The Angler Magazine | January 2022 | Greater Atlanta Area Edition

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Fishing Friends RECORDBREAKING CATCHES

WINTER BASSIN’

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By Capt. Ryan Palmer

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ahoo are some of the fastest fish in the ocean.

Built for speed with large tails and torpedo shaped bodies, they can accelerate rapidly and turn on a dime. Wahoo can be solitary fish or found in large schools, depending on conditions, time of year and moon phases.

Known for their excellent table fare and awesome fighting ability, anglers travel to South Florida and The Bahamas from all over the world to target them. They have razor sharp teeth and their jaws are hinged like scissors, so landing one on mono is always an exhilarating feat. They can be caught year round, but during the winter months they are found in far better numbers and sizes, especially around the new and full moons. There are several ways to catch them, including high-speed trolling, planer fishing, vertical jigging and live bait.

High-speed trolling for wahoo could well be the most exciting method to catch them. There’s nothing like hearing the clicker of an 80 wide reel scream while you’re doing 17 knots. In some cases, you will have multiple hook ups with multiple drags going off. Talk about heart racing!

I’ll go over my normal high-speed spread, but keep in mind everyone has their favorite way of doing things. I run a three-line spread. I fish two electric reels and a 50W Shimano Talica. My first electric is set at 80 feet from the boat with a 48-ounce cable-rigged cigar lead. To that I have 25 feet of 400-pound mono shock leader, which is then connected to my lure. The next electric is set at 150 feet from the boat with a 32-ounce cigar lead and the same shock leader. Last is my shotgun Talica with a 24-ounce cigar lead and the same shock leader.

I have about 25 different lures from different manufacturers in many colors, shapes and sizes.

All of my lures are rigged on 480-pound cable with either single or double hook sets. I start my spread with an assortment of colors. If I get more than one bite on a particular color, I will change the others to that or similar colors.

High speed trolling is done in both South Florida and the Bahamas. I used to think that it

was pointless in South Florida, but over the last few years I have been more successful catching them, and the fish I’ve been catching are better sized fish than the wahoo I’ve caught while planer fishing. On a trip just after a winter full moon, we caught a double header off Pompano Beach. Each fish was in the 40-pound range.

When high speed trolling, the optimum speed is between 15 and 20 knots, and we fish a zigzag pattern between 120 and 300 feet of water. There are a couple reasons for the zigzag.

One is to mimic baitfish coming in or going out during tidal changes, and the other is that during your turns your baits will slow down and fall slightly before accelerating again. This is when you get most of your bites. Keeping an eye on your chart plotter is key, because you can generally mark the schools in the upper portion of the water column. High speed trolling is great if you want to specifically target wahoo, as there are only a few species that eat at that kind of speed.

Planer fishing is just as fun and doesn’t burn nearly as much fuel. I like to run two planers consisting of a #4 and a #8 planer with either a drone spoon or a bonita strip behind a Sea Witch. Colors, sizes and shapes all vary, but once I find what color they like I switch them over. The drone spoon is a time-tested and proven method. The flash and vibration of the spoon cutting through the water gets their attention. I prefer 3.5-inch blue drone spoon behind a #8 Old Salty planer. I run about 60 to 100 feet of 60-pound mono between my planer and bait. While pulling planers down deep, I also pull a couple surface baits. Anything from a bonita strip behind a chugger-style lure to a rigged ballyhoo on wire behind an Islander will work. If you have outriggers, you can spread two baits wide and run a shotgun with a cigar-weighted rigged ballyhoo. I

planer fish the same areas as I high speed, but my speeds will be much slower at 6 to 11 knots. Lots of wahoo tournaments have been won fishing at slower trolling speeds, so don’t rule out a jumbo just because you’re not highspeeding.

Live baiting wahoo is less common because you are either bump trolling or drifting goggle eyes or other live baits. You are not covering as much ground. Live baits rigged on light wire or titanium are my first choice, with fluorocarbon being second, due only to a wahoo’s super sharp teeth.

I’ve caught several wahoo on vertical jigs.

About 90 percent of those have come way offshore under some type of flotsam. I prefer a simple 2-ounce diamond Jig. All the wahoo I’ve caught on vertical jigs have been less than 10 pounds.

Wahoo as table fare is in my top five, maybe even top three. I’ve often said that if you have cooked it, it’s already burnt. Do yourself a favor and try some wahoo sashimi!

Capt. Ryan Palmer Family Jewell Fishing Charters 954-882-2631

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Friends&Fishing

By Jim Parks

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here are a multitude of pleasures and benefits to fishing. The beauty of the environment, the challenge, the relaxation, the simple joy of being outside, the fish caught and the big ones that got away are all among the reasons we fish.

Intertwined are the relationships created during outings.

Like many others, there are times when I would rather be on the water alone. One particular period of my life, I was working full time while going to night school working on my master’s degree. I had no time. Recognizing this, my wife all but demanded I go fishing. Entering the creek that morning, I was mentally exhausted. I perhaps fished 30 minutes before I wound up lying on a rock with the sun in my face. The sound of the creek and my feet in the cool water washed away a lot of stress. At other times, I’ve found the solitude allows me to commune amidst the creation with its creator. After all, even Jesus knew the merits of hanging out with fishermen.

To quote Norman MacLean in A River Runs Through It, “And we were left to assume, as my younger brother Paul and I did… that all firstclass fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were flyfishermen... and that John, the favorite, was a dry fly-fisherman.”

Over the decades, I’ve been blessed to meet hundreds of like-minded sportsmen. Some, I’d rather forget! However, looking back over fourplus decades, I cannot help but reminisce over what fishing friendships have meant.

If you were fortunate to begin fishing young, you had at least one mentor. If you had a father or grandfather who took you on early fishing trips, hopefully you realize how blessed you were 6 NATIONAL

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and will joyfully pass that blessing to the next generation.

Having no fishermen in my family tree, I adapted. Like-minded friends of my own age, aka the “Three Amigos,” myself, Keith and Steve, as well as their fathers and grandfathers, helped me along the way. Though my father didn’t fish, he worked in a textile mill alongside more than a few fishermen with whom I came into contact. Among them were the late Don Kirk, author of several books on fly fishing, and the late, great fly tyer Kirk Jenkins. To this day, the memory is burned in my mind of my father’s co-worker Charlie Murrell tying flies with me while camped on Forney Creek in the Smoky Mountains. I was 14 years old.

Along the way, they and others taught me wading, casting and reading water, always instilling an interest and knowledge of the history of and respect for the locations where I trod as a young fisherman. Growing older meant adulthood; college, career and marriage entered the scene.

Still, at least one of the Three Amigos besides myself has kept fishing, and we still get together when life permits.

As we grow older and hopefully better in our pursuit, we’re sometimes blessed to invest in the future of our sport by sharing with the next generation. We instill in them an appreciation for the beauty and opportunity of wading in the crystal clear streams while sharing the history passed down to us.

Those opportunities make us better fishermen.

In teaching, we are forced to consider the intricate, basic skills of the sport, which over time can become blurred by repetition. As my mentors did with me, I am careful to not “over-coach.” This allows the student to make and learn from their

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mistakes. How awesome to be part of their first catch and to share in that accomplishment.

If we’re lucky, at some point we are blessed to come into contact with equally experienced fishermen with whom we just click. The best fishing buddies possess a similar interest in locales and styles, but are different enough that we still learn from one another. The best fishing buddies become those who can finish your sentence, agree on the best places to fish, offer insight we didn’t consider and share learned tidbits, making both that much better. An additional bonus are those friends who are willing to take those crazy adventures such as night trips, remote bushwhacking treks and just downright crazy ideas for which they’ll catch it from their spouse when they eventually return home, well past curfew.

I remember as kids how we were competitive.

We even had the unofficial “Virgil Ward Award” for whoever landed the largest fish that day. Over time, a point is reached when you get just as much joy in watching a friend ply a hole for that big ol’ brown. Sometimes it’s a tag-team approach, with a spotter directing casts to a trophy fish. We realize as much excitement in our friend’s success as if it were our own, if not more!

Lately, I’ve been stepping back… just a little… to give my buddy the first crack at a good run.

Watching an artist at work, regardless of the canvas, is a joy. When that person is using all the combined skills of a stealthy approach, with the fly you both agree is best, making that cast in just the right spot and setting that hook, it’s like watching yourself from a distance.

In that moment, you are just as elated to share and witness the moment. That moment is when you realize having a fishing buddy is priceless.

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PHOTO BY JEFF DURNIAK, UNICOI OUTFITTERS

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING JANUARY FLY FISHING REPORT Contributed By: Henry Cowen www.henrycowenflyfishing.com December continued to be a very tough and disappointing month of fishing during the first ten days. Lakes across the South that are deep lakes continue to wait for the water temperatures to drop so the baitfish will go shallow.

More shallow and smaller lakes like Oconee and Nottley are faring better than the deep clear lakes like Lanier and Hartwell.

The striped bass are not coming shallow again this year due to the fact that their food source (threadfin shad) are staying deep.

The shad are most likely deep because their food source (plankton) is probably deep too. What causes this? Warmer weather patterns or the time it takes for lake turnover to be completed can certainly cause this. It could be water quality too.

Here is what you need to know going forward.

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The last 8 weeks has been terrible for fly anglers as the fish and the bait remain DEEP for the most part. Anglers chasing busting fish on the surface that are up for twenty seconds and then down again make for some frustrating fishing.

This should change as the weather gets colder. Most of the poor fishing had been due to the bait being in smaller groups and not as high on the surface as previous years. This year, the warm and cold weather changes in the weather seems to have made our water temps slightly warmer than normal again (same as last year).

Last year, January proved to be the best month of the entire year.

Here lies the problem that anglers may face on any given January. If the water temperatures continue to hover around 50 degrees or go just a tad lower (into the high 40’s), fish-

ing will probably be very good and we will continue to see fish feeding near the surface and on the banks for a few more weeks. If, however, we get a colder than normal spell and the water temperatures drop into the mid-forties, the fishing will shut down. Everything this time of year is predicated to water temperature.

It is best to start looking far north in all the area lakes as the shad migrate north and especially into the backs of the coves looking for warmer water. Here is what essentially happens: as the surface water temperatures drop, the shad will go to the backs of the cove seeking to find the warmer water temperatures that the afternoon sun throws off into the shallows.

Stripers will come calling for an easy meal as the shad are more lethargic in the morning after a long night of the waters cooling down.

Small flies and intermediate fly lines are called for in this instance.

During low light levels in both the AM and PM, there is a good chance you will find stripers blowing up on the surface and running shad up and onto the banks in fear of their lives. It truly is one of the most compelling of all the feeding frenzies anglers will see on a lake.

These stripers are easy pickings too! Anytime you toss flies to shallow feeding fish, your chances of hooking up are greatly increased.

If you do not find fish in the backs of the coves, then you need

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to look at the mouths of the coves for large schools of fish bunched together in about 15-25 feet of water.

These schools of fish will have your fish finder looking like spaghetti.

Now is the time to employ a fast sinking line and use a countdown method in order to elicit a strike.

