CHATTOOGA RIVER

Provided By: Karl Ekberg Chattooga River Fly Shop www.chattoogariverflyshop.com

864-638-2806

The sounds of fireworks pop in the night skies, while the sound of poppers dancing across the back eddies of the river, break the silence during the day. Bright colors of the poppers, that are tied on the end of the leader, remind us of the colors which lit up the previous night’s skies. Most of the time during a holiday, there is much solitude to be found along the rivers, as the holiday festivities fill up the time slot of fishing. Sneaking out for a few early morning hours, or a couple late afternoon casts can be a rewarding piece of solitude. There’s no need to haul a lot of gear, sneaking out of the house, a small popper box, a leader, wading boots, wet wading socks, and your favorite four or five weight rod, and your off to the river for some Bartram’s Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, and an occasional trout that just cannot resist a top water delicacy.

Summertime fishing along the Chattooga and Chauga are great top water days for the warm water species. Wet wading is a bonus this time of year, along with a quick swim on the hotter days to cool off and remember to carry extra fluids to keep hydrated. There is no need to worry about it being too hot for the Bartam’s Bass or Panfish, this is their time of year. Look for back eddies and slower moving currents when targeting these gems. The Redbreast Sunfish truly looks like a fish direct from the tropics, in their fiery vibrant orange fronts, with exquisite blue coral masks braided from their lips back. As for the bass, even the smallest of the yearlings to the twoyear-olds will rise from the depths to crush the top water offerings of the day. These fish will be near hanging trees, shrubs, and bushes as they are great ambush points below the surface of the water awaiting bugs, beetles, and fly imitations to drop in. Let’s not worry about delicate fly presentations, as in presenting to wary skittish trout, as a more deliberate splat on the water is preferred, almost like the dinner bell has sounded. Larger is not always better for these fish, as the diet is of creatures falling from above, so leave the lake tackle at home.

For the early summer trout fishing, temperatures through mid-June have still been quite mild, as evening temperatures were still dipping to fifty degrees, along with cool seventydegree days. Although water levels were low in June, early morning and evenings had been best for fishing for trout. This trend will continue

FULL for July, as long as the “big heat” does not happen, and if the temperature does start climbing, higher elevation creeks will be the best bet for trout. Once the water temperatures reach the mid-sixties, it is time to leave the trout alone, in that body of water and either move to a cooler creak or stream or start fishing in lower sections of the stream or river for the bass and panfish.

Summertime brings a lot of guests to the National Forests, State Parks, and all the rivers and waterways. Let all of us remember, “Leave No Trace”, and it doesn’t hurt any of us to carry out a little more than we walked in with, and the outdoors will be a little better for the future.

NEW

Contributed By: Rene J. Hesse

Instructor-

July Warm Water on the Fly

Trout streams are warming, and this will force some fly fishers to find another venue to fling a fly. Bass fishing is a great option for us here in Georgia. If this is something you want to do, the next few paragraphs have a tip or two to help get the right gear and generate more fish in the warming weather.

We don’t need much to fish for bass and sunfish. A 5 to 7wt rod, local pond or river and a few top water and subsurface flies. Using a 1X, 2X or 3X leader in the 7-9ft length is perfect. A 3X is @ a 6lb. Line. (To figure that out use the rule of 9’s. Take the ‘X’ number which is 3 in this example and subtract it from 9. That will give you the approximate pound breaking strength.) As far as what fly to use, that is subjective. A large or small popping bug, or a rubber legged dragon are good by them self or as a ‘hopper/dropper rig’.

Then find the water. Got a golf course, neighborhood lake, good buddy that lives on the water? These are always loaded with action. If you want to try rivers, we’ve got them here in Ga. And most of them are easy wading. Shoal bass, red eye, smallmouth, largemouth and striper, are a few species you will find, and the top water action is in full swing. The Chattahoochee at Morgan Falls has several species. The Flint River is famous for shoal bass. The Etowah and Toccoa can produce as well. Check out The Angler Magazine each month for the guides sharing reports- It’s FREE!

Here are a few tips for hooking these fish. A bass is more likely to take the fly if it is moving. Sunfish like a motionless fly. If you are working a fly back to the rod and pause, the sunfish is more likely to take it, BUT if you are not tight to the fly (removed the slack so when you twitch the line the fly moves), you will never feel the take. Sooooooo, here is something that I use all the time, even trout, carp or crappie fishing- I get in contact with the fly every 3 seconds. That means I can move the fly and feel if there is anything on it. If there are waves in the line, and there will be, I do as much as I can to remove them. I keep the rod tip down in the water (yep, rod tip in the water) and then feel and watch for line movement. Why the rod tip in the water? When the rod tip is up out of the water, the line is in the shape of the Olympic ski jump as it goes down to the water. That’s slack, and it is going to hinder the ability to feel the strike. And when you do get a strike, your rod must move up and back to remove the slack. That is often when we see the fly fishers with the rod way back behind them trying to get a good hook set and stripping line like crazy to catch up to the fish. (I laugh at myself every time I find myself in that position) Go play, the bass and sunfish are anxious to strike and it isn’t as technical as trout fishing.

Summer is coming and fishing doesn’t have to slow down. Just change the target fish.

Cool Summertime Fun

Contributed By: Chris Scalley River Through Atlanta Guide Service

It’s not too hot to fish in Hotlanta as this unique watershed sits over 1,000 feet above sea level. Did you know Atlanta is the second highest city of its size in the lower 48 states. The headwaters of the “Hooch” is known as the Chattahoochee Gap nestled in the high country in the vast National Forest at above 3,500ft. This special drainage consists of tributaries of the Chestatee and Chattahoochee south facing rivers that lead to our main drinking water source Lake Sidney Lanier. Atlanta’s burgeoning population approaches 7 million in the greater metro. Our cooler climate for this Deep Southern setting deceives most anglers who overlook this great sport fishery for wild and stocked trout near town. We have had the pleasure of guiding anglers on this river for three decades and hope you will consider my service on your next float or wade trip.

Not Just About Trout

By Jeff Durniak Unicoi Outfitters

Fly rodding is not just about trout. That’s especially true now, as our steamy Georgia summers restrict trout fishing opportunities to high headwater bluelines, or icy winter waters discharged from Buford and Blue Ridge dams. It’s a great time to pursue other sites and species like pond and river bream and bass, which are plentiful in local waters near you and can be very cooperative for anglers tossing the right bugs at the right time of the day.

Let’s start with pond bream. Bluegill and redbreast sunfish are great teaching tools for new fly anglers because they’re plentiful and competitive. The first one to the groceries gets lunch, grows larger, and survives. That competition among siblings favors the new flyrodder, and early success at fish-catching leads to flyfishing avidity!

Bream also reside in angler-friendly locales like small ponds and wide rivers. Ponds lack stream current, which really complicates fly presentation. And the wide-open spaces of ponds and rivers have fewer tree branches to catch a beginner’s errant back casts while they wade or paddle along the bank. Grab your bream-busting flies and supplies from either one of our UO stores and guide your new fly angler or yourself around a pond perimeter soon. Watch for the pizza-pan patches of polished sand and gravel in the shallows and you’ll be in business on the bream beds. And if some folks are still a bit young for the fly rod, just hedge their bet with a spincast rod and a tube of crickets. Get youngsters on fish early and they’ll graduate to flyfishing in a few years.

Looking to make a meal of those bream, resident bass species provide nice “trophy” opportunities for new flyfishers. Slightly larger poppers and streamers will get the attention of pond largemouths and river shoal and spotted bass. Road-trippers can