Happy New Year
Brrrrrr!!! Man, is it cold here! We are seeing temperatures in the single
digits, ice
on the pond at Nora Mill, freezing rod guides and fishing guides (the human
kind). Water temperature at Nacoochee Bend on January 18th was 34.7 degrees.
We had been using Loon’s Ice Off to keep the rod guides ice-free but
that day
nothing worked. We later discovered a small disclaimer on the Ice Off container;
it works well down to 20 degrees. We never saw 20 that day! While we do
like
Winter (just add more clothes), the past week has sure brought on a strong
desire
for Spring. Oh well, we cannot change the weather by complaining so we’ll
sit in
front of the fireplace, plan for the approach of Spring, make up a few new
lies or
rework some of the old ones until this cold spell breaks. Besides, we have
lots of
good things coming up in the next couple of months and planning for them
is half
the fun.
Atlanta Fly Fishing Festival
The show formerly known as The Shallow Water Expo. The dates this year
are
February 22nd and 23rd. This show has always been one of our favorite things
we
do. It’s located at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center, 6400 Sugarloaf
Parkway, Duluth. Admission is $10.00 per day and everyone under 13 gets
in
free. As some of you have noticed, we bring the whole house to this show.
Everyone, our shop staff and our guides, will be on hand to talk fishing
with you.
They’ll also be available to help you with your casting technique,
fly
presentation, tying or whatever. Here’s an interesting thought: we
figured up one
day recently that, among our staff, we have an accumulation of over 325
years of
fly fishing experience. Odds are we can help you if you have an area of
fly fishing in which you would like some help.
We’re even more excited about the show this year. Lefty Kreh has
offered to
spend some time in the Unicoi Outfitters booth signing books and videos
and
generally doing the thing Lefty does best: promoting fly fishing in a friendly
and
humorous way that only he can do. At this point, it looks as if Lefty will
be in
our booth during Saturday’s show.
We will also have some of the folks from Cannon Falls Lodge on hand during
the
weekend with information on this great new fly fishing locale. We’ll
have
brochures and photos available so you can see that we haven’t been
exaggerating
about the beauty and uniqueness of this hidden getaway.
Unicoi Outfitters will also be conducting one of the free seminars at
this year’s
show. Jimmy will be discussing techniques for fishing the entire water column,
top to bottom. We have a slide show and some great underwater video footage
of
trout that we think will help you better understand where the fish are and
what is
happening to your fly once it hits the water. We welcome everyone to attend.
For more information on this year’s show, visit http://www.castlow.com
and click
on Atlanta. For the seminar schedule, click on “Seminar”.
Fishing Report
Although the severely cold weather certainly slows things down somewhat,
we
are still fishing most days, and with good to excellent results. In between
cold
spells you may find some active fish, particularly if you can time your
trips to
coincide with the warm spells we are having interspersed with the extremely
cold
days. These mild days can provide fishing that rivals anything during Spring.
One recent guest drove over from New Orleans to fish with us as he has done
on
numerous occasions. When he left Louisiana, he was well aware that the odds
were against him as the weather was predicted to be bitterly cold. As luck
would
have it, the weatherman was off by a couple of days and the day’s fishing
proved
to be fantastic. In four hours he landed 25 fish with several over 20 inches.
Many of them on very small pheasant tail nymphs (18’s & 20’s).
We’ve also
been having luck with pink San Juan worms and zug bugs. The key to catching
fish right now is getting your fly down near the bottom in front of the
trout. They
won’t move very far to take a fly in this cold water so keep putting
your fly in the
feeding lane until it bumps their noses. Some of the warmer days have even
provided a couple of hours of dry fly action. From noon until around two
o’clock
keep your eyes peeled for midges, caddis and early black stones.
Henry's Striper Fishing Report
Henry Cowan submitted the following fishing report for stripers on Lake
Lanier:
“Fishing for stripers in mid-February is usually excellent. The
fish should be up
shallow and the back of the cove bite SHOULD be on! Both sinking and
intermediate outfits should be carried on these trips. Coyotes and Naturals
(Umpqua flies designed by Henry, ed.) will most likely be the flies of choice
with
grey/white small Clousers as a back-up in case we find tiny bait. One recent
trip
resulted in 4 stripers brought to the boat. The smallest was 18 lbs. and
the largest
was just over 30 lbs. And that’s on a fly rod! It’s an exciting
time to try for
stripers on Lake Lanier.”
Henry may be contacted at henryc@evy.com.
What's New
The much awaited Orvis Battenkill Barstock reels should be in the shop
by the
middle of February. Machined from high quality aluminum, the BBS reels are
offered in black and titanium. Orvis has priced these reels at a very moderate
level; $129.00 to $159.00.
Ross Reels has just announced an expansion of their new Evolution series.
When
Ross introduced this line of reels in October, 2002, they were available
only in
trout sizes. It turns out the Evolution has been the most well received
reel series
Ross has ever made. From the moment it hit the market, there have been requests
to make it in a larger size. On March 1st, Ross will introduce the Evolution
3.5
designed for use with 7, 8 or 9 weight rods. If you have not seen the Evolution,
stop by and take a look. They are unbelievably smooth and lightweight without
sacrificing the durability Ross is known for. The 3.5 Evolution will retail
for
$325.00 (and that qualifies for one of our gift certificates for a free
half day of
fishing at Nacoochee Bend!).
Casting For Confidence
Fly fishing has been shown to be an effective method of therapy, both
physically
and emotionally, for women who have survived breast cancer. Unicoi Outfitters
is honored to again have the opportunity to support the Casting For Confidence
2003 Retreat. Scheduled for Saturday, April 26th in Forsyth, GA, the retreat
is a
special day of introductory fly fishing designed to introduce the sport
to breast
cancer survivors. Supported by private donations and volunteers from the
Georgia Women Fly Fishers, the day long retreat is hosted by Mercer University
School of Medicine. Besides fly fishing instruction, the retreat provides
an
opportunity to work with experts in many aspects of breast cancer recovery
and
to interact with other survivors. There is no cost and food and fly fishing
equipment are provided for the day. The retreat is prepared to accept up
to 20
participants. If you, or someone you know, would be interested, contact
Dr. Janet
Piskurich, 409 Gentry Walk, Macon, GA 31210. Phone (478) 301-4035 or email
Janet at piskurich_j@Mercer.edu.
Pass Us Along
As always, we want you to know how grateful we are for your continued
support.
We probably have more fun than the law allows at this place and we invite
you to
come share it with us. If you know anyone whom you think would like to be
updated with our newsletter, please pass this along with instructions to
send us
their email address. Until then…
Tight lines!
The Liars Club |