Most sinking lines will sink at a rate of 6” per second. That means if you see fish 15 feet down on your fish finder, you need to allow your sinking fly line to go down for 30 seconds in order for the fly to reach the feeding zone. This is an extremely effective method used to take stripers in the dead of winter.

Our most effective flies will still be the Somethin’ Else as well as a small Polar Fiber Minnow.

These two patterns tied 1 ½” to 2” in length will out fish all other artificial baits you can throw. Another pattern you can count on in January is dock light fishing. While most sane anglers prefer to fish lights in the spring and fall, in-theknow striper anglers can wear out fish on dock lights either after dark or in the wee hours of the early morning. Give it a try next time you are out prowling the northern breeches of our area lakes.

Happy New Year to all our Angler Magazine readers, and if you need a fix on stripers, consider buying my new book “Fly Fishing for Freshwater Striped Bass”. It is available at local fly shops and Orvis as well as Amazon. See you on the pond!

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING CHATTOOGA RIVER

A great Happy New Year from all of us at Chattooga River Fly Shop, and we are excited for the upcoming year with great weather, gear, and friendship out on the local waters here in South Carolina. The holidays are now behind us, and we hope by this article being published we received some much needed height in the rain gauge. November through December had been quite dry leading to lower water levels and “Gin Clear” conditions. Very spooky fish at those water levels leads to lengthy leaders and a very stealthy approach to the rivers to have a successful day.

Now that the winter fishing season is upon us, and it is time to layer up and catch big winter fish. With the heavy rains, the rivers will take a few days to subside from extremely high levels and unsafe wading conditions. After this, the rivers will fish extremely well with many large fish being caught. Do not let the cold weather keep you home. Just dress appropriately and enjoy the rivers.

We have found using the wicking base layers and the Redington I/O Fleece Pants to be very beneficial to keeping warm while wading. Let’s not forget about top layers either by wearing a wicking base layer shirt and then a fleece and an insulated coat depending on the daytime temperatures. Make sure wading belts are tightly secured around the mid area as well as the top draw sting.

Nothing is worse than a slip and fall

Morgan Voke and Anthony Rossitto with a great Chauga Rainbow. in the water and a gush of icy cold water down the old waders due to a loose belt or draw string.

Deep, deep, deep! As the saying goes, if you’re not hanging the bottom once in a while, you are not deep enough. As water temperatures fall, this is absolutely true as the river water will be warmer down in the depths of larger pools and trenches.

As warmer days increase the river temps, back off the big heavies and swing some soft-hackles in tandem with some smaller nymphs. Heavier large steamers can also be a great way to be winter fishing as well.

Large fish cannot resist putting the big, bright flashy in their mouths.

At times, a little slower retrieval can be necessary as colder temperatures will lead to lethargic fish.

Let’s remember that we only have one great outdoors, so enjoy them, respect them, pick up a little bit of trash on our way out, and always remember to “leave no trace” ourselves. We hope to see everyone out on the rivers in 2022!

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ATLANTA 3

LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING With the warmer weather and

WHEN THE LOG MOVES, PART ONE Contributed By: Jeff Durniak www.unicoioutfitters.com Unicoi Outfitters, Orvis 2018 Fly Shop of the Year

If you play this trout game long enough, it’s going to happen to you.

You’ll drift your meaty nymph rig through the depths of a sweet bluegreen pool and follow it along as it occasionally bumps the bottom.

Then it stops and you set the hook.

Your rod bends as the nymph is obviously stuck on an immoveable object. You begin to pump your rod up and down to shake that bug loose from the log, but the log moves!

Welcome to your Oh My Gawd Moment as you ponder what you’re going to do next to win the war with Moby Dick.

Never fear, for Unicoi Outfitters is here again to help you win. After five decades of tussles with tacklebusters, I have a few tips to share.

They’ve been learned from my wins, my losses, and my observations of superior anglers. Tune in and see if some of these lessons may suit you, too. It’s not IF, but WHEN you, too, will hook the log that moves. Here we go: 1) Count to Five. I’ve watched a creel full of fly fishing rookies set the hook when their indicator stops, watch their bent rod remain still for just one second, and then start yanking on it to free the snag. Then the “log” moves and snaps their tippet. So lesson #1 is to hold that rod tip high and count to five. If the tip doesn’t move in that interval, then you’ve indeed hooked a trophy boulder or log. Walk back upstream, pull sideways against the flow, and see if you can recover your bugs. But if that rod tip starts thumping and diving for the water surface, proceed to tip #2!

2) Keep it straight. Ensure you keep a straight line to the fish. Slack is a killer. I always use my rod index finger as my first “rod guide” when stripping in line and setting the hook. Focus on the line from that trigger finger to the fish and ensure you don’t give that fish any slack.

Keep it tight, but be ready to give line when the fish bolts. And it will, so be ready to give line while keeping all slack out of it.

3) Lose Round 1. Most whoppers will tear away from you like a scalded dog. Our natural reaction is 4 ATLANTA

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to clamp down on our line with that trigger finger so the fish “doesn’t get away.” Then, of course, all rookies hear the most dreaded sound in fly fishing: “PING.” The tippet snaps and you fall to your knees in deep depression. Instead, be ready for that run and let the fish go. Give it line, while keeping that line straight.

If you’re lucky, it will take all of your slack at your feet and you can now fight the fish directly from your reel.

Of course, you already set your reel drag perfectly before you made the first cast of the day. If you let the fish win that first round, it will burn a lot of energy and you’ll be a leg up in the fight.

Hopefully, these tips will bring you more wins than losses. Enjoy the game, no matter the outcome. If we are standing in a stream, waving a stick, then we are all winners anyway! Good luck with those moving logs. To be continued.

WINTER FISHING

Contributed by James Bradley Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide www.ReelEmInGuideService.com (706) 273-0764 Looking forward into January, some anglers will give up their fishing gear to settle close by the fireplace enjoying that hot cup of coffee. Many will do this for the next couple of months ahead. Will you be asking yourself, “should I fish or stay home”? Keep in mind, as we turn toward the New Year, knowing when to fish is what we should be deciding on. Let’s look further into this.

There are pros and cons to fishing during the winter months. If you enjoy being outside without the elbow-to-elbow conditions of late spring and summer, well this is your time! Cold temps keep many anglers inside. Cold temps can affect the fishing too. Trout will not move far if tempted with a fly. So, let’s keep a few things in mind for the next couple of months if going out to be on the water.

Fish the low-pressure side of the barometer gauge. This is usually going to be a cloudy day with a chance of rain or snow. If plausible, be on the water by 11 am and maybe heading off by 4 pm. Try to pick your day to be on the water by selecting the third or fourth warm day in a row. It’s so surprising to be on the stream when the water has warmed up a mere few degrees.

Fish the water thoroughly and fish deep along with downsizing flies if needed. Let someone know exactly where you will be going to fish.

Make sure you have fresh flashlight batteries along with your vehicle battery being checked by a service tech. A great trip can become nasty fast when not fully prepared.

This time of year, use the waters that are being stocked like our Delayed Harvest streams. Georgia’s DNR and the Forest Service will be planting some new fish and this can always be fun. Georgia has Amicalola Creek, Chattooga River, Chattahoochee River, Smith Creek, and the Toccoa River listed as their DH streams. Look for “DH” signage to be sure which section of water you are on. They are catch and release waters only from November 1 until May 14, then they fall under the general regulations. So, get out

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there and enjoy!

If you are a beginner wanting to learn how to fly fish, we have a great staff of instructors who have been schooled in the art of fly fishing.

One of the best ways to learn about fly fishing is to spend time with those of us who are professional full-time guides. Don’t forget to ask us about our float trips! Currently, we are doing floats on the Toccoa Tailwater and on the upper river as well. Give us a call to book your amazing trip on the water and don’t forget that we offer gift certificates!

Reel ‘Em In Guide Service operates as an Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Outfitter in North Georgia’s Historic High-Country region. They have been offering their services to fly anglers since 2001. They have permits for guiding in North Georgia and North Carolina, offer over 7 miles of private trophy waters across Georgia, and operate float trips on the Toccoa River in GA and the Tuckasegee River in NC.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING FLY FISHING FOR JANUARY RESERVOIR SPOTTED BASS

By Jacob Milholland, Store Manager Cohutta Fishing Company (706) 946-3044 When it comes to our North Georgia reservoirs, January can be cold and miserable. That doesn’t mean it has to be unproductive! A sure-fire way to catch spotted bass on a fly rod this month is with a float-n-fly rig. Float-n-fly fishing is essentially using a jigged streamer pattern under a strike indicator.

We are targeting suspended, lethargic bass. By dropping the fly below a strike indicator, we are allowing the fly to sit at a fixed depth over a longer period of time than a sinking fly line would allow, giving the fish more time to come up to the fly.

A 9 ½ foot 6 wt. fly rod excels for this kind of fishing, but a 9 foot 5 wt. rod/reel with a weight forward floating fly line is sufficient.

As far as leader/tippet, choose length based on your targeted depth. A good start would be a 9 foot 3X leader, then add about 1824 inches of 3x Fluorocarbon tip-

pet. For my strike indicator, a ¾ or 1 inch Airlock is a good start, but a two-tone Thingamabobber is my preference. Make sure to tie a loop knot to the fly so that the fly hangs naturally.

Electronics are an excellent tool to locate fish and bait, but before I had a graph, I learned from my fly fishing mentors, Conner Jones and Garner Reid, to search for visual clues like rock walls, docks, or shoal and point markers for success. Cast to the wall, bank, or dock and allow the fly to sink to maximum depth. With the rod tip at the 10 o’clock position, creep the fly back by “skittering” the strike indicator to the boat with slight shakes of the rod. The goal for the retrieve is to dangle the fly on the same plane throughout, as if it were slowly hovering back to the boat. I will also give the fly long pauses, as fish may react slowly in cold water temperatures.

While I still tie baitfish patterns, I prefer to tie them on a 90 degree jig head rather than tying a Clouser-style fly. We carry Wapsi “Super Jig” hooks - 1/32 or 1/16 ounce lead heads on a black nickel Mustad hook, and those are excellent.

If you think you’re around striper or magnum spotted bass, you could straighten out too light wire of a hook. Color-wise, it’s hard to beat chartreuse/white, olive/white, or gray/white. I like a good bit of silver or pearl flash in my flies, but there are circumstances that a fly without flash is better. I tie flies around 3 inches long, but with synthetic materials like Just Add H20 Slinky

Fibre or EP Gamechanger Fiber.

These materials can be trimmed in situations that call for a smaller profile. Another tip comes from guide Henry Cowen: Hot Pink Fluoro Fibre on the “throat” of the fly. I’m tying a small selection of these flies for the store this month if you need an example or are headed to the water!

Cohutta Fishing Company is located in the heart of downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia. We carry a large assortment of guide-tested fly fishing equipment and proven fly patterns, as well as having a knowledgeable and friendly staff. Come by and see us at 490 East Main Street, Blue Ridge, GA 30513. (706) 946-3044.

