The Angler Magazine | July 2021 | Great Smoky Mountains & The Upstate Edition

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE EDITION

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BIG BASS

SUMMERTIME

Using Bladed Jigs

STRIPERS

LOCAL STREAM REPORTS PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCKY JACKS FISHING WWW.LUCKYJACKSFISHING.COM @LUCKYJACKSFISHING VOLUME 26 • ISSUE 316

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Striking in appearance and fully equipped with features, this is a watch of substance. The Blue Stone merges the durability of steel with the precision of crystal movement that’s accurate to 0.2 seconds a day. Both an analog and digital watch, the Blue Stone keeps time with pinpoint accuracy in two time zones.

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n the era of the coronavirus, outdoor recreation has become an important survival tool. Last year, the boating industry saw a record number of new boat owners. Both new boaters and seasoned boaters changed their habits to social distance while making the most of their love for the recreational outlet.

According to a survey of 3,500 boaters by Sea Tow Services International, this trend is expected to continue into the 2021 summer season.

Pandemic-influenced boating behavior: • 52 percent of boaters surveyed anticipate their boating activity to increase this summer compared to last.

• 20 percent cite the pandemic as the reason for extending their boating season again in 2021.

• 24 percent plan to vacation on/by boat (versus other forms of travel) because of the pandemic.

• 35 percent plan to use their boat primarily for cruising near their home.

• 16 percent upgraded to a larger boat in 2020 or plan to do so in 2021.

• 52 percent plan to use their boat primarily for fishing (65 percent inshore/30 percent offshore/5 percent freshwater).

• 30 percent have found it more difficult to find dockage and/or marina space.

“Our member survey has typically been a very strong indicator for seasonal recreational boating trends,” said Kristen Frohnhoefer, President of Sea Tow. “Last year, Sea Tow saw a 34 percent increase in requests for on-water assistance in the summer of 2020, and our nationwide network of captains are anticipating another busy season for 2021.”

With the sale of a record number of new boats in over a decade and an influx of new boaters, Sea Tow noted that in 2020 owners of new boats were 142 percent more likely to need ungrounding services, 108 percent more likely to need fuel delivered to them and 11.2 percent more likely to need a battery jump. Alternately, new boat owners are 22 percent less likely to need a tow.

“These numbers are very interesting,” Frohnhoefer said, “They reflect the fact that new boaters are not yet familiar with things like shifting sandbars and hard to navigate channels, or how to manage their fuel, like their more seasoned counterparts–which is getting them into trouble and causing them to call us for assistance. But likewise, these stats demonstrate what we’ve been saying all along—that when it comes to new boats, on-water assistance typically is needed due to user error, not mechanical failure, as newer boats and engines are more reliable than ever before.”

With the number of new boaters recreating on the water, the need for boating education has never been more important. Sixty-nine percent of boaters surveyed are looking for more advice on local navigational assistance, mishap prevention and general boating basics.

“2021 is sure to be another banner year for boating,” said Frohnhoefer, “We’ll find out real soon if these trends for recreational boating activity are in fact here to stay.”

For more on Sea Tow, visit www.seatow.com.

4 NATIONAL

JULY 2021

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TIPS TO DIAL IN RIVER-RUN BASS S

By Nick Carter

triped bass don’t stay in the same place long. Huge spring runs up the Atlantic Coast and into freshwater rivers to spawn is natural behavior for stripers. Even fish trapped by dams in inland reservoir systems retain a strong urge to move.

Across the east, wherever reservoir striped bass exist, the movement begins as a spring spawning run. Fish push out of the lakes and as far up creeks and rivers as they can go. This spring run is followed by a larger summer migration, when stripers pile into the rivers seeking more comfortable water conditions.

Here are a few tips from the pros for dialing in river-run stripers.

• Make Shots Count: “Fish good water, and fish it well,” said Bill Stranahan.

Stranahan guides with Southeastern Anglers, and the striper run on Tennessee’s Hiwassee River is a summertime staple. Fishing the Hiwassee run is like deer hunting. You’re fishing hard for a few bites from monster fish that get up into the 40-pound range.

“Look for good structure, whether its wood, shoals or rock faces,” Stranahan said. “When you’re on that good structure, don’t rush it. You can spook ’em with a bad throw, so take your time and make good shots.”

Whether you’re throwing streamers with a fly rod or swimbaits with conventional gear, Stranahan warned against locking into the big bait, big fish theory.

“We all know stripers will chase down big 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-inch skipjack and gizzard shad, but don’t forget your smaller baits,” he said. “A lot of their forage base is 4 inches or less. There’s a time and a place for fishing small stuff.”

• Fish it All: Rob “Mustache” Smith, of The Fish Hawk in Atlanta, has guided the Chattahoochee River striper run for two decades or more. He knows all the hotspots where there are always fish. He also knows those spots

PHOTO COURTESY OF GARNER REID

get a ton of pressure.

Smith said to slow down and fish all the likely structure instead of rushing to areas where you’ve caught fish before.

“If you’re on the river, fish everything,” he said. “Those fish are constantly moving, and you’d be surprised at the fish you’re passing when you’re rushing to get to that one little area. Fish it all, and fish it like you expect a fish on every cast.”

• Move Some Water: “When they’re in the river, those fish are laid up in ambush,” said Garner Reid, who made his name guiding fly fishers to big Georgia stripers on the Etowah River. “You’re drawing reaction strikes, and what triggers them is a fly that looks like it’s wounded or fleeing.”

Reid said it’s easy to get sloppy with the retrieve when you’re blind casting all day. He reminds anglers that it takes an aggressive presentation to move some water, cause a little commotion and trigger a striped bass’s predatory instinct.

“Use the current and the swing to enhance your strip,” he said. “Make that fly hunt for you.”

Visit Southeastern Anglers at www.southeasternanglers.com. See The Fish Hawk website at thefishhawk.com. Call Garner Reid at (770) 866-0301.

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JULY 2021

NATIONAL 7

THREE CLUES TO

Mahi Mahi

By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

M

ahi fishing can be tricky in some places and times of year. They congregate under floating material adrift in the current, leaving them with no fixed address within an area of greatly variable depths.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to target dolphinfish along the Gulf Stream this summer, you are in the right place at the right time. You shouldn’t have much trouble filling your cooler and even maxing out on the generous daily bag limit of this species.

Head out to target mahi with a full tank of fuel.

Assume you will have to run far and wide to find them, but hope to get lucky along the way. Recruit everyone on board to remain on the look out for the three telltale mahi hangouts: weeds, birds and floaters.

Weeds can be productive whether they are formed tightly in a line, or even a tight patch.

Birds can be a great sign of actively feeding fish at the surface, but they can also just be birds being birds.

Learn to read them properly to avoid wasting time.

A group of circling birds or diving birds is what you want to look for, and the more the better. Sometimes, a bird that’s on fish will flicker in the sun, reflecting the sunlight in a sporadic pattern as it moves its body to stay on top of something it has spotted under the surface. Circling frigate birds are always a good sign.

If you see one even attempt a dive, start trolling immediately.

Floaters can be anything floating in the water, from debris to sea turtles. When you find floaters in open water, it doesn’t take long to feel out if it is productive or not.

If you happen to see all three of these goldmines come together, with birds diving around debris sucked to a weedline, troll the ever loving shi…mano out of it.

When trolling for mahi, you won’t need to run more than four lines. Troll two small lures long, ideally on the outriggers, to draw in smaller dolphin. Troll one medium lure or ballyhoo at mid-length, and one large lure close.

Dolphinfish have the mentality of a toddler. When you reel one to the boat, leave the fish in the water, put your rod in the rod holder, and cast out behind the hooked fish. The school should have followed your mahi to the boat, and with their mahi-see, mahi-do mentality, they’ll all want to partake in snack time.

Continue hooking mahi and leave them in the water until you run out of available rods to cast.

Start by putting one fish in the boat, but don’t take the second out of the water until the first rod has gone back out and hooked another fish. Try switching from live bait to chunk bait to keep them eating. If they don’t slam a bait as soon as it hits the water, try twitching the bait. Even a completely healthy and well-presented live bait sometimes isn’t as enticing as one that’s getting yanked away from them.

Mahi will eat nearly anything, especially if you know how to taunt them properly. One of the biggest challenges in catching them is trolling through weeds.

