SEPTEMBER, 2006 UNICOI NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER, 2006 UNICOI NEWSLETTER

WHEW! It appears that we’ve finally made it through the worst summer in the memory of any living trout fisherman we know of. September has seen rains and cooler temperatures that have been a true blessing for north Georgia. While it’s no secret that the lower elevation streams took a hit this summer, we want to assure you that there will be plenty of good fishing available this fall.

We have the following press release from DNR concerning Dukes Creek:

From WRD fisheries biologist Lee Keefer, “I believe that the Conservation Area (706-878-3087) may now take fishing reservations from September 17 onward. The water temperatures have moderated significantly at Dukes Creek. Smithgall Woods Conservation Area resource manager Scott Bardenwerper advised that daytime high water temperaturess are now below 20 degrees C (68 F) and no additional mortality has been observed since the closure to angling. Thanks for your patience and for your conservation efforts. If you go, practice sound catch-and-release methods on these trophy trout so that they will survive and give many more anglers a thrill on the end of their line.”

As for Unicoi Outfitters’ private streams, we anticipate Frog Hollow, Cannon Falls and Nacoochee Bend reopening to anglers around September 23rd if favorable temperatures continue. River North is expected to reopen the following weekend, September 30th.

The best news is that Noontootla Creek Farms is already back up and in great shape. This is the first summer on record that anyone can recall Noontootla Creek being too warm to fish. While the water is still lower than normal and pretty clear unless you’re fishing during or immediately after a good rain shower, but the fish are in great shape and have been unmolested for over six weeks.

While we’re on Noontootla Creek Farm, many of you recently watched the Fly Fishing Masters series on Outdoor Life Network and caught the finals just last weekend which were filmed at the Farm. First, we want to congratulate Kevin Howell and Rick Hartman who represented the East in this head to head battle against the West team of Hutch Hutchinson and Gifford Maytham from Basalt, Colorado. All of these guys are excellent anglers but our small southeastern stream was too difficult for the westerners to figure out. Kevin and Rick won handily and graciously in true southern gentlemanly style. If you missed the shows, or simply want to see them again, it appears OLN is rerunning the series immediately. You may link to their website page with the schedule by going to Unicoi Outfitters’ homepage and clicking on the “Fly Fishing Masters” logo. As this is being written, they only have the air dates and times posted for the Eastern Regionals but keep an eye on it for updates. (By the way, when you go to our website, notice the new look. Let us know if you like it and if you have any recommendations. It’s an evolving process)

OTHER FALL FISHING OPPORTUNITIES

We’ve received a lot of calls and emails concerning what fall trout fishing in Georgia will be like this year. You may have heard that the hatchery at Lake Burton did experience a significant loss of fish during the peak of the drought. Here’s the situation as we understand it:

Many higher elevation streams were stocked much heavier than normal this summer in an effort to place the fish in areas where the water was cooler than that in the hatchery raceways, thus giving them a chance to survive. Streams like Wildcat Creek, Boggs Creek, the Tallulah River and the very upper sections of the Chattahoochee River received stockings when most other waters were too warm to insure fish survival. Also, the Toccoa River below Blue Ridge dam was stocked with copious amounts of catchable size fish, particularly browns.

The results? While many of these fish were hauled off to a frying pan when word got out, there is no way all them were caught. Bottom line is that fall fishing on these streams should be awesome. In all likelihood, there will not be any further stocking of the seasonal streams again this year. There will, however, be the regular planned stocking of all the delayed harvest streams, including the newest on the Toccoa River between Sandy Bottoms canoe launch and Shallowford Bridge. We’ll have more information on those streams in our October newsletter.

For the next couple weeks, the best public water fishing will most likely continue to be on the Toccoa tailwater. TVA is in the process of drawing the lake down to winter pool level so be sure to check the generation schedule before planning a trip there. In the past few days, they have been generating most of the day. This is actually a good thing since it will help disperse all those fish stocked at the dam and Curtis Switch and that should help keep some of them from ending up in that frying pan.

REGIONAL FISHING OPPORTUNITIES

We’ve been getting some very good fishing reports from the Smokies where they have had better water conditions just up the road from us. All the streams in the park have cooled down a good bit and the fishing is improving every day. For ease of access, try the Oconoluftee River just inside the Park north of Cherokee. This section of river receives relatively little fishing pressure and is a great place to test yourself against wild browns and rainbows. Nearby are the Bradley Fork and Raven Fork if you plan to spend more than one day fishing in the area.

(While we’re on the subject of fishing the Smokies, we want to recommend Ian Rutter’s videos on fishing southern freestone streams. These DVD’s are without a doubt the best we have seen on how to fish the small streams of the Appalachians. We now have these in stock at both stores and can’t say enough about the quality of their content. We promise, if you watch Ian’s video and pay close attention to what he is saying and doing, you will be a better angler.)

Last but not least the North Carolina Delayed Harvest season begins October 1st. Our favorite streams are the Nantahala and the Tuckaseegee Rivers. They’re close enough for making a day trip and the fishing is awesome. Two totally different personalities for both streams; big, big water on the Tuck or the more intimate confines of the Nantahala. Either one can make for an enjoyable day on the water with an opportunity to fish for all three trout species, browns, brookies and bows. And remember, the North Carolina non-resident license is almost as good a deal as Georgia’s; $40.00 for the fishing and trout licenses which are valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.

