The Angler Magazine | June 2019 | Great Smoky Mountains & The Upstate

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE EDITION

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Inside: Boat & Motor Reviews

Bass On The Ledges

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICK CARTER VOLUME 24 • ISSUE 291

F R A N C H I S E

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LIFE ON THE COAST IS BETTER WHEN YOU STAY CENTERED.

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Make the most of the open water with Yamaha’s 190 FSH® Series.

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There’s a reason they say, Curse like a sailor.

That’s why we offer basic plans starting at $100 a year and options with On-Water Towing.

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Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. & affiliates. Annual premium for a basic liability policy not available all states. Prices vary based on how you buy.

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TRIM

SAFETY

FROM SHIP TO SHORE AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN.

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The new Havalon® TalonTM Quik-Change IITM Multi-Blade Cutlery System brings together nearly 40 years of expertise in the surgical field and decades of quality time spent out in open waters.

This innovative platform features a variety of reliable add-on blades designed to make clean work of the dirty work all the way from ship to shore.

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THE STRONGEST SPINFISHER YET!!!

The 6th generation Spinfisher is now stronger and more water resistant than ever. With machined CNC gearing and an IPX5 water resistant rating, the newest Spinfisher is ready for anything.

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© 2019 PENN is a registered trademark of Pure Fishing, Inc.

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Rupp Marine Halyard Line Retainer Excess rigging line can be a mess, and cleats have a tendency to get in the way when not in use. Rupp Marine has come up with a simple yet ingenious way to solve these problems. Their all-new, patent-pending “clamp-on” Halyard Line Retainer is an easy way to store halyard lines while telescoping outriggers are rigged and in the retracted position.

Simply clamp a set of these line cleats onto the outrigger pole at the desired distance. Excess rigging line wraps around the pop-up cleats to keep lines neat and orderly. This one-of-a-kind system allows the cleats to be folded out of the way when not in use.

Rupp’s Halyard Line Retainer system fits any 1 ½-inch diameter outrigger poles. Sold as a set of four to equip two outrigger poles, they are rugged and durable, with spring-loaded cleats for positive locking and unlocking.

Shop.ruppmarine.com

MHX Push Pole The MHX Push Pole is a game changer for shallow-water anglers. Utilizing a combination of uni-directional and off-axis carbon fibers, MHX has created a push pole that produces the greatest amount of power in each push, while maintaining excellent hoop strength under load. There’s no wasted energy, and it’s feather light for long days on the water.

When you’re sneaking up on a single shoreline tailer or positioning the boat for a shot at schooling fish, you’ll appreciate the benefits that state-of-the-art technology brings to this simple tool. The MHX push pole has been widely recognized as the best option on the market due it’s lightweight mobility, incredible durability, and superior value. At just under five pounds, you’ll be able to push all week long without the residual fatigue.

Legendary Florida angler, Capt. Keiland Smith said, “In all my years of guiding, I would have to say that I have never found a push pole to be this good. The weight of this pole and the strength of it are amazing… I would have to say I think this the best push pole ever made.”

The MHX Push Pole includes a fork, a tip, and a 316 stainless steel replacement point just in case.

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Parkit360 Electric Trailer Dolly

SeaSucker Push Pole Solution

Park trailers of any size with ease!

Parkit360’s Electric Trailer Dollies are lightweight and great for mixed terrains, tight corners and up to a 6 percent incline. With weight capacities ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 pounds, these portable powerhouses can handle the most difficult parking challenges.

Unlike a driver who relies on mirrors and backup cameras, the user faces the trailer, giving them complete visibility and control while parking. They can see exactly where the trailer is at all times and steer within inches of an obstacle if needed. The dolly’s compact design allows the user to park hitch-end forward as a serious theft deterrent, something that is nearly impossible to do with a vehicle.

Powered by a 12V trailer-mounted or dolly-mounted battery, Parkit360’s Force and Transformer dollies are simple to set up and intuitive to use. Just freewheel the dolly to the trailer and attach it with one of the provided hitch balls, or one of their special hitch adapters. Then, it’s simply a matter of using the forward/reverse thumb toggle switch on the handle to steer the trailer into place.

Have a tough parking situation? Parkit360’s Electric Trailer Dollies are a great solution!

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Looking for a better way to secure your push pole? SeaSucker has come up with the perfect solution for holding your long and inherently unwieldy push pole when it’s not in your hands .

A SeaSucker vacuum mount equipped with a rubber clamp and an adjustable strap is the perfect way to quickly and securely stow gaffs, nets and push poles.

The adjustable strap holds objects with diameters ranging from 1 to 1.95 inches, and the 4.5-inch SeaSucker has the strength to hold just about anything you choose to strap down.

Each 4.5-inch SeaSucker is pull rated at over 120 lbs, and an orange indicator band begins to appear if the vacuum mount loses some of its suction, letting you know it’s time to re-pump. There’s no licking required to attach SeaSucker products to glass, metal, fiberglass and most non-skid surfaces. The primary requirement is that the surface is non-porous, and SeaSucker will even attach to lightly curved surfaces.

Another huge benefit is that SeaSucker can be mounted or moved wherever it’s convenient, with no need to drill holes in your boat.

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Whatever happened to Sea Cat?

By Thatch Maguire

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bout 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to ride aboard a dual-hull, 21-foot center console called a Sea Cat. Like many others, I’ve been a fan of cats ever since.

The ride of a dual-hull vessel, especially in choppy seas, is dramatically different from that of a mono-hull. The stability of a two-hull system creates a cutting effect, as opposed to the bounce associated with the plaining of the mono-hull. Study after study has confirmed this effect affords “cats” substantially better fuel economy as well as a much smoother ride and shallower draft.

The “cult” of the dual-hull cat has its origins in Australia, where catamaran-style hulls have long been the choice for Australia’s working fishermen. The consistent chop in their seas requires the stability of a catamaran hull. In the United States, several companies pioneered development of the catamaran-style boats for our waters. In the late 1950s, Ray Leger began producing the Power Cat series on the West Coast and several other companies including Manacat and Ocean Star began producing cats in the East.

Years after my ride aboard the Sea Cat, I purchased a 26-foot World Cat. I was told Sea Cat was now World Cat. I visited the North Carolina World Cat factory, where I was told they no longer produced the Sea Cat. Recently, I learned the Sea Cat is still being produced in Greenville, N.C. After a few phone calls, and a little Googling, I found Forrest Munden at Sea Cat Boats.

The following interview with Mr. Munden attempts to unravel the mystery of “Whatever happened to Sea Cat?” Q: Mr. Munden, how is it you are today selling a vessel that many thought was no longer on the market? Weren’t you associated with the original Sea Cat I fell in love with?

Munden: Yes I was. Sea Cat was originally created by Graham Flanagan in 1992. I was manufacturing Leisure Cat boats with Regal Marine in Orlando, Fla., and Graham was manufacturing Sea Cat boats in Greenville, N.C. The innovations developed on the Sea Cat seemed destined to have substantial influence on the boating industry. The boats were super fuel-efficient and rode smoothly in nearly any conditions.

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Q: Well what happened?

Munden: In 1996, I purchased Sea Cat boats and its Greenville manufacturing facility. During my first year with the brand, I designed and developed the World Cat line of catamaran boats. World Cat molds were manufactured by Vectorworks Marine in Titusville, Fla. by my good friend Jeff Gray, CEO of Vectorworks.

Once we received the new World Cat molds at the plant in Greenville, we started making the World Cat and stopped making the Sea Cat. That was early in 1997.

The Sea Cat molds were stored for another year and a half until my good friend Ken Hall (previous CEO of Proline/Donzi) purchased them.

He owned the Florida boat company Sportcraft and wanted to add a catamaran line. He called the Sea Cat boat the Sportcat.

Unfortunately, Sportcat and Sportcraft did not survive the 1998 economic downturn. The next I heard of Sea Cat was when a former Sea Cat dealer and two brothers from Columbia, S.C. splashed the 19-foot Sea Cat mold. Then, Jerry Semers purchased that mold from the brothers, who had closed their business.

Mr. Semers’ started the new venture in Titusville, Fla., utilizing Vector Works Marine as a home base. He called the boat Sea Cat. After Mr. Semers passed away, the molds and tooling sat vacant for years.

In 2017, a good friend and ex-Sea Cat and World Cat dealer invited me into a venture to make a new catamaran with the Sea Cat name. I reached out to Mr. Gray at Vectorworks and proceeded to do the tooling and mold building through their team. The result, introduced in 2019, is the new 260 Sea Cat Hybrid bay boat built by our partner Pete Caldwell, Caldwell Marine Designs. The original Seacat Boat built in 1992 was built again 27 years later at the same Greenville plant. Today’s vessel is capable of power up to twin 300 horsepower.

Today’s 26-foot Sea Cat has handling characteristics far superior to the original that you fell in love with. The legend of Sea Cat continues as the most practical, smoothest-riding and fuel-efficient vessels this side of Australia.

“The Legend Returns,” Seacatboats.com

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By Capt. Randy Cnota • Capt. Chester Reese, with Natural World Charters, out of Carrabelle, Fla., shows off a jig-caught red snapper.

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f you’ve never made your way to Florida’s Forgotten Coast to spend a day in the Gulf of Mexico catching red snapper, you owe it to yourself to have a go at it.

The red snapper is likely the most prized catch of anglers here, and for good reasons: they make most excellent table fare, they’re absolutely beautiful, they’re easy to catch most days, and it’s hard to beat snapper fishing for a day of friends and family fun.

To give you an idea about how prolific the red snapper are here, let me share a phrase commonly used by local charter captains fishing for other species of fish: “We had to leave that spot because we couldn’t get our bait past the snapper!”

Yes, FWC does tightly manage harvest seasons and bag limits, and it’s frustrating for many, but the fact is, we have a lot of red snapper here! Currently, the Gulf snapper season runs June 11 through July 12.

If you plan on bringing your own boat to the area, fear not; plenty of boat ramps and other accommodations will ensure your experience is a good one. Finding snapper can be as easy as using the many public sites available, just plug them into your GPS and go!

Rigging for snapper is very easy. I’d suggest a minimum of 30-pound-test mainline, and make your leaders with a quality 50-pound-test fluorocarbon.

