Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 10/16/26
Sorry for the late post; just got back from Chattanooga. Here you go;
All region streams and rivers are low, clear, cooling off, and fishing well. I crossed a lot of waters during this week’s travels and they all look prime! We’re thankful that last week’s storm veered right and saved our region from heavy rains and an avalanche of downed trees and power lines.
Our first real blast of cold air is coming in tonite, so don’t forget your waders, stream thermometer, and your deep nymphs and bass bugs if you’re gonna get an early start tomorrow. The bite should pick up and shallow-up with the afternoon sun’s warming rays.
Check out all the details in our full report, here:
https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/fishing-reports
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
Sautee: 706-878-3083. Open 8-5 daily. (2454 GA Hwy 17, Sautee-Nacoochee.)
Clarkesville: 706-754-0203. Open 8-5 from Monday thru Saturday.
Wes’ Hot Fly List:
Dries: October caddis, orange stimmy, parachute ant, para Adams
Nymphs & Wets:
Frenchie, October caddis jig, Duracell, mop, sexy Walts, pheasant tail, micro girdle bug,
Streamers:
Olive woolly bugger, mohair leech, sparkle minnow, mini gulp sculp.
River stripers:
Mop tail changer, bangtail, clouser.
River bass:
crittermite, hairy fodder, thrasher, leggy boi, clouser, stealth bomber or Boogle bug in afternoon.
Bream & Carp:
Hybrid worm, carp it bomb, gill scorpion, amnesia bug, mini jig bugger.
Headwaters:
They’re low, clear, and cool and little wild fish are loving those conditions. Just remember that they are real spooky in thin, glassy streams. Use soft-landing dries and dull-colored droppers (ex: ant , pheasant tail) to combine them when they have too much time to inspect your bugs. Save the bright-beaded nymphs for higher, faster flows. Orange is still a tough color to beat for your October dries.
The bite should be better on droppers early and hopefully transition to dries with the afternoon warmth.
UO-Helen manager Wes: “I got out to fish a local blueline for specks that I hadn't checked out in probably five years. The fishing was very productive, but my landing skills were not. I hooked around 10 fish in an hour and only managed to land this one.
An orange Stimulator was the fly that fooled most of the fish. The fish in this headwater flow weren't paired up to spawn yet, but they should start soon. If you're getting up to a headwater stream this fall and see paired up spawning fish, please leave them be so they can produce the next generation.”
UO buddy Weston: “A lot of trees down and power out near my house in Cherokee. but I’m in a smokies on the Tennessee side. It’s been fine up here. I fished a little of both sides yesterday and it treated me pretty good.”
Stockers:
Stockers are scarce. You might find sone SCDNR fish on that border river, and a good number of summer leftovers in the two GA tailwaters. The remaining GA stocker streams are pretty picked-over.
Private Waters:
They’re on fire, thanks to cold water!
Book your guided trips ASAP to take advantage of this prime fall window. Air temps are good for y’all and water temps are prime for trout-chowing. The bite will slow down around mid-December, when water temps dip below 50 and your fingers begin to numb in the cold air.
UO company manager Jake: “Private water trips have been really great for me the past week. The numbers have been very high, with some quality fished mixed in. Dry dropper is still the best producer for me, with the majority of catches coming on the dropper. Productive patterns for me have been Duracells, Tungsten Pheasant Tails, and Walt’s Worms.”
UO-Helen manager Wes: “Private water trips are continuing to fish excellent! Flies like squirmies, micro girdle bugs, and frenchies worked well in faster flows. In the slower runs stripping and swinging a sparkle minnow or leech pattern has been a good way to fool fish.”
Who are Jake and Wes? They’re darn fishy fellas that have been guiding quite a while (decades!) Book a trip with them soon!
UO guide Sydney:
“Got some new fly flingers out and on a bunch of Soque fish this past week! We tossed a dry/dropper rig and even had some eats on the micro chubby dry. Heck, one young angler doubled up on his first cast!
I had a great second trip with a couple from New Zealand. They were great, already having some flyfishing experience. We mixed up the techniques and they caught fish on dries, droppers, Euro, and even streamer stripping.
They enjoyed fishing in the north ga mtns and said it reminded them of back home in NZ a little. They moved to FL a year ago and were so happy return to flyfishing for mountain trout!
My third guided trip yesterday was great too, with some new fly anglers. One even landed a coveted “golden” trout. Both clients ended up landing numerous fish, even doubling up a few times! It was a hot day, but the fish still munched our dry/dropper rigs.”
Tailwaters:
They’re a good bet for leftover stockers, some holdover fish, and those stunning wild browns in the Hooch Tailwater.
Delayed Harvest:
I’ll rerun last week’s paragraph for anyone who missed it:
The GA DH program resumes on Nov 1. Recall from last week’s report that NC DH regs started on Oct 1, but the agency is delaying stocking until November. We have some great Delayed Harvest tips in our beginners guide, on our website:
Warm Rivers:
They’re low and clear and mighty inviting! Streamers and crawdad flies will likely outfish topwater baits as these rivers finally start their fall cool-down.
Did y’all catch Wes’ midweek post? It’s a great YouTube video, as Israel followed Wes on his wade up a local bass river. Watch it here:
Ponds:
UO buddy Athens Jay sent a pic and a cryptic message just before leaving town for a few days. It said:
“Topwater not over yet I was boogling.”
Then: “Winter is coming… lots of hungry bass. Small, black articulated streamer on jig hook with tungsten bead. “
Lakes:
UO staffer Israel took full advantage of his off day and shared his hot intel. Whether fly or conventional gear, it’s a great time to hit these mountain reservoirs. Stop in our Clarkesville store on the downtown square for your conventional baits.
Afar:
UO buddy Michigan Ski complained about arm soreness last Sunday as he came back into cell phone range, and as we hunkered down through our storm. We gave him no sympathy! Here’s why:
“You’re getting a hurricane? Up at the cabin. 2 for 3 on king salmon last night. No fishing today. Repairs on cabin all day. Too sore to fish . My forearms were hurting after last night’s battles. Last one took about 25 minutes to get to hand on my old 8wt and medalist reel. They hit deep drifted buggers.”
Events:
Wanna go to Patagonia? Get the scoop from locals on Tuesday night!
UO owner Jimmy: “I just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that a couple of the managers from SET Flyfishing will be at the Sautee store on the evening of 10/20.
Beginning at 5:30 PM, please join us for an evening of learning about fly fishing the famed waters of northern Patagonia with SET. We'll have hors d'oeuvres and refreshments, plus we'll have a drawing for door prizes.
My hosted trip with SET that is scheduled for 2027 (2/27 - 3/6) still has a couple of openings. It's a wonderful cultural and angling experience! Sign up soon to join me.
Go find your hooded sweatshirt, long pants and waders tonite. We sure hope you patched those wader leaks you found last spring. Get out there while the getting is good, whether it’s a chilly morning dredge or warm afternoon drifting dries. Work around or tape your favorite football games. Just don’t miss this time of the year on your favorite moving waters!
We hope to see plenty of y’all Tuesday night in Sautee. Good luck folks.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
