UO Fishing Report - 6/19/26
We welcomed about two inches of rain yesterday and that has really helped our streams and lakes. Streamflows are boosted right now, but will quickly fall back to drought levels until we get more consistent summer showers. Streams and rivers are muddy right now, but smaller waters are still fishable. Bass rivers are blown out for a couple days.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=02330450&legacy=1
For trout, the Father’s Day weekend Rx is easy: Find Cold Water. Fish high elevations, north slopes, or icy tailwaters up near the dam where the water is still clear. Pond bass and bream are still a great bet, with bream still on the beds. Lanier spots could be good, too, before the sun is high and boat traffic sends you toward brunch.
Catch all the angling intel and fish tales in our full report, here:
https://www.unicoioutfitters.com/fishing-reports
(Link in bio)
Stop in either UO store for supplies and timely info from our fishy staffers. Again, don’t leave home without sunscreen, bug dope, and a packable poncho for our badly needed, sudden summer storms. Good luck!
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: Water walker, chubby Chernobyl, micro chubby for creeks, yellow humpy, stimulator or elk hair caddis, purple haze or parachute Adams .
Nymphs & Wets:
Squirmies, Mops, and buggers for stockers.
Drowned ant, green weenie, micro girdle bug, Walt’s worm, lightning bug, redneck.
Mountain streams: drowned ant, green weenie, prince nymph, improved yallarhammer.
Streamers:
Sparkle minnow, jig bugger, bank robber sculpin.
Reservoir Bass & Stripers:
Cowen’s somethin else, low fat minnow, game changer, Clouser.
River bass:
Topwater: poppers, stealth bomber.
Streamers sparkle minnow, feather changer, thrasher, tweaker.
Bottom bouncing flies: crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, hairy fodder.
Bream:
Boogle bugs, Bumble butt, prince nymph, bream reaper.
Carp:
Carp it bomb, hybrid worm, ball peen craw.
Headwaters:
Yesterday’s rain boosted streamflows nicely, but they’ll drop and clear quickly. At 9AM today, both Smithgall (65 degrees) and upper Smith (64F) were cool, slightly high, and stained.
But that stain was perfect for a chunky dropper under a buoyant dry. Fish will feed heavily under the cover of a stain, which hides them from predators. Streams will drop and clear by this evening or tomorrow at the latest, and you’ll be back to tossing single dries.
I ran across a successful trio during my Smith stop this morning ing. Stockers were taking the new fly tyer’s squirmies, dropped under a fluffy para-Adams.
UGA 5 Rivers program graduate Cooper grabbed sister Kennedy and drove up from Atlanta early Saturday to help at the Tallulah River kids fishing rodeo.
After the event he guided sister to some wild trout success on a Tallulah tributary . He reports: “Wild trout stream in North GA. Size 16 tan caddis dry fly did the trick. We also had some takers on a size 18 pheasant tail dropper, but they shook off before we could get our grip & grin moment. It was a great day with my sister, home for the summer from the U of KY!“
UO staffer Dredger woke up to a chilly Wednesday morning and decided to hit a headwater rainbow stream high above Helen. He was glad he did.
Both air and water temps were a refreshing 61F. The stream was low and clear, but shade was abundant. He started with a tan elk hair caddis (#18, then 16), and had a few hits, but the bugs were hard to see in the early morning shadows.
He switched to #16 para-Adams with a big white post and it was game-on! Most spots with enough depth or overhead cover produced a rise or two. After an hour of success, he switched to a bigger #14 Adams and it was equally effective.
Refusals equalled hooksets, but plenty of little wild bows came to hand. The day’s trophy was only about 7.5 inches, but they were all colorful and fun on his 3-weight blueline outfit. He quit at 11AM as the sun rose above the trees and the air warmed.
Stockers:
The GA program is still stocking a bunch of fish. Since it’s a state and federal holiday today, I doubt if we’ll see a new Friday stocking list. Just refer to the 2026 master list, called Frequencies, to see which streams were likely stocked this week. Smith sure was, based on this morning’s recon. Find that master list here:
Edit: I stand corrected! This week’s stocking list just arrived at 4:15PM.
