Info Provided by: Jeff Durniak, GA DNR North Georgia Region Fisheries Supervisor and North Georgia Region Fisheries staff
Brown trout caught in icy conditions on the Chattooga River.
Congratulations storm survivors! The sun is bright, the groundhog will soon poke his head out, and north Georgia is on the thaw. Anglers can finally turn their attention away from milk and bread and back toward rivers and lakes. Given the nasty weather, there were slim pickins’ this week on the actual fishing front, but we still managed to cut and paste some very interesting stuff for your viewing pleasure. Hope it helps put the tough memories of this week behind you, and gives you some hints to make fine fishing memories this weekend.
Hey, did you notice that the days are getting longer? Come on spring! Get it right, rodent; we’re counting on you!
Trout
Trout Unlimited Program Winter Trouting Tips
Hooch report from North Georgia Trout Online (NGTO):
“R. scott and I were out at Island Ford on Sunday and we both did pretty well. I think I ended up with 20 or more. The secret was finding deeper slow water and getting it on the bottom. Most fish came on a black leech with a tungsten chartreuse bead. Did catch some on a red squirmy as well. Water was really cold so I went big to make the meal worthwhile, seemed to work.”
-Pat from 2Fly Guide Service
“How” over “What”
The bottom line for any of you “one-clickers” (folks who may not take the time to dig deeper into these links/message boards/websites to find a gold mine of info) is to fish a much longer and thinner leader with a lot of weight. Poachers have not gotten the Delayed Harvest (DH) fish, the water temps have frozen them to the bottom. Winter fishing is not about the “what” (the specific fly or lure used), but the “how” (getting it down to the fish). Here’s an excellent Amicalola DH report and tips for winter success from Landon (a must read). If you get down to them and poke them in the nose, many will bite. Or else Landon, R. Scott, and 2Fly are all fibbing…
Drag Free Drift Refresher: Half of trouters being skunked right now likely need a little practice with their stealth technique.
Hot tip for careful readers:
Tie or buy your Y2K’s and woolly buggers this weekend and make some phone calls to new anglers. Weather permitting, plan a DH trip for next weekend (Feb 7 onward), as I believe some truck engines will be revving at Buford Hatchery next week. Got enough split shot?
Measure Your Trophy
Great article on quick measurement and effective conservation of that trophy you’ll lucky enough to land.
Local Tip: Rabunites, who buy” working tools” rather than “museum pieces,” have also been known to swipe a black Sharpie across their rod blank at 12, 18, 24, and even 30 inches up from the rod butt. Hey, they’re optimists!!!
The Gals are Partying – March 8
“I’m heading up our Mardi Gras Annual Fundraiser in 2014. Georgia Women FlyFishers (GWFF) appreciates all our supporters and advocates within the fly fishing community. We have grown and improved on our event from last year, we have moved upstairs to the Reel Room at SweetWater Brewery. For those of you who supported and attended last year, will remember who cramped we were in the space, so we expanded upstairs this year.
Additionally, we have Honorary Co-Chairs of Capt. Gary & Wanda Taylor, who are also bringing along some well known folks in the fly fishing community.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.georgiawomenflyfishing.com via our PayPal link. If you don’t do online purchases, please contact Carolyn Emery, she has hard copy tickets for sale.
Thanks for your continued support of our club.”
-Carolyn Emery
Vice President, GWFF
2014 Mardi Gras Event Coordinator
Bass
Subject: Lanier, Georgia
Submitted by RyanC/LanierSpots
Date Fished: 1/26/2014
Water Temperature: 45
Water Clarity: Not reported
Out this morning on a half day trip. The weather has not allowed for many days out there lately but I am squeezing in a day here and there when the weather allows. The surface temps are down in the mid 40’s now and the fish I am catching are out deep
We had a pretty good morning out there this morning getting a good many bites. Some decent fish as well as some fillers.”
-Ryan, LanierSpots: 770-356-4136
Date Fished: 1/22/2014
Water Temperature: 45
Water Clarity: Not reported
Hey Gang –
I want to start by thanking everyone for keeping me busy even in this crazy weather. I have been out on trips on almost every reasonable weather day this year, and even some not so reasonable – LOL! I am grateful for the business and appreciate each of you very much. Thank you!
I am also happy to report that my Skeeter has received a facelift! Thanks to Cibile and her crew at Overboard Designs, my boat looks brand new as you can see from the above picture. They really did a fantastic job on both the carpet and the vinyl seats. It looks great! Also, a shout out to Perry over at Perry’s Hi Tech Outboard. He pursues an aggressive PM program on my Yamaha that keeps her running perfectly and on the water consistently. I could not stay in business without him – thanks Perry for all you do!
The fishing has been fair on most days and good on others. We are to a water temperature that you can’t expect a ton of bites during the course of a day, but the ones you get will often be good ones.
We have been running 2 productive types of areas and sticking with them each day. We have found big fish on the inside edge of timber lines in ditches as well as on rocky/hard clay features near deep water. The timber line fish are generally in the 30-40 feet range of water depth. A jig, a Davis Shaky Head, and a Fish Head Spin have been our best baits for those areas. Alternately, the fish coming from the rock have been much shallower. Our biggest fish consistently come from 10 feet of water or less, and generally no deeper than about 15 feet. Don’t expect to catch more than one fish in an area, and don’t expect it to take more than 3 or 4 productive casts to get bit in an area if its going to happen. Fish efficiently, but also, fish SLOW. That is critical, especially in these cold water temps. Our best offerings on the rock have been a crankbait, jig, and a shaky head.
With this crazy cold weather and dropping water temperatures, I am going to be experimenting over the next few days with the float and fly technique on Lanier. I spent time learning this technique last winter and really look forward to employing it this year as Polar Vortex’s continue to be our weather story. LOL. I will keep you posted on the results and hopefully will post some pictures soon.
I would like to close by expressing my sincere gratitude to all of my outstanding sponsors. Without them, I could not fish for a living. Thank you: G Loomis, Shimano, Lowrance, Seaguar, Lazer Trokar, Sworming Hornet, Hammonds Fishing, Davis Baits, Wackem, Chattahoochee Jigs, JJ’s Magic, and LanierMapped.com
May God Bless”
–Jimbo On Lanier, Jimbo’s Spotted Bass Guide Service
Crappie
GON Forum: Allatoona crappie
Snowy Stripers
Here’s one dedicated striper chaser
Good luck. May everyone thaw, including the fish – – and the woodchuck!