OCTOBER, 2005 UNICOI NEWSLETTER

April, May, October and November. The only way to improve on the year round trout fishing we have here in the southeast would be for every month to provide the quality of fishing these four months offer. It simply doesn't get any better than this. Cool crisp mornings and warm afternoons. Fishing on all north Georgia streams has been challenging but good lately. Water levels are low and clear on most streams and the fishing is appropriately tough under those conditions. This is the time it's extremely important that you wear dark clothing, even camouflage if you have it, fish far and fine (long leaders with small tippets), and make good first casts. This is also a time when dry fly fishing can be excellent. There may not be many large hatches (although we've recently witnessed good October caddis hatches on some of the North Carolina streams and a huge white mayfly hatch on the Soque that brought the big fish up to the top) however, a well-presented Stimulator, Parachute Adams or Trude can provide for some fun afternoons. Even with football in the Fall, you really should be out on the creeks somewhere. It's just the thing great memories are made of.

FISHING REPORTS

Of course the North Carolina Delayed Harvest streams have been up for a month now and the fishing is phenomenal. We had the following report from Ren Gobris on the Nanatahala:

"From discussions with a host of other fisherman, and my own personal experience, the lower sections of the river are fishing better than the upper. I usually find this to be the case. Saturday, the most productive area was the first section of river from the first bridge at the powerhouse up to the next bridge. For those of you who have been there, the water moves under this second bridge and goes through some private and fenced property. It reappears in public waters under a third bridge (water back on the right side of the road as you travel in) and this section usually fishes particularly well. Saturday was no exception. Most of the water on the Nantahala is very fast but shallow. So a short line and constant mending is required. Hit every area that looks like it may hold trout because it probably does.

"Because the Nantahala is so shallow, I find it hard to fish in direct sunlight. Mornings always seem to fish better than afternoons. But even in the afternoons, I usually find good fishing so long as I keep moving and concentrate on the shaded areas with a relatively short line (usually the only way to get a drag free drift).

"The same dry fly and dropper tactics brought an easy dozen plus fish to the net. I had a particularly hard time with my hook setting this trip having missed considerably more fish than I caught. I caught three browns on Saturday which were my first browns there this year. One was a particularly nice trout.

"Once again, if you have not been there you might want to do so now that the weather is so nice. Go during the middle of the week, if you can get the time off, to avoid the crowds. Try the areas I've described above and use these tactics. I'm sure you'll be just as successful as I have been."

North Carolina's other delayed harvest stream that is close enough for us to consider home water is the Tuckaseegee River at Dillsboro, NC. This big water provides easy access and great fishing throughout the winter and spring months. You can't go wrong with pheasant tails on the Tuck but there are frequently excellent hatches of caddis and blue winged olives that provide great dry fly fishing. We recently had a four boat float trip on the Tuck that was a blast. We probably looked like the Georgia trout bum armada coming downstream but our guests caught lots of fish and had a memorable day of fishing.

The Georgia DH streams will open on Tuesday, November 1st and we expect an excellent season. Of course most of the questions lately have centered around whether or not Smith Creek will be open this year under delayed harvest regulations. After the tornado that spun off Katrina slammed the creek, it was certainly questionable. Lot of downed timber in the creek from one end to the other. Never fear! A great group effort between Georgia DNR, State Parks, NGTO and Trout Unlimited had the stream back in good shape in no time. Admittedly, the section from the dam down to the group camp is still a mess. That's going to take some heavy equipment and a little more time. But the rest of the creek, which is over a mile in length, should be prime by the time the DH begins. Some of your favorite bends, holes and runs may present a little extra challenge but the fish habitat is in good shape. Reports of her demise were greatly exaggerated.