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ATLANTA 5

LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING THE CASTING CORNER CASTING A SINKING LINE

Contributed By: Rene J. Hesse Certified Casting InstructorFederation of Fly Fishers & Atlanta Fly Fishing and Camping Meetup Organizer With winter here and fish holding in deeper water, we often change lines from a weight forward (WF) to a sinking line (S) or somewhere in between such as an intermediate sink (F/I). Rather than get much more into the types of lines, go to your local fly shop for good advice. Let’s talk about the differences in casting the sinking lines. It is very different than floating line.

The biggest difference in casting a sinking line is the start of the cast. Where the line is in the water column and how much line is out of the rod tip matters quite a bit.

Sinking line tends to have a shorter head, so the ‘fat/heavy’ part of the line will generally be down deep in the water by the time you retrieve the fly. If the line and fly

are sunk and you start your back cast, it will generally overload the rod. Getting the line and fly up to the surface with a roll cast or spey cast will allow you to move into the back cast smoothly.

Spend more time getting the line and fly in the proper position before trying to make a back cast and the false casting sequence will be quicker and easier. We are trying to lift the line and fly up to the top of the water. We are also trying to get the portion of the line that’s in the water in line with where we want the next cast to go. There are some fancy names for this type of change of direction, but the important thing to remember is the rod, line and fly need to be pointing in the direction we want to go before we start false casting. That

head of the line out of the rod tip, several feet less. Let the weight of the line load the rod and shoot line into the back cast. Generally, only one false cast is needed if you have done it right.

Yep, it’s sink line time. Time to work on a little different cast.

may mean just a flop of the line out with a roll before we make that first back cast. Start that sequence with only 15-20 feet of line out.

Get to know your sinking line.

A lot of them will be color coded to mark the head of the line. A hint would be to start with less than the

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING OCONEE ON THE FLYLAKE OCONEE JANUARY FORECAST

Contributed By Capt. Wayne Moore USCG www.oconeeonthefly.com Hybrids/Stripers Spin Fishing – In December, the spoon bite has been off the chart good. I look for this pattern to continue in January. Venerable Lake Oconee guide Doug Nelms first taught me how to jig a spoon many years ago. I was amazed how easy it is when the bite is on.

I use a 7/8-ounce War Eagle spoon on a spinning reel so my customer does not have to worry about backlash that occurs with a bait caster. I use 12 pound Stren Low-Vis green monofilament. Once I find a hump holding fish, the presentation is to simply open the bail and lower the spoon to the bottom. Once you feel the bottom, point the rod downward, take any slack out of the line and raise the rod a few feet. Then, lower the rod back down and the hit most often occurs lowering the rod.

The other method is to follow the birds, and when you see them dive bombing the shad, cast the spoon to that area and work it back to the boat. If the water temperatures drop below 50 degrees, the bite will slow down, and vertical jigging becomes even more important.

Fly Fishing - I had a father and son fly fishing this week. They were both used to fishing in salt water and could cast 80 feet with ease. (Lefty Kreh has a number of books and videos that can help with distance casting.) Sinking line is the ticket in the winter here. Scientific Angler’s Sonar-Titan-sink-3-sink-5-sink-7 is an excellent choice. The technique is to let the fly drop to where the fish are. With this line, the average sink rate is six inches per second. So, count down to 30 to target fish at 15 feet.

Blane Chocklett’s Micro Game Changer is 1.75 inches and the Mini Finesse Changer is 2.75 inches. I use the white color and choose the size based on what size the threadfin shad are at the time. If the birds are dive bombing the shad, its hard to beat Henry Cowen’s Somethin’ Else fly fished on intermediate fly line with a seven and a half foot 10 or 12-pound leader.

Crappie – In December, pushing rods out of the front of the boat was 8 ATLANTA

JANUARY 2022

productive, and this bite should pick up in January. Look for fish to migrate north of I-20.

The Garmin Panoptix LiveScope System is becoming popular here.

The system allows the angler to see the fish even when the boat is not moving. It is amazing! You can call Joe Partenza of Crappie Ninja Guide service at 706-819-3515 or Richard Malcom of Jigslinger Crappie Guide Service at 678-227-9881 to book a guided trip and learn about the Panoptix LiveScope System. These guys are tournament crappie anglers and experts in using this innovative technology!

Final Words - If you want to fish this fall/winter bite, please call 404-317-9556 or email me at wmoore1700@outlook.com or and lock in your dates. Tight lines and God bless.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING

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THE TROUT SPEY ADVANTAGE

Contributed by David Hulsey International Federation of Fly Fishers Master Certified Casting Instructor http://www.hulseyflyfishing.com 770-639-4001

Why use a two handed trout spey rod when I can just use a single hand rod? I get this question in prep for all of our intro trout spey classes. The answer is not all areas on the stream are fishable with a single hand rod because of the length of cast and line manipulation needed. I can think of at least half the water on our large rivers here in the Southeast that is inaccessible to the wading angler. If you are blessed with a drift boat or raft you can usually reach most of these areas, but if you are chest deep in icy river water, it’s a no-go.

Spey lines, especially Skagit lines and heads, are designed to deliver big streamers at amazing distances with very limited back cast room. Swinging a big piece of meat through a deep hole and getting it annihilated by a two foot brown or striper is one of life’s true pleasures!

In addition to lines designed to deliver a huge payload, Scandi spey lines can make swinging soft hack-

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les or smaller flies a thing of beauty.

They can cast a pair of flies like a lazer beam to any riffle area unreachable by conventional fly lines.

With the advent of smaller two and three weight trout spey rods, catching normal sized trout can be a blast too. Two weight spey rods are pretty much equal in power to your four or five weight outfit. Balanced with the five weight reel you already own makes a powerful trout getter. So anything you chunk out there with your normal trout setup can be thrown with your two weight trout spey. Trout spey rods are usually under twelve feet long and a well balanced two hander is a joy to cast and fish with.

Getting the right line and tips to use with your spey rod is critical to success. Recommendations from line companies are readily available and should be followed closely to get the best results. For Scandi type lines or heads, a regular nine foot leader

looped to the line performs very well for spiders and soft hackles. Adding a couple of feet of tippet with a surgeons knot and a tag provides a system to put on a second fly Integrated Skagit lines and heads require some sort of tip to get the best performance in reaching the proper depth to present the fly. Tips that float to sink rates up to seven inches per second and more are available, and the shorter the better. I find with our rivers here in the Southeast that 1.5 to 3 inches per second sink rates are the most useful and useable to our trout spey rods. Short tips are turned over easier and are more fun to cast.

Most of the holes or buckets on our

Southern rivers can be reached effectively with these sink rates and short five to six foot tips and then adding a five foot piece of tippet.

Effective trout spey flies can range from Wooly Buggers to intruders to soft hackles and any other swing type fly tied. I love small steelhead and salmon type flies at times to show the trout something they haven’t seen before.

If you are interested in trying the new trout spey game, book one of our 3 Hour Introductory Trout Spey Classes on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia. We supply a variety of gear for you to try so you can experience why trout spey is the way!

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING

ATLANTA FLY FISHING SHOW FEB. 4-5 SET FOR INFINITE ENERGY CENTER Fly fishers – in forced hibernation for much of the last two years – will emerge in droves as the fifth annual Atlanta Fly Fishing Show kicks off the 2022 Southeastern angling season, Feb. 4-5 at the Infinite Energy Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth.

From freshwater trout and bass to redfish, tarpon, snapper and snook in the salt, show visitors are set for virtually non-stop how-todo-it fly fishing seminars, casting demonstrations, Classes with the

Experts, and Destination Theater presentations.

With expanded exhibitor space, producers promise more manufacturer and retail store displays of the newest fly rods, reels, lines, boots, waders, clothing and flies plus guides and vacation lodges during the two day event.

Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.; 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Sat. Parking is free.

When word got out that the show was “on,” designers and man-

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ufacturers of rods, reels, clothing, wading gear and accessories wanted nothing more than to be first to show off new products in Atlanta.

Seminar leaders and other instructors are a “who’s who” in the fly fishing game including: • Gary Borger, with a Ph.D. from the University of WisconsinMadison and Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin campus in Wausau, Gary has written six best-selling books on fly fishing.

• Mac Brown, owner of Mac Brown Fly Fish and Fly Fishing Guide School in Western NC. Angler of the Year in Field and Stream magazine.

• Howard Croston, Manchester, England, global product manager for Hardy & Greys and manager, captain and competitor for the 2022 England world team.

• Pat Dorsey of Colorado, guiding for over 25 years, spends approximately two hundred days a year on the water with clients of all abilities.

• Tim Flagler, whose YouTube channel has more than 96,000 subscribers and 29 million views.

• Kevin Howell, inducted into the “Legends of the Fly” Hall of Fame in 2017 and in 2018 the Southeast Fly Fishing Museum Hall

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of Fame.

• Steve Hudson, author of fly fishing and fly tying books, including the “101” series of introductory fly fishing and fly tying guides along with Chattahoochee Trout, a 328page guide called “the definitive work on fishing for trout in north Georgia’s Chattahoochee River.”

• Dave Whitlock, author of four books, demonstrated his fly fishing, fly tying and teaching skills in 10 videos and coauthored, contributed to or illustrated more than 20 other books. Dave is known for his fly tying designs including Dave’s Hopper.

The show will feature the 2022 International Fly Fishing Film Festival on Fri. (2/4) at 6:30. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the event.

Fly Fishing Show admission is $15 for one day, $25 for both days.

Children age 5 and under are free; ages 6-12 are $5. Girl and Boy Scouts under age 16 in uniform are free while members of the military with ID are $10.

For additional information, seminar times, Classes With the Experts availability, author’s booth, casting demonstration hours or any other question, visit the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show online at https://flyfishingshow.com/atlanta/ or phone (814) 443 3638.

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FEBRUARY 4&5 GAS SOUTH CONVENTION CENTER ATLANTA, GEORGIA

DO NOT MISS: The International Fly Fishing Film Festival. One night only, Friday, February 4 at 6:30. Tickets are $15 at the door or $10 in advance.

Fly Fishing isn’t part of the show

I t is The Show!

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ATLANTA 11

LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING THE GUIDE’S ANGLE

LAKE SINCLAIR

WINTER TROUT Contributed By: Chris Scalley River Through Atlanta Guide Service If you look at a map of the United States this winter, think about where you can find decent weather and good trout fishing. First, you will need to look south closer to the equator for warmer climes. You will see out in the Rocky Mountain West the San Jaun River below Navajo Dam in the high desert, then head east to Texas and the Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam, then further east to the Mid-South on the White River below Bull Shoals Dam, and finally to the South for the Chattahoochee below Buford Dam. As far as exact latitude, the Chattahoochee starting in Buford, GA is at (33.7490N/84.3880W) and the Guadalupe in San Antonio (29.4241N/98.4936W), which makes it safe to say both these rivers have relatively mild winters and excellent trout fishing.

While Atlanta, GA and San Antonio, TX may be considered only

destination cities known for their extensive airports and amenities, you might consider fly fishing where it’s warmer this winter. Who knows, you may be surprised how good the fishing is.

Forecast By: Ken Sturdivant kensturdivant@att.net Lake Sinclair is down 1.6 feet with the water temperature in the low 60s.