NEW GEAR FROM THE TRADE SHOW IN DENVER

This year’s trade show was actually one of the best in many years. It was well attended and everyone seemed to be upbeat about the product lines. We all admit flyfishing is a gadget sport and at times it seems the manufacturers hit the market with something new just to create a lot of hoopla. Often the reality is that that’s all it is; hoopla. This year seemed to be different. While there were no earth-shattering new gizmos to create a buzz of excitement on the show floor, there were definitely some product refinements and the occasional “new” technology that drew everyone’s attention. The most important items we saw happened to all be rods. Well, excluding the Hardy Zane Grey Edition All Titanium Reel which retails for $9000.00 (Yep, you counted those zeroes correctly!). I don’t think we’ll be stocking those but we will certainly order one for you. And even throw in a complimentary fishing trip to Nacoochee Bend, maybe two.

Anyhow, these are the rods we were most impressed with:

Sage’s new Z-Axis rods which claim to replace the XP series. We’re not sure why they chose to market these rods as the newest version of their fast action XP’s. To us, the action was very dissimilar to the XP but it was most definitely a very smooth, nice casting rod. While the action is considered fast, it has a totally different feel than the XP. We already have there rods in stock so feel free to come by and cast them. We know you’ll like them.

R. L. Winston’s new Boron IIt rods are sweet. You may have heard we like the old Light Line series from Sage. The BIIt rods in 3 and 4 wt. feel identical to the LL’s and yet have the power in the butt section to handle much larger fish with ease. These rods should be in the shop within the next week or so.

Orvis’ Superfine Trout Bum series. The Superfine rods have been around a long, long time. And while these rods retain the action of the older models, they are much improved. Technologically, they incorporate Orvis’ thermoplastic resins to make the graphite fibers much more durable without sacrificing action. Cosmetically, they look like the most expensive rod on the rack with the fanciest amboina wood reel seats, extra flora grade cork, gold titanium nitride guides and a beautiful burgundy brown finish. The small stream rods in 6’6” and 7’ lengths are perfect for our small north Georgia streams and those high elevation Smokies streams. The piece de resistance however is the great little 7’9” 4 piece 5 wt. If ever there was a flyrod made for Dukes and Waters Creeks, this is it. Smooth delivery yet enough power to bring those big fish to the net. We expect to have these rods in stock by next week.

Temple Fork Outfitters’ rods, as many of you may recall, were once stocked in our Blue Ridge store when they first hit the market. To be perfectly honest, we didn’t like them and eventually ended up taking them out of the shop. Well, to the credit of owner Rick Pope, he has earnestly sought the advice of such notables as Lefty Kreh, Ed Jaworowski, Jim Teeny, Gary and Wanda Taylor and now Unicoi’s own Rex Gudgel on how to make their rods better. We have to admit, the changes they have made are amazing. In all their series, from entry level to their top of the line rods, these things cast very nicely. And they have retained their moderate price level. We hope to have them in stock by the end of the month.

OUR FRIENDS

We always like to let our readers know when one of our friends have something noteworthy to offer. Just this week we received an email from our good friend Bonnie Anderson and, to put it in the vernacular, she done well. Here’s what she’s doing:

“I just launched my new website for my fishing business and wanted to share it with you. Check out: http://www.CulebraAnglers.com .

“I'll be posting some new pictures on it in the next week or so... a 400 pound marlin caught on my boat, Andy, last Saturday and me fighting a smaller marlin, about 125 pounds. Both fish were caught while I was attending (and using my boat) Marlin University in St. Thomas. It's a five-day fishing seminar put on by Marlin Magazine with the top

marlin captains and mates as instructors. (Each year they also hold the seminar in Australia, Costa Rica and Mexico, which - like St. Thomas and here in Culebra - are world-class Blue Marlin waters.) On my boat was Dave Ferrell, the editor of the magazine, and Peter B. Wright, who as captain or angler has caught more granders (Marlin over 1,000 pounds) than anyone else on Earth. We also had Walker Holcomb, one of the top mates ever. He wears the Rolex he won for being on the winning team in the most prestigious and difficult marlin tournament anywhere.

“Even though I've been fishing all of my life, Dave, Peter and Walker (and the captains and mates on the two other boats I fished on) brought my captain, mate and angler skills up numerous levels. It was a ball!

“I hope you all are well!”

Bonnie

EVENTS

Just a few things we think you may be interested in:

This Saturday, September 16th, Jimmy and Rex will be presenting a couple of seminars at the “Cast & Blast” at Rivers and Glen in Augusta. Along with Todd Rogers, Orvis endorsed hunting and fishing guide at Wynfield Plantation and Robert Bryant, Orvis representative, we look forward to seeing our friends from that part of the state and, hopefully some of you from South Carolina. For more information on this weekend’s events, you may visit their website at http://www.riversandglen.com . As an added bonus, we will hold a drawing for a free fishing trip to Nacoochee Bend at some time during the day. We hope to see you there.

September 23rd will find us at the Unicoi Outdoor Adventure Day with a couple of thousand of our closest friends. If you know anyone who has an interest in outdoor activities but just hasn’t taken the step to become a participant (adults and youngsters alike), bring them to this event. It’s awesome! Throughout the day they will have the opportunity to participate in the following activities: fishing, archery, canoeing, skeet shooting, airgun shooting, camping seminars, falconry demonstrations, fly casting lessons, fly tying, hunting dog and law enforcement dog demonstrations. If you can’t find something of interest here, you probably need to find your old knitting needles and stay home in front of the TV. All of this is open to you for the price of a state park parking pass; $3.00 for your entire car. We hope you’ll join us.

THANK YOU

As always, we are grateful for your friendship and your patronage. If you ever need current fishing information or specifications and recommendations on gear, please call us at (706) 878-3083 in Helen or (706) 632-1880 in Blue Ridge. Remember, if you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, just reply to this email with the word "remove" in the subject line. On the other hand, if you know someone you think would like to know what's going on with north Georgia trout fishing, please have them send us an email and request to be placed on our mailing list.

Tight lines!

The Liars Club http://www.unicoioutfitters.com