Our other favorite stream this time of year is the Chattooga DH section. It's been said many times before but we just can't talk about the Chattooga without commenting on the beauty of it. In our opinion, the Chattooga is one of the most spectacular streams in the country. If you've not been there before, make plans now to take a trip in the next few months. We'll wager that you'll plan a second trip soon. Big water for a trout stream in the southeast, the Chattooga provides an angling experience unavailable anywhere else in this part of the world. Early on in the season, plan on fishing a lot of junk food flies; egg patterns, Y2K Bugs, San Juan Worms. As the season progresses, you'll find the fish becoming more and more educated and the fishing more challenging. As you work your way from Y2K Bugs to Woolly Buggers to Pheasant Tails, BWO's and midges, you'll completely forget you're on a special regulation stream. Plan to make a day's trip out of it. It's just out of the way enough that you can't do it justice in a half day. Easy access is available from the South Carolina side just across the Hwy. 28 bridge. Park there, walk upstream about a quarter mile to the end of the food plots. You can access the river at the end of the field or cross there and continue to walk upstream. The trail on the Georgia side provides better access to the river than the one on the South Carolina side on this stretch of the river. The Chattooga is an excellent stream on which to learn how to flyfish. If you have a friend or family member you would like to introduce to flyfishing, this is the perfect place. Big water, so casting isn't an issue, easy wading in most places, and lots of fish. Combine all this with the beauty and you'll have them hooked in no time. Unicoi Outfitters has the only Forest Service permit to guide on the Chattooga River and we know how to fish it. If you want to learn how to fish it and shorten your learning curve, schedule a trip with one of our experienced guides. We'll even provide lunch for you. If you head off up there on your own, don't forget to check the water level gauge before you leave home. You can access it online at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/uv?02177000. The gauge height chart is at the bottom of the page. Just remember, if it's over 2.0 you need to plan a fishing trip elsewhere. Anything 2.0 or less is great fishing.

If you want a challenge on the water, try booking a trip at Dukes Creek soon. This great little stream can humble the best of us and when water conditions are low and clear, don't be surprised if you see anglers leaving with tears in their eyes. Again, if you do the "far and fine" thing, you can catch some fish there but if you treat it like any other public trout stream, you're in for a long day. Jimmy Harris and Jeff Durniak fished Dukes Sunday afternoon for about an hour and a half on Section 1. The fishing was awesome! Three between 21" and 23", two of which were big males with a kype jaw. Soft hackles, Tellico Nymphs, Yaller Hammers and shell pink San Juan Worms on 5X and 6X tippet. You may also want to try floating a big dry fly like a Tarantula over the top with a soft hackle Hares Ear, Pheasant Tail, Lightning Bug or Tellico Nymph off a 2-foot dropper. At the deepest holes, take the dry fly off and dredge the bottom with your nymphs. Don't let the low clear water scare you off. Use it as a time for improving your skills. And if it rains, leave work, forget the ballgame, the chores around the house or anything else you have planned for that day and try to get yourself a spot on Dukes Creek. It can be the most rewarding day of your fishing life when you hit it right.

We wish we could give you a good fishing report for the Toccoa tailwater. We're even tempted to lie a little bit to make it sound good (this is the Liars Club after all!). However, to tell you the truth, the fishing on the Toccoa is way below average right now due to high water temperatures. At the dam, water temps are running 65 - 66 degrees. As you go farther downstream, it rises another degree or two before reaching Curtis Switch. In a normal mountain trout stream that probably wouldn't have much affect on the fishing; maybe make things a little slower than normal. On the Toccoa, where the fish are accustomed to temps in the 50's, they just shut down. There are still plenty of fish in the river. On one recent evening trip, we saw more quality fish (14" and better) than we've ever seen on the Toccoa. But they didn't begin feeding until 30 minutes before dark and the first bad cast put them down for the evening. Now, on a more positive note, we did have a float trip with some friends recently that was encouraging. The fishing was slow, no doubt about it. However, we boated one rainbow of 19" and were into an even larger fish that would have gone over 21". And that fish was accompanied by another fish of the same size. Unfortunately, after going airborne twice and running through someone's Christmas tree that had been thrown in the river, the fish managed to escape before we could land it. It was exciting to see those big fish and we're confident the Toccoa will produce more and more of those as time goes by.

