Undercuts exist here in GA quite often but not in the same sense you may think of in a meandering meadow stream with undercut banks out West.  Rather, I'm referring to large undercut rocks and my favorite, bedrock shelves. It is quite common to find brown trout hiding under such types of habitat, even if it is not particularly deep. 

A second type exists less frequently but still provides great habitat.  It's a back eddy.  Back eddies are usually slow and provide a large volume of food as it drifts away from the main current. It is not uncommon to find browns here and they can be targeted by casting into the “upstream” side of the back eddy (this may even mean casting downstream into the eddy’s current and fishing the drift back upstream.) 

Last but not least are those bank side pockets and runs that many anglers often ignore.  Current along the bank is usually quite slow compared to the middle sections of river.  Brown trout, who are fans of slower current, can be found in runs and riffles right next to the bank, especially if they have overhead cover in the forms of bushes or overhanging trees. This habitat type is even better if they incorporate any of the two previously mentioned attributes.

Fly selection in itself is secondary to having the proper presentation and a sneaky approach to your target area and quarry.  Good Luck and have fun in your quest for a trophy.  I know I will when I go after the large wild brownie who broke me off recently in a log jam!

Landon

Happy Birthday To You

     Growing up, my parents always made sure I understood that a man must always keep his word, and that he should never make a promise that he did not intend to keep. My parents' words bounced around in my head as I laid in the warm bed Sunday morning, wondering how mad my friend would be if I backed out on him on his birthday float trip. Then as I lay there in bed, another phrase popped into my head that my Father would always say: "You never know, unless you go". This was his way of telling all the people who asked him if he honestly thought that he was going to catch fish in extreme weather conditions.

    Knowing that the high for the day was only supposed to be around 38 degrees, I slowly climbed out of bed and began to get ready, knowing that I had made a promise that I intended to keep. As we drove to the river, I began to ask myself if I was mentally prepared to freeze my butt off and not catch any fish.

   We arrived at the river and prepared to set sail on what could be the most miserable day that I had faced this year. We launched the boats and managed to get enough of the frozen anchor rope out to hold the boats in place until we returned from our shuttle. After putting on every piece of clothing that I had brought with me, we departed down the river. In the first mile of the trip, I quickly changed my opinion about how the day was going to be, as we began to pull fish after fish into the boat. Not only were we catching fish, but we were catching quality fish, with the average being around 17 inches. As luck would have it, Ryan Williams managed to put the first fish in the boat on this particular trip, which was only fair, since it was his Birthday.

Ryan With A Quality Rainbow

      The boys in the boat behind us were not going to be outdone by a bunch of young guns, and immediately responded with a stud of a brown trout. We all stopped fishing and turned around to watch Mike wrestle with what he called: "The biggest brown he had been hooked into since his trip to Montana last year". The fish ran in and out of trees and tried his best to lose Mike, but Mike's expertise eventually brought the brute into the boat.

  

Mike's Big Brown

      As we continued to float down the river, we experienced what I will remember as one of my best days on the Toccoa River. Some days you put up numbers some days you put up size, but on this day we did both! I'm sure that Ryan couldn't have thought of a better way to spend his birthday, now I just have to talk him into rowing me down the river on my birthday. Happy Birthday Bud!

Fishing Rising and Falling Water Conditions

With all the rain we've experienced over the past couple of weeks, we thought we would ask Landon Williams to be our guest blogger and help you understand how we continue to catch fish even under adverse water conditions.

How to Deal With the “Rise” and “Fall” of Winter Weather

Landon Williams

The monsoon of last week may be over but our rivers and streams are just now starting to get back to recognizable flows. Fishing when the water is lower is always less demanding physically but when it’s high from events such as the recent rain, conditions can not only be unfavorable for the fishing but also dangerous with the raging water and decreased visibility. However, there are the periods of rising and falling water that provide very challenging and sometimes even rewarding fishing conditions in themselves.