Bass fishing is fair. Right now there are bass almost all over the water column. Fish the main lake points with worms and the jig and pig. The upriver fish are on the points, and the dark Stanley’s in the 3/8th ounce sizes with a #11 Uncle Josh trailer is fair. Use the blacks and silver colors in these jigs cast shallow on the points and docks up lake and work these baits slowly.

The Zoom u-tail worms in the red shad and green pumpkin on a light Texas rig are fair. Also, try a watermelon seed lizard on the short 2 foot leader Carolina rig. Be sure to use the egg sinker in 1/2 ounce sizes as these are best on the rig.

The Flat “A” Bombers in the fire tiger and baby bass colors are also fair on the points and around docks. Keep the line sizes down to 10-pound Sufix Elite, and these baits will run a few feet deeper.

Zoom Flukes in pearl are catching a few bass, but the water needs to cool off several more degrees for this to become a good pattern.

Watch the Fish and Game Forecaster to fish when the feeding times reflect more movement.

Bass fishing is fair. Right now there are bass almost all over the water column.

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PLANS FOR OXYGEN DIFFUSER LINE IN LAKE OCONEE

by Wayne Moore

There are many good stewards of recreational fishing here on Lake Oconee including Georgia Power, the Southern Company, and the Wildlife Resource Division of the Department of Natural Resources. One example of this is the plans for an oxygen diffuser line to increase the levels of dissolved oxygen at the dam.

Donald Jarrett who works at Wallace Dam suggested that I reach out to Herman Pollard, the Hydro Superintendent for Georgia Power Company. Herman was kind enough to supply the answers to the questions below and was quick to point out that Greg Brown, (his predecessor as the Wallace Dam Plant Manager) went through the relicensing process where the oxygen injection facility was negotiated.

Q: We know that Georgia Power and the Southern Company have worked with the DNR in Georgia.

How did the idea of installing an oxygen diffuser line in Lake Oconee come about?

A: Wallace is renewing its FERC

license. As part of that process, many items are reviewed, including water quality. It was decided as part of that process to install and operate a forebay oxygen line diffuser in Lake Oconee to enhance summer dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the tailrace area. Oxygen will be added to the water in Lake Oconee, but since this water will pass through Wallace Dam, this will benefit water quality in the tailrace and downstream fisheries, aquatic resources and recreational fishing and support applicable water quality standards throughout the hottest months of the year.

Q: Will the oxygen be disbursed constantly or will it be linked to the generations/pump back schedule?

A: Oxygen release will be linked to generation at Wallace Dam. Q: In the 2017 relicensing study, different aeration methods are mentioned. Which one will be deployed and why?

A: Several options were investigated. Because of the volume of wa-

ter that the turbines pass when generating, the best option was a forebay oxygen line diffuser in Lake Oconee.

Oxygen will be released by way of five lines that will rest near the bottom of the lake. Each of these lines will be approximately one mile long extending from the dam to upstream areas of the lake.

Q: How is the cost for this project being paid for?

A: The cost of the project is being paid for by Georgia Power.

Q: When will the system go online?

A: This is scheduled for operation in the summer of 2022.

As a fishing guide here on Lake Oconee, I had one final question.

Q: Are there any “general” times for generation and pump back? (The

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fish bite better when the current is moving.)

A: There is no fixed generation or pump schedule because Wallace Dam supplies power to the grid on demand. The influence of solar facilities can and has impacted both generation and pump times. This trend will continue, and generation and pump times may shift to take advantage of the solar energy. Georgia Power generates using the method that is most economical for its customers.

We should all be grateful for Georgia Power’s stewardship of the fishing resource here on Lake Oconee. I am looking forward to seeing how the increase in dissolved oxygen affects the tremendous resource we have here!

JANUARY 2022

ATLANTA 13

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST JANUARY OPTIONS ON LAKE LANIER Contributed By: Jim “Jimbo” Mathley www.jimboonlanier.com

While the outside elements are not always favorable, January can offer some outstanding angling on Lake Lanier. Lanier offers some great winter fishing if you are willing to go outside of what may be your comfort zone.

Before we get into the fishing, please mark January 14-16th, 2022 on your calendar. These are the dates of Jimbo’s Southern Fishing Expo!

Come and enjoy some incredible fishing tackle and service vendors, as well as classes presented by the region’s top anglers! We’ll have live entertainment as well! The event will be held at the Forsyth County Conference Center at Lanier Tech.

Visit this web link for more info: https://jimboonlanier.com/southernoutdoor-expo/ Now, let’s explore some fishing tactics with which you can approach Lanier in January.

Ditches: As we discussed in a recent installment, a ditch can be

defined as a significant depression which offers a sharp depth change of 2 feet or more from the surrounding structure. These features exist many places on Lake Lanier, and they hold fish during the winter months.

Ditches can be shallow or deep, and sometimes both depending on the length and location of the ditch. I shared a comprehensive article in December that focused completely on ditch fishing. If you missed it, take the opportunity to go back and review this information. It could continue to play a key role in January this year.

Search: Use your Your Humminbird/Garmin electronics to find creek arms or pockets just off of the main creek channels that offer a deep vein extending back into the arm or cove/pocket. The farther the deep water extends back into the creek arm, the better for wintertime fishing. When you enter these areas and are searching for productive

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water, search for the presence of baitfish in and around the timber which you will find in the deeper water portions of the ditch. If you do not find bait, you will not find fish. Also, look for the ditches that do have timber at the mouth. The presence of the timber represents the appropriate depth for a potentially productive ditch. Also, key in on special features within the ditch, such as a point or secondary ditch that may intersect with the main ditch.

Technique: While our focus is on fishing deep, understand that a shallow bite often exists in these same ditches, even in the dead of winter. Often, these shallow fish in the winter mornings are monsters. Try these areas with a GA Blade Shad Spin, SPRO jerkbait, or SPRO crankbait. A Keitech swimbait on a ¼ oz. swim head can also be a good option. Your presentation speed with all the above should vary directly with the water temperature.

The colder the water, the slower your presentation should be. Also, with the Shad Spin, crankbait, and Keitech, your bait should maintain contact with the bottom as much as possible. Begin your search shallow in the backs of the creek arm as at daylight, this will be the warmest water in the lake and will often attract baitfish. Often, the active fish will be in 15 feet of water or less right at daylight, so get out early!

After the early morning bite, switch your focus to the deep areas of the ditch. Start with the first area of naturally occurring timber you find as you move from shallow to deep in the ditch. An isolated tree can be

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14 ATLANTA

excellent, but thick timber can hold fish as well. The timber edges are often the most productive, so focus on those areas first. Cast and drag a Georgia Jig through the timber the same way as you would work shallower cover. Slow and methodical is the key, so develop a keen sense of feel as the bites are often very light. If the jig is not productive, fish a shaky head tipped with a Berkley worm in the same fashion. Another option is to jig a GA Blade spoon vertically over fish you see on your Lowrance electronics. A drop-shot can also be an effective presentation.

Experiment daily as fish preferences change like the wind.

We guide year ‘round on Lanier and would enjoy the opportunity to help you with your winter fishing. We can focus deep or shallow and help you learn the techniques you need to stay on fish all year! Give us a call and let’s fish!

For more information or to book your winter trip, contact Jimbo on Lanier!

770-542-7764. Jimbo’s Website: www. jimboonlanier.com

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BOAT TALK WITH MIKE

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BOAT SO IT TAKES CARE OF YOU Contributed By: Mike Allen Quality Marine LLC , 404-402-3129 Let’s talk about the most important, if not most expensive, piece of fishing gear you have, your boat.

Service and maintenance are of utmost importance for keeping that boat running year-round. Nobody wants to get stranded out on the lake, or worse, miss out on that crucial fishing tournament because your boat is out of commission.

Treat your boat with special care, and it will reward you for many years. Customers who take my recommendations have fewer boat emergencies as well as less expensive repair bills.

What and when do you do maintenance? Here we go.

Oil changes are possibly the most important service you can perform. Change the oil every year regardless, and twice if you run over 100 hours in a season. If you neglect your oil changes, you will shorten the life span of the engine and eventually cause engine failure.

Next, pay close attention to your lower unit, gear oil, propellers, and impellers. Fishermen tend to run in shallower water more often than most boaters, which causes sand and debris to come in contact with the propeller and impeller. This causes impellers to wear faster and damages the prop. DO NOT FORGET TO CHECK BEHIND THE PROP FOR FISHING LINE. That is the number one cause of prop shaft seal failure and leads to lower unit failure. Always change your gear oil once a season and check behind the prop every time you pull the boat

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out. If you find water or metal in the gear oil, have it checked by a professional.

One saying that I like to tell people who are confused about when to service: “You can under maintain your boat, but you can’t over maintain your boat!”

Quality Marine is a Mercury Repower and service center specializing in service and repair on most engine manufacturers, operating on Lake Lanier since 2015. Contact Mike Allen at Quality Marine, 404402-3129

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST OLD SCHOOL BASS TECHNIQUES: THE JIGGING SPOON

By James K. Pressley, jameskpressley@gmail.com Here’s a question for you to ponder: Do bass stop biting a technique, or do we just stop fishing them because they aren’t cool anymore?

I’ve had this conversation with several dedicated and good fishermen lately. Like most things, it seems that we chase the popular and whatever a YouTube celebrity tells us to fish. We should never confuse that fleeting attention span with the fact that these traditional old school techniques still produce fish. Matter of fact, in certain times and places, they not only produce fish, but they also dominate.

Over a few articles we are going to look at some techniques you might have forgotten about or you might not even know. I am not claiming that these have disappeared completely. In fact, I still see people fishing some of these baits and techniques, but not often.

A couple of weeks ago I got together with one local guide that I am fortunate enough to call a friend, Jimmy Holmes of Fish On! Guide service. Jimmy and I were chatting one evening and we got to talking about jigging spoons. I started saying it was a technique I had been trying to learn but was just unable to find a lot of info about it and how to be successful. Well, Jimmy offered to teach me, and a plan was hatched.

Jimmy and I met up one morning in October and launched his boat over at the landing close to Rock Hawk and the dam on Oconee. After making our way out, we started fishing some deeper holes around the dam and the east bank of the lake. Over the course of the morning, we boated a couple of good largemouths, a good striper and some hybrids. Here’s what I learned.

Rod: Rod isn’t all that important, but you want a 6’6”-7’0” rod in medium to medium heavy action with a lot of action in the tip. You want give in the tip.

Line: You really want mono or fluorocarbon line. Mono is perfectly fine here and somewhere between 10 to 14-pound test is good. Braid is just too stiff and has no give in it.

You need the give if a big fish hits.

Reel: This is where Jimmy got 20 ATLANTA

JANUARY 2022

me. He uses line counter reels, low profile Okuma line counters to be specific. It’s an affordable reel with good drag, and you can pinpoint where you place the spoon.

Spoons: Jimmy focuses on 2 types: Capt. Mack’s super spoon at ¾ oz. and War Eagle at 7/8 oz. I like both of those and Berry’s Flex-it spoon (it comes in some tiny sizes for when they are hitting some tiny shad), the Bomber Slab Spoon and the Live Target flutter spoon. Color doesn’t matter as much as size and shape, however, when Oconee and Sinclair get muddy, you might want to have a gold spoon in the box.