Noontootla Creek is your best bet in the Blue Ridge area. It's always challenging to try for those wary wild fish but very rewarding when you figure it out. Try walking up past the barricade where the road washed out and fishing some of the creek that hasn't seen much pressure lately. Small dry flies like Parachute Adams and Yellow Humpies could be just the ticket.

While we're on the "Toot", our private stretch at Noontootla Creek Farm (http://www.noontootlacreekfarms.com) has been fishing very well. Lots of fish, big fish, wild fish, browns and rainbows. The big browns are moving onto gravel bars right now to begin spawning. That's a sight that will get your adrenalin pumping. The Noontootla is simply one of the best streams we've ever been on. And now with the new sporting clays range, you can have a mixed bag day with shooting half the day and fishing the other half. The farm house at NCF perfect for a small corporate, church or family group outing. Call our shop in Blue Ridge for more information or to schedule a trip.

All our trophy waters are fishing well this time of year and each week we have clients who are landing the largest fish of their lives from one of them. River North on the Soque, Frog Hollow on the Chestatee, Nacoochee Bend on the Chattahoochee, Cannon Falls on Dicks Creek and Dyer's Lake all provide world class trout fishing with the convenience of being close to home. The next 8 months will provide excellent trout fishing opportunities in Georgia. Whatever you do, don't sit home planning that trip next spring; get on out there and go fishing!

EVENTS

7TH ANNUAL NGTO FALL FLING!

Saturday, November 5th, 2005

8:30AM to 2:00PM

Buford Trout Hatchery (see directions below)

North Georgia Trout Online (NGTO) is holding it's 7th Annual Fall Fling at the Buford Trout Hatchery on Saturday, November 5th from 8:30am until 2:00pm. (Free DH Clinic sessions at 8:30 and 10:30) (FREE Beginner Fly Tying Class at 9:00)

This event is open to the public and is a great opportunity to get out, meet others who enjoy the sport, learn about fly-fishing opportunities in Georgia, enjoy a great free BBQ lunch, and even win some great prizes. If you have kids they will love walking the raceways looking at the huge trout and are welcome to attend the FREE Fly Tying Class (all materials will be provided!)

This year we are excited to be able to offer a FREE seminar for all attendees entitled "Fishing the Chattahoochee Delayed Harvest". Sessions are at 8:30 and 10:30 AM. This class will show you all you need to know about fishing the DH on the Chattahoochee. From beginner to expert this clinic will give you the information you need to catch more fish on the river this fall and winter.

We are also very excited to be able to offer our first-ever FREE Beginner Fly Tying Class thanks to Beth Tuttle. Beth has managed to get together everything needed so all you need to bring is yourself! (class limited to the first 40 people to show up)

NGTO will be cooking BBQ and Slaw, if possible we ask members to bring a side dish, desert, drinks, etc...

Our guest list is being compiled now, past years guests included Unicoi Outfitters, The Dugout, Fly Box Outfitters, Highland Outfitters, Hammonds Fishing, The Fish Hawk, G. Maxwell Fly Rods, Trout Unlimited, Atlanta Fly Fishing Club, Georgia Women FlyFishers, Atlanta Fly Fishing School, River Through Atlanta, BlackHawk, Brigadoon, Kent Edmonds, Carl Warmouth, Jimmy Jacobs, Chris Scalley, G. Maxwell, Steve Davenport, Rusty Fowler, Tom Landreth, and others.