Weeds that cling to your lures is a pain to manage on the deck, while constantly clearing lines, and you also miss a lot of opportunities to catch fish. All lures catch weeds, the determining factor is whether they shed those weeds. Deep diving lures that never breach the surface are not your friend in this situation.

Lightweight, squid-skirted lures do an excellent job of popping out of the water when bogged down with weeds. Most times, they clear themselves of weeds.

Blue Magic Charters makes their own 3D-printed lures designed to troll in weeds. Visit them in Marathon, Fla., and ask us about their DR. BUBBLES lures.

Capt. Quinlyn Haddon fishes with Blue Magic Charters in Marathon, Fla. Contact her at (504) 920-6342 and visit CaptainQuinlyn.com.

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As your eyes scan the endless horizon of blue on blue, you’re rewarded with a school of dolphins making their way across the sea. There’s no denying their signature shape as they leap from the water. If you don’t see anything else extraordinary the rest of the day, you can take solace knowing you’ve witnessed one of nature’s most playful and intelligent creatures in their natural habitat.

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RHODAN: TOTAL GAME CHANGER FOR GROUPER

Tim Barefoot

T

here was a time—not too long ago— when only a select few would consistently come home with grouper, and not just “bottom fish.” There were several reasons for this. First and foremost, not everyone wanted to learn and spend the energy it took to learn to anchor. Anchoring accurately is an art form not mastered by all, but when mastered, it is the gateway to consistently catching grouper.

Rhodan trolling motors, with their GPS Anchor systems, have made it so anyone can have a shot at catching grouper and not just all the other species down on the bottom. It’s one thing to have a trolling motor with “Spot Lock” that will hold position in a small bay boat, but Rhodan made the tool for serious offshore

boats to sit on the same place without using the anchor. Partner this Rhodan with a couple 36 volt lithium deep-cycle batteries, like Dakota, Ionic or Lithium Pros on a battery switch, and you have the tools it takes to score.

Rhodan is just one aspect of what it takes to go grouper fishing, and not just “bottom fishing.” The way I set the dinner table for a grouper on every ledge is to have everyone on the boat sending down whole squid on the first five or six drops. I don’t care what they’re catching during this “chumming exercise,” because chumming is exactly what we’re doing.

We’re getting one spot on the bottom chummed up with little pieces of squid swirling around.

The smell and sound of an ongoing feeding

frenzy draws in the top of the food chain in no time at all.

This is the point when we start to grouper fish. Yes, I’ve caught a lot of grouper on the whole squid, also, but this part of the routine is strictly to get the party started. Once it’s going, we drop live baits that none of the grunts, pinkies or sea bass can fit in their mouths.

The smaller fish just hang out looking at these bigger baits and hoping for scraps.

This is when grouper see four or five live baits on the bottom attached to Squid or Crab Decoy Jigs. To them, it’s a no-brainer. The sight of a grass grunt, pinfish or sailor’s choice struggling against the weight of the jig is more than a grouper can understand. They are hardwired to eat these fish that eat their eggs. The live bait and Decoy Jig combo gets the bite because a struggling bait is a “gimme.”

Also, while you’ve got those grouper lines on the bottom, don’t forget to send a light out near the surface. Bait it with a live or frozen bait to catch pelagics like kingfish, dolphin, wahoo or tuna that happen to be swimming past.

What does this all have to do with the Rhodan? Well, Rhodan’s powerful and precise GPS anchoring eliminates drift without all the aggravation and hard work of anchoring. Let Rhodan change your game by allowing you to concentrate on the fish while it keeps the boat in place!

See more from Capt. Tim Barefoot, of Barefoot Cats and Tackle, at barefootcatsandtackle.com.

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EAST TENNESSEE GREAT SMOKIES

Warm Waters In East TN

By Derek Kinsler

Douglas Lake–

The topwater bite has been amazing in the mornings and late afternoons for black bass and bluegill. The middle of the day when everything else is slow, start cruising the bluffs and listening for cicadas to chase those 10-20 lb carp on topwater. Or find a creek holler and fish slow moving baits for black bass. Crappie are post spawn and running deeper to chase baitfish at depths between 10-20 ft. Look for rocky points and troll with small plugs.

Cherokee Lake– The water is warming up

tremendously, so if you would like to fish top water for some striper and smallmouth you will need to do it at first light or at nighttime with black lights.

The baitfish are schooling hard to green lights and the white

bass will be there. The striper action has been best in a water depth around 50ft fishing 25 ft deep. Trolling umbrella rigs for striper is a no go this time of year so keep them at home until wintertime. The black bass action is picking up due to the bait movement being so aggressive.

Fish brush, humps, and rocky points with soft plastics at a slower than normal speed.

The French Broad–

Small mouth fishing midfish cannot resist such a tempting pulsing generation schedule and summer is starting to pick back snack. Keep your eye out for a stay away from heavy flows. up after the spawn. We have started to see a lot of topwater action early morning then moving Derek Kinsler is the owner of Smoky Mountain Fishing Company and a to rock piles fishing slow in the Certified US Coast Guard Captain. He grew up in Jefferson County with Douglas and Cherokee lakes within 15 minutes away. He has been fishing these afternoon. The bait fish is starting lakes his entire life with passed down knowledge from 5 generations. He takes to school up and feed, so it won’t pride in offering an amazing experience whether you are a first-time angler, or be long until the smallmouth are back on the move. The cicadas you have been doing it for 50 years. At your first meeting, his number one goal is to provide the best and most memorable fishing trip that you have had to date. are still around the river and the

2 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

JULY 2021

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Lowdown on East Tennessee Fishing

By Chad Fouts

National Park

The fishing in the National park has been fantastic all day long. The water levels have been low but this recent rain has elevated the fishing to the next level. When you’re fishing Little River many methods can be used. Double nymph rigs have been producing quality fish all day long. A Pats Rubber Leg with a green or pink weenie or hot spot pheasant tail will work wonders. In the morning and evening is the time to throw dry flies. Beetles and small hoppers and yellow stimulators have been working great. Make sure to fish a dropper about 16-18 inches underneath the dry. The rest of the park has been fishing well too. If you stick with a yellow dry fly of any kind, while running a dropper underneath, you will find that the fish are very eager.

Little Pigeon River

Smallmouth fishing has slowed

in the little pigeon, but not to the point where you won’t have a good day on the water. Look for fish in the fast water right now, cooler temps and more oxygen. If you throw any type of white baitfish pattern the fish will take one. Both swinging and stripping methods will work.

Another great rig to throw is a Double Pats Rig, in the colors black and brown. You can tight line those or my suggestion is to throw them with an indicator.

when you switch to a nymph rig. I had a rig set with three nymphs that worked really well.

My first nymph was a weighted soft hackle pheasant tail down to a sulpher emerger then down to a silver beaded midge. There was a small split placed above the first fly with a yarn indicator.

South Holston

Gatlinburg Stocked water

This river has been on fire lately with flows on the weekends around 1500 CFS it has been producing fish all day long. Streamers have been working wonders in the morning to middle of the day. If the water is clear definitely throw olive, But if the water is dirty throw a white or black streamer. Beyond noon, the streamer bite dies off a bit, that is

The city of Gatlinburg is still stocking every Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the days to fish it. It slows down

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significantly after that. No change in fly selection though, big and flashy.

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

JULY 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 3

4 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

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Fly Fishing On The Holston River In Tennessee

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By James Marsh

he Holston River is a tailwater trout fishery located just north of Knoxville, Tennessee below Cherokee Dam near the town of Jefferson City, Tennessee.

It is stocked with both rainbow and brown trout by the (TWRA) Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Both rainbow and brown trout holdover from year to year because the stream stays cold for a short ways below the dam, even during the summer months. This tailwater is sometimes confused with its neighbor, the South Holston Tailwater to the Northeast. The Holston River is one of Tennessee’s premier fly fishing for trout and smallmouth bass destinations.

Rainbow and brown trout are usually fairly easy to catch and anglers enjoy a busy day. Fly fishing the Holston River tailwater caddisfly hatches can be a lot of fun. The river can be waded when they are not generating water through the

dam. However, there are only a few places you can access the river where wading is possible. It can be fished from a drift boat when they are operating the turbines but if it is running high, it usually isn’t worth the effort. Caution should be used anytime you are fishing the Holston Tailwater. The water can rise fast.

According to the Holston River Fly Fishing Guide, Public access is

very limited on the Holston River. This limits the number of wading anglers.