If using live bait like cigar minnows or Spanish sardines, I suggest you fabricate your leader this way. Attach a swivel to your main line, use 80-pound mono to create a 6-inch leader to slide your egg sinker onto, with another swivel on the other end. Now attach a 5-foot length of fluorocarbon leader with a 3/0 to 5/0 circle hook on the business end. When fishing deep with a conventional Carolina-style rig where the weight slips, you’ll sometimes find that your weight is all the way to the bottom, but your live bait is swimming right under the boat.

Securing the weight to the leader rig ensures this doesn’t happen and gets the bait right down to the fish.

Guides here are at the ready to take you, your family and friends out for what promises to be an exceptionally good snapper season, but book early, availability can be limited once the season kicks off.

Many other species of fish are on the chew here too, folks, so don’t overlook the tarpon, redfish, AJs, king mackerel and so much more that awaits both inshore and offshore. Fishing opportunities along the Forgotten Coast are wide open!

For more info and a complete list of rentals, charters, supplies and more, visit www.floridasforgottencoast.com.

Your fish is waiting.

Florida’s Forgotten Coast

Boaters and mariners will find something to love in Franklin County.

Carrabelle features deep water access to the Gulf of Mexico and freshwater rivers. Plan a kayak or day sailing eco-adventure from Apalachicola or St. George Island. Eastpoint and Alligator Point offer direct access to the best inshore fishing on the Gulf Coast.

Bring your own boat or rent one here; there’s no better place to enjoy Florida’s Forgotten Coast.

Visit Floridasforgottencoast.com/ca for complete launch, marina, guide and tackle information.

ALLIGATOR POINT • APALACHICOLA • CARRABELLE • EASTPOINT • ST. GEORGE ISLAND COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

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BLUE RIDGE

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Visit and Explore Burnsville, NC

hether you’re hiking, exhibits. The restaurant, concesfishing or camping sion stand and gift shop are open in the mountains or May thru October. Campground

By Capt.a Cefus attending performance at Park- has 9 tent sites only.

McRae, Nuts & way Playhouse or coming to the Winding along the southern Bolts of Fishing Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair or Caro- edge of Yancey County, the Blue Series lina Mountains Literary Festival, Ridge Parkway gives travelers an there’s always a good day waiting amazing view of the Black Mounfor you in Burnsville, North Car- tains and the South Toe River olina, especially for travelers who Valley. Stretching for nearly 500 like to discover their own journey. miles through the mountains of Yancey County is home to North Carolina and Virginia – waterfalls, campgrounds, back- and not one single redlight – the roads, hiking trails, clean rivers, Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the and six of the 10 highest peaks in best scenic drives in America.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the Eastern America. look onYancey a map, the Georgia seems pretonly accesscoastline to Mount Mitchell Locatedheninyou southern ty small.Mitchell From Cumberland Island it’smileonly ParktoatTybee Hwy Island, 128 and County, Mount (6,684 State about 100 miles. However, there are more than 3,400 miles 355. It’sestuaries five miles the feet) is the highestwhen mountain East post of tidal shoreline you include the marshes, andtotidal summit.

The Parkway was built by of the Mississippi River.

It was desrivers. That adds up to a lot of fishing possibilities for sea trout, redfish, CCC labor in the 1930s. Workers ignated the first statefinned park infoes North flounder and other that inhabit inshore areas.

And it’s not just theit“small” that hang around dynamite to these blast shallow tunnels Carolina in 1916.

Today featuresfishused backwaters and barrier islands.

You can also find bona fide through the some mountains and moncarve an observation platform on the sters prowling waist-deep water. If you can keep a secret, I’ll clue you a road through rough, remote tersummit next to Elisha Mitchell’s in on a couple of Georgia’s saltwater hot spots where you can achieve rain.

The Parkway rises to an elegrave, and an interpretive museum big-fish nirvana and also put a few tasty filets on the dinner table. with historical and environmental vation over 5,000 feet as it passes

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Richmond Hill: This historic town is home to Ft. McAllister State Park. The fort has been restored, and it’s definitely worth your time to stop by. Just before you get to the fort, you’ll find Ft. McAllister Marina through Yancey on the Ogeechee River. This is a good launch point. You’ll have miles County. of prime sea trout, redfish and flounder territory. The marina has live fun shop, plus a sling boat launch. Redbird Creek, Cane baitEnjoy and aatackle Patchday Creek and Buckhead Creek are all good spots. If you’d prefer to filled on the have someone water, catchingshow you the ropes, the local fishing guru is Capt. David Newlin. the fish native to If you want to hook up with some whoppers, here’s another secret. our The mountains.

Georgia coast is a regular stop-over for migrating tarpon! From We guarantee July through Labor Day, the silver kings come into Ossabaw Sound and the Ogeechee your fishing to feed on huge schools of menhaden. With a little patience and luck, you can find yourself connected to a 100-plustrip will be full pound tarpon. At the end of the day, you can take your flounder and of fish-catching sea trout into Fish Tales Restaurant at theatmarina, where they cook Observation platform Mount Mitchell Statewill Park. experiences! it any way you like.

Toe River, Island: This is another St. Simons small community one of Southern Appalachianon MounGeorgia’s barrier islands. sea trout and redfishing can be spectacuCarolina Hemlocks, andTheBlack More at with www.snakelar. Look at the tide tables moontains. phase to pickinfo a date a falling Mountain Campgrounds areand all lorootecotours.com. tide at daybreak and a half-moon. Get out early, and use your Navioncated off Highway 80 in the South ics charts to pinpoint draining creeks with shell bars. Toss out The nearby Burnsville-Yancey ChamToe areaunder of Yancey County. a liveRiver shrimp a Thunder Chicken cork andand hangVisitor on. ber popping of Commerce Mount Mitchell State Parkshow andup in St. Andrews Sound and AltamaIn late summer, tarpon Center locatedfishing at 106 for West Main ha SoundMeadows on eitherare side of the by island.

Whileisyou’re tarpon, Crabtree accessed Street.

Inside you’ll a helpfula youBlue willRidge probably hook up with mondo bull redfish andfind potentially the Parkway. spinner shark. Both offer a super exciting fight.

For me, the premier staff and lots of information on Snakeroot offersIsland cus- is Capt. Mark Noble. He’s based out guide service Ecotours on St. Simons attractions, lodging, shopping, tom tours of one of the wildest of Morningstar Marina. and local businesses and Ifmost corners of Westyouscenic can keep a secret, check dining, out these destinations.

They’re&a little off the beaten path, which means they don’t get a lot of fishing services.

Visitor Center and office ern North Carolina. We invite you pressure.

Just don’t tell anybody else. open Monday thru Friday 9am to into astoundingly diverse habitats and reveal the mysteries of the 5pm. Call (828) 682-7413.

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LAKE CHATUGE

Insane Hybrid Fishing on Lake Chatuge with Big Ol’ Fish

By Darren Hughes

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or us, the most exciting trips of the year begin in June. Summer fishing on Lake Chatuge, which borders Western North Carolina and North Georgia, really gets fired up. With warmer water temps, the hybrids and bass really school up, which means we are able to load the boat with 30 to 50 hybrids a morning.

It’s not uncommon to do that in less than a couple of hours too. These hybrids are Lake Chatuge’s hardest fighting fish and we can definitely put you on some. You’ll have the fishing trip of a lifetime!

Currently, Lake Chatuge is at full pool. Water temps are in the high 70s, and water clarity is clear throughout the lake.

Hybrid fishing is great as the fish are schooling in large numbers, and we are catching some big, big quantities. Most of our hybrids are averaging 6-10 pounds. The early morning bite has been prime. Look for schools of fish off shallow humps along the main channel, clay banks, and off points. Downlining live blueback herring has been the best technique. Search out your

areas and watch your electronics. When you mark fish, drop your lines. Fish will be slightly shallower in the early morning hours and will move to deeper water by mid-morning. Top-water bite remains very good as well. When these fish start busting on bait, it’s always a good idea to have a plug, spook, or red fin at the ready.

Spotted bass fishing remains excellent, too. We are still catching some huge spots throughout

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the day, and it’s not uncommon to put 30-40 of these feisty fish in the boat in one trip. Early morning top-water bite has been strong. Top-water plugs, spooks, and jerk baits have worked well.

Our downline bite has also been very productive, especially in the mid-morning hours. Look for fish to be schooled up on

shallow clay banks, humps, and off points. In terms of location, the upper end of the lake has been producing slightly better numbers than the lower end.

June fishing on Lake Chatuge is always exciting. Remember, live bait on this lake can be the difference between a successful day of fishing and a horrid one.

For all of your bait and tackle needs, come visit us at Hughes General Store in Blairsville, GA-it’s the best place around for quality live blueback herring.

We also carry ethanol-free gas and have some of the best hot, made-from-scratch biscuits in North GA. For guided fishing trips on Lakes Chatuge, Hiwassee, or Nottely, or questions about the bait shop, call me, Darren Hughes or Shane Goebel at Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service.

And, whether you’re a seasoned angler or just starting out, give Chatuge a shot for some of the best spotted bass and hybrids in the area. Good luck, and get hooked!

Darren Hughes is the Owner of Hughes General Store & Bait Shop and a member of The Angler Magazine Fishing Team and Guide for Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service. Look him up at www.bigolfish.com or give him a call, (706) 745-6569 or (828) 361-2021

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

Easier Fly Fishing

By David Hulsey

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ver the years, I’ve seen a few things that can make your next fly fishing trip a little easier and more fun.

To start with, knowing your own limitations and the folks you are fishing with will sometimes keep you, and them, out of trouble.

When doing guide trips, having family groups with aging parents or grandpa along, and also twenty something year-olds, there will be a wide gulf of mobility between the two. Fishing a stream with easy access will close that gap and open up more water that can be fished together. Big slick rocks are not the friend of bad hips, knees, or big beer bellies!

Some days, it’s almost impossible to get folks where they need to be to make a decent cast. Even crossing the stream may not be an option, which can eliminate half the fishable water. Saving the mountain climbing for the more agile will sometimes avoid an injury and give you more fishable opportunities.