Raging Dukes Creek - The Swimming Hole

The “rise” occurs when water levels begin to come up in our streams when a heavy rain period occurs.  Rises are very interesting fishing-wise as conditions generally become more dangerous for the fisherman as time continues and water levels rise. At the same time, they also provide a wonderful fishing opportunity if you can time the period right. Fish that have often been restricted of movement during low flows often move out of the deeper slow pools into the runs and riffles to feed on dislodged food items from both below and above the water’s surface. Below the surface, increased flows often knock mayfly, caddis, and stonefly nymphs from the stream bottom and into the drift, easy pickings for a hungry trout. As water levels continue to rise due to rain, the soil alongside the streams often become saturated enough for perhaps the highlight of the event, the worms! If you are fishing in higher water, check the parking area wherever you are fishing. If you see our long tubular friends, then there is often a chance that the trout are also seeing them and actively feeding on them as well. This is your big hint on perhaps what you should be fishing that day (hint: San Juan worm varying with the color of the stream. Go brighter with your fly selection the dirtier the water gets).

Dukes Creek Bow in High Water

Depending on the level of rain that our streams receive, water levels may become too dangerous to wade. That is not to say that even after a heavy rain, fishing opportunities are not available. Areas below dams (hint: Smith Creek and the Hooch immediately below Buford dam) are always clear as the dams act as a big buffer. Also smaller creeks and rivers clear fairly quickly if their watersheds are small. They run high really quick but also drain that water just as quickly. This is especially true of watersheds such as Dukes Creek, Noontootla Creek, and even the Hooch around the Helen area.  The falling period of water is often times just as productive fishing wise. The same principle applies in that you should fish big and ugly flies when the water is higher and downsize and naturalize your offering as the water recedes and clears.

Finding the High Water Refuge

I took my own advice the last few days and put some fish in the net while many thought the water levels too high to fish productively. This past weekend, I had to watch my step while the Hooch through Helen was ripping past me and I stuck to the banks for both easier wading and to find the fish seeking refuge from the heavy flow in the middle of the river.  I dragged a mohair leech and a bright pink San Juan worm through pockets along the bank with enough split shot to get them down and was rewarded with many scrappy holdover rainbows and even a couple of wild fish. Today, I fished Dukes Creek with water just now getting back to good flows. The fish were there but had much clearer water to see my offering and a size 20 zebra midge accounted for the majority of the fish, even with plenty of water still over their heads. This trend isn’t exact but is a good general rule to follow.

More importantly, keep yourself safe when wading this time of year. Wear a wading belt, use a staff, and fish with a buddy if possible. Also keep an extra pair of warm clothes at hand in case of a dunking. Perhaps most importantly, have a camera… Just in case!

Meetings on Corps of Engineers Plans to Close Six Tennessee Tailwaters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Public Meetings This Week on Plan to Close Tailwaters Help Us Save World-Class Fishing Below Our Dams  Click Here to Make Your Voice Heard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Friends,  We wanted to remind you of two public meetings this week on the Corps of Engineers' plan to close six incredible Tennessee tailwater fisheries to boat fishing. We hope you'll join us: TODAY, Jan. 15 in Nashville, Tenn.  McGavock High School Auditorium  3150 McGavock Pike 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. CST Thursday, Jan. 17 in Baxter, Tenn.  Upperman High School Auditorium  6950 Nashville Highway 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. CST GET ENGAGED IN OUR ADVOCACY WORK  We're excited to announce a new advocacy platform that will give you a true and lasting voice on issues of importance, and allow us to serve our supporters better.  The Federation was founded in 1946 with a critical mission: To represent the sportsmen of the state, and to advocate for effective wildlife management policy.  This new system offers a strong means by which to preserve your hunting/fishing rights while allowing TWF a simple way to show how the entire group feels on a variety of legislative issues. What we need you to do: PLEASE sign up. The job of advocacy is much more difficult without you! We ask you to sign up ONCE -- that creates an account from which you can take numerous actions, and where TWF can communicate directly with you and our elected representatives. It takes less than one minute to sign up. What you can do with the advocacy account?   1. Quickly see key local, state and federal legislation that affects hunting, fishing or conservation 2. Cast your vote on the issue, and leave a comment 3. Send an email or letter to your representatives 4. Share the legislation with others to draw more attention to it YOUR involvement makes the difference! Based on your action, the Federation can: 1. Quickly measure all advocacy actions through the system, gauging statewide interest on key issues 2. Show elected officials--in real numbers--how we as a group feel and want THEM to vote 3. Develop strategies to win on issues based on the knowledge gained This online platform allows us to leverage our time and yours... together, we can safeguard our rights! The Corps needs to hear from the sportsmen and women of this state on this dam closure issue. Please click here to access our system and let your voice be heard. Thanks for your support--we couldn't be successful without you!     The Tennessee Wildlife Federation