The best access point for waders is at the Nance’s Ferry boat ramp. Starting there, you can wade a good distance upstream. The river mostly consists of shallow riffles in that area. During the warmer months of the year, this area isn’t that desirable because the

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water can become too warm. Another public access for wading anglers is just below the Cherokee Dam. This section of the Holston fishes well most of the year. The cold bottom discharge from Cherokee Dam keeps the water fairly cool in this area even in hot weather.

The best area from the dam access is downstream. There you will find shoals and if the flows are right, some easy to wade water. Another access is the Indian Cave public access. It’s about midway between Nance’s Ferry and the dam. There’s only a small amount of wadable water but it is an additional option. Floating the river is the best option but again, access is still very limited. The public boat ramps are located at Cherokee Dam, Indian Cave, and Nance’s Ferry.

Floating the Holston tailwater can be tricky. There are a lot of problems that can arise from floating the river. There

Continued, see HOLSTON RIVER Page 6

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HOLSTON RIVER continued from page 5 are several, very long sections of water that flow slowly and you often need a trolling motor or a lot of paddling to get downstream. The stretch from the dam to Indian Cave Ramp is a long one and that can present problems.

The stretch from Indian Cave to Nance’s Ferry is usually the best bet for most anglers. It too, can require some rowing or a small electric motor.

You should always be aware of the generation schedule of any tailwater.

Cherokee Dam can let go of a huge amount of water. Your safety and pleasure depends on knowing when these releases are scheduled. The river flows at about 300 cfs or cubic feet per second when no water is being generated. Minimum flows are usually during the winter and early spring.

Strategies, Techniques and Tips:

There are stocked trout in the river and they will take the generic trout flies readily but those that have been there a few months, holdovers, and wild trout are familiar with the natural food in the stream. That is

why we recommend our Perfect Flies over the generic fly patterns. We sell the generic fly patterns but our Perfect Flies, or specific imitations, provide higher odds of catching both types of trout. The Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin are great streamers to use for the next several weeks. The Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin are good flies to use at this time. Hatches of various species of Blue-winged Olives are possible in the afternoons and more likely and in greater numbers if the skies are cloudy or overcast. Blue Quills are hatching.

Green Sedge caddis are hatching.

Slate Drakes are hatching. American March Browns are hatching. Little Yellow stoneflies are hatching. Eastern Pale Evening Duns, called Sulphurs by many, are hatching.

Holston River Hatches and Trout Flies:

Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most

available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Holston River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726.

There are two basic ways to fish the Holston that are almost opposite of each other. One is using small imitations of midges and the other is caddisfly imitations. Midge larva, pupa and adult imitations will catch trout year-round. Many anglers use a tandem rig with both a larger mayfly nymph and a small midge larva or pupa fly. Most of the midges are either cream or red (blood) midges. Most of the time, midge imitations are the best choice of flies. They will work day in and day out. Caddisfly imitations work when a hatch is occurring or egg-laying is taking place.

There are several species of caddisflies that live in the Holston River. Caddisflies are the most important hatches on the Holston.

Most all of them are commonly called

Cinnamon Caddis. Most all of them are net-spinning caddis. Few freeliving and only a few cased caddis exist. There are several minor species or caddisflies that hatch in sparse quantities. The hatches start in March and peak in May. Some species hatch during the summer but in smaller quantities. A few hatch in the fall months. The opportunity to catch larger trout on a streamer always exist.

The best streamers are imitations of baitfish and sculpin. Crawfish imitations also work for the larger size browns as well as the smallmouth. The river has some fine smallmouth bass fishing in its lower sections. Streamers and at times, large top water flies work great for them. Terrestrials work fine in the late summer and early fall. Beetles, ants and grasshopper imitations catch their share of Holston River trout. Craneflies are plentiful in the Holston. At times, imitations of the Cane Fly larvae adults work fairly well. Black flies are very plentiful and more important in the colder months of the year. You should have imitations of the Black Fly larvae, pupae and the adults. Sulphurs are the most common mayfly. There are plenty of bugs to keep trout rising on the Holston.

Sulphurs hatch in May and June.

James Marsh has made his living fishing since 1980 through hosting and producing the first ever national syndicated weekly TV series on saltwater fishing for five years; hosting and producing forty-six instructional saltwater fishing videos, more of which have been sold on saltwater fishing than anyone’s in the world; and for the past twenty-two years hosting and producing nineteen instructional videos on fly fishing and founding the Perfect Fly Company.

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WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA GREAT SMOKIES

Summer Trouting

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By David Hulsey

ummer in the Southern Appalachians is a land of nice quiet comfortable mornings followed by booming thunder and dodging flashing lightning bolts in the afternoons. These almost daily occurring deluges provide just enough fresh cooling rainfall in the hills to help our trout populations to survive the heat. In the mountains of North Georgia and Western North Carolina, tail water fishing below our dams, and high elevation small stream fishing, will be the best and safest methods of catching trout. Always check the water temperature before fishing in the summer to prevent harming any fish. Water temperature over 67 degrees is a “no go”.

Terrestrial patterns usually rule the day in July and August

with beetles, crickets, inchworms and ants being the most productive. All four ride low in the water, so adding a small piece of yarn or red foam will help you see the fly in shaded areas of the creek. Presentation need not be gentle as these bugs usually land with a splat! Early morning or late evening is normally the best time to fish. When the sun gets high, the trout usually get spooky and the water temperature is usually hottest with a swing of four degrees not being unusual. Wet wading is preferred on the small streams because of the walking and mobility needed to reach the best areas. Being able to move fast also helps if you bump into a hornet or yellow jacket nest along the bank or in an overhead bush.

Always be alert for rattlesnakes

and copperheads along the trails; they can ruin your day real fast. If you are looking for a summertime adventure here in the mountains

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or to learn how to fly fish, check out our website; we can get you on the water in style!

Give David Hulsey a call at (770) 639-4001 to book a class or a guided trout trip. See his website at www.hulseyflyfishing.com.

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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Hybrid Bass Mayhem on Lake Chatuge

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By Darren Hughes

n July, fishing on Lake Chatuge, which borders Western North Carolina and North Georgia, really gets fired up and I mean FIRED UP! With warmer water temps, the hybrids and bass school up, which means we are able to load the boat with tons of trophy hybrids and spotted bass.

Currently, Lake Chatuge is at full pool. Water temps are in the low 80s, and water clarity is clear throughout the lake.

Hybrid fishing is explosive for us right now. The fish are really schooling in large numbers, and moving to deeper water. We are catching some big quantities, probably averaging between 25 and 35 hybrids and bass in just a couple of hours. Most of our hybrids are averaging 7-10 pounds. These are some of Lake Chatuge’s hardestfighting fish, and we’re having a blast wearing them out. 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 midmorning. 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.

July is a fantastic month for catching a lot of trophy hybrids and spots on this North Georgia lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake Chatuge’s best trophy hybrids during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Murphy, NC’s and

Blairsville Georgia’s premier fulltime guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Hiwassee and Nottely, and Lake Blue Ridge in Blue Ridge,

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GA. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on!

Darren Hughes is a member of The Angler Magazine Fishing Team and a guide for Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service. Look him up at www.bigolfish. com or give him a call at (706) 745-6569 or (828) 361-2021

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Lake Hiwassee Striper Feeding Frenzy

By Shane Goebel

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f slaying schooling summertime stripers and hybrids is what you want, then look no further. Lake Hiwassee offers some of the best striper fishing in the southeast and we are so privileged to be slap-dab in the middle of it all here at Big Ol’ Fish Guiding service. July’s warm summer temps really get these deep mountain stripers schooled up. It’s definitely the time of year to catch tons and tons of hard fighting fish.

Check out our Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service Facebook and Instagram, and see for yourself.

Currently, Lake Hiwassee is at full pool. Water clarity is clear throughout the lake, and water temps are in the low 80’s.

Striper fishing has been excellent.

We have been loading the boat with some big fish in good quantities, averaging 20 to 30 stripers a morning. The early-morning and evening bites are your best times to see action. As far as technique, it’s been all down lines for us. With

water temps on the rise, the fish are moving to deeper water. Target creek mouths and points off the main lake channel. Also, during the hot sunny days of summer, search out areas with some good shade. The majority of our fish have been caught from Point 7 to the dam. The top-water bite has been great as well. Keep a spook or a Red Fin at the ready to snag surface-busting fish. The fish will continue to school up through the next couple months and will move to even deeper water. Just remember to keep an eye on your electronics and watch for schools of stripers when cruising the lake. Also, remember to try to get the fish back into the water as quickly as possible after they are caught.