Having the right wading gear can also help tremendously. Felt soled or studded rubber soled boots will help to keep you moving along. A big piece of polished rock can be like walking on ice, so make sure you have some footwear designed to stick to the bottom of a rocky river. Good fitting, breathable waders reduce drag

in the water and are also cooler than the old neoprene waders. A good wading staff can give you a third leg in heavy current, check the depth of holes, get flies out of trees, fight off a rabid raccoon etc…! I see a lot of junky ones on the creek so get a good one and you won’t be sorry.

Having an adequate fly rod in hand when you step into the river cannot be over emphasized. Try to resist the urge to fish granddads old piece of crap fiberglass fly rod/broomstick from the seventies. In the hands of an excellent caster, they can get by trick shooting with some weird equipment.

If you are just starting out, believe me, a difficult to use fly rod or reel combo will work against you. Get a medium fast action fly rod and a balanced fly reel to go on it. A matched weight forward floating

fly line of good quality will have you tossing flies out on the river in no time. Longer fly rods are easier to cast and easier to move your line around on the water.

A fly rod nine feet long, and designed to cast a five weight fly line, will have you worlds ahead of a shorter stick and string. Visiting your local fly shop will get you hooked up with some easy to use and correct equipment. While you’re there, pick up a dozen patterns of standard flies as recommended by the folks in the shop or a trusted friend. Learn to use these 12 or so flies and build your confidence in them. Use as short and stout a leader as the fish will let you get by with. A 7.5 foot 4x

leader is a good place to start.

Learn a couple of basic knots.

Take a fly fishing/casting class by a certified casting instructor with many years on the water.

This will put you light years ahead of trying to learn on your own and save a lot of frustration. Make sure you spend a good amount of time in the stream casting to likely trout lies during the school.

There’s a world of difference between casting on grass and casting in the water. These are just a few of the many things you can do to make fly fishing easier and more enjoyable! Give us a call at 770-639-4001 to book your space in our fly fishing classes or for a memorable day on the river.

Give David a call to book a class or trophy trout guide trip at Noontootla Creek Farms. We can make learning to fly fish easy and fun! You can make the switch.

SMSS has all the essentials for hunting, target shooting, home defense, reloading and more Call for date & time of monthly concealed carry class.

53 Peachtree St, Murphy, NC • 828-837-7677 Beside the Courthouse

www.smokymountainshooters.com www.facebook.com/smokymtnshooter

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LAKE HIWASSEE

June Stripers on Lake Hiwassee

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By Shane Goebel

ummer is finally here.

The weather is beautiful, the water is warmer, and the fish are going crazy—it’s the perfect time to hit the lake and catch some amazing fish!

What’s the best way to do that?

By booking a trip with Murphy, NC’s #1 striper guide: Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service.

Lake Hiwassee is unbelievable for summer striper fishing.

There’s nothing like starting your day off with the birds chirping, morning fog lifting and an explosion of stripers slamming all your rods. It’s a feeding frenzy of schooled-up stripers and mass chaos of loading the boat with tons of fish. It’s not uncommon for us to boat 30-50 fish per trip out here on this serene western North Carolina lake.

Currently, Lake Hiwassee is 2 feet below full pool. Water clarity is clear from the main lake to the rivers and creeks, and water temps are in the mid to upper 70s.

Striper fishing remains excellent and I mean excellent! We have been catching big fish in good quantities. Just days before writing this, we caught a monster 35 pound striper out here.

This lake is unbelievable right now. We’ve been averaging 25 to 30 stripers a morning now. The early-morning and late evening bites are your best times to see action. In the early-morning hours, there are days we are still pulling planer boards and free lines with live blueback herring and there are days it’s been all downlines.

As the sun comes up in the later morning hours, we definitely start to focus on deeper water and switch to all downlines. Target creek mouths and rocky points.

As the top-water bite has also

been excellent, keep a spook or a Red Fin at the ready to snag those surface-busting fish. Remember to keep an eye on your electronics and watch for schools of these fish. Also, please remember to get these fish back into the water ASAP and keep them swimming.

This will be an amazing trophy lake if we follow good catch and release practices.

Smallmouth and spotted bass fishing has been outstanding, too. These fish are finally off the beds and are schooled up. We’ve been wearing out some nice smallmouths and spots every trip lately. Work shallow humps, creek mouths, and clay banks.

Also, target brush piles throughout the lake. Downlining blueback herring has worked best for us, but we are also picking up some quality fish on jerkbaits, flukes, and spooks. Look for these bass to continue to school through the rest of next month.

June is a fantastic month for catching a lot of stripers on this lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1 striper guide service put you on some of Lake Hiwassee’s best trophy fish during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Murphy, NC’s only full-time guide service, with over 20 years of striper guiding experience. We specialize in striped and hyrbrid bass. We also serve Lakes Nottely, Chatuge and Blue Ridge. And for all your live bait and tackle needs, check out Hughes General Store in Blairsville, GA. They carry everything you need for a successful day of fishing. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine—let us help you get your fish on!

Shane Goebel is the Owner of Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service and a member of The Angler Fishing Team. Contact him at www.bigolfish. com or (828) 361-2021 / 1-(844)-4-ANGLER COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

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The Role of Guides in Fisheries Conservation

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By Aaron Kephart

he fishing in May has been incredible, and June is setting up to be an awesome month as well. We have been catching a ton of stripers, hybrids, smallmouth, spots, largemouth, crappie, and even some walleye, and I see no reason why June won’t be just as good. As of this writing (early May), I am almost completely booked in June, but the trophy summer smallmouth bite (along with the awesome summer striper bite and solid night time crappie bite) will be wide open in July, so call me now if you want to make sure you get a date. With that said, I would like to spend my time this month looking at something a bit different: the role guides play, or at least should play, in conserv-

ing our lake fisheries for the future.

One of the things I love most about our Murphy area lakes, (with the exception of Chatuge), is the relative absence of fishing pressure. However, guides like myself who spend hundreds of days a year on the water have the potential to have a bigger impact on the health of the fisheries than your average angler who goes out on a couple of pretty Saturdays per month. It is simple math: someone in my position, who takes out a few hundred anglers each year, has the mathematical possibility to do a lot more damage than even the lucky hypothetical angler who limits out every day of the year, but only fishes by himself or with a buddy. One of the complaints I hear the most from local anglers, regarding guiding, is the number of fish that guides could potentially allow their clients to keep and the impact of that upon our lakes, and, while there isn’t anything illegal about allowing every single client to keep every legal fish, it is dumb business, and borderline unethical.

Am I saying that I don’t allow clients to keep any fish? Not at all. I personally hire local guides when I go on vacation, and the main reason I do so is to catch some fish to take home and share a big meal with my family,

Murphy North Carolina’s

premier trophy smallmouth and spotted bass guide service

Mountain Lakes Guide Service

Hiwassee - Apalachia - Chatuge Aaron Kephart 865-466-1345 mtnlakesguide@outlook.com

Crappie, Trophy Trout, Stripers, and more available 6 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

JUNE 2019

which serves as a reminder of the awesome time we had. With that said, I don’t have to fill up the biggest Yeti made with dead fish to be happy with my trip. In terms of my business, I am 100% catch and release on smallmouth, largemouth, and spots over 2.5 pounds.

However, I am more than happy for clients to keep a reasonable number of stripers, hybrids, and small spotted bass (some interesting recent studies have shown just how detrimental these fish can be on a fishery, particularly to smallmouth), and you are welcome to keep all the crappie, walleye, catfish, and lake brown trout you legally can.

In my mind, it boils down to personal responsibility, common sense, and a longer term vision for the future than just how much money I can make in the shortest time possible (I have lost trips and had cancellations when people find out I won’t allow them to keep everything, but quite frankly, I am fine with losing that kind of business). I not only want my clients to experience incredible fishing today, but I want my clients 10 years from now to still be experiencing awesome (and hopefully even better) fishing. As an example, over 1,000 stripers were caught in my boat out of Hiwassee Lake last year, 95% of which were legal size fish. The limit on stripers is 4 per person, and I often ran 4 and 5 person trips. That is potentially 20 stripers a day gone out of the lake. However, there is no way I would ever allow my clients to keep that many stripers, as that overall number is a pretty substantial percentage of the number of stripers stocked yearly anyway. I have a boat limit of 2 per person on my boat, and I also cap

the total take in regards to how many can be kept in a day, regardless of the number of anglers on board. Hiwassee has the potential to be a world class trophy striper destination, but they will never grow to be 50 and 60 pounders if all of them have a filet knife ran down their spine when they are 10 pounders. The same holds true for most other species.

The simple fact of the matter is that some fish are going to die in the process of getting caught, whether they are caught by a local guide, tournament ace, or a weekend warrior. Fish mortality can be attributed to a number of factors: poor handling, deep hooking, a filet knife, taking too long to get a picture, dropping them on hot carpet, or getting hauled around in a rough, hot livewell on the way back to a tournament weigh-in.

However, common sense practices exercised by all anglers, especially local guides, will go a long way towards insuring the sustainability and even improvement of the quality of our awesome fisheries.

Have a great day, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Aaron Kephart is the Owner of Mountain Lakes Guide Service. To book a guided trip on one of the Murphy area mountain lakes, contact him by phone or by email at mtnlakesguide@outlook.com Check out his website at http://www.mtnlakesguideservice.com and catch him on facebook@mountainlakesguideservice COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

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JUNE 2019

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 7

The State of Our Lakes

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he NCWRC held a meeting in May to give their views on the state of our local lakes. I truly appreciate the fact that they are starting to hear and see what we have been talking about for some time now. Just to review a little of what they presented, and as we all know, the walleye populations are down in every lake they discussed. The reasons are a combination of the introduction of the spotted bass, several years of bad natural recruitment, and most recently, the introduction of blueback herring. The other area they concentrated on was the decline and hybridization of our native smallmouth populations, both of these being caused by the spotted bass introduction. Spots, it turns out, love to make whoopee with smallmouth, same place, same time… Why not love the one you are with? While they are trying to

By Capt. James McManus

fix the walleye population decline, there may not be much they can do for the smallies.

First, in the audience, there were experienced anglers, guides, and folks that spend way more time on the lakes than any of the wildlife folks. A lot of what was presented was old news to most.