Did You Make It To The Chattooga This Weekend?

If you did, you experienced spring-like weather, black stoneflies, 52 degree water and, overall, just a great day to be on one of the most beautiful rivers in the country.  We didn't rush to get there early, left Cornelia around 10:30 Saturday morning for a leisurely ride north.  We were fishing a little after 12 noon.  The  South Carolina parking lot at the DH was almost full; we got the last spot and assumed the river would be full of anglers.  Turns out there were several anglers up and down the river but it certainly was not crowded at all.

Hey, anyone can hook a fish in the mouth!

About 1:00 the little black stones began flying around, touching the surface now and then but rises were few and far between.  The rains from Friday had pushed the Hwy. 76 gauge up just barely over 2 feet but by the time we stepped in the river it was probably around 1.95' and dropping.  The water was stained but not muddy at all.  It almost had a tannin stained appearance to it.  We briefly discussed whether or not the stain was preventing the fish from keying in on the stones but then decided it really didn't matter.  We were happy dredging and steadily catching fish.

I did manage several fish on a small black soft hackle but they wouldn't touch a black stonefly nymph.  A glass bead pheasant tail nymph with copper wire wrapped around the body was productive early on but eventually quit producing.  All the small flies I tried were dropped off behind a Pat's Rubber Legs and a few fish took it through the afternoon.  Enough that I never took it off and my big fish of the day (this nice brown in the photo) was compliments of Mr. Pat.  Just before hooking this nice fish, I had noticed an angler upstream who appeared to be in a wild battle with a good fish.  Later as he walked by I asked if he had caught a nice fish.  He told me it was about a 20" brown...on a Pat's Rubber Legs.  Big fly, big fish!

A Black Elk Hair Caddis will match the Stoneflies

My fishing buddy Jeff was dredging most of the day as was I but he decided to return on Sunday with his 3 wt. and fish nothing but dry/dropper rigs.  The little black stones were coming off again after lunch and he had steady success.  He also reported that the water was clearing from the rains so maybe the stain did have something to do with it.

It's raining almost every day this week and things are expected to turn colder but this is prime time on the Chattooga DH.  If you can get away, and the water level is 2 feet or less, you need to plan a trip there.  And you may want to pack some Pat's Rubber Legs.