July is a fantastic month for catching a lot of trophy stripers on this Western North Carolina lake.

Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of

Lake Hiwassee’s best trophy stripers during the fishing trip of a lifetime.

We are Murphy, NC’s and Blairsville Georgia’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes

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Nottely (in North Georgia), Chatuge , and Lake Blue Ridge in Blue Ridge, GA. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on!

Shane Goebel owns Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service and is a member of The Angler Magazine Fishing Team. See the website at www. bigolfish.com or call (828) 361-2021

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Beat The Heat

By Ronnie Parris

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eah, it’s here again; summer and long, hot days. A great way to enjoy the outdoors and beat the heat is by getting on the water early. I like starting my lake trips at the first hint of daylight and being off before the midday sun has a chance to bring out the sweat.

Usually this time of year, you’re missing the best bite of the day if you’re not on the water at first light.

On the average lake trip, I have gotten the better part of our catch the first hour. If you’re like a lot of people and you don’t like rolling out of that comfy bed, there’s still hope.

Trout in our Smoky Mountain, coldwater trout streams seem to like it as it warms a bit and the bug activity heats up.

No better way to beat the heat than to put on your wading shoes and a pair of shorts and get buttdeep in one of these cold mountain trout streams. I prefer a dry fly to catch these wild trout but a nymph

just make sure of the regulations in the particular stream you are fishing as each one has different rules.

Be sure to prepare for the heat, as it’s easy to get dehydrated, especially if you have a long hike to get to one of these streams. Also, if you intend on keeping a limit to eat, you better get your fish in something cool to keep the heat from spoiling them.

If you carry a lunch or drinks in, please pack out your trash; nothing messes up a pretty creek like seeing where someone has thrown their litter on the side. If your accessing a stream, take special care to not damage the landowner’s property or you might risk losing the right to use it for yourself or the next angler that might want to enter there. Have a safe summer and as always take a kid fishing! or streamer will do the job too.

Folks who don’t care for fly fishing can usually catch a good mess of fish on spinners and trout worms;

Ronnie Parris is owner and head guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, N.C., heart of the Great Smoky Mountains www. smounlimited.com; (828) 488-9711.

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

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Come Paddle, Fish & Explore

ou’ll consider yourself amongst the lucky if you get a chance to spend a day on the water with Jared Schuster, owner and operator of Smoky Mountain Kayak Fishing (SMKF).

Jared’s expertise stems from years of technical fishing on the Great Lakes which he now applies and teaches as a part of his day and weeklong outings on the pristine lakes of Western NC. Anglers and novices alike will venture out on pedaldriven kayaks where they’ll hone their fishing skillset all while taking in the meandering waterways, hidden waterfalls and secluded coves accessible only by those willing to make the trek. Often his guests are so taken with the views they forget their angling goals just minutes into the day’s adventure. The fishing and sights can only be rivaled by his shoreline lunches inspired by his days as a professional wildgame Chef. Yes, fresh trout tacos are likely on the menu for your excursion.

The blueways offered on Jared’s lineup include, Lake Santeetlah, Cheoah Lake and Lake Calderwood

- all located in the heart of the Nantahala National Forest on the quiet, southern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cherokee National Forest. Lake Santeetlah, where the majority of his excursions take place, is located in Graham County, NC a few miles north of the town of Robbinsville.

The lake boasts 76 miles of shoreline, 80% of which is located within the Nantahala National Forest. Created in 1928 by damming the Cheoah River, Lake Santeetlah is cool, deep, and full of fish.

The cool, stream-fed waters explored and fished by SMKF are home to numerous fish species but are abundant with rainbow, brook and brown trout along with white bass, walleye and crappie. All of which are no match for the unique set-ups offered SMKF. For those who may be hesitant about a dive into the world of Kayak fishing, rest assured that these are no common setups.

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Jared fishes almost exclusively from Hobie kayaks outfitted with raised comfy seats, pedal drives for hands free fishing, electronic depth/fish finders, rod holders, and even down riggers. For the more balanced fisherman or simply those looking for a bit of an extra challenge, a SUP can be reserved and outfitted with all the same fishing accessories even a seat.

And for those looking for a bit of solitude, Jared offers rental kayaks for your own, self-guided adventure. Whether you’re coming for the fish, looking to tag along for a photography excursion, or even considering one of Jared’s new lightup, night kayak experiences, a day (or night) on the water with Smoky Mountain Kayak Fishing is time well spent

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ASHEVILLE / HENDERSONVILLE / BREVARD

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Connecting Woodfin to the French Broad River

he Greenway & Blueway project is an ambitious $18.1 million effort to construct five miles of greenway along the French Broad River and Beaverdam Creek.

The project will provide new river access sites and will fund development of the new Silver-Line Park as well as expansion of existing Riverside Park, in Woodfin. An exciting and much anticipated feature of the project will be the creation of the in-stream Wave feature for whitewater paddling and surfing enthusiasts.

The planned greenway trails will connect to the larger greenway system being developed in the City of Asheville and beyond, promising a network of more than 25 miles of safe urban paths centering on the French Broad River. The project is being designed and built by the Town

of Woodfin, with Buncombe County Recreation Services supporting the effort with design and construction of the greenway elements of the project.

The new Silver-Line Park will be built on a 4.5-acre site donated to the Town of Woodfin in 2012

by Silver-Line Plastics and the

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Silver family. The Park will provide a wide variety of opportunities including access to the river for recreational purposes, a children’s playground, and a connection with the Craggy Mountain Rail Line.

Planned amenities include a trailerready boat ramp for river access, generous parking, picnic areas,

stream bank restoration, a children’s playground, and walking trails. The existing commercial building may be converted into public restrooms, an outfitter that will provide bicycle and watercraft rentals, and possibly a small museum dedicated to railroad history in the region. The greenway trail will run through the site as well.

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Summer Fun

By Scott Norton

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he time that all anglers have waited for is here. The water levels and temps are steadily climbing. A conveyor belt of bass are feeding in from the deep. What plans do you have to put more fish in the boat? The time of preparing is over and now you get to execute your plans for new records and numbers.

Just in case you don’t know what the plan is, just make sure you fix and maintain your equipment so you can concentrate on your fishing.

I am guilty myself of driving all the way to the lake and everything was perfect with conditions, only to find out mechanical issues caused me to cancel the whole trip. Don’t do that. You have one season this year that the fish are fresh from the deep without pressure. Timing has to be perfect in the beginning for that magical trip. You will be surprised just how many fish you catch when nothing goes wrong.

Warming trends are the signs you look for in pre-spawn. When the water is cold and you have two or three days of warm weather, this can be best time to go before all the crowds start fishing. Once you reach the time where all the bass are shallow, take a chance with baits that are red in color. Remember, bass need iodine to break those egg sacks for spawn and crawdads have high levels. Crawdads are red this time of year and bass will feed heavily before they lay eggs. Jigs are not the only bait to simulate crawdads. Red crank baits are deadly for actively feeding bass. You can cover more water to catch the most aggressive fish in the school.

My method for finding early bass is to start in the bedding areas and fish out to the points. You have to know where the highways of travel are from the winter holes to the bedding area. Be efficient when

fishing; don’t spend too much time in our area, cover lots of water. If you have a favorite spot you can fish it fast and come back later because new fish will move up in those spots. These spots will be renewed over and over again so you don’t really have to lock it down.

This is also a great time to take new people and help them learn how to catch bass. This is so important to the sport of fishing. The experienced anglers have the keys to the kingdom so we have an obligation to pass it on to the next generation to keep it alive and healthy.

I hope this helps make things easy for some of you. Remember to enjoy this hobby and God’s Creation.

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Interacting with nature will bring you, and others, a better quality of life.

Scott Norton is a Western North Carolina native. Born in Asheville, N.C., he is a long-time hunter, angler and weekend warrior.

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Omitted from last month’s article: If you’re familiar with a stream and know where the larger trout like to hold, this is your chance to approach closely. Next month, we’ll be taking our first step into the water.”