TVA has been showing these same results for over ten, maybe fifteen years, so I question why it took so long to address the issues. I know it takes time to compile and collate data, but ten to fifteen years is a long time. I do want to look at the positives. Walleye stocking is surely one of those. I was not aware of the difficulties of raising walleye and I feel like they are really trying as hard as possible to remedy the problem. They are faced with budget constraints, rearing limitations and demands from other sectors of our fishing populations, namely

the trout anglers. This isn’t a bad thing, they are a huge, viable and economically important collection of folks and, geographically, these mountains are the only places they can be sustained, so I understand the importance of catering first to them. So, the good short-term news is that the stockings are going to increase and, with new methods, hopefully a fishable population will return. I do question some of their interpretation of the data presented. The only lake that had any sort of natural reproduction of walleye was Hiawassee. It has all the same mitigating circumstances as its sister lake, Fontana. The lone exception is that Hiawassee has a good population of stripers. My contention is that the stripers are holding back the blueback population just enough so that there is the continuation of natural reproduction of walleye.

Why not stock Fontana with stripers at the same time and you don’t really have anything to lose. It was stated that they wanted to wait and see if the walleye stocking was enough, but five years of study, then five more to stock stripers puts the finished product ten years down the road and that don’t get it.

STOCK NOW! The other main issue addressed dealt with the smallmouth decline. There is no magic wand

here, other than future stocking of pure strain smallies. What would help, and was suggested, was a removal of the size limit on bass, not numbers, just size, so that more of the small spots would be removed.

We have been suggesting this for years and don’t appear any closer to reality, but combined with an educational bulletin for releasing pure strain smallies, it couldn’t hurt. There were also suggestions for restrictions on possession of smallies on Appalachia, which would help, and restrictions for fishing running water during spawning runs of smallies and walleye. I hope I don’t seem too critical of our wildlife folks, but just want what is best for our lakes and anglers. Let Raleigh know what you think, after all, they work for us and they also want what is best, so, again, thank you for addressing our concerns and use us as resources for help or information. Later, Capt. James

Capt. James McManus is the Owner of 153 Charters.

Give him a call for a great day of boat fishing!

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 9

Avoiding Mistakes On The Water

By Ken Kastorff

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e all endeavor to be the best that we can be on the water. Fly fishing, first of all, should be fun but the, in the end, is to be successful and catch fish. So I thought I would write an article this month covering some of the more common mistakes that we as guides see on the water.

Casting! – A book could be

written on casting mistakes, so I am going to say right away that I am not going into the quagmire of trying to teach fly casting here.

Instead, I am just going to bring up some basic mistakes that I consistently see while guiding. Probably the most common mistake is doing too many back casts. When you are streamer fishing, learn how to do one, or at a maximum two, back casts and shoot at least thirty to forty feet of line back out again. I have seen fly anglers strip the fly in and then do five or more back casts before getting the fly back on the water. One thing for sure is that you don’t catch much with the fly sailing through the air and most times, the more back casts I see the worse the cast gets.

Learn how to do a positive and negative curve cast. Without this skill, you are at a great disadvantage especially when dry fly fishing. Having a good curve cast eliminates having to do a bunch of mending. Speaking of mending, mend like you are doing a sideways roll cast. Get the line up off of the

water or you’re just going to drag the fly and once you mend, keep as much of the fly line as possible out of the water.

Euro Nymphing – While there are times that a strike indicator seems easier to use, Euro nymphing, or Czech Nymphing as it is sometimes called, is a very efficient way of nymph fishing. It is a much more dynamic style of nymph fishing and encourages the raising and lowering of the rod to keep the nymph in the bottom of the river.

I have found that even first time fly anglers do better tight line fishing, but just like everything in fly fishing, there is a learning curve. Here are some common mistakes that I see. The biggest error is not casting far enough upstream so that the nymph has time to get to the bottom of the river. If your nymph isn’t on the bottom of the river, your chances of success are most times slim to none. At the same time, it is important to keep the line tight. You

want a straight line from the nymph to the tip of the rod. The second mistake I see is not keeping the rod directly over the nymph, or even better, leading the fly as it drifts down stream. If the nymph gets in front of the rod during the drift, then it will most likely be dragging, and again, this will kill your success rate. Cast your nymph to a different point upstream so that the nymph does a drift in a different place each time. Start with a cast, pretty much straight upstream, and then cast a foot or two out to the side with each consecutive cast. If there is a hungry fish out there, it will most often take the first drift. Get your fly in new water as often as possible. Casting in the same place again and again is nothing more than casting practice.

The Hook Set! – Probably the biggest mistake that I see on the water is no hook set or a hook set done wrong. The problem usually occurs when the sighter line isn’t tight and, consequently, there is no way to see there has been a hit on the nymph, or the sighter line twitches, stops, moves to the side, down or upstream and the angler does nothing. There are two ways to know you have a fish on the line, feel it or see it! If that sighter line even begins to move do a probing set. (A probing set is a short set just to check if there is a hit on the Nymph). If there is no resistance, then continue the drift. Remember any unusual movement of the line is a fish. My advice is to fish

as though there are no rocks in the river! If the line moves, assume it is a fish. Most often by the time you feel a fish on the line, it has already committed suicide. Trout will take a nymph and if it isn’t real, they will spit it out as fast as they can, the sooner the hook set, the better success you will have. The same is true when streamer fishing. Watch the line. If it stops, set the hook. There is a second or two-delay before you will feel the hit, but you will almost always see the line stop before feeling the hit. If you are dry fly fishing, you can’t be a sleep at the wheel.

You have to concentrate on the fly and set the hook at the moment of the strike. Many of us struggle with seeing a small dry fly on the water.

Use two flies, a larger one in front of your primary fly. That way you will always be able to refocus on your primary fly after the cast.

Whenever possible, set the hook downstream. Trout normally will come upstream to take a Nymph.

Setting downstream sets the hook against the trout. An upstream hook set more often pulls the fly away from the fish. If the hit comes while your fly is downstream from you, then set the hook low to one side or the other. Remember the worst hook set is directly back upstream from the fish.

The last thing I want to mention is one of the most common mistakes I see people make. If you are not catching something, then assume you are doing something wrong. Change your fly, change your presentation, change your drift, change your retrieve, change, change, change… until you figure out what will work. We all have days when it was fishing, rather than catching, but don’t fall into the trap of doing the same thing over and over again rather than continuing to experiment until you figure out the magic combination.

Good luck out there!

Ken Kastorff is the Owner and Guide at Endless River Adventures located along the Nantahala River in Bryson City, North Carolina.

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 11

SWAIN COUNTY / BRYSON CITY

Tales From The Tournament

By Tammy Millsaps

F

ishing Leader In Me (LIM) group and Swainglers teamed up and organized a fishing tournament on Fontana Lake open to all students in the high school. I had the pleasure of sponsoring the LIM group. We met once a week for a couple of months making plans. The group was led by student leader, Brittany Shuler.

As you can imagine, it would be hard to plan a tournament with a budget of one-hundred dollars, but we did! Great Smoky Mountain Bait & Tackle Store donated

many prizes and was swarmed the morning of the tournament with anglers purchasing their supplies, which they received a great discount on!

Parent, Kep Biggs, donated his time and scales for the weigh in.

He also took the day off work to fish with his son and his teammate.

We had a total of twelve boats, and thirty-six anglers: twenty-five were on boats/pontoons and eleven were bank anglers. Launch time was at 6:45 am and weigh-in was at 1:45 pm. The tournament was

Nicholas Bishop, Kinley Biggs, Tripp Peterson, Meli Myers and Hope Long

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open to any fish species. Meli Myers and Hope Long weighed in with an impressive 12.7 pounds of trout. Siblings, Brittany and Seth Shuler, along with Captain Ryan Laws, Bass Guide for Fly Fishing the Smokies, weighed in over an astonishing 13 pounds of Bass.

Tripp Peterson followed with 8.4 pounds of bass and walleye. Kinley Biggs and Nicholas Bishop were close with 7.14 pounds of bass. Brittany Shuler captured the largest bass closely trailed by Kinley Biggs. Tripp Peterson had the biggest walleye, Ben Franklin the biggest catfish and bream, JT Neugin reeled in the largest crappie.

We had approximately 50 pounds of fish at the weigh-in.

I want to express my gratitude to all the volunteers that offered

Brittany Shuler with largest bass

their time and boats for this event and took time out of their own work schedule to make this event happen. Special thanks to Jack and Joanne Parton and Jackie Corn of Great Smokey Mountain Bait & Tackle for all of the generosity!

Swaingler member, Trevor Jones, donated a nice Abu Garcia Rod. Also, a shout out to Swain High School Administration for allowing us to fish on a school day!

Tammy Millsaps is the Leader of The Swainglers fishing club at Swain County High School in Bryson City, North Carolina. They fish once a month of the school year during club time. Contact her at tmillsaps@swainmail.org for more information or to support this popular club.

Family Time Is Priceless

ey folks, we’ve finally made it to the time of year that gets the family fired up for some fun outdoors.

June’s a great time to be on the water whether you’re on the lake or a cold trout stream. The fishing’s going to be great with the temps just about perfect. On Fontana you can

By Ronnie Parris

expect to have a real good topwater bite early and late, with a mix of smallmouth spotted bass and whites. I like trolling, so drop a few lines deep and walleye and steelhead are sure to jump on it. I like casting artificial to the breakers, usually a kietech or a fluke. Sometimes an xrap jerkbait will get them

Fontana Lake Fishing Guides – Ronnie Parris, Owner & Head Guide LAKE, CREEK & RIVER FISHING • FLY FISHING • CAMPING We offer both full and half day trips with the most competitive rates available. All tackle and supplies you will need while you are on your trip is covered by our listed price.

1012 East Alarka Road, Bryson City, NC • 828-488-9711, Cell: 828-736-9471

smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com

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fired up. Remember to stay small with your presentation and you will be rewarded, as the minnows tend to run small this time of year.

The picture with this article is one I cherish: My daughter and 2 grandkids, this was Coy’s first time on the water and we all had a blast. Kyleigh caught several nice spotted bass and we picked up a few whites on the downriggers. Remember to take lots of snacks and cold drinks for the kids because it’s more about making them have fun on the trip than loading the boat with fish.