From the Tennessee Wildlife Federation

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Corps of Engineers to Close Six Tailwater Fisheries  Help Us Save World-Class Fishing Below Our Dams Click Here to Make Your Voice Heard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~      Dear Friends,  Some of the best fishing waters in Tennessee are about to be removed from public access. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently confirmed plans to ban boat access below several dams, including Old Hickory, Cheatham, J. Percy Priest, Cordell Hull, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow.  District Commander Lt. Col. Jim DeLapp is claiming safety as the chief concern, but the numbers don't support it. Of all the deaths that have occurred on Tennessee's rivers and reservoirs over the last 50 years, less than three percent were below the dams. And almost all of those were the result of failure to wear or properly inflate a life jacket as required by law. Former Cheatham Lake Resource Manager Mike Patterson said it best in an open letter recently:  "I served over 30 years as a Corps of Engineers Resource Manager at Cheatham Lake in Tennessee and Assistant Resource Manager at Lake Cumberland in Kentucky.  I and my staffs worked on water safety issues on a daily basis, and we are professionals with extensive knowledge and experience regarding tailwater safety.  During my 18 years as a Resource Manager at Cheatham Lake there was never a single drowning of a boating fisherman in the tailwaters immediately downstream of the dam. Nor was there a recorded drowning in the history of the facility previous to my stint as Resource Manager. "Statistics throughout the District simply do not support the Commander's decision to prohibit thousands of safe fishermen from enjoying the quality fishing in the tailwaters immediately adjacent to our dams. But LTC DeLapp ignores those facts and instead proposes to unfairly penalize tailwater fishermen.  His perceived safety issues are simply not realized by accident statistics and accident rates. During my career, I served under approximately 18 previous district commanders, and none of them ever saw the need to ban boating fishermen from our tailwaters, because there was never a valid reason to do so."  More than a million Tennesseans enjoy fishing each year, with an economic impact in the billions of dollars. This action would undoubtedly have significant impacts on untold numbers of guides, bait shops, hotels and other associated jobs and revenues. It seems to be a solution in search of a problem, and the way the Corps has gone about it is alarming.  There are alternatives to this proposal that LTC DeLapp's own resource management personnel, Tennessee and Kentucky Wildlife Resources Agencies, and Senator Lamar Alexander and Congressman Jim Cooper have recommended. But Col. DeLapp has refused to consider them. The Corps needs to hear from the sportsmen and women of this state at the highest level. Please click here to access our public policy outreach system (you'll only have to register once). From there, click on LOCAL BILLS to send an email to Commanding General Thomas P. Bostick and our Congressional delegation, and let them know you oppose the unnecessary closure of our world-class tailwater fisheries.  Two public meetings have recently been set in Tennessee, and we hope you'll join us: Tuesday, Jan. 15 in Nashville McGavock High School Auditorium 3150 McGavock Pike 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. CST Thursday, Jan. 17 in Baxter Upperman High School Auditorium 6950 Nashville Highway 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. CST With Thanks, The Tennessee Wildlife Federation

Hat Trick on the Chattooga

This just in from Nanook of the North...

Our Georgia folks oughta take advantage of the DH program, especially if the Hooch Tailwater is still fishing tough for a few more days until the Lanier turnover is finished.  The Chattooga provided the hat trick yesterday, with a bunch of rainbows, three brooks, and a brown being "fondled".

TV weather reports seem to scare off many Georgia  trouters, but they often do not accurately describe the true fishing conditions of our winter waters.  Instead, a) weather radar and hourly forecasts on web weather sites like Intellicast, b) the USGS "Real Time" website's stream gauge data (water temp and flows), and c) good friends at local tackle shops or fishing clubs like TU and NGTO, are much better "strike indicators" to help folks decide whether to burn their time and gas on a trek north.  We seasoned dudes call this "net fishing," as we fish the inter-net the night before we decide which stream, if any to visit.
 
Another important tip:  it's winter fishing season and Georgia trouters should consider adapting their techniques to the season and the higher water flows.  I would encourage anglers to lengthen their leaders (better yet, use straight mono or fluoro) to the maximum length they can handle, and add enough shot to get their offerings down.  The flies need to cut through the water column and scrape along the bottom.  Thick leader butts and midsections are counterproductive at this time of year, as the heavy flows catch that thick stuff and and drag an angler's flies quickly away from the bottom-hugging fish. If anglers still want to use tapered leaders, they should at least add 3-6 feet of 3X to the ends of those 7 or 9-foot leaders, then add their tippet and flies. Tapered leaders aren't needed to cast flies, as the slingshot effects of lead do a fine job!

I've seen this quote in enough fly fishing books and it rings especially true now, as we welcome the new year:
"The difference between a good day fishing and a great day fishing is one more split shot."