Stealth on the Stream Part 3: The Stalk

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By Jim Parks

o, you’ve dressed to blend in (Part 1) and perhaps you’ve seen a large trout lying at or near the bottom (Part 2), or you see one rising repeatedly that you target, now what? As stated last month, all your efforts can be wasted in a second. It can be in the form of a slip, the banging of rocks together or anything that telegraphs your presence. In order to get within casting range, you’ll need to pick your direction of approach carefully. Once you’ve scanned the stream, plan in your mind the path you will take as you make your approach; the one that will place you in the best position to make your first cast. Remember, make your first cast your best cast. For that, I think to myself, “Not the path of least resistance, but the path of least likelihood of being seen.” In my book, Tails of the Smokies, Dillon is teaching his protégé, Stevie, how to work his way up a likely run. During

their discussion, Dillon is explaining the ultimate goal of planning his route that will allow him to fish the stream thoroughly from bottom to top while spooking the fewest fish along the way and placing him in the best position to make his casts.

As you begin your approach remember to stay low and go slow.

You ALWAYS want something behind you to be a backdrop into which your profile is blended.

The sky is not a good option.

As you near the water, use trees, bushes, boulders and elevation, approaching from a lower path if possible.

First and foremost is to approach the trout from behind.

Trout can be expected to face into the current, upstream, where the them looking into the current but current serves as a conveyor belt facing downstream, or they may in delivering their food. However, be cruising. There are exceptions, sometimes a back eddy will have

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when approaching from upstream is needed, such as when casting a streamer across and downstream.

Continued, SEE STEALTH ON THE STREAM Page 20

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STEALTH ON THE STREAM continued from page 19 If your approach dictates getting your feet wet, focus on going slow while trying to avoid creating a wake, especially in slow moving water. When we shuffle our feet, we are pushing water, which creates a noisy wake. I visualize the waves I make on a smooth surface as loud stereo speakers underwater blasting, “Here he comes!” to every trout in the pool. Some listen and move and some seem unfazed, but all now know you’re there.

Wild trout, especially, and trout in highly-pressured waters will likely ease away or blast off to where they feel secure. When possible, in shallow water, avoid creating ripples by picking up your feet totally out of the water then quietly step down into the water to avoid creating push waves. Continually check if your walking is pushing ripples toward your target area. Still water is especially tough, and using the current when approaching from downstream allows the use of the current to push smaller ripples away from the trout and behind

you. If you are approaching a large pool, and cannot stay on the bank, make your approach from the rapids just downstream as the shoals can serve as a barrier to your wake.

As you ease your way along, avoid excessive movement and step quietly from downstream bringing you behind the trout.

When possible, use natural barriers such as boulders, trees, waterfalls or shoals to cover your approach.

Be careful with hand movement, reflections, glare off of your fly rod, jewelry, and any shiny instruments on your person. As you approach that trout of a lifetime gently feeding in the shallow tail-out or upstream in the pool, beware of sentinel trout, those pesky little trout that you spook. Remember in Jurassic Park when the dinosaurs in the field began running by Sam Neill? They tipped him off that something big and dangerous was heading their way. A ten-year-old wild trout is no less wary and likely more so.

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So, now you’re in position. A huge trout is within sight, you’ve approached directly from behind, so now how to cast without spooking your target?

Ideally, immediately behind a trout is best as it is out of their field of view, but the problem of casting directly over them has a potential to spook them when your line hits the water, especially on a glass smooth surface. A slight angle to either side is better for the cast.

As a right hander, I prefer a cast from slightly to the right of the trout’s position with a bit of a side arm motion to keep the leader/ line as much as possible to the side, and the fly drifting as close to the trout as possible. A few years ago, while standing at the head of a set of shoals in the Smoky Mountains, I spotted a nice, twenty-one-inch brown through the glassy smooth surface not fifteen feet from me in the tail out of a large pool in about

two feet of water. Making my first cast, as described above, I brought my Jim’s Grampus right to its nose where I actually observed the opening and closing of its mouth.

Talk about pressure to not set the hook too soon!

The steps described in this series by no means are necessary to catch wild trout even of trophy size.

However, having made enough mistakes to fill multiple life times, I subscribe to the “Minimal Gains” philosophy. This involves taking the steps, however small, even if doing so only provides a minimal improvement in my chances to land that target trout. I hope you have found in this series a few take-aways that will enhance your chances when opportunities reveal themselves. One final thought.

Many anglers desire luck on their trips, but I’ve heard it said, “Luck is where Preparation and Opportunity come together.

Jim Parks, a native of Newport, Tennessee, has spent forty-three years fly-fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which he considers his home waters.

Check out his book “Tails of the Smokies” in local bookstores. Jim currently resides in Kodak, Tennessee, with Trena, his wife and best friend of thirty-three years.

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HIGH COUNTRY

River Reflections: ‘In Search of Solitude’

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By Matt Mittan

t’s more of an ongoing joke than it is a reality. “Where’s your secret honey hole?” “What’s a great spot to go to that most folks don’t know about?” Not many people actually ask these questions of anglers and outdoors enthusiasts, because they know 99% of the time they will be met with a sarcastic chuckle and then sarcasm or silence. But we can all relate to the underlying nature of the question.

Where can I escape the rat race and find some peace? Where can I enjoy some solitude?

I’ve written numerous times over the past several years about how immersing ourselves in nature can impact our mental, spiritual and general well-being. Indeed, there are secrets to living a joyful life that nature will reveal to you if you are willing to put in the time to unlock them. Sometimes it comes

from a chance encounter with a wild animal. Sometimes it may be a sunbeam sneaking through a dense forest canopy. For me, it’s often convincing a fish to rise to the surface and violently disrupt a tranquil setting – as it chases a lure I’m finessing. Dipping ourselves into this aspect of creation helps us travel our own life path with more enjoyment and passion. Nature nurtures.

Meanwhile, today’s world seems to be getting more and more crowded. Over the time of COVID, more people than ever seem to have Powering along with a 30 lb thrust trolling motor, on a canoe, can feel exhilarating if you’re not used to having propulsion. It’s all a matter of found that being outside is more perspective. Solitude can be the same way. enjoyable than anything they could Photo by Matt Mittan do with their free time indoors. That is both a blessing and a challenge. overrun and having a hard time they can repair and prepare for the Many outdoor destinations that sustaining. Wildlife officials have overwhelming usage and the impact have rolled along with manageable had to close some areas just so that it has on those places. public pressure are feeling the Continued, see RIVER REFLECTIONS Page 23 pinch. Some places are downright

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 21

Basic Steps for Proper Fish Handling

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ne of the ways that we, as anglers, can ensure the survival of our fisheries is to instill proper fish handling and catch and release measures, especially moving forward into the summer months where water temperatures can start increasing to levels that can make fish survival questionable once they’re caught.

By Ethan Hollifield

Here’s some very basic steps that every angler can follow for better fish handling, which cover a myriad of different fish species found here in the mountains.

1. Carry a net appropriate for the fish species you’re targeting, and use it. It’s amazing to me how many anglers forgo using a net while out on the water. I’ve written

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JULY 2021

a previous article on the subject already but a net, in most cases, can greatly reduce the time the fish is spent out of the water and/ or handled by an angler.

2. Carry a thermometer, and use it. As stated, we’re about to enter the hottest months out of the year.

Increased water temperatures will lead to decreased dissolved oxygen levels, which can result in fish not surviving once brought to hand.

Every species of fish has its own cutoff for when the water is simply too hot to fish. For trout, that water temperature is usually anywhere between 62 and 65 degrees. At that point, simply catching a trout could lead to its death even if it has been released.

3. Keep fish in the water as much as possible. Unhooking and taking pictures of fish while the fish is completely submerged keeps the fish from becoming further stressed as a result of being out of the water

for long periods of time.

4. Keep your hands away from the fish’s gills/ don’t squeeze fish when trying to hold them. One of the best pieces of advice I got as a kid learning how to fish was “don’t do to a fish what you wouldn’t want done to you.” While cheesy, that advice holds true. The gills of fish are incredibly delicate and shouldn’t be handled under any circumstances. Fish should never be squeezed either, as this can result in internal bleeding that will cause a fish to die hours after it’s been released.

5. Keep fish pictures to a bare minimum, especially if it’s hot.

The number one killer of large fish in Western North Carolina is when someone holds a large fish out of the water for a hero shot for extended periods of time. On the other end of the spectrum; there are those who try to take pictures of every single fish they catch. I

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Convenient to Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and Beech Mountain Our resorts offer the perfect vacation or getaway in the mountains of Western North Carolina promise that once you’ve seen one 7-10” long rainbow trout, you’ve seen them all. Releasing a fish as quickly as possible after it’s been caught can greatly increase its chances of survival.

