Most of our region had welcome rains that have boosted streamflows, at least for a few days. The Toccoa watershed got hammered however, and our thoughts and prayers are with those families and businesses in the McCaysville area who suffered significant property losses.
Headwaters and rivers have already recovered to fishable levels for most wading anglers. Watch those USGS river gauges to see if those waters have receded to your own safe flow standards.
Georgia’s Delayed Harvest streams have been stocked, along with some of NC’s streams. Given the great weather and recent stockings, expect big crowds on this opening weekend. Go early, late, or on weekdays to avoid them.
The Toccoa Tailwater took a big flood hit, while the Hooch Tailwater is still fishing well.
The big news is the striper surface action on Lanier, and our open house tonite at the Sautee shop. C’mon up and snag some timely Lanier intel. Otherwise, you can catch some tips in our full report.
Check out all the details 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:
DH streams:
Squirmy worm, egg, mop, bugger, micro girdle bug, psycho prince, root beer midge, duracell.
Wild trout:
Pheasant tail, zebra midge, micro girdle bug, squirrel nymph, ruby midge.
Streamers:
Olive woolly bugger, mohair leech, sparkle minnow, mini gulp sculp.
Reservoir stripers & bass:
Somethin else, Jo’s Somethin better, low fat minnow, clouser minnow, wiggle minnow.
River bass:
crittermite, hairy fodder, thrasher, leggy boi, clouser, sparkle minnow
Headwaters:
They’ve dropped and cleared from Wednesday’s storms. Expect a few more leaves to catch your leaders and flies. Try some dry/dropper combos, especially on chilly mornings, and be ready for better dry action in the warm afternoon sunshine.
Stockers:
Georgia stockers will be scarce until next March, when the existing hatchery crops finally reach stockable size.
Delayed Harvest
The Georgia streams were stocked this week (often with help from local TU chapters) and the high water has subsided. Those high flows have hopefully scattered out the stockers.
We’ve had few reports so far, as both the fish and fishers settle into a new season and storm flows subside . Folks first and last to these DH streams should have luck on bright eggs and small stripped buggers. Midday fish, exposed to crowds, bright sun, and clear water, might hit some micro girdle bugs, smaller eggs, and small dark nymphs and soft hackles on lighter tippet. Try yarn indicators that land lightly on the water surface.
Go early, late, or on weekdays to find DH fish that haven’t been trampled by season-opening crowds.
Gold Rush (Dahlonega) TU leader “Banker” had a good father/son trip to Ami DH this week.
Private Waters:
They’re still fishing well, but anglers must bring their A games or a really good guide. Book a trip with us soon!
UO-Helen manager Wes: “Private water fish are getting wiser in the low flows as we have rolled into November. I did a trip early this week with two good anglers and we caught plenty of fish but had to work for our bites.Keys to success were light tippet 6X, a very good drag free drift, and small natural flies like soft hackle pheasant tails.
We were also able to fool some big fish stripping streamers fast which was a blast.”
UO guide Syd is preparing today for her weekend of volunteering at the Casting for Recovery- GA women’s retreat. She just had time to send me a brief report and pics. Syd said: “Dry droppers before the rain. Pats rubber leg and squirmy worms after the rain!”
Tailwaters:
Give the Toccoa a break and say a prayer for those residents impacted by this week’s floods. City update:
TVA:
Try the Hooch! Athens Jay did and reports, “This week I had the good fortune to spend some time with Ryan and Miles Hartley, two anglers who have contributed a great deal to the trout fishing community in Georgia. To say that I received valuable instruction on the art of Euro Nymphing would be an understatement! I was fortunate enough to land several feisty wild fish and it was a great experience. All fish were caught on a double nymph rig using a small tungsten bead Frenchie paired with a Hare’s ear. I know Ryan is a regular contributor to this blog, so if anyone wants to improve their Euro skills, he’s the man to help! “
Feel free to contact the Hartley duo for your Hooch Tailwater intel and maybe a guide trip:
Ryan Hartley: 678-468-0440
Myles Hartley: 678-900-0835
Warm Rivers:
No news. Most rivers are now returning to fishable/floatable flows. The Hooch at 115 was fairly low and clear when I crossed it yesterday afternoon. Minnow and crayfish patterns for your fly or spin gear will work better than topwater baits in these cooling rivers. Check out our wide selection of bass lures at our Clarkesville store on the downtown square.
Ponds:
No news.
Lakes:
Our own duo had a blast on Tuesday evening, as detailed here:
UO’s Lanier guide Joseph: “Israel and I braved the snotty conditions on Wednesday and it paid off. We landed 8 fish, including Israel’s personal best Linesider (13-14lb) on the fly, and had the best schooling action I’ve seen all year.
Our fly of the day was once again my “Somethin’ Better,” although they were still picky at times with the retrieve. For conventional tackle small serpentine swimbaits and topwaters would have gotten the job done. Follow your graph and gulls to these fast-moving striper schools.
I still have a few fall dates open. If you’re interested visit my website at www.josephclarkflyfishing.com or call UO Sautee at (706)878-3083”
Events:
Join us tonite (11/6) for our First Friday celebration at the UO Sautee store.
Take a riverside horseback ride with our next-door neighbors, Chattahoochee Stables in Sautee, and then visit our fly shop.
11/14 Atlanta Swap Meet
11/17 Program
Reminder: Athens Jay will be the program speaker at Rabun TU’s monthly meeting. Guests welcome. It’s gonna be a good one: “People, Places and Dreams”. Details in the November newsletter at
Winston Rod Raffle!
What a sweet deal for only three bucks!
That’s the latest, post-storm intel for y’all. Get out there while the weather is dandy, the streamflows are a bit better, and the leaf fall is still tolerable. C’mon up to Sautee tonite and quiz our staff while we feed you and offer a few nuggets of wisdom for your own weekend success, from trout to stripers.
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