My rig yesterday was about 12 feet of 8 pound mono, a large, sliding cork strike indicator (Lightning Strike brand, with hole thru the middle) that was usually within a couple feet of the fly line, 18 inches of 4X to the #10 leech, and 18 inches of 5X from the leech's hook bend to the #18 pheasant tail.  I used one to three removable, size BB split shot above the knot at the 8lb/4X junction.  Shot numbers and indicator location (2X water depth) on the leader were changed to accommodate each pool.   A rubber band or toothpick made the indicator adjustment quick and easy.  An occasional bounce of the indicator told me when I found the "tick-tick" of a good drift along the bottom. And an upstream-lunging indicator told me that a fish agreed! 

For new folks, the shallower heads of pools are easier to fish.  They don't require as much leader length, which makes casting easier. I like traditional casting, but I like catching even more.  I'll return to casting around March, when the water warms, the bugs get frisky, and the fish start looking up again.  Right now, I use short casts with roll casts, water loads, and an occasional Belgian backcast (thanks to Hoover Burrell) to put the rig in the water with zero or few false casts and very, very few tangles. 

There is no one "right way" to fish, but maybe this method will add to the arsenals of our newest trouters and help them "grip-n-grin" some more this season.  Then they can "pass it on" to the newbies that they meet.   More tips here.

The fish are there.  They are hunkered down, but still hungry.  Georgia trouters oughta put a disposable handwarmer pad on top of their toes, in between two pair of wool socks, slip into their waders, and go get 'em!

Happy New Year,
Nanook

Ed. Note:  After this post was published, we had folks asking for a detailed description of how to rig the indicator so we got the full story from "Nanook".  Hope this helps.

"Last year a visiting Michigan steelheader, whom the Guru and I met in the Chattooga parking lot during the holidays, showed us his indicator rigging technique.  Up north, he said that he fished a lot of heavy water with serious bobbers and serious lead, and had to change his indi depths often to get good drifts on plane with chrome noses.  Since he was kind enough to share his indicator technique with us, I'll "pass it on" to ya'll.  

"Here we go:

"He first threaded a cork or balsa indicator, with a hole thru its length, onto his leader and slid it up to the start of the leader's thick butt section. Now the indi is on the leader.  It will stay there.

 

"He then cut a 12-inch piece of strong mono (maybe 2x or 3x) and also threaded that thru the indicator. (If you're counting, this makes two pieces of mono threaded thru the indi.) Once his tag end emerged on the far end of the indi, he pulled several more inches of mono thru the indi, turned the tip around, and threaded it back thru the indi, leaving a small loop of that mono hanging out of the far end of the indi, and the two tag ends of the 3X mono hanging out of the original, near end of the float.

 

"Thru that loop of mono, he threaded a long piece of rubber band to its midlength.  Then he grabbed the two distant, tag ends of mono and pulled them tight to "lasso" the middle of the rubber band with the mono loop on the other end of the indi.  He then pulled the two tag ends of mono to pull the loop of rubber band all the way thru the indicator.  Once the rubber loop came thru a bit (3/8 inch or so), he discarded his mono threader (put it in a trash container in the car).  He them trimmed off the two tag ends of the rubber band, hanging out of the distant end of the indi,  to about 3/8 inch. He now had a doubled-up piece of rubber band as his stopper thru the core of the indicator, which was already threaded onto the leader (step 1).  He gave the 3/8 inch protruding ends (tags and loop) of rubber band a twist or two to tighten and secure the indi to his leader at the depth he wanted it.

 

"He could easily untwist, slide the indi up or down his leader, and then retwist his rubber band stopper.  This rig made adjustment of the indicator along the length of his leader very quick and easy, with no kinks like those thimgamabobbers are notorious for, and no knots.  The indicator could not get tossed off the leader and lost, like slotted indicators do.  It's a great winter rig when an angler knows he's gonna indicator-fish all day!

 

"I learn something new from each angler that I say hello to in the parking lot or along a stream.  Fishing can be a communal sport.  It is one that leads many folks toward more fish and eventually  into  the conservation of their favorite trout waters.  Learn from seasoned anglers, teach the newbies, and participate in the conservation community that we are all a part of.  Pass it on."

 

 Nanook

(Dredger)