While I know these tips may seem basic to some, I think it’s

important to pass this knowledge along to the new members of the angling community. The only way that our fisheries can survive is through practicing good conservation ethics, and by doing so we can ensure the fisheries in our state for generations to come.

Ethan Hollifield is a member of a conservation organization called 2% For Conservation and a guide for Southern Appalachian Anglers

RIVER REFLECTIONS continued from page 21 The other thing that has changed is that, for the most part, most of us have led a fairly isolated life for the past year and a half. Now, all of a sudden, we are finding ourselves surrounded by lots of people, frustrated by being stuck in more and more traffic, having to wait in longer lines for the things we enjoy and seeing a massive increase in trail, boat and shore traffic on the pathways and waterways of our region. In short, it’s getting harder to find solitude.

But I want to suggest to you that solitude isn’t a solitary endeavor.

In fact, I feel like solitude is even possible in crowded lake coves and on congested mountain crests. All that is needed is community courtesy.

Think of nature like a library. Enter quietly and considerately. Leave space in between each other. Don’t be disruptive or rude. Exercise patience. Leave things the way you

found them. If someone leaves something behind or out of place, take a few seconds to pick it up or make it right.

If you’re on a trail, stay back a distance. If you see people are stalling behind you, step to the side and let them pass. When they get a good distance ahead of you, continue on. If you see a canoe or kayak fishing a shoreline, slow your boat to no wake as you pass. If someone is lying back on a blanket on some grassy knoll, don’t blare your radio.

Nature is a gift that is meant to refresh, inspire and reset our souls.

More people investing themselves into its treasures is a good thing.

And just maybe, if a larger portion of the public is able to rediscover these good and gracious habits with each other, solitude can be enjoyed by everyone – no matter how crowded things may be.

Matt Mittan is Co-Host of “Matt & Michele Outdoors”, a travel radio show centered around outdoor activities across the southern Appalachians and Foothills. Visit MattMicheleOutdoors.com for more info. Or email MMOutdoorsShow@gmail.com to connect.

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 23

Eastern America’s Highest Town B eech Mountain is the highest town in Eastern America and an ideal vacation spot in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Our elevation (5,506 feet) sets us apart 12 months a year.

A visit to the Town of Beech Mountain offers exciting outdoor recreation and milehigh relaxation.

In summer, adventure seekers flock to the Emerald Outback at Beech Mountain, a trail park which features more than eight miles of gorgeous trails near the top of the mountain.

Hiking, mountain biking and trail running are prevalent in the Emerald Outback, as well as on several other miles of in-town trails maintained by the parks & recreation department.

Downhill mountain biking trails, complete with lift service, are available during the warmer months at Beech Mountain Resort.

Those trails range from beginner to advanced.

The most challenging trails at the resort have twice hosted USA Cycling’s Mountain Bike

Gravity National Championships. The resort’s biking operation is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and offers bike rentals and lessons in addition to lift service.

Families and seniors also covet summer vacations on Beech – hiking to waterfalls, enjoying 100-mile mountain vistas, visiting the animal habitat at nearby Grandfather Mountain and taking in a round of mini-golf in mild temperatures that average in the low to mid 70s.

Fly anglers enjoy finding hidden trout streams across the mountain, while recreational fishing is available at Buckeye Lake and Coffey Lake, both of which are stocked annually. Coffey Lake also has a paved 1/8-mile trail around the lake that’s ideal for walking and jogging.

The Mountain Heritage Trout Water (MHTW) program is all about convenience.

It allows North Carolina residents and nonresidents to fish in MHTW streams simply by

Buckeye Recreation Center

Beech Mountain Resort

A fabulous indoor facility for residents and visitors with a full-size gymnasium, indoor tennis court, pickleball courts, meeting areas, fitness area with state-of-the-art equipment, kid’s playroom, living room area, and indoor walking track.

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(828) 387-3003 1330 Pine Ridge Road Beech Mountain, NC 28604 beechrecreation.recdesk.com

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purch alread specia Tr stream Febru parkin Cente as it fl are se stocke Po hook Comm Lakele stretch inhabi Ot and B by the is des Bucke receiv brook inland Be Beech of Bee Learn appro info an

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10

purchasing a three-day license for just $5. Anglers who already have a statewide fishing license do not need the special MHTW three-day license.

Trout Fishing Buckeye Creek is a hatchery-supported stream (open first Saturday in April through last day of February) that flows out of Buckeye Lake, with nearby parking available at the town’s Buckeye Recreation Center. Buckeye Creek has some nice pools and riffles as it flows out of Buckeye Lake, and further downstream are several good fishing areas below a waterfall. It is stocked annually with brown, rainbow and brook trout.

Pond Creek is designated catch-and-release single hook artificial lures only by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Parking for Pond Creek is available off Lakeledge Road at Lake Coffey. Pond Creek has a longer stretch of available water than Buckeye Creek. It is inhabited by native brook trout.

Other options on Beech Mountain are Lake Coffey and Buckeye Lake, two small lakes stocked annually by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Lake Coffey is designated as delayed harvest trout waters, while Buckeye Lake is designated hatchery supported. Both receive a large annual infusion of brown, rainbow and brook trout. Anglers need a regular North Carolina inland license to fish in those lakes.

Beech Mountain Guided Fishing presented by Beech Parks and Recreation. Get in the back country of Beech Mountain’s streams and secrete fishing holes.

Learn to read water, bait selection, fly casting and how to approach mountain fishing. Call 828-387-3003 for more info and RSVP.

Trout anglers have multiple options on Beech Mountain

Beech Mountain Club A private club offering activities and facilities for visitors to enjoy year-round. Most lodging rentals include use of the Club and entitle visitors to amenities such as the 18-hole mountaintop golf course stretching 6,099 yards with a spectacular view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

828-387-4208 103 Lakeledge Road Beech Mountain, NC 28604 beechmtn.club COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

JULY 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 25

The Cure for SSA

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hat’s your favorite fly fishing trinket? Mine might be my scissor/ forceps tool, which works almost as hard as my fly rod. Most anglers enjoy its traditional uses like unhooking fish and crimping split shot on their leader, but the multitool has extra utility and exceptional healing powers, too!

First, check out the scissors.

When my dry fly is riding too high to match drifting naturals (emergers and spinners), I give it a haircut or a shave. I can cut the Mayfly’s thorax hackles shorter to lower its profile. I can also “shave” the abdomen hackles on an Elk Hair Caddis to ride it in the film, like a spent bug, or just under the surface, like an emerging pupa. If Stoneflies are sailboating and I’m short on that pattern, I’ll craft one from a Caddis. By pushing down the elk hair to splay it and then

By Jeff Durniak

trimming each side, I’ll create a long, narrow stonefly wing. I can also cut my tippet when I can’t find my nippers or it’s too dark for my aging eyes to find their narrow bite.

Second is the hook-eye cleaner, that small needle in the handle. Indeed, it punches through head lacquer well so you can thread your tippet through the tiny hook eye. But it also has medicinal value, as it cures a common ill among the majority of fly anglers: SSA. You know, Split Shot Aversion! SSA affects an abundance of fly flingers, forcing them up and into shallow, fishless drifts and eventual long faces.

Do not fear, the cure is here, as the tool is a great split shot REMOVER and keeps me fishing longer and better each trip! I can easily add and subtract shot from my line to work each pool more effectively. I grab the leader and

26 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

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turn the shot slit-up, then insert the needle point carefully into the closed slit. Once the slit opens slightly, the forceps or my fingernails can finish the pry job. I feel the freed tippet for nicks and, if none, I’m ready to fish slower or shallow water. In the winter, I often change from 2 to 5 size BB shot while indicatordrifting the Chattooga depths.

During spring, I may change or remove tiny size 6 and 8 tin shot so the nymph dropper below my Stimulator drifts at fish-eye level, whether that’s at the surface or three feet below. During summer river bassin’, I’ll add and subtract a big #7 shot from a foot above my #4 black Woolly Bugger to swim it at the right depth. Unhooking a 1/0 Clouser from a striper is also easier with this device’s thicker handle and

stronger jaws, when compared to flimsy trout tools.

Drape a scissor/forceps on your slingpack to stay in the water and into more fish this season. Stop in either of our two stores if we can help your “accessory adventure” and guide you toward more fish tails and tales. Good luck!