Also, it’s a good time to teach them about safety on the water. Make sure to pack some good sunblock, it’s no fun going home looking like

a lobster and feeling the burn for days. I like getting started early and getting off the water as the midday skiers enjoy the warm water and the sun. There’s just something about being on the lake at first light with the fog coming off the water and the fish breaking everywhere that gets my heart pumping.

So get the family out there and make some memories. Leave that grass to cut another day. God bless and cherish family.

Ronnie Parris is the Owner and Head Guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, North Carolina, heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. (www.smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com) COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

ASHEVILLE / HENDERSONVILLE / BREVARD

What Makes Our Mountains and Rivers Worthwhile

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By Ethan Hollifield

he ruggedness of the mountains and mountain rivers will teach you more about your own fragility than any poetic stance, or self proclaimed scripture on the meaning of life, ever could. They are the quintessential essence of the balance between order and chaos: one which could not exist without the other.

Wild, untamed places that have survived the test of time, as our mountains have, are needed now more than ever in a world that has become stale and watered down.

However, even the ancient rock that makes up our mountains can, and has, been eroded away by time. The necessary chaos of the natural world of our mountains is slowly being eroded away by the order of modern society (what some would call, progress). Everything has to be safe, everything has to be mundane, everything has to be so… expected, at least by modern standards. Even our “adventures” have to be safe anymore.

The problem with outdoor recreation is that it sets a precedence on nature, in that it provides tourists with their expectations and fulfillment from the natural world, rather than the reality. There are very few true outdoorsman left in this modern world. Sure, there are those who claim to have a knowledge of the mountains, and in our

case ,the rivers carving them out.

They might even boast of all the named trails and streams their feet have tread. But these are paths now well worn, even on our rivers.

Well marked with signs and even paved, or laden with gravel, to make it as accessible as possible.

More often, these are paths made more so with the intent of narcissistic social media fame or with tourism revenue in mind rather than for the sake of personal discovery. We give them names like “scenic hike” or “nature trail” to disguise that intent, and to give the false impression of wilderness to those who are used to trees as manicured lawn ornaments. Most could not name a single plant or creature that they themselves trampled or picked away from the cold, dark Appalachian ground it came from.

Heaven forbid that one may find himself on an unknown stream, fly rod in hand, chasing wild trout that are, for the most part, ghosts that haunt our imagination. Or that one may even find himself on the back bone of a highland ridge, neither knowing where or what is expected of him.

In either case, the only trail, or map, or help that can be offered is from our own grit and determination. This is what makes the plight of man meaningful: that our finite

existence on this earth has some merit. That what some find as trivial pursuits do indeed contain a hidden truth, and that is of the self reliance that our mountains can teach us; that even trout and fly fishing can teach us if we allow it to exist as God himself created it. This is a truth our forefathers who settled this harsh and rugged land knew all too well, and one that we are allowing to slip away as silently as the last cry of the last Appalachian Whippoorwill.

The mountains, along with its native people and animals are tenacious, but even this tenacity has its limits. The demands of industrial civilization are slowly chipping away at the mountains, trying to tame its rugged nature.

We’ve even tried to tame water and trout with dams and tailwaters and stocked deformities that can only be considered the same species of fish by their genetic traits. We’ve tried to degrade trout fishing and all of its traditions down to this illusion called “open-

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ing day” which represents more of a senseless slaughter rather than any good action of conservation.

My point, if there is one in all of this, is that our wilderness in the Appalachians and the idea of self reliance and self discovery it taught our ancestors is slowly being withered away by societies narcissistic fulfillment, our need for outdoor adventure without the risk involved. We need our mountains, our rivers, and the trout within them now more than ever to balance the mundaneness and the orderliness that the modern world continuously dumps onto us. I would never want to imagine a time where our mountains and rivers and trout lose their wildness; their untamed nature being the key to teaching us about our own personal growth and fulfilment.

Ethan Hollifield is an Environmental/Physical Science Teacher and is also a guide for Southern Appalachian Anglers

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Giving Up My Spot

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By Matt Mittan

ank fishing season is in full swing and laying claim to the best places on the shores of our local lakes, rivers and ponds can get pretty competitive. At several smaller ponds around Asheville, anglers are good sports about rotating around the perimeter, fishing several casts and then walking to the next open spot. On the prettiest of days, it can look like a well-choreographed dance of numerous people taking their best shots and then strolling along the edges simultaneously.

It’s a gracious and beautiful habit of courtesy.

It’s this rotating process that I want to talk about today. With a busy work and family schedule, I try to carve out little sneakaway times during my day. I keep some gear and tackle in the back of my car just waiting for those random moments, where being between client appointments and having some extra time collide. Fortunately, there are plenty of small parks with some fishing in and around the greater Asheville area. One such place is the pond by the Azalea Dog Park in East Asheville (pictured with the article). A lot of folks don’t realize there are such splendid spots hidden within the city limits, but they are.

The small pond has ample open bank fishing and has a pretty good population of Catfish, Bass, Brim and even a few stocked Trout at certain times of the year. But the Largemouth Bass is what I like to go after in this pond. There are a few lunkers that swim these waters and the blessing/curse of this pond is that you can often see them!

The challenge is that because of the fishing pressure the pond gets, you have to be crafty to get them to hit. They’ve seen it all, and often. Occasionally you come across a Bass that just has an attitude. These are the fun ones, because they will go after your offering a few times, if you miss them the first cast or two.

Recently, I found myself walking from spot to spot, rotating the bank with several other fishermen, on Azalea Pond. To my right was a young man that was about 14 or 15 years old.

He was using a basic rod/reel combo and didn’t have a tackle box. His only offerings were the few lures that seemed to come with his complete fishing combo kit. To my left was a seasoned gentleman who had a couple of poles, full fishing tackle vest and the look of a guy that might have some stories to tell. He was a Bass hunter, for sure.

Twilight at Azalea Park Pond in East Asheville.

As I took my position above a cluster of fallen trees, I noticed a pretty good size bass come in from the deeper water and start to circle. I took one cast with my green speckled tube lure and the approximately 2 pounder rushed right at it like it had done him wrong. I missed the hookset. The fish quickly went back to his circling pattern. It was obvious to me that his dinner bell had rung and he was intent of filling his belly. I looked to my left, I looked to my right.

Neither the semi-pro looking guy nor the kid seemed to notice what happened, despite my booming grunt when I misfired my set.

I had already landed a couple bass that evening and made a decision. I called out to the kid to my right and asked him if he wanted to go after a hungry bass. He seemed a bit confused at first invite, so I added that there was a nice bass that had just struck my bait and that I was pretty sure he would hit again if he wanted to take a shot at it. “Really?!?,” he responded.

I waved him over. As he arrived I pointed the bass out to him.

He saw it. I told him to cast his silver spinner out beyond the fish and draw it back in toward its right side, closer to the fallen tree.

As I stepped back to watch, he let his cast rip. In his excitement, he whipped it about 30 feet beyond the target zone. He grunted and began to bring his bait back in. Within seconds…

BOOM! He hooked into a great fight. But it wasn’t even the bass we saw. He landed it and it looked like his face might break from the size of his smile. I congratulated him and told him to cast to the left side of where the fish was that we had been scouting. “Whoosh!” Out went his second cast. BOOM! Second fish on! It looked to be the one we were after.

After all the excitement, he shared with me that he and his family were visiting the area and that he hadn’t caught a fish the whole trip. The back-to-back landing of two nice bass, he said, were the highlight of his trip.

I’ve got to tell you, giving up my spot and seeing this kid light up brought me more joy than if I had caught the fish myself. And there’s the lesson in it, whether you’re talking about fishing or not, when we offer kindness, courtesy and generosity to others we have the chance to find even more happiness within ourselves. Perform a random act of kindness this week and see what happens. See how many smiles you can create.

Matt Mittan is the daily afternoon host on Biz Radio in Asheville. You can listen Mon-Fri from 4-6 PM on WZGM 1350 AM or with the TuneIn Radio App. He is also the owner of Mittan Insurance and Employee Benefits, an Agency serving businesses large and small across WNC. Connect with Matt through his website: www.MattMittan.com 14 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

JUNE 2019

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T

Wildlife Commission Opens Delayed Harvest Trout Waters June 1

he N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open 34 trout streams and two lakes classified as Delayed Harvest to trout harvest on June 1 through Sept. 30.

From 6 a.m. until 11:59 a.m., Delayed Harvest waters are open only to anglers 17 years old and younger. At noon, waters open to all anglers. During this time, anglers can keep up to seven trout per day — with no bait restrictions and no minimum size limits.

Since last fall, Commission staff has stocked more than 382,000 trout in waters designated as Delayed Harvest to provide anglers with better opportunities to catch fish, according to David Deaton,

the Commission’s fish production supervisor.

“We stock Delayed Harvest streams in March, April, May and then again in October and November,” Deaton said. “In early summer, when some streams become too warm for trout to survive, we open these stocked streams to allow trout harvest before stream conditions get too warm.”

Delayed Harvest trout waters are posted with diamond-shaped, black-and-white signs.

While fishing, anglers should

consider these minimal steps to help prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species like gill lice, whirling disease and didymo: • CLEAN equipment of all aquatic plants, animals and mud • DRAIN water from boats, live wells and equipment

• DRY equipment thoroughly • NEVER MOVE fish, plants or other organisms from one body of water to another Learn more about aquatic nuisance species by visiting the Commission’s Aquatic Nuisance Species webpage.

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JUNE 2019

The Commission established the youth-only fishing period in the morning of “opening day,” which is always the first Saturday in June, to promote trout fishing among young anglers and to provide special opportunities for young anglers to catch and keep fish.

The Commission also supports youth-only fishing opportunities during National Fishing and Boating Week 2019. From late May through mid-June, more than 30 kids’ fishing events will be held throughout the state.

For more information on trout fishing, including a list of Delayed Harvest trout waters, regulation information and trout maps, visit www.ncwildlife.org/trout.

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Game On

T

By Scott Norton

he spawn has been interesting this year to say the least. The bite, for the most part, has been mediocre with spurts of frenzy feeding.