Swivels: Your spoons need good swivels. This keeps your line from getting twisted, and that helps with fish not breaking your line.

Boat gear: A trolling motor with spot lock is going to make this a much easier to fish technique. You can pay much more attention to your line and lure when you aren’t battling a trolling motor to stay on top of fish.

Electronics: A basic entry level fish finder will get you on fish these days. Just make sure you KNOW how to use it, what to look for and pay attention.

Fishing styles for spoons: For our purposes, we are going to focus on only one, a vertical presentation and jigging up and down. You can cast them, and you can power reel these spoons, however, MOST of the time I believe at Oconee or Sinclair you are going to drop these spoons to the bottom or the desired depth and raise them in short movements. That’s an important part of this. Don’t move these spoons 4 feet. Just watch your rod tip, and on a tight line, raise the spoon a few inches to maybe a foot, and on a tight line, drop it back down. If you spot fish up off the bottom feeding, this is where the depth counter can come in very handy. Just reel up to the depth and go back to jigging.

Make sure you get ABOVE the fish though. Stripers and bass orienting like this are not going to feed down.

If you don’t see any fish on the electronics, don’t panic. Make sure you are fishing a location where you have seen and caught fish before, then just drop that spoon to the bot-

tom and bounce it. This will cause commotion and mud to get stirred up, just like a dying baitfish. Bass, hybrids, and stripers all will lay on the bottom and just wait. This commotion will get their attention, and even if you don’t see them on the electronics, you can catch them.

Time: Traditionally, this has been a dead of summer and dead of winter technique, but really you can

catch fish all year on this. I spoke to a tournament fisherman in the upstate of SC the other day who loves to do this with the herring spawn.

The bottom line though is this will work on fish year round if you try it.

As always, this is a for what it’s worth type of deal. I have dedicated some time to learning this and I hope you will give it a try if you aren’t fishing it already!

LAKE BURTON Forecast by: Capt. Wes Carlton G orgia Lake Fishing 770-318-9777 www.georgialakefishing.com Water temperature: 48 degrees, lake level 5.5 feet below full pool, clarity: clear.

Bass: The bass bite has been good the last few days. We have caught fish shallow and deep. Most of our bigger fish have been on main lake points over a 30 foot bottom. We have been using a Barry’s Flex It spoon (6/10). Try jigging a spoon within a few feet of the bottom close to structure. Be patient when using this technique. These

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fish are lethargic and sometimes slow to take the spoon. The shallow water bite around docks has also proven to be good. We have been using smaller weighted Sebille swim baits with a slow twitch retrieve. This bite should continue and get better as we near the end of January.

Trout: The brown trout bite has finally taken off! We have been catching fish on live bait (herring) and trolling small crankbaits. Pens Minnows 90s have been working well. Bright colors seem to work best. The trout bite gets better as the water temps drop in the low 40s. Good luck!

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LAKE ALLATOONA Forecast By: Joseph Martinelli 404-919-4918

WE ARE NOW A CAYMAS BOAT DEALER

It is truly starting to feel like winter here in northern Georgia, so bundle up and let’s go fishing! This much we know: the winter lineside fishing will provide plenty of action for the dedicated fisherman.

The stripers, hybrids, spots, crappie, catfish and white bass are biting being pretty good right now. There are good concentrations of bait and fish (all species) from Bartow Carver to Kellogg Creek and all the way along the main channel north to Little River. These heavier concentrations of fish will begin to spread out in many areas, and we can typically expect a good migration into the south end for winter. Every stretch has its own great holding and transition holes, but overall, you will be working the channels for locating the fish.

Downlines fishing a small threadfin or gizzard shad and even a trout or minnow and freelines with the same are producing as the fish are foraging on smaller baits consistently. We still like to pull a big bait or two when committing to a stretch.

With winter patterns, there are days that pulling the big baits will get the big bites all day. Pulling a medium to large gizzard shad 15-20’ behind a planer board can often be the ticket for the big bite.

The threadfin shad and alewife are thick in places along with the small gizzards in the mix. You must be prepared to cast your nets a little deeper for the bait or simply pick them up at your favorite bait shop.

Minnows are also hearty and can be dynamite. Trout can be a great winter bait for those that can procure them, and there will be days you wish you had 30 or so for a trip because that is what they really want on select winter days.

Trolling has been effective, especially when you find a hole or channel ledge holding fish and get that artificial school of shad down to them. Mini-Macks and Hog Farmer A-rigs at 100-125’ back and 2-3 oz. umbrella rigs at 60+ feet back might

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be a good starting point. The sweet spot for trolling these is typically just under 3 mph. Coming into January, we will be continue scouting the effectiveness of Bomber longA’s and similar baits for the deep holding fish that are triggered by such a presentation.

Casting the smaller A-Rigs into these same fish holding holes as well as working an area fan-casting spoons, rigs and crankbaits can be very productive when the fish are active. Vertical jigging a Flex It spoon or similar spoon might just trigger the bite.

We suggest keeping a rod with a topwater or spoon at the ready for any topwater activity. Already in December we have seen a few periods of extended topwater action.

Some of these topwater bites have been sustained for over an hour!

We welcome you to enjoy a lovely Lake Allatoona Striper, Crappie, Bass or Catfish Fishing Adventure with us. We are a full-time guide service, and we fish year ‘round to keep our fingers and boats on the pulse of the fish. Please feel free to contact us directly via phone to 404-919-4918 or through any of our channels to discuss your ideal trip. We wish you and your family a very blessed and happy New Year!

Heron Outdoor Adventures – Your Adventure awaits!

JANUARY 2022

ATLANTA 21

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST JANUARY FISHING Dr. Andrew Cox This month you are probably using those angling items and gadgets that were received as gifts over the Christmas season. Some of you probably received traditional fishing items such as lures, rods and reels that have a limited learning curve to use particularly if you have been fishing for some time. It is likely that you received some gift cards that you have splurged in purchasing some angling items. Others may have received some high tech type angling gifts which seem to be popular today in the fishing world.

These include high tech fish finders and trolling motors that virtually operate themselves.

If you fall into the later camp and have new high tech fishing aides, hopefully you kept the manuals for these items or are adept

enough to go to the manufacturer’s website and download instruction manuals and FAQ’s for your particular item. Possibly your new fishing toy will include some YouTube videos to help you in mastering the use of your new angling item.

Though I have my fair share of angling technology that supposedly assists in making fishing more enjoyable or in locating and catching more fish, I have recently become rather leery regarding high tech angling gadgetry. A point comes to mind. Last year, I purchased a high tech, top of the line electric motor for my boat. This has a multitude of features to include spotlock to keep you on a particular fishing location, virtually hands-free operation, and a self deploying feature. The latter I thought would be very useful in

easing stress on my worn out body joints. The motor comes with either foot pedal operation or remote operation modes which allows the angler to operate the motor from anywhere in the boat. I took time to read the manual which was difficult to comprehend with the different operation menus and practiced on the water. I would operate the motor with manual in one hand and remote in the other. The long story is that the motor’s features are difficult to master and serve as a source of aggravation to this angler, defeating the idea that fishing is supposed to be pleasurable.

I have threatened to replace this high tech electric motor with a good basic foot control motor with simple features and no extravagant bells and whistles. However, I continue to slog along using this motor with the hope that as time proceeds I will learn to operate this piece of marine equipment effortlessly.

Those anglers with more technology experience and grew up cutting their teeth on using technology may have better success in using such fishing gadgets. I can see how these

items can improve your angling skills and boat maneuverability. This month, many of you will spend time practicing and mastering this technology. This can be a good thing, giving you an excuse to get out on the water, practicing with these new items at a time of the year when angling success can be slow. The best of luck in learning and enjoying these new angling technology items.

Author’s Note: Dr. Andrew Cox is a contributing writer to outdoor publications and newspapers. His writing interests specialize in angling and travel, human interest, and general fishing technique oriented topics. He is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writer’s Association. He has been fishing the waters of Georgia, Alabama, and north Florida for over forty years.

He enjoys fresh and saltwater fishing for bass, bream, crappie, trout, redfish, and speckled trout using fly, baitcasting, and spinning equipment. Dr. Cox financially supports his fishing habits as Professor Emeritus at Troy University, Phenix City, Alabama. He may be contacted at andrewtrout@ aol.com

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by Dan Saknini Lanier Crappie Angler’s Club www. laniercrappieanglers.net Water temperature is around 58 degrees, depending on which part of the lake you are fishing. The backs of creeks are moderately stained. The main creek channels and river channels are clear. Fishing remains good to excellent. We prefer fishing with limited breeze on the water, which was the condition over the last couple days. In addition to the cold, windy weather such as we’ve had the last few weeks can make casting difficult. To top that off, leaves in the water in the area you want to cast can impact your aim. So, my first tip is to dress in layers to help keep you warm, but also to aid in staying comfortable with the ability to shed layers if the sun or increased activity warms you up.

My second tip is to use heavier jigs in windy conditions. We typically use 1/32 or 1/24 oz. jigs on

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normal days. On windy days, we will use 1/16 oz. jigs or tie two 1/24 oz. rigs on one rod to help get the bait where we want it against the wind. There’s no magic to dealing with floating leaves. You just have to be patient and know that you may have to cast again and sometimes again to get your jig past the leaves in the spot you want.

This is still one of my favorite times of the year to be out on the water. Pleasure boaters and PWC’s have been winterized and are mainly off the lake. That leaves the fall colors surrounding the lake to the fishermen. So we have to deal with some challenges, but it is definitely worth it! My favorite jig right now is still Bobby Garland. If you prefer hair jigs, Jiffy Jigs are my choice. Always remember that crappie relate to structure, so watching for and finding natural bait around structure on the lake is going to lead you to a fun catch! Be safe and wear your life jacket. It can save your life!

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST ENHANCE YOUR FISHING

By Capt. Cefus McRae Nuts & Bolts Fishing Series Hartwell, GA Fishing is a lot like cooking. We use a variety of ingredients to enhance the flavor of what we’ve got on the stovetop. A clove of garlic, a dash of hot sauce, fresh herbs and of course, a pinch of salt. These enhancers need to be used strategically. Not enough, and the meal can be bland. Too much and their flavors can over-power the entrée to the point that it goes from tasty to the trash can.

The same is true for additions to your tackle. There are any number of items that can be added to a lure or live bait offering as enhancers to trigger a bite. In the most basic sense, a jig is really just a hook with a ball of lead toward the eye.

While it is both simple and practical, it’s not very good at attracting a strike. But when you paint the head and tie on some bucktail,

suddenly you’ve got a fish-catching machine. How about adding some mylar strips along the shank of the hook? The prismatic flash and bulkier profile mimics the silhouette of a baitfish. These are good enhancements.

Other enhancers include scents, rattles, spinning blades and even lights. For the most part, these enhancers are welcomed additions to an otherwise bland lure.