You can find Jeff Durniak at Unicoi Outfitters. Stop in or call the Helen shop at (706-878-3083) or our Clarkesville store on the square (706-754-0203) if we can help you further. After all, we are pretty darn good trouting caddies!

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Night Fishing in July

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By Jay “Striker” Barnett

ishing in July can be one of the most challenging times of the year to catch fish as a tournament angler. The conditions can be harsh on the fish as well as on the angler. However, catching fish in the middle of July is not impossible.

My recommendation for filling your live wells is to not change the locations you fish, but change the times you fish them. I recommend fishing at night, and here are some things to consider when night fishing. What are the fish doing? Where are the fish located?

What is the best time to catch them?

What are the fish doing in the middle of July when the temperature outside is 90 degrees? The answer is not complicated; bass in the summer need access to quality levels of oxygen.

They find it by moving to areas where the current is present. Fish shut down almost entirely to conserve energy during the day, unfortunately, this is when tournaments tend to occur and when fishing is at its most challenging. However, at nighttime, especially a few hours after sundown,

catching fish is much better.

Where are the fish located? Fish will find the thickest cover and stay there all day until it’s time for them to start moving up in the water column to feed. One place I like to find, if I am fishing during the summer, is current. If you can find current, you will find bass in July. The current provides fresh oxygen and cooler water and provides food for bass without spending a lot of energy.

Fishing near these areas at night can pay big dividends.

The best time to catch bass at night is when the sun has been down for several hours. This gives bass time to adjust to their night vision and become nocturnal feeders. It’s a time when fish are in search mode and use the backdrop of the night sky to look up for easy meals that may come by them. I believe that bass use the night as a strategic advantage to ambush prey. One key element to this is the moon phase. It allows the fish to see the silhouette of what they are feeding on and gives them the best

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JULY 2021

chance to eat.

Another key is to fish at night three days before the full moon. This period is when bass tend to stalk surface baits, so throwing a topwater lure can get those nighttime giants to bite. During this time, I like to use a ¼ oz. black Fish Head Primal Buzzbait at night, which does well when the bass are using the moonlight to find the bait.

You can catch fish in the summer during the day, however, switching to fishing at night will allow you to catch fish that were not biting during daylight hours. When fishing at night, remember to get an idea of what the fish are doing, look for locations that have cover and current, and know the best times to fish. If you do these things fishing in July, it will provide you an opportunity to really have a great fishing trip.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read The Angler Magazine, and please take some time to follow me on Instagram and Facebook under Jay.Striker.52. See you on the water.

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 27

UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

The Casting Corner: Cicada Fly Fishing

By Rene J. Hesse

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hat is the buzz about the bugs? It’s time for fly anglers to cast some big bugs under trees with a plop.

Yep, not that gentle presentation that we often practice, but we want a “plop”. Now that doesn’t mean the line plops, but the fly plops. With that being said, what would change in our cast to get the fly to land first with a downward

change from a normal cast to deliver the fly first?

Let’s talk about the fly to begin with. It is a large floating fly, generally a black body, red wing and red eye that has a large profile about the size of a large bass popping bug, so it has some mass to it and a bit of wind resistance.

Next, let’s talk about the leader that is going to carry the fly to

If you make a normal overhead cast with a few adjustments, you can get the fly to hit first. That plop imitates the cicada falling from the trees. thrust rather than the line and fly landing at about the same time?

What variables (power, stroke, timing, tragectory) would we

the target. It needs to have a large mass profile to carry the energy from the fly line to the fly. Using a 1X or 0X is a good choice in a 7-8

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foot length. Thrown on a 7 or 8 wt. rod and you are in good shape with a weight forward (WF) floating fly line.

Back to the cast.

If you make a normal overhead cast with a few adjustments, you can get the fly to hit first. That plop imitates the cicada falling from the trees. To do that, increase the line speed to overcome the wind resistance of the fly and transfer more energy. Aim about 4 feet over the target. Stop the rod with a solid stop to get the line to kick over using the momentum of the fly and the resistance of the rod leg of the loop in the line to turn it over or ‘kick’ over. Then hang on.

It could be a bass, carp, sunfish or catfish.

Hint; when you get ready to make your next cast, it will be easier to do if you use a spiral lift.

Wondering what that is? Check out next month’s Casting Corner in The Angler Magazine.

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 29

WHERE DID ALL THE FISH GO?

S

ummertime is here! It’s hot for us humans, and it’s hot for the fish too. For us twolegged critters, we can seek the comfort and cooling of indoor airconditioning. For fish, that’s not exactly practical, so they have to look for cooler water temperatures that deep water can provide.

First, let’s get down to the basics from a fish’s perspective. For the most part, fish have four priorities, and they all center around survival.

1. Oxygen – Fish have to breathe, even though it’s through their gills. Cool water can hold a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen than hot water so fish will naturally go to depths that are cooler than the warmer surface temperatures.

2. Food – Just like us, fish have to eat to survive. Their natural food sources are going to usually hang out where the water temps are comfortable to them. An active striped bass will eat almost half its body weight in food every day.

3. Safety – In the world beneath the waves, it’s eat or be eaten. Topof-the-food-chain predators like striped bass will consume just about anything that represents a tasty meal, including smaller stripers.

Baitfish spend the majority of their lives hanging around cover, or schooling up because there’s safety in numbers.

4. Make babies – Although the preceding three items have the highest priority, there are times when all that goes out the window in order to propagate the species. Just before the spawn and just after the spawn are the times when most game fish

By Capt. Cefus McRae NutsAndBoltsFishing.com

get really hungry because they know it could be a few weeks before their minds return to eating again.

In the hot summertime, you should shift your fishing gameplan to locating the top two items: oxygen and food. That can mean fishing deep, or it can mean fishing early or late. A cool night can cool down the surface water temperature and encourage the baitfish to move to shallower humps and creeks.

Nighttime fishing around dock lights that attract baitfish is also a good bet. By the time the sun touches the treetops, most big fish are headed to deeper water where they can get plenty of oxygen.

Fish are cold-blooded critters, so as the water heats up, they will become a little more sluggish and not as eager to chase a fastretrieved bait, so slow down your presentations a bit. Try using live bait or cut natural bait, and fish it on a downline or very slow retrieve.

A big striper or bass that’s trying its best just to survive is less likely to expend a lot of energy to dart after a fast-trolled spoon.

In our deeper reservoirs, like Lanier, Hartwell and others, if you adjust your sonar sensitivity up higher, you should be able to see the thermocline. It will look like a thin line that’s kind of ‘fuzzy’, somewhere between 25 and 40 feet down. This is a layer of water that sets up in the summer months separating the warm water above from the cold water below. Above the thermocline, the water is warm and doesn’t hold as much dissolved oxygen. Below the thermocline, the water is much

30 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

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colder and there’s virtually no oxygen. The thermocline becomes the ‘sweet spot’ where most fish will find comfortable temperatures and more oxygen, and that’s the thought to keep in your mind regarding depths to fish.

The moral of this story: the fish haven’t left the pond. They’ve just relocated to places where they can survive. Keep this in mind on your next fishing trip, and you’ll probably put a few more fish in the boat.

Lake Hartwell Fishing Forecast for July 2021

By Preston Harden

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ater level- 1 ft. Above full pool Water temp.- 82 As we go thru June, most game fish migrate to cooler, deeper water. Hybrids and stripers are moving south toward the lower lake. Bass and crappie are moving to deeper water away from the shallows.

Electronics become more important to locate fish in deeper water.

By July, the water is hot in the upper water column. Stripers and hybrids have to have cool, oxygenated water. This need pushes them down lake to better water quality. Look from mid-lake to the dam. When you locate fish on your sonar, lower a lively blue back herring to right above

the fish. This time of year, herring rarely get refused. Another technique is to power reel thru the school with a big spoon or a big jig head and a swim bait. I also keep a top water plug ready in case fish chase bait to the surface.

Bass and crappie find cooler water at depths of 20 to 30 feet deep.

They do not migrate far from their shallow areas. Look for them around brush and other structure off the bank. Crappie love small minnows on a slip float right above where you find them. Bass will come up 20 feet to smash a top water plug.worked above structure. They will eat a soft plastic on a drop shot or a shaky head worked close to the structure.

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 31

Dos and Don’ts of Fishing Hot Weather

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Happy July 4th to everyone out there, from all of us at the Chattooga River Fly Shop. The weather here has been hot but luckily, some afternoon thunderstorms have graced the river corridors. This has kept the river levels at a reasonable level, although the river temperatures are a little higher than we would like to see for this time of year. Continued rains will give the trout thermal refuge from the heat in the river bottoms, but any extended lack of precipitation and high heat will be detrimental to our trout populations.