Events include:

8:30am: FREE Seminar - "Fishing the Chattahoochee Delayed Harvest" Presented by Jeff Gillespie and Mark Ellis (FFF certified casting instructors)

9:00am - 11:00am: Beginner Fly Tying - ALL MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT WILL BE PROVIDED. Presented by Beth Tuttle

8:30 - 9:30am: Practice Hour for the Casting Contest

9:30 - 11:30am: Casting Contest

10:30am: FREE Seminar - "Fishing the Chattahoochee Delayed Harvest" Presented by Jeff Gillespie and Mark Ellis (FFF certified casting instructors)

12:00: Lunch is Served - Provided by NGTO and cooked by Gold Star BBQ

1:00pm: Silent Auction Ends and Winners Announced

1:15pm: Induction of NGTO Hall of Fame Members

1:30pm: Start Drawings for Door Prizes

Fly Tying Demonstrations - all day Vendor demonstrations - all day

RLS Marine will be bringing one of their newest creations... check out: http://www.rlsmarine.com/media/sportjet1.wmv

Silent Auctions, Raffles, and giveaways including... (the list is HUGE and keeps growing!)

Directions:

The hatchery is located between Buford and Cumming, Georgia just of GA Highway 20.

Directions from Interstate 85/985: Travel west on GA Highway 20. After you cross the Chattahoochee River you will turn right onto River Club Dr. (you will be entering a subdivision - look for the DNR hatchery sign). Travel approximately 1/2 mile on River Club Dr., turn right onto Trout Place Road (at the second hatchery sign). The hatchery is through the gate at the end of the road.

Directions from GA 400: Travel east on GA Highway 20 for approximately 4 1/2 miles, turn left onto River Club Dr. (into the subdivision) and follow the directions above.

Street address: 3204 Trout Place Rd., Cumming GA 30041

For information about the hatchery call 770-781-6888.

If you need further help with directions please email brent.langley@georgia-outdoors.com.

Date: Saturday, November 5th Time: 8:30AM until?? Place: Buford Trout Hatchery (indoor/outdoor) Target Audience: Anyone interested in Trout Fishing! Contact: Brent Langley: brent.langley@georgia-outdoors.com or Jeff Fields: fieldsjp@gmail.com) Inclement Weather Plan: RAIN OR SHINE!

More info from: North Georgia Trout Online: http://www.ngto.org

TAILWATER TU BANQUET

The Tailwater Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be holding a "kickoff of the fall DH season " banquet on Sat. evening Nov. 5 at the clubhouse of the Chattahoochee River Club subdivision (where the hatchery is) beginning around 5:30 pm with socializn`and o`deuvres and dinner around 6:30 which will consist of barbeque chicken, ribs, and all the fixins` from Dreamlands.

Cost is 15$ per person and 25 $ per couple

We'll have lots of bucket raffle and silent auction items such as fishing trips, rods, a case of Fat Tire beer, a champagne flight over Atlanta, flies , stuff for the ladies, fishing art, and many other goodies.

For more information on the Tailwater banquet, please visit their website at http://www.freakbox.com/tailwatertu/

Unicoi Outfitters will be at both of these great functions with gift certificates for fishing trips and other flyfishing paraphernalia. We hope to see you there. It'll be a full day of great entertainment and comraderie (with just a touch of lying now and then).

(Ed. Note: The following announcement concerns an extremely important issue for trout fishermen. We encourage you to learn more about this topic and to become involved in the Forest Service public input process.)

News Release

USDA Forest Service 4931 Broad River Road Columbia, South Carolina 29212-3530

For More Information: Stephanie Neal Johnson (803) 561-4091 or (803) 920-6167 FMS 0524 For Immediate Release Second Public Meeting about Chattooga River Set for November 17 in Clayton, GA; Third Meeting Scheduled for December 1 in Walhalla, SC (Columbia, South Carolina, October 27, 2005) - The USDA Forest Service will conduct its second public meeting and workshop regarding the reanalysis of recreation use on the upper reaches of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River on Thursday, November 17, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Clayton Baptist Church's Ministry Activities Center, 87 South Church Street, Clayton, GA.

The third meeting is set for Thursday, December 1, beginning at 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 403 East Main Street, Walhalla, SC.

Both meetings are continuing the process that began in October in Walhalla, SC, an anticipated two-year Visitor Use Capacity Analysis focused on the river's recreation use above the bridge at Highway 28.

The November meeting will begin with a question-and-answer session, when the Forest Service team leading this reanalysis process will answer questions raised at the first public meeting in October and take additional questions from those in attendance.