Fishing accoutrements aren’t limited to lures alone. There are also some fishing enhancers that make the experience more pleasurable and productive. Here’s a few essential ingredients I’ve found that add a lot more flavor to my fishing recipes.

Bean Bags - Those overstuffed cushions are probably one of the most fought-over items on the

boat, especially when running back home from a long day offshore.

Being comfortable and portable, I’ve caught a catnap in them many times.

Downriggers - Trolling lures will only go so deep. I think my deepest running lure will dive to about 35 feet.Oftentimes, the larger fish are 50, to 90 feet deep. If you don’t have a downrigger on your boat, you’re likely running over fish that might otherwise make it in the fish box.

Chum and Scent - When the bite slows down, the best way I’ve found to get it revved up is to spice up the water column with chum. I’ve got a Chum Churn on the boat with a port on the side to pack it with expired baitfish, fish carcasses, or even a couple cans of dog food. The blades macerate what’s inside and create a ‘cloud’ of scent and tasty tidbits that will usually put fish back in the feeding mode.

Cooling Cloths - This is probably the best thing since sliced bread.

On a hot day, dip one of these in the water at the bottom of your cooler, snap it a couple times in the air and lay it on top of your head. The evap-

orating water immediately cools you down, and adds a little shade to your neck and face too. A word of caution: don’t dip these in salt water and expect the same results.

Lots of Pictures - Even if the fish you catch aren’t monsters, the memories you make on the water are what fishing is all about. The stories behind the pictures and the people you share your adventures with will appreciate some cool pics long after the day is over.

So give some thought on what you can do to enhance your next fishing trip. Adding just a little pinch of fishing ‘salt’ to your next outing can enhance the experience and transform that fishing hamburger into a fishing filet mignon.

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ATLANTA 23

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LAKE EUFAULA

LAKES ARE MENTAL THERAPY Contributed By: Jay Striker www.jaystriker.com I have a confession to make, and one that I’m proud of and at the same time allows me to understand who I have become in my life. I confess that the lakes and the bodies of water that I fish are not only for catching fish; being on the water is about managing my mental health. Life has a way of disconnecting us from the very thing no human can live without: water. It’s the one element in life that connects us to everything and each other. However, I have found that the lake, rivers and streams can remove the month’s stresses out of the way, leaving a clean, clear frame of mind. There are three ways I deal with balancing my mental health. I do it by ensuring I plan time for self-care, be intentional, and ensure the time is allotted for just me.

Self-care can mean many things to a lot of people, however, I define self-care as activities that totally benefit my well-being, that regenerate and replenish my body, mind, and spirit. Life can be very stressful, and with all of the responsibilities that we all tend to get inundated with, we often fail to take care of ourselves. I can not stress enough that ensuring that your body, mind, and spirit are in alignment will allow you to accomplish your goals much faster.

Be intentional about taking care of yourself. When I was a police officer for Dekalb County, GA, I found myself consistently at a high-stress level. I knew that some of the days and nights that I had to endure led to a lot of time not even going home after work but heading straight to the lake to find that balance. Always make your mental health a priority and have ways to find a release valve. Lord knows that some of the challenges I faced as a police officer would make you run to the lake for some R & R all the time. I try to be intentional about taking care of my mental state of mind, and the lake is where I find that release.

Time for only you seems to be selfish. I have found that I’m no good to anyone if I’m not in the 24 ATLANTA

JANUARY 2022

right state of mind and stressed out. When I go to the lake to fish, I find comfort knowing that the next few hours will be totally dedicated to myself and getting back into alignment with nature. I’m not a medical doctor. This is a post about dealing with the mental stress that comes with life. I know that there are many other ways to cope with stress. For me, it is all about being on the water. I can bet a hundred thousand outdoor enthusiasts feel the same.

Life can be stressful, especially during a pandemic. However, some ways I found worked to my benefit are by taking care of my mental state and being on the lake.

However, a lake will never come to find you. You have to go find it. So I encourage you to look for opportunities to focus on self-care and be intentional about doing so, ensuring that the time is for you only to enjoy and benefit. Tight lines, and please take time to follow me on IG and FB at jay.Striker.52 and jaystriker.com

By Capt Sam Williams hawk184@earthlink.net 334-687-6266 Water temperature: mid to upper 50’s, lake level: 188.27 msl, clarity: slight stain.

The lake has been holding a steady level for the past few weeks.

The shallow bite remains fairly consistent on blade baits, jigs and soft plastics. Lipless crankbaits and square bill cranks worked along any outside cover is also working.

These fish are not very aggressive and must be coaxed into a strike.

If you see signs of fish in the area, birds feeding or shad activity, work these spots out before you leave them. Deeper fish are working on Carolina rigs with large plastics and heavy jigs with big creature baits.

These areas must also be worked very slowly and continually. Bass are also coming off of docks. The cleaner water is staining up good after a rain in these areas. The wash off is also putting insects in the water for the bait minnows to feed on. Chatter baits and square billed cranks are working on these bass.

Crappie are mostly in 12 to 20 feet on trash piles. Minnows are doing the trick here. Panfish are still along the banks eating wigglers.

Catfish are holding on the creek drops. Jug fishermen are using cut bait and getting a mess to eat.

We continue to hear our tournament fishermen talking about catching so many short bass. I talked with our district biologist from the ALDNR this week about trying to get the limit dropped to 12 inches. He said he would support it if it

came before the powers to be. The shad surveys are showing larger shad, and we should see a growth increase in our fish over the next couple of years. He also said his surveys show way too many short bass due to a poor harvest practice by anglers. He said we need to eat or remove every spot and should also begin to eat 14” to 16” fish to reduce the smaller bass overpopulation. He said the healthy 4 pounders and larger need to be released as they are our good brood stock. Please consider taking home some bass to eat or share with a neighbor. When all these fish are competing for food from one source, they will not grow as fast.

Remember, there is no size limit on a spotted bass anymore, but they do count in your 10 fish creel limit per fisherman per day.

Please visit www.alclassic.com and sign up for our newsletter and keep up with our foundation news.

Enjoy your time on the water, take your family fishing and create those memories you will talk about for generations to come.

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST PLANNING YOUR NEXT FISHING TRIP

By Gary Turner

I don’t know about you, but sometimes planning a fishing trip is half the fun. Ok, maybe it’s really only a third of the fun if the fishing is really great! Sometimes I like to book a guide, show up and walk on the boat, but I also have learned that researching new places to fish and gathering lots of info for these trips is fun too! If you ever decide to go to a new place and do some prospecting on your own, it can be very rewarding.

Where do you start? I usually have an idea of the place I want to go or a certain species I want to catch.

For example, if you wanted to catch monster catfish, you could Google “where to catch 100 pound catfish”.

Next, you can look at the different places it suggests and see if any of them are places you want to fish.

Once you choose a place, start looking for information about fishing there. If there is an Angler Magazine or Coastal Angler for the area, look up the online edition and see what some of the local reports say.

You can learn a ton of information from this magazine. You can also search Facebook, Instagram and other social media for people that fish that area, and often there are fishing groups on social media, too.

Another thing I like to do is call up some local bait shops and see what info they have about the area. I have found this to be a great source of information and often, if I fish an area several times, will make friends with the bait shop owners. Local bait shops can usually tell you what live or artificial bait are working in their area,

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26 ATLANTA

JANUARY 2022

Stripers, Hybrids, Spotted Bass, Crappie Nature Excursions, Instructional Trips Capt. Joseph Martinelli Capt. Joseph Martinelli

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like when you go to Guntersville to catch skipjack that Foley spoons are usually the trick; and when you go to Goat Island, SC after a big catfish, cut bream and live bream are usually your best bet. I have found many a good spot, including the spot where I caught my first peacock bass, from a location given to me by a local shop owner.

When I used to travel for my job, I loved to check out places to fish nearby. One year I had a business trip to Miami and it opened up a whole new world of fishing for me.

Tomorrow morning I am headed to Pompano Beach to fish several days with my friends Damon Melcho of Xtreme Bait Tanks and Capt. Johnny Stabile. I found Capt. Johnny on YouTube while I was recovering from knee surgery. We have done a lot of fishing together and always have a great time. Johnny is

now trying to teach me how to fly drones more effectively. We are going to fish for peacock, clown knife, tarpon, snook, flathead, bullseye snakehead, mayan cichlid, midas cichlid, and the list goes on.

For those that know me, you know I like to eat. So part of the planning for my trips is looking for good seafood restaurants, good brisket BBQ, or places that have gumbo. Finding a good restaurant at a fishing destination is always a big plus for me!

I hope the New Year finds you all happy and healthy and ready to plan your next adventure! I’m not sure what next month’s article will be on or where I’ll be fishing, but if you have an empty seat on your boat that needs filling, shoot me an email and maybe it will be about fishing with you! You can reach me at gary@purgeright.com

LAKE SEMINOLE Forecast By:

by Capt. Paul Tyre paultyrefishing@yahoo.com The bass fishing on Lake Seminole has been very good through December. As we move into January the bite should get even better!

January and February are great months for catching numbers of BIG bass on Lake Seminole as they start to move into their pre-spawn staging areas. If coming to Lake Seminole in January, make sure to have in your tackle box some jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits. These are excellent baits for covering water and finding schools of bass.

The crappie fishing on Lake Seminole has also been excellent this winter, and in January the crappie will begin to stage closer to their spawning areas. It can be some of the best crappie fishing of the year!

We have had great success using a Panfishing Assassin 2” Curly Shad in any shad color rigged on a 1/16 ounce crappie jig head made by Bassassin.

For an exciting Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure for crappie or bass fishing, email us @lakeseminolefishingadventures@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram @Capt. paultyrefishing and Facebook @ lakeseminolefishingadventures!

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Book the Fishing Trip of a Lifetime in the Beautiful Mountains of North Georgia and Western North Carolina with the Area’s Top Rated Guide Service. Fish with the Pros and Get Featured in The Angler Magazine

Serving Lakes Nottely, Hiawassee, Chatuge, Blue Ridge and more. We run trips 365 days a year. Book your trip now!

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LANIER STRIPERS

LAKE NOTTELY STRIPERS Trophy Striper Season is Here!

Forecast By: Shane Goebel Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service & The Angler Magazine Fishing Team www.bigolfish.com

Happy New Years to all, and we hope everyone had the best of holidays. January is here and the holidays are gone, which means it’s time break out that new fishing gear you got for Christmas and hit the lake. January is an exciting month to catch big trophy stripers on Lake Nottely. So don’t let the cold of winter stop you, bundle up and give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call. Start the year off right on this beautiful North Georgia Lake catching that monster trophy stripers.

Currently, Lake Nottely is down 15 feet below full pool. Water clarity is clear in the main lake and slightly stained in the backs of creeks. Water temperatures are still in the low 50’s.

Striper fishing has been EXCELLENT lately! We’ve been catching some awesome fish. The majority of our stripers have been in the 15 to 25 pound range with the exception of a few small ones here and there.

We’ve even had a few close to the 30 pound mark! Most of our fish are being caught early in the morning on planer boards and free lines with live bluebacks and shad in the mouths of creeks. Believe it or not, the smaller bluebacks have been do-

ing great! On the other hand, big shad have been producing some nice stripers as well. We’ve also had an explosive down line and topwater bite.