The weather, with its many fronts passing through, can confuse the average angler but through hard work and process of elimination, you can figure out the puzzle of the day. Don’t be the angler that sticks to one thing- you’ll find few treasures that way. To catch bass consistently, you must learn to switch gears and let the fish do the talking.

Moving through the transitions, we now are approaching the shad spawn. Notice that when this starts to happen, you’ll see blowups in very shallow water early in the morning before the sun rises.

If you can get there early enough to get in on this action, you’re in for a treat. Look for birds to help

you locate the general area where this happens. Lots of other wildlife key-in and take advantage of this, so you should use that to hunt them down. Now is the time for topwater walking baits. Once the sun rises, the shad will move back to deep water and just like that, the topwater bite is done. To remedy this, be prepared to use square bills, lipless crank baits, and jerk baits. Match the hatch with the size and color of the forage.

Keep in mind where your bass are in relation to the spawning flats. You may also have some big females moving in for spawn so you also have a few options when the bite slows down. Lots of big bass have been found spawning in months after it should be over with. Never rule anything crazy out when things get tough.

If you favor the kayaks for your choice of vessel its a great

time right now as the fish are not far from the launch ramps. Bank anglers can join in if you are the thrifty type, or just like the comfort of hard ground. This is a great time to turn small children on to the aggressive bite and active blowups of the feed. Try and stay back as far as you can so you won’t

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disturb what is taking place.

Enjoy the post spawn as we transition to the summer patterns ahead. Topwater fishing is finally here and it’s game on for all the action bites. This is a good time to catch your personal best, as bass are schooling up and very competitive.

Scott Norton is a native of Western North Carolina. Born in Asheville, NC, he is a long time avid hunter, angler, and weekend warrior. He is a member of Southern Raft Supply’s prostaff team representing them in his Jackson Kayak Coosa FD

JUNE 2019

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 17

Table Fare

Fly of the Month

By Dan Dry

By Eli Crumley

Blackhawk Fly Fishing keepemwet94@gmail.com

A

s we all have heard the April Showers bring May Flowers. It also brings swift and high water. Trout fishing in Maggie Valley has been spotty and really been kind of tough to work the swift current in J creek.

So, wanting to eat some fresh fish, we headed to Lake Junaluska for the tasty panfish. Much to my surprise, the bass were hitting well and the perch are on the beds.

Crickets and red wigglers did the

job. Tiring a little, I used a broke back Rapala and snagged a couple of bass. The angler close to me humbled me quick with live minnows on the bass. He had one, weighing at least four pounds, and a couple of three pounders.

The latter part of May and first of June should be awesome fishing. And just maybe my local trout waters will calm down a bit. Keep your reels dry and lines wet ya’ll!

Dan Dry can be reached on Facebook and dandry53@gmail.com

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Inch Worm Hook: Tiemco TMC2457 size 16 Thread: UTC 70 denier (color) olive/chartreuse Body: Micro chinelle (color) “worm green” or “chartreuse” Water and air temperatures are rising which means inch worms are out and about. These little guys hang from the trees and the wind will blow them into the water. Try this pattern out next time you are on the trout stream.

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JUNE 2019

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 19

Sanctuary In The Stream

I

t’s the middle of January and I’m standing in one of my favorite western North Carolina trout streams. When you break through the ice on the bank to get into the water, you know it’s cold.

You probably figured that anyway, since I mentioned it was mid-January, but that’s not the point of

By Doug McElvy

the article. As a child, my father had me fishing at a young age.

According to him, I was catching fish on a cane pole before I could talk, but one thing I remember was that the emphasis was less on catching fish and more on enjoying the beautiful creation and the fellowship that was had while

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we were enjoying the outdoors.

Another major point that he instilled in me was that one of our main callings in life was to be a good steward of everything and every place that we set foot in and to leave it looking like it was or, even better than before we found it. I have always remembered that and now, as an adult and a father, I try and instill those same ethics in my own son who will be three years old this coming July.

Nothing eats me up like walking through the woods and finding trash that someone just left there for potentially all of eternity, or until someone who cares comes along and properly disposes of the trash them self.

Back to that cold trout stream in the middle of January. The forecast was clear but there were clouds starting to roll over the mountain pass to the north and,

not long after, it began to snow.

I don’t know if you have experienced standing in a river while it’s snowing but it can be breathtaking. Watching the giant flakes fall and then hearing them sizzle as they melt into the water. There was no way I could stand there and not think of what a blessing it was to be able to get outside and enjoy the beauty of the river and the wilderness. I have a hard time not feeling one with God and his creation while experiencing something like this, and really, any experience in the beautiful outdoors.

Being raised in the church my whole life I am no stranger to being in a sanctuary. This is different though, it’s a place where I can get away from social pressure and the questionably, judgmental look from someone’s mom sitting in the pew behind me. The wil-

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derness bears no ill intent or has any dress codes, it has no schedule and it doesn’t have a pamphlet or a guest envelope; what it has is a song that sings with anyone who takes part in it. It demands respect and is screaming out with beauty and grandeur. It has its differences but doesn’t go separate ways over them. It works together to be the beautiful creation we call the great outdoors. As long as we continue to preserve it and treat it with care and respect, we will have this sanctuary for generations to come!

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go to church or that you can’t find this sanctity somewhere else, maybe it’s found somewhere completely different in the middle of Asheville, driving in your car, reading a book, on a golf course, checking your Instagram feed (doubtful), on stage, on a multi pitch climb, or even just sitting on your couch. I tend to find my sanctuary most often when I let go of social normality, put my phone away, and become fully present and a part of the beautiful creation that we have been given.

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JUNE 2019

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 21

EAST TN / GREAT SMOKIES

East Tennessee Fishing Roundup

S

mallmouth – The smallmouth fishing is on fire!!! Sevierville is the place to be from The Apple barn down to Knife Works.

The mornings and afternoons will be the best time to fish. During the first part of the day a Murdich Minnow and any type of shad pattern will work on an intermediate sink tip. At dark, a mouse pattern or popper will work very effectively.

Size wise we are seeing fish between 16-20 inches. So come on down and chase some bronze-back!

Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee Side – Fishing the National Park right now is spectacular. The weather has been – strange to say the least. We are still catching way more fish on nymphs than dry flies. The water level is actually on the low side compared to the amount of rain it says we were

By Chad Fouts

supposed to have. This means you absolutely need to be as stealthy as possible when you’re walking up to your holes. The pheasant tail and sexy waltz worm having been producing fish, also the pink weenie and the prince nymph have been successful. For those of you who are interested in dry fly, fishing yellow and olive patterns should be your color choices! Try using any type of yellow sally pattern or never-sink caddis, large olive stimulator with a dropper underneath. If you are going to run a dry dropper, separate the nymph and dry between 16 and 20 inches. Occonoluftee has been fishing really well and producing some very nice size fish from the park boundry up. West prong of the Little Pigeon river has been producing great numbers both on nymphs and dries. For the Brookie

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fans, Road Prong and Sam’s Creek are prime!!

Gatlinburg – Gatlinburg stocked waters are fishing well as always. Its hard not to when it is stocked every Thursday! There are still some big ones in there from the trout tournament that happened a couple months back. Whether you are new to fishing or an expert you will definitely catch fish. Bright fly patterns are still what work best – Mop Flies and worm patterns are always a go to. If you prefer spin fishing, however, using live bait is just as efficient to catch these fish. Anything scented like Salmon Eggs and Gulp, work as well. Once school gets out, bring the kids (12 and under) to

Herbert Holt Park or Mynatt Park to catch their own Rainbow Trout!

State Stocked Water – The state stocking program is in full force with the lower little river and the middle prong of the Little Pigeon and west prong of the Little Pigeon being stocked every two weeks. It gives us an opportunity to be on so much water in a short amount of time.

If you have any questions about fishing in this area give us a call (865)436-8746 No matter where you’re fishing or what style you prefer, just get out and fish! It’s beautiful weather and a beautiful area!

Chad Fouts is the Fly Shop Manager at The Smoky Mountain Angler in Gatlinburg, TN. He is a self-described fly fishing junky. If you have any questions about fishing in this area give us a call 865-436-8746

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JUNE 2019

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 23

UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Early Summer Fishing In The Upstate

M

ay has come and gone, and late spring is in full swing, headed into summer. The rivers here in the mountains of South Carolina are in great shape. The abundance of rain throughout the winter, and weather fronts coming through every four to five days giving the rivers a little refresh, have the river levels in great shape. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we don’t have the “Big Heat” of the summer, and the trout will have another great summer season. There is nothing finer than being here on the rivers with the Mountain Laurels and Rhododendrons in full bloom.

Hatches have been subtle at times early in the day, but late afternoon into the early evening have been much better. As the

By Karl Ekberg

late afternoon temperatures subside, find the shaded runs and riffles to have your best success. As the daytime temperatures of late spring into early summer start to rise, we must remember that trout like colder water. Fishing from the start of daylight until midday, fishing top water will be good, but as the temperatures rise, going deeper will be more successful.

Fishing midday throughout the afternoon, double nymph rigs will be the trick.

If the dry flies and nymph fishing is not your cup of tea, let’s not forget about streamer fishing.

There is an abundance of small baitfish in the rivers now, and streamer fishing is excellent. Try swinging streamers in the deeper runs, and into the heads of pools.

In the larger, deeper, slower wa-

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ters, casting out and then a slower strip and pause technique will do best.

As the water temperatures of the rivers have risen, it’s time to think about bass and pan fish.

Fly fishing for these fine game fish can make for an exceptional day out on the rivers. If top water action fires you up, then turn up the heat with some of our Bass and Panfish flies. We have a full array of what you need to have a successful day. At times, “down under” and double rigs, take the cake. A great day of “wet wading” can cool you off from the summer heat, and catching a few fish will be an added bonus.

Have fun, leave not a trace, and we hope to see everyone in the Mountains of South Carolina.

Karl and Karen Ekberg are Co-Owners of Chattooga River Fly Shop, located at 6832A Highlands Hwy, in Mountain Rest, SC 29664. Give them a call at (864) 638-2806 or look them up on the web at chattoogariverflyshop.com

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Boating Safety Tips and Reminders South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

D

o you know what you should do before you leave your home for a day on the water? Many of these steps are missed and can mean the difference between getting back home safely or not.

