Stockers are scarce, headwaters are waking up, tailwaters are stained but fishing well, and bass rivers are calling. Two big fundraisers with awesome fishing prizes are happening now, and the elk are bugling just to our north. Get out there and celebrate America- after remembering this day in history and the legacy of selflessness that many heroes, including our friend Tom, left with us.

Check out all the details in our full report, here:

https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/fishing-reports

Stop in and see us soon. We’ll point you toward some cooperative, finned critters.

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: parachute ant, para Adams, tiny chubbies, and yellow and orange stimulators.

Nymphs & Wets:

Drowned ant, UV green weenie, frenchie or pheasant tail, sexy Walts worm in higher flows/deeper water.

Streamers:

Jiggy bugger, muddler, micro peanut envy, small buggers for stockers

River stripers:

Mop tail changer, bangtail, clouser.

River bass:

stealth bomber, Boogle bug, crittermite, hairy fodder, black leech or bugger.

Bream & Carp:

Hybrid worm, carp it bomb, gill scorpion, amnesia bug, mini jig bugger.

Headwaters:

We are still hot and dry up here, but there’s a glimmer of hope! The days are a bit shorter now and the nighttime lows are just a bit cooler. If we get some rain this weekend, those GA bluelines might be fishable once again.

A new Air Force Academy grad stopped in our shop last weekend, itching to catch some little wild trout. We set him up with some hot bugs and hotter intel and he scored on his first GA blueline trip!

UO buddy Spangler: “Some intel for you hopefully in time for today:

Fished my favorite rainbow stream high above Helen this morning (11th). Water temps were 64 at 730 am but just teetering on 67 by 130 (this was at about 2000 feet) so only a half day for me (I did hike and explore more stream length after the temps swayed me from more casts).

A mini tan and black chubby (size 16) did most of the work but I got a few on a little sunken ant as a dropper. Some also took an olive cdc bugger and a Jack Daniel’s nymph under an indicator in a deep plunge pool. I think had about a dozen but the only real insect hatch was the Joro spiders, I caught more of those with my face!”

Dredger went hunting for favorable conditions on his iPhone last nite and found some . The weather and water looked good for a park trout trek, so he took off before daybreak today (11th).

He found Rabunites Gabby and Rick already there, hunting bugles with their long lenses. After a brief hello, Dredger headed uphill, avoiding his own road hazards.

Two big factors gave him hope: 63-degree water and abundant shade. A big bunch of bows and four browns came to hand. The #14 para Adams was popular the first dark hour, but the #16 frenchie dropper was the ticket during the last, brighter two. He quit at noon’s high sun and scurried home just to write this report for y’all.

Stockers:

Last weekend’s holiday stockings were probably “it” for a while. Some streams will have a stocking or two later this fall when remaining hatchery stocks grow up to stockable size. For now, focus on the two tailwaters or cover a lot of ground to find leftovers in the bigger mountain streams like Cooper and Tallulah.

Private Waters:

Book your fall trips now! Call your favorite shops and guides ASAP before all of the prime dates are reserved. For guided trips right now, stick with the tailwater outfitters, who are fishing cold reservoir outflows.

Tailwaters:

Be ready for some stain with Lanier’s heavy fall stratification and its eventual Xmas turnover:

http://georgiawildlife.com/lake-lanier-turnover-facts

UO buddy Ryan: “I floated the Hooch this past weekend with a friend and had a great day. We caught fish on both streamers as well as nymphs fished on an indicator rig with 5x tippet. My same confidence flies that I throw while wading also produced plenty of fish while we were floating. Eggs and hares ear nymph variations did most of the work. We didn’t have any giant browns chase our streamers, but I still hold hope that I’ll tangle with one sooner than later!”

Feel free to contact the Hartley duo for your Hooch intel and maybe a guide trip:

Ryan Hartley: 678-468-0440

Myles Hartley: 678-900-0835

UO buddy Mo: “Hey Jeff.

I hope you had a great weekend.

Here’s a little sample from the tailwater last Sat. Same story as last week, the catching was pretty durn good. Others were throwing streamers and dry dropper rigs with little success, but I found Euro nymphing with a couple of small dark/black perdigons was a far more superior technique to get them to eat. The water is already well on the way to full-blown pea soup, but not quite there yet. That will probably change in a week. Still good visibility, about knee deep, but the clarity is reduced quite a bit in deeper water so be extra careful wading. It’s also slicker than snot now. It always is, I know, but now even more so.”

Warm Rivers:

They’re still low and clear and fishing pretty well for most folks. Again, toss surface bugs (stealth bombers, boogle bugs) at dawn, dusk, and into deep afternoon shade, and bottom-bouncers (hairy fodders, critter mittens, weighted black buggers) into deeper cover during the midday sunshine.

UO manager Jake: “Joseph and I snuck out for a river float earlier this week. It’s been a while since I have personally been able to get out there, but the fish were very eager to play. The water is probably the lowest I have personally ever seen it, but the fish were willing to play as long as you focused on a stealthy approach. We caught fish on topwaters, bottom bouncing baits and everything in between. We had a ton of numbers, but no real giants, with a handful of fish in the 17-18” range. “

UO-Helen shop manager Wes: “Israel, myself, and shop friend Don took advantage of a cool and cloudy Labor Day to chase some Bartram’s bass for a few hours. The weather and the bite was great. We all probably caught between 5-10 bass in a few hours. Topwater flies like stealth bombers were the ticket .”

Dredger rain north of the border on Wednesday nite for a Smallie fix. Alas, they had lockjaw. He managed only three dink bass in the low, clear, warm river. Consolation prizes included a handful of plump rock bass and one trophy bluegill, big enough to inhale his white stealth bomber. Oh well, that’s fishing.

Ponds:

Always a good bet through the summer. You just have to fish the shallows when it’s shady and then pull off to deeper water when the sun is high.

UO buddy RSquared: “I fished one of my favorite lakes early this morning. The bite started slow, but by 9am The bluegills became so active you would think there was a full moon. I was using a popper/dropper rig with a yellow “Booglebug” on top and a green “Sinking Cricket” as my dropper. No Shellcrackers or Bass came out to play today (10th), but that’s okay. The bluegills were a ton of fun.”

Lakes:

No news. still hot with lotsa boat traffics and most bass and stripers taking shelter down deep.

Afar:

UO buddy, Jessica the Trout Wrangler, is breaking in her son right. Here’s Doc with some coastal bluefish action.

Rabunite “Bluejay” keeps rubbing in his extended Yellowstone time. Here’s a pic with no hints on where, when, or how.

Got time for a road trip? They’re bugling and sparring in Cherokee, and I’m not talking about the casino.

https://www.facebook.com/share/18zq8hEVGL/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Events:

Keep two great events in mind and I tribute to their causes. Check out the Casting for Recovery party and auction to fund their breast cancer survivors retreat at Smithgall Woods.

And support the Soque River Watershed Association as it improves water quality in one of north GA’s most well-known trophy trout streams!

A Special Remembrance

Dear Tom,

We will never forget your selfless acts in the South Tower 25 years ago today. So many people got out, thanks to your quick actions, and have lived full lives because you and your fellow heroes showed us how to be true Americans, running “up the stairs” to help others in desperate need. May we all remember that lesson of selflessness that you taught us on 9/11/01.

https://papba.org/fallen-officers/police-officer-thomas-edward-gorman/

We hope you’re up there right now, with a surf rod bent, as you and Dredger’s mom tackle some blues in the breaking waves once again. And don’t worry, our gang of “adopted GA uncles” made one fishing finatic out of that son of yours! Tight lines, dear friend.