In the upcoming month, look for stripers to be searching for warmer water, especially on cold, sunny days. You can catch these fish in the backs of creeks, around shallow humps and in the river. Pulling planer boards and free lines with live blueback herring and gizzard shad will be your best technique for landing these wintertime monsters.

Keep an eye out for seagulls and schools of baitfish. It’s not uncommon to see stripers crushing bait right under those birds. I like to cast a Red Fin or a Fluke right into these guys for some nice topwater action.

January is a great month for catching a lot of schooling stripers on this North Georgia lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake Nottely’s best trophy stripers during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Blairsville, Georgia’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Hiwassee, Chatuge and Lake Blue Ridge. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on!

Forecast by: Clay Cunningham www.catchingnotfishing.com 770-630-2673 January is here and the winter bite is in full swing. The stripers have followed the bait into the creeks. The north end and the south end have both been great, but I would still say the north end has the edge. I’m also seeing a few big fish that we have not seen the past few years. The good news has been the type of bait as you have several choices. This year the best baits have been herring, gizzard shad and trout. Herring is catching the most fish, and the trout and gizzard shad are catching the bigger fish.

Downlines have been catching the bulk of the fish. Rig up two Shakespeare striper rods paired with Penn Fathom 15 linecounter reels with 15-pound Trilene Big Game.

Rig up the downlines as a Carolina rig with a 2-ounce Capt. Mack swiv-

January is here and the winter bite is in full swing. The stripers have followed the bait into the creeks. The north end and the south end have both been great...

LAKE CHATUGE Eric Welch Welch’s Guide Service

www.welchsguideservice. com 706-455-2323 Water temperature: 55-57 degrees, lake level: 7.5 feet below full pool, clarity: clear.

Fishing has been fair. We’ve had all kinds of weather changes the past month with cold days and nights then back to mid-70’s in the day. The lake is at winter pool, and the fish are scattered.

I’ve been catching fish using a drop-shot out on deep banks and long points and also on a Ned rig and a shaky head with a 5” finesse worm. We’ve been getting some fish on a jerk bait out on points and around docks. Try throwing 28 ATLANTA

JANUARY 2022

el sinker, a Berkley flourocarbon leader, and a 2/0 Gamakatsu octopus hook for the trout. Then rig two Shakespeare striper rods with the same setups but a size 1 Gamakatsu hook for the herring. For a big fish, don’t rule out a freeline. A freeline with a nice size trout or big gizzard will be hard to beat over the same areas of deep bait. You will not catch many fish on the freeline, but you definitely will see better size.

The water quality is great right now, so be prepared for all techniques.

If you see fish up shallow, be sure to have a spinning rod like a Penn Battle III 3000 rigged up with no more than 10-pound Trilene Big Game. Most of the time, a small 1/4 ounce Capt. Mack Super Jig will do the trick, with white being the dominant color here on Lanier with the clear water. As a whole, fishing should be great this month, plus no crowds. With each passing year, I find I like the winter months better than the summer months. It’s time to go catching.

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a jig around any brush or docks. I have also been marking a lot of fish deep in 12’ to 35’. These fish are in areas where there is a ditch, dropoff or a long point. I target these fish with a Texas rig, shaky head, Ned rig and a drop-shot.

The water temps are about right to start fishing the float-n-fly. If you’ve never fished this technique, it’s amazing what size fish you can catch in the winter on the rig.

When the water temps drop on down and the baitfish are not as active, you will see the bass go back to the structure.

Remember that we guide on 8 different lakes, so if you’re looking for some great fishing, give Welch’s Guide Service a call. We’re your #1 guide service, and we’ve been doing this since 2001. Good luck!

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST

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CARTERS LAKE Forecast By: Eric Crowley Lake & Stream Guide Service (706) 669-4973

lakeandstreamguideservice@gmail.com

Water temperature: low 50s, lake level: +/- 6 feet, clarity: 8 feet.

Walleye: Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you can’t catch fish. In fact, if you learn how fish act in the coldest times of the year, it can be a lot of fun.

Vertical fishing is the name if the game for walleye. Spoons, jigs, minnows, and soft plastics fished right in the fish’s face is the best way to draw a strike.

It’s a reaction strike, but it’s a lot slower than in the fall. Short movement vs aggressive presentation is the way to go.

For locating fish, look for bait in an area and look for fish on the bottom just below it. The target zone has been 40 to 60 feet. Position the boat to make the most vertical presentation you can with the wind and work around the area 20 to 30 feet in each direction. Be thorough and you will catch fish you never marked on the graph as they are too close to the bottom. Light and weather conditions

really effect the walleye. Look for cloudy, overcast, or windy days to be best for numbers. Vary your colors for the weather conditions and you’re in business. We have been seeing lots of 22 to 23 inch fish with some bigger 25 to 26 inch fish mixed in.

Stripers are in the backs of the creeks early feeding on small 3 to 4 inch baits. They are following the bait out of the creeks and into the deeper water. As the sun comes up, the bait goes down. You should be following the bait balls depth with your baits. We have seen some massive schools of striped fish in the last few weeks. There’s so much bait in the lake sometimes it’s hard to get bit, but light leader, small hooks and fresh baits can get it done. Most of the fish are in the 35 to 55 foot depth early and deeper after sunrise. Follow the birds. We caught fish suspended 80 feet deep under feeding loons last week in the middle of the day on artificials. There’s no key areas as you can find the same bait scenario in every creek.

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LAKE MARTIN Provided By: David Hare Alex City Guide Service 256-401-3089 Water temperature: 60 degrees, lake level: 483.00, clarity: clear to light stain.

December so far is awesome striper fishing. We are catching them every single day and lots of them.

Happy New Year to all! Yep, it’s cold, but that just turns Lake Martin stripers on! The colder, the better the bite. Our best day ever so far (quantity wise) was three Januarys ago. I had 5 clients on my boat and they boated 92 in 5 hours. No, we did not keep all of them by no means.

This month, I don’t see any reason we can’t do that again or possibly even break that record catch.

One of the many things our clients like about January fishing is we don’t have to go as early because the bite is good all day long, so being on the water at daylight is not an issue.

I’ll personally be doing two different types of approaches to catch these beasts. One is downlining live bait 40-60 feet deep, and the other will be for the clients who want mainly big stripers, I’ll be pulling planer boards with huge shad in shallow water, and believe me, there’s some giants waiting for some big baits in that shallow water. January is a month that strip-

30 ATLANTA

JANUARY 2022

ers will be roaming the entire lake. There isn’t a bad place this time of year to try your luck at the stripers.

As always, please wear your PFD. If you unfortunately end up in the frigid waters, you will not make it long before you find yourself in a world of trouble.

Also this year, the lake is down 10 feet, and for those not used to these changes in water depth, the shallow and dangerous areas can catch you off guard quickly. One thing I always do is let someone know where I’m launching and what area I intend to fish just in case I did have an accident they would at least have a starting point to look for me.

If you think you’d like some winter striper fishing, please call or text me and let’s get you booked. Also, this is the month to start locking in those spring dates that you want to fish with us. Until next time, catch one for me!

LAKE BLUE RIDGE Forecast By: Eric Crowley Lake & Stream Guide Service (706) 669-4973

lakeandstreamguideservice@gmail.com

Water temperature: low 50s, lake level: down 16.5 feet, clarity: 14 feet.

Walleye: Don’t let the cold weather deter you from getting out on the lake. If you learn how fish react in the coldest times of the year, it can be very rewarding.

Vertical fishing is the best technique for walleye. Spoons, jigs, minnows, and soft plastics fished right in the fish’s face is the best way to put fish in the boat. It’s a reaction strike, but it’s a lot slower in the colder water. Keep your bait’s movements very slow and deliberate.

For locating fish, look for bait and look for fish on the bottom just below it, and 40 to 60 feet has been the target zone. Position your boat to make the most vertical presentation you can and work around the area 20 to 30 feet in each direction. Don’t spend too

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much time if you are not getting bit.

Work the area thoroughly and you will catch fish you never marked on the graph as they are so close to the bottom. Look for cloudy, overcast, or windy days to be best for numbers as weather conditions really affect the walleye. Vary your colors for the weather conditions and you’re in business. We have been seeing lots of 20 to 22 inch fish with some bigger 24 to 25 inch fish mixed in.

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WEST POINT LAKE

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COOKING PLANK SALMON

Soak the Cedar Planks: Soaking the cedar planks helps to bring out the wonderful flavor of the cedar and will help keep them from catching fire when on the grill.

Make the glaze: Stir the brown sugar and Dijon mustard together until smooth.

Heat the planks: Turn grill to medium-high heat. When ready to cook, place the pre-soaked cedar plank on the hot grate and close the lid. Leave it there until there is a smoky smell, about 4-5 minutes.

Glaze: Turn the plank over and place the salmon, skin side down, on top.

Spread a spoonful of mustard mixture on top of each filet and add a thin slice of lemon if desired.

Cook the salmon for about 15 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness of the filets), or until cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook it.

Reusing the Cedar planks: Keep in mind the board will soak up the flavors of whatever was cooked on it. If you grilled with direct heat, the board may be charred and difficult to handle or clean. If you want to reuse the board, you can scrape off any leftover food, clean it with hot water (no soap) and let it re-soak in water before re-using.

How to tell if salmon is cooked: • Watch the color of the fish: It will change from red, raw and translucent looking to a light opaque pink.

• See if it’s flaky: Use a fork to gently test if the layers will flake away easily or not. If they do, it’s ready. It’s better to take it out too early and have to return it to the oven for a minute or two then to overcook it!

• Let it rest: Remove it from the heat to rest when it’s nearly finished cooking, keeping in mind it will continue to a cook a little as it rests on the hot cedar plank.

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Bass: Fair - January is typically a slow month for bass fishing in general. The shallow bite for bass is only fair right now but could improve quickly in late January, especially with a warm rain and extended warming trend. Baits such as crawdad Shad Raps, Rat’l Traps and chatter baits will produce on these shallower fish. Try to fish these baits in coves and pockets with small feeder creeks or around schools of baitfish. Keep a jig or shaky head handy to pitch around any wood cover. Fishing rip-rap can also yield good results as the rocks warm quickly and retain heat. Yellow Jacket and Whitewater Creeks should continue to produce. On the other hand, a snow or ice storm in January could shut the shallow bite down completely! If the lake stays cold and clear, go deep! Big schools of spots mixed with hybrids, white bass and stripers can be caught on jigging spoons, drop-shot rigs and shaky head rigs on humps and drop-offs. Target deeper offshore structures like brush piles and old road beds in 20-30 feet of water near the mouth of most major creeks for the best results.