Before Getting In The Water Before leaving, make sure you fill out a float plan and let people know where you’re going, what route you’re taking, as well as what time you expect to be back.

You can download the United State Coast Guard app to fill out your float plan and share it electronically.

You’ll also want to get all your Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) together, make sure they are in serviceable condition AND are the correct size for all passengers, especially children. All PFDs should be stamped with “U.S. Coast Guard Approved” and include the type of PFD it is.

There Are Five PFD Types: Type I: Offshore Life Jackets: Best for all waters where rescue may be delayed and will turn unconscious wearers to face-up position Type II: Near-shore Vests: Best for calm, inland water where a quick rescue is likely.

Type III: Floatation Aids: For general boating or the specialized activity, such as water skiing,

hunting, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and others. Good for calm, inland waters, or where there is a good chance for fast rescue.

Type IV: Throwable Device: Can be a square style, or a ring buoy or horseshoe buoy on deck.

NOTE- A Type IV Throwable Device is required on every boat 16-feet or longer. It does not count as a wearable PFD. Type V: Special-use Devices: Manual units are activated by yanking a pull-tab. Both types, Hybrid inflation and Automatic inflation, of inflatables feature blow-tubes to provide a back-up method of inflation.

You should also check your fuel level and battery charge before heading out. If possible, have an extra battery for your boat.

Make sure your lights are in good working condition on the boat AND trailer, as well.

In addition to PFDs, you’ll also need to have a fire extinguisher readily accessible and in good serviceable condition.

Also, remember to put the plug in.

On The Water Now that all that is checkedoff, what should you know when you’re on one of South Carolina’s beautiful waterways?

The first thing you should do is get familiar with the aids to navigation and buoy system in the area you’ll be in. Refresh your memory on what each symbol and color means.

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Lateral markers will mark the edges of safe water areas, directing traffic within a channel. Think of them as the yellow lines you see on the road. A red marker indicates the right side of the channel, and green will be the left side as a boater heads upstream or enters from open sea. Remember, all boats approaching from the right have the right of way and should keep the course.

Non-lateral markers are navigational aids that give information other than the edges of safe water areas. The most common are regulatory markers which are white and use orange markings and black lettering.

Non-lateral markers are found on lakes and rivers.

Information: Squares indicate where to find food, supplies, re-

CONTINUED, SEE BOATING SAFETY TIPS, PAGE 27

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 25

Trust Your Experience

By Brandon Barber

O

n my last fishing outing, I found myself fishing a familiar stretch of river in North Carolina that I have been fortunate to have lots of previous success on. I would not necessarily say that I had fished the area a ton, but I had fished it about 8 or 10 times over the last 5 years.

My past experience with this river

had helped me to learn that there seemed to always be a fair number of trout holding in this one particular run that was about 30 yards long and anywhere from 2 to 5 feet deep. The very first time I encountered this piece of river was over 5 years ago, and I approached it by throwing a streamer pattern fly in search of some fish. Anytime I am

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26 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

on an unfamiliar stretch of river, I typically will move through rather quickly throwing streamer patterns just to locate where some fish might be holding. I can cover water fast with technique and even if I am not catching the trout I am usually getting some sort of reaction out of them that lets me know they are there. Once I have some fish located, I can switch techniques over to dead drifting flies in the current and usually catch a good number of the trout holding in that area. Dead drifting flies is a time consuming, thorough technique that is a great fish catcher, but does not cover water quickly, so I like to locate my trout first before I settle into a spot. My first time fishing this particular run produced several fish while throwing streamers, so I found out rather quickly that this

was a good, fish holding run. Ever since that first day, I have always returned to this spot and found plenty of fish holding in it.

On my recent outing, I started with streamers again, just because I wanted to fish through once and catch some of the more aggressive fish that were willing to chase a meal down before switching over to drifting flies. This time however, I fished the entire run and only got 2 bites on the streamer.

Not exactly lighting it up, and had me wondering if, for some reason, the fish were not holding here this time. But my past experience said that the fish were always holding in this run so I switched out my streamer for a double nymph rig and decided to give it a few minutes. Normally, if I was scouting water to spend time in drifting some flies, I might not have

CONTINUED, SEE TRUST YOUR EXPERIENCE, PAGE 28

JUNE 2019

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BOATING SAFETY TIPS pairs, etc., and give directions and other information.

Controlled: Circles indicate a controlled area such as speed limit, no fishing or anchoring, ski only or no skiing, or “slow, no wake.”

The “no wake” zones will be marked by an official SCDNR logo Exclusion: Crossed diamonds indicate areas off-limits to all vessels such as swimming areas, dams, and spillways.

Danger: Diamonds warn of dangers such as rocks, shoals, construction, dams, or stumps.

Always proceed with caution.

While you can be prepared as much as possible, it won’t always stop something bad from happening. However, being prepared could keep the situation from being worse.

If someone does fall overboard, immediately turn the boat off and throw something

continued from page 25 that will float, like a PFD, raft or cooler to the person. You should have it easily accessible and not tied down. If your boat capsizes, stay with the boat! You will have a better chance of being seen by rescue crews.

South Carolina has the perfect conditions for pop-up thunderstorms during the summer. If you get caught in one, head into the wind and have everyone, including yourself, put on PFDs. Also, keep passengers low in the boat.

Don’t operate any watercraft while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you see any potential boating, fishing or hunting violations, call the Operation Game Thief 24-hour hotline at 1-800-922-5431 to report it.

Do you know what you should do before you leave your home for a day on the water? Many of these steps are missed and can mean the difference between getting back home safely or not.

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JUNE 2019

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 27

Lake Hartwell Fishing Forecast for June 2019

W

ater level is at full pool and the water temperature is in the upper 70s.

June is the perfect month to catch fish consistently. If you understand the fish transitions, it is easy to pattern most game fish. The hybrids and stripers start to group up and move down the lake, out of the creeks and the upper lake areas. Lots of years, I catch hybrids and stripers as they migrate down lake on top of the thermocline.

By Preston Harden

The thermocline develops in the upper lake and creeks first. It will look like a fuzzy line on most sonars, at about 35 to 40 feet deep.

Below the thermocline is very low oxygen and above the thermocline, the water is warm. Lots of years, I can follow the schools as they slowly migrate toward the lower Lake. They will ride on top of the thermocline about 30 to 40 feet deep. They are looking for cool, oxygenated water. By July,

most big fish are in the lower half of the Lake. There they can go to depths of over 100 feet and feed, and be happy all summer.

The bass also migrate to deeper water. Most largemouth and spotted bass leave the shallow bank and move offshore to brush piles.

This can be 10 to 15 feet deep, or deeper. By July, the bass can be 20

to 40 feet deep, usually around structure.

Most of my fishing by then is with Herring. I will have top water plugs at the ready, rigged with lucky Kraft Sammys in ghost minnow. I will have this top water plug ready all summer. I will also have rods rigged with 1 ounce jig heads and 5 inch swim bait to power reel with.

TRUST YOUR EXPERIENCE stopped on a run of this size if it only produced 2 hits on a streamer. However, within my first few casts drifting the nymphs, I had a hookup. I then proceeded to catch over 10 more trout in that same spot over the next half hour. It was a good thing I relied on what my experience with this run had

continued from page 26

told me, that the trout were there, even though my first pass with a streamer pattern did not necessarily confirm that. I guess the trout were just in a lazy mood that morning and wanted their meal drifting to them, so it was a good thing I trusted my knowledge of this spot gained by past trips.

Brandon Barber is the owner of RiverBlade Knife & Fly Shop in Spartanburg, South Carolina

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By Nick Carter

D

rift boats long ago earned their place in big-water trout fishing.

With an oarman steering anglers into range of fish as the boat hurtles downriver, they are an extremely efficient way of covering water and catching fish.

Drift boats are designed to go one direction: downstream. They track straight, and their light weight makes them agile in avoiding obstacles. They are awesome boats, an icon of the sport, but in many situations there’s a case to be made for the lowly aluminum jonboat in tailwater trout fishing.

Perhaps it’s not fair to refer to these vessels as lowly, or even as jonboats. River boats might be a better description of the tricked-out aluminum crafts on rivers these days. They might not have the classic look associated with fly fishing, but equipped correctly there are many advantages to a flat-bottomed aluminum boat.

Mobility: The most obvious advantage is the ability to move quickly upstream or down. Equipped with a conventional or jet outboard, there is no stretch of river the angler can’t reach. This removes the necessity for separate put-in and takeout locations. From a single put-in, miles of river are accessible, and if the fish aren’t biting where you are, just crank the motor and move.

Maneuverability: With its squared angles and flat bottom, a jonboat can’t match the straight-line tracking or agility of V-hulled boats on the drift. If left to its own nature, a jonboat would spin down the river. However, equipped with a rowing seat and oarlocks, it does a passable job of imitating the function of a driftboat, and that flat bottom is good in skinny situations. Let’s not forget the aluminum hull, which stands up to a serious beating.

A trolling motor at the bow can completely eliminate the need for rowing in many situations. Drifting stern-first downstream, a trolling motor with a remote can do almost anything a pair of oars can. The poor guy who was previously strapped to the oars can now fish and steer from the bow.

Stability: Leg braces are required to fly fish from drift boat. They can be equipped on a jonboat, but they’ll likely just be in the way. That wide, flat hull makes a jonboat stable. Even in rough water, it’s possible to stand on the deck and cast, turn around or do jumping jacks if you want. The ability to move around on a deck is a benefit that must be experienced to understand; it makes fishing easier and more comfortable.

Obviously, a flat-bottomed, aluminum boat isn’t suitable in all situations. But depending on where you fish, it is definitely worth considering. An added bonus is versatility. That jonboat is also perfect for throwing popping bugs at the lake.

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TIPS FROM A PRO

Finding And Fishing Summer Ledges

I

BRANDON LESTER

grew up fishing lakes known for large schools of bass that spend the summer months offshore.

When we get into the summer and the water temperature starts hitting 80 degrees, it is a safe bet that fish are going to be on offshore structure like ledges, humps and dropoffs. I start looking on main lake areas, on the lower half of the lake, where most of the good summer ledges are.

