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July 2002 Unicoi Newsletter

Bah! Summer, who needs it! Give us the fresh, mild mornings and afternoons of Spring or the crisp days of Autumn; even the bright, chilly days of Winter. But Summer? Aarrgh! We figure by the middle of August we'll be dusting the trout for ticks. Not much we can do about it, however. Just pray for rain and cool nights. Well, you can also head for the closest tailwater and enjoy water temperatures in the mid-50's. Our most popular trips this time of the year are the float trips we offer on the Toccoa River. We are also now offering wade fishing trips on the Toccoa. Remember, almost all of the Toccoa River below Blue Ridge dam is privately owned. Unicoi Outfitters has access to stretches that are unavailable to most anglers unless they are floating the river.

We recently had a great trip on the Toccoa with the members of Team Southern Comfort in "Fly Rod and Reel's" Trout Bum contest. Many of you may have read about this in recent issues of the magazine or on their web site. FF&R selected 6 teams from over 100 applicants across North America. Each team was given $500.00 and a mission to travel and fish as long as the money would last and report in daily via the internet to FR&R. In typical trout bum fashion, they were expected to live out of their vehicle, eat bad, cheap food and "bum" fishing trips in as many different places as possible. The team, Than Axtell and Steve Novak, began from their home base in Brevard, NC as they traveled up to Virginia and began to work their way back through North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. In spite of torrential rains on the day we floated, the fishing was great. As a matter of fact, the harder it rained, the more the fish were rising. BWO's, sulfurs, pheasant tails and CK nymphs were the ticket all day long. For more details on their trip and their daily reports, visit FR&R's web site (http://www.flyrodandreel.com). Click on the icon for the Trout Bum contest and look for Team Southern Comfort's reports. Their reports dated July 14th and 15th tell of their experiences with Unicoi Outfitters. There is an archive for each day. The winning team will have an article in FR&R next January or February. On Monday following our float trip on Saturday, Than and Steve also fished Nacoochee Bend with Hamp Cross and had a successful day despite having to cut it short due to the warm water conditions. Take a look at it.

What's New

With the Fly Tackle Dealer show coming up in September, not many companies are coming out with new products right now. They'll wait until September and put on a big dog and pony show to convince us they have they greatest product to ever hit the flyfishing market. And, now and then, someone does actually come up with a better idea. We've recently begun carrying a new line of chest packs manufactured by William Joseph that have become extremely popular. They have actually improved upon the traditional design of most chest packs and they are very well built. For lack of a better term, we would describe them as being
ergonomic. The biggest drawback to most chest packs is their bulkiness. A lot of anglers don't like to have that large mass hanging out in front of them. The William Joseph Mini Chest Pack overcomes that problem. And don't let the name "Mini" fool you. It has plenty of room to hold a variety of fly boxes and accessories and can also be worn on your belt if you prefer that. For more
information visit their web site (http://www.williamjosephfishing.com.).

What's Up

We've always taken a lot of pride in our relationship with other shops and guides throughout the Southeast. If we know of a good fishing trip, we like to recommend the local shop and guide who can help them put it all together. Recently, Jimmy was invited to speak to the Cumberland Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Nashville, TN. Now, Nashville is a lot like Atlanta; when you think
of trout fishing destinations, neither of these two metropolitan areas is likely to come to mind. However, thanks to a couple of tailwaters in the area, Nashville is in close proximity to some really good trout fishing. Jim Wiley (the guy who does the phenomenal trout carvings you see at Unicoi Outfitters), a resident of Sparta, TN and member of the Cumberland TU Chapter, planned a day on the Caney Fork with local guide, Chris Nischan. An Orvis Endorsed guide who specializes on the Caney Fork, the Elk and Duck in Tennessee as well as the Cumberland in Kentucky, Chris is the consummate nice guy and knows these rivers well. A great day was had, lots of fish were caught, and a new friendship was born. The Caney Fork is home to rainbows and brown trout; some of which are substantial in size. Like Atlanta, Nashville is unlikely to become a flyfishing destination. However, if you plan to be in the area on business or in the "Big Guitar" to take your family to The Grand Ole Opry, consider spending part of your time trout fishing. For more information on Chris Nischan's guide service, visit his web site at http://www.rodandgunguide.com. Tell him Unicoi Outfitters sent you.

Hope to see you soon. Stay cool; go stand in a river.

Tight lines!

The Liars Club

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