"This won't be a public hearing format, when people speak to enter their comments for or against something into the official record," said Jerome Thomas, Supervisor of the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests in South Carolina. "But it will be an opportunity for dialogue - for the public to hear answers to questions raised at the last meeting, and to ask other questions. We hope this moves us closer to working collaboratively throughout this entire process."

October Meeting

Just more than 100 people attended the first meeting and generated a number of written questions about the reanalysis work the Forest Service is leading. Agency officials want to try to answer those questions before moving any further into this process, Thomas said. Some attending the October meeting requested a formal hearing-style public meeting, and the Forest Service now plans to conduct a meeting like that later during the reanalysis work, Thomas said. "We want to try to be responsive to all the comments we received about how people want to be involved in this process," he said.

November Meeting

The question-and-answer session is scheduled to last the first hour of the November meeting. Following a break, the Forest Service will reconvene the attendees beginning at 6:30 p.m. for an expected two-hour workshop on the first three steps of a visitor use capacity analysis. The objective of this process is to address impacts of public use and to preserve the environmental setting and resources for future recreational use - and the public is an integral part of this process.

In the first portion of the November workshop, small groups will review a proposal by a Forest Service team that delineates areas of the Chattooga River above Highway 28 into "zones," or areas with similar resource and social conditions. These proposed zones are consistent with the river's Wild and Scenic classifications as designated by the U.S. Congress. After agreeing with or modifying the proposed zones, the groups will define the recreation opportunities that are suitable within each zone. Finally, the groups will work to define desired conditions by zone and recreation opportunity, developing a brief description of conditions they wish to see in the area.

December Meeting

At the next meeting in December, groups will tackle the next two steps of the LAC process. Building on work from the November meeting, groups will first recommend specific, measurable indicators associated with the overall recreation opportunity and desired condition (such as number of trail encounters per day). Then, groups will suggest data needs for those indicators and how that data could be collected.

For example, a data need could be the acceptable number of human encounters by all users. Possible methods to collect that data could be user surveys, focus groups, user trials, or proxy analysis (comparing impacts from similar users on similar rivers). Groups at the December meeting also will be asked to list the advantages and disadvantages of the suggested data collection methods.

The Next Steps

After the December meeting, the Forest Service plans to determine what data collection methods will be used and begin that work in January 2006. When the entire LAC process is completed, Forest Service employees will analyze various alternatives regarding management of the upper reaches of the Chattooga River corridor. These alternatives will be built using information collected from the public throughout the LAC process. Then, the Forest Service will make a final decision that will include specific actions aimed at managing recreation use with acceptable natural resource impacts.

For information about this reanalysis process, including a timeline, comments received from public meetings and email, and a bulletin board where people can exchange information, ideas, and opinions about this project, log onto the forests' website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms. Any pre-work for the upcoming meetings also will be available on the website.

Background

The Chattooga River is the upstate boundary between South Carolina and Georgia, and its headwaters are in North Carolina. Since the mid-1970s - when the Chattooga was designated by the U.S. Congress as a Wild and Scenic River - boating above Highway 28 has been prohibited. In January 2004, the Forest Service revised its plan to manage the Sumter National Forest, including the Chattooga River. That plan, signed by the agency's Regional Forester in Atlanta, allowed floating to continue only on the portion of the river downstream from the Highway 28 bridge. Boating organization, American Whitewater, didn't agree with the portion of the plan focusing on the Chattooga River, and filed an appeal with the Forest Service's Washington Office. In April 2005, the Reviewing Officer for the Chief of the Forest Service decided to send that part of the plan back to the Regional Forester and the Sumter National Forest for additional work. While the appeal decision does not direct that the decision be changed, it does direct the forest to conduct additional analysis regarding social and natural resource impacts on the river and to involve affected and interested parties. The Sumter National Forest will lead the reanalysis, working with two other national forests that share the river: the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia, and the National Forests in North Carolina.

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