Using the mapping on my Lowrance electronics, I search for places that top out from 12 to 20 feet and drop down to anywhere from 50-60 feet.

Bass will start heading out there when the water gets to 70 degrees, but when it hits 80 they will definitely be out there. They spawn with a water temperature of 62 to 64 degrees, so as the water warms after the spawn they will start heading that way. Some fish stay shallow all year. The ones that move out will definitely be schooled up on the ledges as the temperatures approach 80 degrees.

The biggest deal is finding the depth range of the fish. When they first arrive on offshore structure, they like 12 to 17 feet.

The longer they’re there, the deeper they’ll move. It could take a week or a month, but they’ll drop down into 18 to 25 feet and

maybe even as deep as 30 feet. To find the depth range of the fish, I will graph and look for the bait and then the fish. Usually I can see the bass on my Raymarine units, but I will often fish around a big school of bait in case the bass are hiding right under the thick bait.

If I don’t see bait or bass, I won’t make a cast. Electronics are too good these days to fish places just because there were fish there at some point in the past. I always start with a moving bait, such as a deepdiving crankbait, to see if I can get the fish fired up. The biggest ones in the school will bite a crankbait.

I like a Strike King 6XD and 8XD fished on a MHX CB907 cranking rod that I built myself with supplies from Mud Hole. I always put new Mustad hooks on the baits.

I prefer #2 KVD Triple Grip trebles. I use 10- to 12-pound Vicious fluorocarbon for the 6XD and 15- to 17-pound on the 8XD. I like a slower 5:4:1 gear ratio reel to help crankbaits dive to their deepest depths.

When those fish start grouping up out on the ledges, you can really have a lot of fun. Hundred-fish days are possible, and I get excited just thinking about it. When that water temp gets close to 80, it is time to get out deep and get healthy in a hurry come tournament day.

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he big catfish are biting at Watts Bar Lake on the Tennessee River between Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tenn. Fifty-four teams of catfish anglers from 11 states converged May 3-5 to test their catfishing skills during a King Kat Tournament Trail Super Event presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s.

Competitors were vying for $16,000 in cash and prizes and an opportunity to qualify for the $120,000 Classic Championship to be held in November on Wheeler Lake at Decatur, Alabama.

A good bite on day one resulted in some good fish coming to the scales. The top four teams had more than 100 pounds, as Chris and David Roberson took a commanding lead with 146.56 pounds.

They also held the Big Kat lead with a 64.64-pound Tennessee River beast. The next closest team was Michael Jordan and Charlie Parsons with 117.70 pounds.

A big fish produced a come-from-behind win and back-to-back champs on Watts Bar. Mike Mitchell, Jackson Mitchell and Rick Sexton came from fifth place on day one to become repeat champions.

Last year’s winners brought a two-day total of 228.82 pounds to the scales to claim the win. Their day-two weight was aided by the second big fish of the tournament at 63.58 pounds, just a pound away from the Big Kat of the tournament.

Mike and Jackson, of Rogersville, Ala., and Rick from Helenwood, Tenn. earned $6,000 for first place.

They found their fish close to structure in the downtown Loudon area. Mike said the fish were relating to rock and wood structure where they tempted them with cut skipjack. They weighed in five flatheads and five blues for their 10-fish limit during the two-day tournament.

The runner-up spot went to Jared Coker, from Corryton, Tenn., and Terohn Heinrich, from Knoxville, Tenn. They moved up from fourth place on day one with a two-day weight of 217.98 pounds to earn a check for $2,600.

David and Darlene Hill claimed the third-place spot with 195.16 pounds. The Louisville, Tenn. team earned a check for $2,000.

Fourth place went to Chris Robinson, of Locust Grove, Ga., and David Robinson, of McDonough, Ga. They had a two-day total of 194.02 pounds that included the Big Kat of the tournament. The Big Kat was a flathead that weighed 64.64 pounds and gave Chris his new personal best. The team earned $1,100 for placing fourth, $1,100 for Big Kat, and $1,000 for the hotel bonus for staying at a Loudon County hotel.

Rounding out the top five and pulling out the comeback of the day was Carl Morris Jr., of Johnstown, Ohio, and Rob Parsons, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. They rose from 25th place on day one with a weight of 65.22 to a two-day total weight of 180.48 pounds to earn fifth place and a check for $800.

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eff Bonawitz, of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, had already caught several 30 pounders from the Susquehanna River on April 6 and was running low on bait. He selected the biggest bluegill from the bait tank, and the fish that ate it turned out to be a 50-pound, 7-ounce new state record flathead catfish.

“I could tell it was big. It kept hanging down deep and when it finally came up to the top, we thought it might be a mermaid,” joked Bonawitz. “I’ve fished the Susquehanna for years, and I’ve never caught anything quite like it.”

It took 25 minutes to land the fish on an 8-foot, medium-action spinning rod loaded with 25-pound-test mono. Bonawitz kept the fish alive in an aerated container at his home until the following day. On April 7, the fish was officially weighed, setting a new state record for the species. The previous record, caught in 2006, weighed 48-pound, 6-ounces. There are several organizations that claim larger fish as the world record, but IGFA recognizes a 123-pound flathead caught from Elk City Reservoir in Kansas as the All-Tackle World Record.

Upon weighing the fish, Bonawitz with assistance from his nephew, Dylan, 8, released the catfish back to the Susquehanna River.

“It was such an amazing fish,” said Bonawitz. “I thought the best thing to do was put it back so that maybe the next guy could catch it. I have a feeling this record may not last very long.”

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$ 99

MODEL: 300083999

ITEM 68146/61258/61297/63476/61840 shown

PSI

25% QUIETER

STANDARD RUN TIME

®

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COMPARE TO

99

135 Customer Rating

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$4 $

$

135 PSI 2X LIFE

STANDARD, 90 dBA

Not available in AZ, OH, OK, and VA.

ITEM 61454 69091/62803 63635/67847 shown

125 PSI STANDARD LIFE

LIMIT 1 - Coupon valid through 10/3/19*

49

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*67122155 * 67122155

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189

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2500 LB. ELECTRIC WINCH WITH WIRELESS REMOTE CONTROL

!

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99 $699

$ 99 ITEM 63135 61451 shown

125

NOW

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21 GALLON OIL-LUBE AIR COMPRESSOR

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2599

ITEM 69780/41005 shown

COMPARE TO

HIGHLAND $ 99

79

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SAVE 50% ITEM 69623/66983 shown59

MODEL: 1394500

$

99

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EVERBILT

8

$ 97 MODEL: 18614

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ITEM 61674/62761/47835 shown

$299 4

$ 99

*67170753 * 67170753

*67181384 * 67181384

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LIMIT 2 - Coupon valid through 10/3/19*

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At Harbor Freight Tools, the “Compare to” price means that the specified comparison, which is an item with the same or similar function, was COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM I JUNE 2019 I past NATIONAL advertised for sale at or above the “Compare to” price by another national retailer in the U.S. within the 90 days. Prices advertised 25 by others

*Original coupon only. No use on prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase or without original receipt. Valid through 10/3/19.

may vary by location. No other meaning of “Compare to” should be implied. For more information, go to HarborFreight.com or see store associate.

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5/1/19 3:26 PM

Start the new boating season off right with the Ultimate 4-Stroke Outboard from Suzuki. Buy during our Spring Sales Event and get Suzuki’s 3-Year Limited Warranty plus 3 years of Extended Protection at no extra charge.There are Instant Savings on select models, and Low-Rate Financing is also available. See your participating Suzuki Marine dealer for all the details.

3 Years Limited Warranty + 3 Years Extended Protection

Six Years of Protection at no extra charge on all new outboards 25 to 350 HP.

INST

ANT SAVIN GS SAV

SELECE RIGHT N T SUZ UKI O OW ON UTBO ARDS

REPOWER FINANCE

Instant Savings on select models when you buy during this promotion.

See your dealer for details.

Rates as low as 5.99% on new Suzuki outboards on approved credit.* [60 Months]

To learn more, visit www.suzukimarine.com.

Gimme Six Extended Protection promo is applicable to new Suzuki Outboard Motors from 25 to 350 HP in inventory which are sold and delivered to buyer between 04/01/19 and 06/30/19 in accordance with the promotion by a Participating Authorized Suzuki Marine dealer in the continental US and Alaska to a purchasing customer who resides in the continental US or Alaska. Customer should expect to receive an acknowledgement letter and full copy of contract including terms, conditions and wallet card from Suzuki Extended Protection within 90 days of purchase. If an acknowledgement letter is not received in time period stated, contact Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. – Marine Marketing via email: marinepromo@suz.com. The Gimme Six Promotion is available for pleasure use only, and is not redeemable for cash. Instant Savings apply to qualifying purchases of select Suzuki Outboard Motors made between 04/01/19 and 06/30/19. For list of designated models, see participating Dealer or visit www.suzukimarine.com. Instant Savings must be applied against the agreed-upon selling price of the outboard motor and reflected in the bill of sale. (Suzuki will, in turn, credit Dealer’s parts account.) There are no model substitutions, benefit substitutions, rain checks, or extensions. Suzuki reserves the right to change or cancel these promotions at any time without notice or obligation. * Financing offers available through Synchrony Retail Finance. As low as 5.99% APR financing for 60 months on new and unregistered Suzuki Outboard Motors. Subject to credit approval. Not all buyers will qualify. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. $19.99/month per $1,000 financed for 60 months is based on 5.99% APR. Hypothetical figures used in calculation; your actual monthly payment may differ based on financing terms, credit tier qualification, accessories or other factors such as down payment and fees.

Offer effective on new, unregistered Suzuki Outboard Motors purchased from a participating authorized Suzuki dealer between 04/01/19 and 06/30/19. “Gimme Six”, the Suzuki “S” and model names are Suzuki trademarks or ®. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. © 2019 Suzuki Motor of America, Inc.

26

NATIONAL

I

JUNE 2019

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Access our Dealer Locator and find an authorized dealer near you today. optimusportal.com/locator-ss

Set Your

DESTINATION and

SeaWays is the autopilot upgrade to the Optimus 360 system, and is included FREE with SeaStation.

seastarsolutions.com

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