How to know when it is too warm to fish for trout? Water temperatures, less than 64 degrees, the trout are just fine and can recover quickly. To practice catch and release with wet hands, limited handling, minimal time out of the water, and rubber nets will aid in the fish having another day to fight again. In water temperatures between 64-67 degrees,

By Karl Ekberg

fish with caution. Keep the fish wet at all times, fish with heavier tippet (3x or 4x) to minimize fight time. Fish in the early mornings or late evenings, and avoid the hottest part of the day. For water temperatures above 67 degrees, do not fish for trout!

Trout cannot recover in warmer water temperatures. Let’s go fish for warmer water species of fish. If we all practice this, our trout fisheries will have a healthier population when the water temperatures cool off in the fall months.

As for the Red Eye Bass and pan fish, top water and streamers are working great! Fishing the back eddies and slower moving water has proven to be the key to successful days. Mid-morning throughout the day has been better fishing than very early mornings or late evenings.

This is a great time of year to take the kids fishing! School is out for the summer break, water temperatures are great, and there are plenty of fish

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JULY 2021

to be caught. We had the pleasure of participating, as volunteers, with the Kid’s Fishing Rodeo, at Burrell’s Ford Campground this past month, with the U.S. Forestry Department.

Introducing kids to the greater outdoors and nature is a wonderful time, and catching a few fish will add to the experience for all. Many Thanks to the Walhalla Fish Hatchery

for providing a great amount of fish for the kids!

As we are all guests of the forest, let’s remember to “leave no trace”, and pack out what we bring in on our trips to the rivers. Keeping the forests clean, will add to the enjoyable experience for all. We hope to see everyone out on the rivers!

Karl and Karen Ekberg are co-owners of Chattooga River Fly Shop, located at 6832-A Highlands Hwy, Mountain Rest, SC 29664. Give them a call at (864) 638-2806 and visit their website at www.chattoogariverflyshop.com.

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COVERING WATER WITH A BLADED JIG

A

TYLER WOOLCOTT

s you approach a new lake or even one you have been to a thousand times, it’s always a good idea to throw a confidence bait you know will get bites. The bladed jig, aka chatterbait, is my confidence bait. It is extremely versatile and can be thrown around any type of cover. It allows you to cover a vast amount of water and locate bass that might take days to find with other tactics.

The market is flooded with different brands, sizes and colors of the bladed jig. I have experimented and found the Z-Man Jackhammer is the best performing bladed jig out there. In a variety of colors and sizes, they run perfectly out of the package every time. To me, it’s worth the expensive price tag.

Let’s talk about matching the chatterbait to natural forage.

Depending on the time of year and what kind of bait the bass are feeding on, there is a color to match the hatch. If shad is the prevalent forage, I stick to a white or a baitfish-color like pearl and silver with a silver blade. If its bluegill, you can get by with a green pumpkin or anything with some yellow and orange mixed in with a darker blade color.

Sometimes water color can play a factor in color choice, as well. If the water is very dirty, use a color that will stick out so fish can see it coming by. Something like a white and chartreuse with a white blade, for baitfish imitation, or even a bright orange with a black blade, for crawfish imitation, can do the trick.

Sizes and weights are important, as well.

Ranging from ¼ oz. up to 1.25 oz., the depth you are fishing should decide what you tie on. I typically start with a 3/8- or a ½-oz. jig, which allows me to cover water depths from 1 to 10 feet, depending on the retrieve. If I find some deeper cover, I will go a little heavier.

Attaching a trailer enhances the allure of a bladed jig. I try and match the color of the trailer to the color of the skirt. The type of trailer can be more complicated. When fish are aggressive, I use a swimbait-style trailer with a boot tail like the 13 Fishing Pleasure shad. When they want something more subtle, I use a twin-tail trailer like the 13 Fishing The Jerk.

When throwing a bladed jig, it’s important to have the correct gear. I use a 13 Fishing Omen Black Chatt-R-Crank rod paired with a 13 Fishing Concept A 6:8:1 reel. I spool up with 17-lb. Seaguar Abrazx line. This set up is perfect for the job!

All across the country, I rely on a chatterbait any time of year to put fish in the boat. Next time you hit the lake, tie on a chatterbait to cover some water.

Tyler Woolcott is a professional tournament angler and guide.

Check out his website at www.tylerwoolcottfishing.com.

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FEDS ALLOW THREE DAYS FOR ATLANTIC RED SNAPPER

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PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY MCGUIRE/SHOW ME THE FISH CHARTERS

t hardly seems worth the boat ride to catch one red snapper per person, but if you happen to be out bottom fishing in federal waters of the Atlantic and catch one, there are three days this year when you’re allowed to keep it.

NOAA Fisheries Service, the federal entity tasked with setting seasons and limits, announced in early June that it will allow recreational harvest of red snapper on July 9, 10 and 11, 2021 in federal waters of the Atlantic (3-200 miles) off the coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

This year’s season is a day shorter than last year’s because anglers exceeded the total allowable catch last summer.

The bag limit is one per person, per day, with no minimum size limit.

Anglers are required to use dehooking tools to minimize damage when unhooking snapper and grouper species. A descending device is also required to be onboard and readily available for use.

Hook requirements north of 28º North Latitude, which is a line roughly between Vero Beach and Cape Canaveral, Fla. are for non-offset, nonstainless steel circle hooks. South of that line, anglers may use any style hook, as long as they are not made of stainless steel.

The season for the commercial sector opens July 12 and will remain open until Jan. 1, or until the annual catch limit is met. That occurred in about a month and a half last summer.

For more information, see www.fisheries.noaa.gov.

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JULY 2021

STRIPES ARE BLITZING OFF MASSACHUSETTS

J

ack Murphy, of Lucky Jacks Fishing, said the season for striped bass started with a bang and is progressing well off the coast of New England.

“There have been and will be larger striped bass on pogie schools in Buzzards Bay,” he said. “The similar schools of striped bass will soon be harassing offshore pogie schools, and the resident striped bass will be moving into their nearshore haunts chasing mackerel and smashing lobsters.”

The offshore bite is where many of the monster 40-plus-pound stripers are caught each year. In low-light conditions, pods of big fish harass big schools of pogie found 5 to 10 miles offshore of Massachusetts, both north and south of Cape Cod. If you want to get in on the action, you need to make plans now.

Check out Lucky Jacks Fishing at www.luckyjacksfishing.com.

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TARPON NOW CATCH-AND-RELEASE IN NORTH CAROLINA

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ffective immediately, tarpon fishing in North Carolina state waters is now catch-and-release only.

The new regulation was implemented after an appeal from North Carolina pier operators failed during the legislative review process. North Carolina now joins Florida as Atlantic states with no-keep regulations for the highly migratory species. Florida sells a permit that allows anglers seeking a state or world record to keep one tarpon for that purpose.

South Carolina has a limit of one tarpon per person per day with a 77-inch minimum length limit. Georgia allows angler to keep one tarpon per day with a 68-inch minimum length limit.

“Protecting this magnificent fish while it spends time in our North Carolina waters is a great move by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Commission Board,” said Capt. Jot Owens, who is a guide and BTT Conservation Captain.

“Thank you to everyone who supported this amendment and a special thanks to the commission board members who voted in favor of this ruling.”

For more on North Carolina marine fisheries, visit http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/home.

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Sizzling Hot Deals From Suzuki’s Summer Sales Event Suzuki’s Summer Sales Event is finally here! It’s time to get to your local Suzuki Marine Dealer for a sizzling hot deal on the Ultimate Outboard Motor.

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*REPOWER FINANCE is available through Synchrony Retail Finance, as low as 5.99% APR financing for 60 months on new, unregistered Suzuki outboard motors, subject to credit approval. Not all buyers will qualify. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on creditworthiness. $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 from July 1, 2021 through September 1, 2021. †5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY applies to qualifying purchases of Suzuki outboard motors sold and delivered to the retail purchaser, for pleasure (non-commercial) use only, from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. See Suzuki Limited Warranty for additional details. 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. © 2021 Suzuki Marine, USA, LLC.

SAVOR THE SEASONS in Upcountry South Carolina

Every season is the best season to explore the many treasures in the Upcountry.

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