Private Waters:
The showers allowed for one more trip to the Soque headwaters. UO guide Sydney reports: “Yesterday I got to host some clients on the upper Soque, which ran cool in the morning due to recent rain and a few cooler nights. We had a little shower in the morning before we hit the water, and that really helped the bite! Drifting squirmies under a big, buoyant dry fly was the most effective technique in the slightly stained water. My first-time flyfishers caught their first fish and some big ones on the fly rod!”
Tailwaters:
No recent reports. Most of them will be blown out for a few days after yesterday’s storm. Fish up near the dam, above most of the tributaries that are pumping muddy water into the mainstream.
Warm Rivers:
They are good when clear and dead when muddy. Right now they’re chocolate milk after yesterday’s storm and likely blown out for the weekend. Watch USGS stream gauges and call us or other local shops to see when they clear enough to float-fish once again.
UO-Helen manager Wes: “Jimmy and I took out a couple of young fly anglers on a shoal bass trip earlier in the week, when the river was clear. The fish are starting to get into their summertime patterns. We caught fish in the morning hours on stealth bombers and in the afternoon on sparkle minnows and hairy fodders.
Chasing river bass is an awesome way to beat the summer heat. Just make sure to check river gauges for recent spikes from rain. You’ll want good water clarity for the best success.”
UO buddy Athens Jay found some fairly clear water on a coastal plain river and cashed in with this nice shoalie. I thought he was using a small milk jug as his popper! Jay said it’s called the marshmallow!
UO staffer Dredger had a hankering for smallies and planned a Monday trip north of the border. He first checked river gauges that morning before departing. Smallie stream showed a small overnight flow bump, so he packed a trout rod, too, for a Smokies plan B in case the river was muddy. He took off with some limited optimism.
The first bridge crossing showed a slightly stained river, but he could still see some submerged rocks. He kept driving downstream to his destination and was thrilled to find about 3-4 feet of visibility, so he rigged the 6-weight.
He scored a handful of small but strong bass, all on the RLD dropper three feet below his white stealth bomber. He was nearly shut out in late afternoon, as flow and turbidity seemed to increase. After driving that far, he decided to stay and pray for some dark-30 action. He went 3 for 4 on risers to that stealth bomber after 8PM. The total was a good handful of smallies from 9 to nearly 12 inches. No lunkers this time, but you don’t know if you don’t go.
Ponds:
They remain a best bet, as they haven’t really cooked yet for weeks under a hot sun. Bream are still on the beds up here, with bass hovering around them. That was confirmed during my Unicoi Lake hike this morning. Stop in our Sautee store for a few amnesia bugs and yak or walk the lake perimeter, looking for the beds. When bream turn off from the popper, use UO guide Sydney’s secret weapon: drop one of UO’s small black leeches right into each “pie plate.” The bed defender will grab it.
Lakes:
No recent reports. Lanier spotted bass, up shallow over pints and bumps, should be a good bet according to Henry Cowen’s decades of knowledge. Just go early for cooler weather, lower sun, and fewer ski boaters throwing wakes your way.
Afar:
National flyfishing guru and UO friend Mac Brown from Bryson City has a recent Smokies report and hatch chart that are applicable to many north GA streams, too. Read it here:
Kudos:
Congrats to the Rabun, Habersham, and Hartwell Trout Unlimited chapters. Nearly two dozen vols helped the USFS to host its annual Tallulah River fishing rodeo for 150 kids last Saturday.
Kudos also to UGA 5 Rivers flyfishing club member Tyler Hernandez. Tyler drove 2.5 hours north from Marietta to Clayton after work on Tuesday to give a program to Rabun TU. He described the club’s activities, from casting instructions to stream cleanups and camping/fishing trips, and thanked to GA TU chapters for their donations of flyfishing equipment to supply the club’s loaner equipment program. Thanks Tyler!
We’re starting to dry out and clear up. Enjoy your holiday weekend and treat Dad to some new fishing equipment or a trip with you. Stop in either UO shop if we can help you with gifts or directions to a memorable fishing location. Good luck and have fun!
Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.
www.unicoioutfitters.com