Linesides: Good - The down-

line bite with shad or bass shiners has improved as the water has cooled off, and in most years, stays good all winter. A 3/8 or ½ ounce white Rooster Tail, a chrome C.C. Spoon and a number of other small shad imitators have also been producing. In cold water, casting a bucktail jig becomes very effective as well. The mouths of most creeks anywhere south of the Highland Marina area all the way to the dam and Maple Creek have been holding fish. Trolling with mid-depth crankbaits and Flash Mob Jr. rigs also continues to produce some linesides in these same areas. Most of the fish seem to be holding 20 to 30 feet deep when they are not schooling on the surface. Expect the topwater fishing to be sporadic at best. Gulls and loons are here now which makes it easier to pinpoint schooling stripers and hybrids, so keep your eyes open!

Crappie: Fair - Try tight line fishing with minnows or a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce jig around bridge pilings, brush piles, and blow downs in 15 to 20 feet of water. Concentrate on trees and brush that are close to the old creek channels. Pitching or shooting deep water docks with small tubes or feather jigs around or under the docks can still produce this time of year. Yellow Jacket, Wehadkee and Whitewater Creeks are still producing some crappie. Spider trolling usually works well in January as well and can be very effective. If January turns unusually warm and wet, the crappie can show back up surprisingly shallow very quickly!

Happy New Year!

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ATLANTA 31

Wall of Fame

WIN A FREE ANGLER MAGAZINE CAP! One will be given away each month for the best reader submitted photo!

WINNER!

Martin O’Kane caught this nice bass fishing with Capt. Joe Dude on Lake Eufaula

Dewey Hutson recently fished with Unicoi Outfitters in Helen and caught this trophy rainbow trout

John Willis caught this 26 inch striper while fly fishing off his dock on Lake Nottely

.

Dallas, GA resident Lucy Stewart teaching her granddaughter Hanna how to fish at a private pond in Alabama Rich Wilkes caught this big 2.64 pound Lanier crappie in the North GA Crappie Anglers Club tournament

Kate Traugott is excited about her really nice rainbow trout landed at Nacoochee Bend in Helen

Amie Pollard with a big mess of crappie on Lake Eufaula

Shane Howell with a nice 5.20 pound bass caught on Lake Eufaula

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Bassmaster Classic Returns to Hartwell T

he world’s most prestigious professional bass tournament is returning to the site of some of the best moments in the sport’s famed history.

The 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented

by Huk will be held at Lake Hartwell March 4-6. It is the fourth time the crowds and pageantry of the Classic have descended on Upstate South Carolina.

Takeoffs will be conducted from Green Pond Landing & Event Center, while daily weigh-ins will be held at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo will take place at the Greenville Convention Center, both of which are in nearby Greenville.

B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said the organization is excited to once again visit a venue that has become the gold standard for professional bass fishing events.

“Everything about Lake Hartwell and the city of Greenville make them the perfect setting for the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing,” Akin said. “The Bassmaster Classic is not only a chance for the best anglers in the world to showcase their abilities, it’s an annual celebration of the sport itself.

“Lake Hartwell provides the perfect site for amazing competition, and the city of Greenville provides the hotels, restaurants and other facilities you need for an event the size of the Classic.”

Hartwell is a 56,000-acre man-made reservoir situated between Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing portions of the Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca rivers. It features a vast array of habitat and a good population of both largemouth and spotted bass that are likely to be in the prespawn phase when the Classic competitors arrive.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to host the Bassmaster Classic once again on Lake Hartwell,” said Neil Paul, Executive Director of Visit Anderson. “The leadership of Anderson County has made a significant commitment to Green Pond Landing and the marketing efforts of Lake Hartwell, and we expect another record-breaking event with our teammates from Greenville.

“Hosting our fourth Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell is significant to our community because no other fishery will have hosted more Bassmaster Classic events. Having hosted this great event in the past, we can speak first hand to the significant economic impact it will have on the upstate of South Carolina and the impact of residual tourism that will be felt in Anderson County for years to come.”

The 2022 Classic will feature 55 qualifiers with berths earned through the Elite Series, the Opens, the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation circuit, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops and the Bassmaster Team Championship, plus the defending Bassmaster Classic champion and winner of the final Elite Series event of the 2021 season.

They will compete in the no-entry-fee event for their share of a whopping $1 million purse, with the champion earning $300,000.

For more information, go to www.bassmaster.com.

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JANUARY 2022

NATIONAL 11

THINKING ABOUT QUITTING BOATING? P erhaps your vessel needs a major repair.

Maybe you sold your house and are moving away from the seashore. Maybe you are too busy to sell your boat, or you tried and found a lot of people didn’t have the resources to buy it, much less to move it.

There are a lot of reasons people have for getting rid of an older boat, working or not. We want to let you know that you can trust Boat Angel Outreach Center. We here at Coastal Angler have seen them help thousands get rid of their unwanted boats and receive generous IRS1098 tax receipts for doing so.

Did you know older, larger working boats can be donated for their fair market value? Did you know Boat Angel will walk you through the whole process, and most of the time even a boat that has been unused on your dock or in your backyard will be gone in less than 15 days?

I’ve known the people at Boat Angel Outreach for more than a decade, and I can personally vouch that this charity is both caring and focused on helping kids. 100 percent of their funding is from the sale of donated boats. They currently fund projects on four continents and ceaselessly work to make this world a better place, especially for children.

They have a courteous and diligent staff. They are experienced in solving logistical problems and multi-state title issues, all while achieving their goals of getting the donated vessels moved away quickly.

So, if you’ve got a vessel that’s no longer

working, or you have decided to move on from boating, I strongly recommend you give this great organization a call or contact them through their website. When your donation is completed, just forward your receipt to your tax preparer. Who knows how much money your donation will put back in your pocket?

We all know that an unused or nonworking boat is a drain on anyone’s finances. Fuel, maintenance bills, registration, insurance and slip fees are year-round expenses. Maybe it is finally

Donate A Boat or Car Today!

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JANUARY 2022

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time to move on.

A friend of mine once asked, “What is better than being a boat owner?”

“I don’t know, what?” I said.

“A friend with a boat,” he replied, smiling.

We all have friends with boats. Why not put the money saved into their gas tank and take a small fishing trip?

Boat Angel Outreach Center; www.boatangel.org; EIN 42-1619552; 800-700-2628.

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KEEP IT GENUINE PRECISION PROTECTION

Whether you take your boat out to the lake or the ocean, your 4-stroke outboard needs ECSTAR Suzuki Semi-Synthetic Engine Oil so it can run long and strong.

ECSTAR features special additives that protect the engine in harsh salt and fresh water environments, advanced detergents that keep engine parts clean, and viscosity index improvements that help the engine start in cold conditions.

No matter where your next boat ride takes you, go confidently with ECSTAR.

RUN LONG. RUN CLEAN. RUN STRONG.

Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-Approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. Suzuki, the Suzuki “S” ECSTAR and Suzuki model and product names are Suzuki trademarks or ®. © 2021 Suzuki Marine USA, LLC.

SZ Q3 ECSTAR HALF HORIZONTAL CSTL ANGLR 7-16-21.indd 1

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

JANUARY 2022

7/16/2021 9:56:33 AM NATIONAL

13

Angler Lands Record Red Hind

A

North Carolina angler boated a new state record red hind off Cape Lookout in October, and it’s a record that’s likely to stand for a while. The fish weighed 7 pounds, 1.6 ounces and measured 21.5 inches in length with a 17.5-inch girth.

The new state record holder, Matthew Parr, of Wilmington, N.C., was fishing with Capt.

Charles Stewart Merritt of Salt Air Ventures. They were dropping cut bait on 80-poundtest line, probably looking for big grouper.

The record breaker Parr hauled from the depths was less than 2-pounds off the IGFA all tackle world record, which stands at 9 pounds even and was caught by Eddie Vanmeter out of St. Marys, Ga. in July of 2019.

Previously, North Carolina did not list a state record red hind but created the category after Parr applied for the state record. The Division of Marine Fisheries creates new state record categories for fish that are exceptionally large for North Carolina. Parr’s was exceptionally large for anywhere.

Although red hind are known to grow up to 23 inches and exceed 10 pounds in weight, anglers rarely encounter them that large. The typical specimen brought over the rail measures about 16 inches.

Red hind is a quality table fish that is important in Caribbean commercial fisheries. In the South Atlantic it is regulated within the three grouper aggregate recreational bag limit. It is also listed in the ShallowWater Grouper Complex, which means there is a closure for the species from January through April.

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Meet the Beauty in the Beast Discover this spectacular 6½-carat green treasure from Mount St. Helens!

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or almost a hundred years it lay dormant. Silently building strength. At 10,000 feet high, it was truly a sleeping giant. Until May 18, 1980, when the beast awoke with violent force and revealed its greatest secret. Mount St. Helens erupted, sending up a 80,000-foot column of ash and smoke. From that chaos, something beautiful emerged… our spectacular Helenite Necklace.

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Helenite is produced from the heated volcanic rock of Mount St. Helens and the brilliant green creation has captured the eye of jewelry designers worldwide. Today you can wear this massive 6½-carat stunner for only $149!

Make your emeralds jealous. Our Helenite Necklace puts the green stone center stage, with a faceted pear-cut set in .925 sterling silver finished in luxurious gold. The explosive origins of the stone are echoed in the flashes of light that radiate as the piece swings gracefully from its 18" luxurious gold-finished sterling silver chain. Today the volcano sits quiet, but this unique piece of American natural history continues to erupt with gorgeous green fire.

Necklace enlarged to show luxurious color.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Bring home the Helenite Necklace and see for yourself. If you are not completely blown away by the rare beauty of this exceptional stone, simply return the necklace within 30 days for a full refund of your purchase price.

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Limited to the first 2200 orders from this ad only Helenite Necklace (6 ½ ctw) ................Only $149 +S&P Helenite Stud Earrings (1 ctw) ..................... $129 +S&P

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HOOKED ON™ A CLEAN OCEAN

CLEANING OUR OCEANS FOR A BETTER

TOMORROW

SUZUKI’S CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT If you’re going to claim to be “The Ultimate Outboard Motor,” you’d better do more than just build great engines. This is why, for the past 10 years, Suzuki has been committed to cleaning up the marine environment through voluntary “Clean Up The World” activities around the globe.

Through the recently launched CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT, Suzuki Marine is committed to reducing the use of plastics in packaging materials to its consumers which has led to eliminating 2.3 tons of plastic waste annually. Suzuki is continually finding ways to reduce plastic waste while educating and informing the boating industry about this critical issue. This is only the beginning and Suzuki is pledging itself to the important cause of protecting our planet’s waters, coastal environments, and marine ecosystems for future generations to enjoy.

YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY applies to qualifying purchases of Suzuki outboard motors sold and delivered to the retail purchaser, for pleasure (non-commercial) use only, from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. See Suzuki Limited Warranty for additional details. Suzuki, the “S” logo, and Suzuki model and product names are Suzuki Trademarks or ®. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. © 2021 Suzuki Marine USA, LLC. All rights reserved.

FOR REEL

GOOD FISHING Visit Upcountry South Carolina Stop by the South Carolina Lakes booth at the Bassmaster Classic Expo, March 4-6, 2022 at the Greenville Convention Center.

Perfectly Seasoned FishUpcountrySC.com

864-233-2690

Lake Hartwell, host of the 2008, 2015, 2018, and 2022 Academy Sports & Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk