We wish you a Merry Fish-mas, we wish you a Merry Fish-mas, we wish you a Merry Fish-mas, and a Happy New Year. Here is to hoping that fishing poles, tackle boxes, fishing licenses, creel baskets and more are found under the tree. Pro tip – don’t wrap the live bait too early. The blog is “off” next Friday, so be sure to check out all the great tips and info found here this week!
News to Know:
- Unwelcome Addition: Invasive Oriental Weather Loach found in Georgia tributary.
- Shad Season: The 2021 shad season will begin on Jan. 1. More info HERE.
- Stocking Stuffer Ideas: Need a few ideas for that outdoors-loving family member or friend? Check THIS out.
This week, we have reports from Central, Southeast and North Georgia. Slip on that fluffy top stocking cap, grab the rod/reel, and Go Fish Georgia!
CENTRAL GEORGIA
(Fishing report courtesy of Steve Schleiger, fisheries biologist and Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts)
Reservoir Fishing Reports Courtesy of Southern Fishing with Ken Sturdivant.
LAKE RUSSELL IS FULL 60’S
Bass fishing is fair. The lake is loaded with spotted bass and they love the cooler water. Expect these fish to be roaming in and out along the shallow rocky areas and a variety of baits will catch them. Largemouth are also found here and they prefer the wood cover over the rock. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass will take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making an easy meal. Since this lake is nothing more than a flooded gorge, there is plenty of wood in various forms scattered all over the lake. Don’t rule out that top water bite, either. Lures to try this week are spinner baits, jigs, Shad Raps and Husky Jerks or Ito Vision 110.
CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 3.25 FEET, 50’S
Bass fishing is fair. Expect the bass to move back a little to deeper water. The bass are suspended out in 10 to 15 feet of water. This will enable anglers to pinpoint them on the Lowrance graph and use the Down Deep Husky Jerk Baits. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass will take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making an easy meal. Expect the bites to be slow and far and few between. Carolina rigs are always a fall favorite with anglers during the fall transition. The lower end of the lake is turning over, but this will have little effect on the fishing up in the north Little River or Savannah River. Fish the rivers by picking apart the cover with Chatterbaits and jigs. On the windy days, fish the deeper points with a Rapala DT10 and a DT14 and use shad and hot mustard colors.
LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 50’S
(This Lake Oconee fishing report is by Captain Mark Smith of Reel Time Guide Service) —
Bass: Bass fishing is good. The temperature is 56 to 59 degrees. North of the 44 bridge is stained up to I-20. The rivers are a heavy stain. The main lake is clear. The spoon bite is still strong in the middle of the coves in Richland Creek. Target the fish off secondary points in the coves all over Richland Creek. The buzz bait bite is on; try sea walls and rip rap early and late. Shad raps fished around docks and rip rap will draw a strike mid-day.
Striped Bass: Striper fishing is very good. The fish are showing up all over the lake, from Richland Creek to Sugar creek. Use your Lowrance to locate the schools of bait with some fish around the bait and drop a minnow into the school. Also put out a flat line or two for an extra fish. The spoon bite is also strong with the live bait bite.
Crappie: Crappie fishing is good. Long lining has been the best producer over the past week. Look for fish staging in the mouths of the creeks and large coves all over the main lake. The Oconee side has been the best producer.
WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 6.5 FEET, 60’S
Bass fishing is slow. There are a few fish biting spoons and jigs but there is no consistent bite with the water so cold. Pick a creek around marker 54 and work the points and the river bends with a ½-ounce Sidewinder spoon. Work the bait right on the bottom and hop it only a few inches at a time. This bait needs to look like a dying shad so use shot lifts at depths of 15 to 30 feet deep. Try all black or all brown in the 3/8-ounce Stanley jig and be sure to use real pork trailers. The Uncle Josh #11 is the all-time cold-water favorite. In the coves up lake with any wood, run a #5 Shad Rap in bright colors right through the middle and stop the bait as it strikes any structure. Be sure to use fresh line and drag the bait on, in and over and wood. Spoons are also good additions to the early spring tactics and work them in the same areas. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass can take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making it an easy meal. The fish all over the lake can be expected to feed only on major feeding periods. Larger docks that are totally enclosed up the lake will warm the surrounding waters all day with the sunlight. Afternoons the water may warm some but only on the surface. Bump the deep wood and bump this bait off rocky points as well. Pitch and flip or even skip baits under these larger docks.
LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.4 STAINED 60’S
Bass fishing is fair. Top water baits have begun again to draw a few strikes after not producing for a week or more. Spinner baits and crank baits are working as the water temperature cools down. Bass are taking the spinner baits. Blow downs, shallow brush, stumps, and grass have been the cover holding these fish. Try a 3/8-ounce model in chartreuse white with double Colorado blades, one nickel and the other gold. Try to bump the cover with each retrieve and use multiple casts from various angles. Also try a ½ to ¾ ounce bait with a large #7 Colorado rear blade. This bait should be bulged just below the surface and retrieved over or very near likely looking cover. Jigs and soft plastics continue to draw a few bites around docks and shallow brush. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass will take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making it an easy meal. The jig bite has been the most consistent bait on the humps, points and flats. Carolina rigs and crank baits are the primary baits here.
LAKE JACKSON IS .68 FEET OVER FULL CLEAR 60’S
Bass fishing has been slow with the ever-changing weather and water levels. The few bass biting will take a number five chartreuse and white Shad Rap. While the cold front did have its effect on the bass this past week, crank baits can work. Throw the Shad Raps and the DT6’s on or near the channel ledges for the best results during these harsh conditions. The weather is expected to warm up for the upcoming week and fishing may improve as the water settles. Sunshine beating down on the red clay banks and the rocks is a good place to fish during a warming trend. The bass will move up to the warmer water to feed and the rocks and red clay will warm the water around these areas first. Carolina rigging a Zoom lizard in June bug is another good choice this week for those who like to fish plastics.
MCDUFFIE PFA (More info HERE)
- Water Temperature: 51 F
- Water Visibility: 31 – 48+ in
Bass: Bass fishing is starting to pick up again. Several nice bass have been caught by throwing crankbaits and shad-imitation lures in and around the shad schools. These large schools of shad continue to congregate near the fishing docks at Bridge, Clubhouse, and Bream Buster Lakes. Additionally, late in the day the bass have been tracked following the sun as the shadows from the trees moves across the ponds with the setting of the sun.
Bream: The bream bite has been slow. On some recent cool mornings nice bream have been landed with crickets and worms. Bridge and Bream Buster Lakes are still the best for bream fishing lately. Clubhouse is the lake to fish for larger bream. Fish feeders at Jones, Beaver Lodge and Bream Buster Lakes are good spots to try for bream, as well as any structure in deeper water.
Channel Catfish: Recent stockings of nice-sized catchable catfish to Bridge Lake, Jones, Beaver Lodge Lakes, Bream Buster, and Clubhouse have improved the bite in those lakes. A variety of baits have been effective including homemade stink baits, worms, and even shrimp. Fishing early morning and late into the evening really pays off this time of year.
Striped Bass: Striper fishing is starting to pick up. Fish are being caught in both striper lakes, Clubhouse and Bridge Lakes. These larger fish have been caught on crankbaits, swimbaits or umbrella rigs but smaller stripers are consistently caught on chicken livers. They have been caught using both passive and active lures and baits.
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
(Fishing report courtesy of Bert Deener, fisheries biologist and Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts)
Most rivers are still in their wintertime high and cold stage. I will let you know when I hear good reports from rivers, but let it suffice to say that your time in the winter will usually be best spent on lakes, ponds, the Okefenokee Swamp, and saltwater. In general, crappie fishing and catfishing for white catfish in the lower portions of our rivers are your best options in the winter. You can usually find crappie in slackwater areas of the main river or in oxbow lakes. During warm spells, specks will pull up to shoreline cover, but you will catch them best when it’s cold by drifting or trolling the open-water areas with curly-tailed grubs (Assassin 2-inch Curly Shads and Keitech 2-inch swimbaits are my favorites) or live minnows. Bass fishing can be decent during warming trends if you know where they lurk in the winter (oxbows are usually good places to start searching). You can try the rivers if you would like, but they are not easy systems to fish in the winter. I will get back to specific river reports when they get right in the spring, but I will focus attention on the prime flat water bites for the next couple months.
First quarter moon is December 21. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website HERE. For the latest marine forecast, click HERE.
LOCAL PONDS
Most of the reports I received this week were from trips where anglers caught a couple small bass from Waycross area ponds. The bass bite in most ponds didn’t sound impressive, but I’m sure somebody got on a good pond during the couple warm afternoons this weekend. The best report I had was Thursday morning when an angler caught several nice crappie to 1 1/2 pounds using Assassin Pro Tiny Shads and bouncing them near the bottom for some slabs. He also caught them on a couple other plastics. Catfishing slowed some this week with the cooler weather.
OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Hawkinsville, more info HERE)
Bass fishing was a little slower this week, but folks still caught them. The biggest bass the staff is aware of this week was an 8.0-pounder. A bass angler also caught a big crappie (1.58 pounds) while bass fishing. Anglers targeting crappie caught a few each trip.
PARADISE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Tifton, more info HERE)
Staff are not aware of any spectacular catches, but anglers caught some crappie, bass, bluegill, and catfish throughout the week. On the cold days very few folks fished, but they caught some crappie. Jigs and minnows from the Lake Patrick piers worked well on the super-cold days. Anglers trolling jigs in several of the lakes caught fish. Bobben, Patrick, and Paradise were some of the better lakes for crappie this week. Bass fishing was fairly slow. Crankbaits, jigs, and finesse plastics will typically get the job done for bass this time of year.
OKEFENOKEE SWAMP
The cold fronts during the last week have knocked the flier bite in the head, but the mid-60’s forecasted for the weekend should get them biting again. The shallow water is a two-edged sword…..the bite shuts down quickly but it can pick back up just as quickly. Pitching pink or yellow sallies under a small balsa float is my favorite way to fool them. My son caught some angler-award sized fliers and a bowfin last week. His goal is to get at least 10 angler awards before he turns 16 years old and moves to the adult category. He is planning to post his exploits at Timmybug Productions on YouTube and the Bert’s Jigs and Things Facebook page this Saturday. The water level this week was 120.8 feet (just getting in the good range).
LAURA WALKER STATE PARK
Staff at Laura Walker State Park will be making repairs to the drain structure and will have the lake drawn down approximately 3 feet through the end of the month. If you can launch a boat from the ramp then you can use it with electric motor or paddle power, but you cannot run the gas motor. There will be some nice bass and crappie caught, and state limits will still apply during the drawdown.
SALTWATER (GA COAST)
Sam Roberts of Douglas caught and released this oversized redfish (27-inches) in Friday. It ate a rootbeer Keitech Swimbait fished on a 3/16-oz. round spring lock jighead.
Trout fishing has been excellent during this latest cold snap and warm-up. The fish have pushed back in the smaller creeks and upper ends of the sounds based on my reports. Capt. Greg Hildreth had half-day charters on Friday and Saturday, and the guys caught trout well both days. They fished live shrimp in 12 to 15 foot holes and caught 13 really nice-sized keepers on Friday and 18 keepers on Saturday. A Waycross angler fished the Brunswick area on Friday and caught 16 trout (all were keepers – he released one of them), 2 oversized redfish to 27 1/2 inches, and 2 big black drum to 20 inches. He tried lots of lures, but the only one they would hit was a Keitech 4-inch Swing Impact on a 3/16-oz. round head with a spring lock. The best color was rootbeer. He caught a few on new penny and electric chicken, but the rootbeer was the ticket that day. The fish would not touch the larger gaudier lures but hammered the small, subtle bait. Sam Roberts and Dillard Winters fished the Brunswick area on Friday and caught a great mess of trout, redfish and flounder. They fished up in little creeks and caught 13 keeper trout, a keeper redfish, and 2 keeper flounder. They caught several oversized redfish and short trout, as well. They used plastics, including rootbeer Keitech Swing Impact Saltwater Swimbaits on round spring lock jigheads. Keeping the lure near the bottom was key for them. Dane Clements and a few friends fished the Brunswick area on Saturday and put it on the sheepshead with fiddler crabs. They ended up catching 60 convictfish, and it looked like their biggest was in the 5 to 6 pound range based on photos. Jim Hickox and his father fished the upper end of some small creeks and caught a bunch of trout and a limit of redfish late last week. Assassin Sea Shads worked great for them. Several other anglers reported some great trout and redfish catches in the small creeks around Brunswick and Crooked River. Plastics fooled most of them, but some made their catch with live shrimp. For guide trip information, call Capt. Greg Hildreth at (912) 617-1980 or check out his website. Check with the Jekyll Island Fishing Center (912-635-3556) for the latest on the Jekyll Island Pier or St. Simons Bait & Tackle (912-634-1888) for the latest on the St. Simons Pier.
NORTH GEORGIA
(Fishing report courtesy of John Damer, Fisheries Biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from WRD Staff and Local Experts)
RESERVOIR REPORT
Lake Allatoona Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com ) — Bass fishing is fair. The Allatoona arm is clear. If you don’t like fishing in the cold and wait to mid-day and find the warmest water in the lake. The bass tend to feed better if the water is a little warmer. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass can take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making an easy meal. A few fish will take a bright small crank bait like a Deep We R in bone and parrot colors and a few fish are on spoons. The best pattern is to arrive early and leave late. There is no pattern. The deep cold water is setting in.
Lake Allatoona Striper Report: (This report courtesy of Robert Eidson, www.firstbiteguideservice.com ) — Line side fishing is fair especially for the smaller stripers and hybrids. Most of the fish we are catching are mid lake. S-turns up to Bartow Carver. Weighted free lines early with Trout, shiners and shad have all been working well. Once the sun gets up we are swapping over to all down lines. With the water temperatures dipping into the low 50’s the shiner bite has really pick up. Hopefully the bigger fish will start to show up in the next couple of weeks. Planner board season is getting close. The Dugout (in Marietta) has the best selection of Trout that we have seen in years. Once this weather stabilizes fishing could get more consistent and hopefully the bigger fish will start biting.
Lake Allatoona Crappie Report: (This report courtesy of Jeff “CrappieMan” Albright) — Dec. 13th – Had a good morning. We boated 57 fish (54 crappie, 2 bass, 1 yellow perch) Red Rooster Jigs were crowing again this morning! Colors: Albright Special, Short Bus, Birthday Cake, some green and purple. Also, Robbie’s 1/24 oz underpins were working great today too. Water temps 47-50 and zero wind. Perfect day! Trolling speeds 0.7-0.9. Thanks again James for tagging along! Bite’s only gonna get better as the cold temps come in!
Lake Lanier Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com ) — Spotted bass are fair. The numbers are down but there are still some big spots feeding out in the deeper water. The fish seem to still be scattered and you may only get one or two fish off one spot. Start looking no shallower than the 30 foot range. It seems that you just have find the right hole and with this weather. It’s just a fish a spot and move on pattern. Stick with winter baits including spoons in a variety of colors and sizes and sand, natural blue and cinnamon worms and a green pig and jig or creepy crawlers. The cold nights has lowered the water temperatures and really stirred up the monster spots this week. Drop shot rigs, the Fish Head Spin and then spoons will put some big fish in the boat. The big spots are feeding and fish deep on as many points as possible. Slow crank a 3/8 ounce Fish Head Spin with a Zoom Super Fluke added to the bait and make sure it is straight on the hook. Just swim the bait slowly. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass can take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making an easy meal. Some shallow docks are fair and Spot Stickers and a green worm will work, just be very patient and let the bait just lay on the bottom. For drop shot rigs and spoons, nose into the wind and work both baits on the points until the area has been covered thoroughly. Any wood on the sides or close to the points needs a good dose of a jig in dark brown or black and blue. These bites will be subtle or in some cases these spots are slamming it hard.
Lake Lanier Crappie Report: (This report courtesy of Captain Josh Thornton, 770-530-6493) — Crappie fishing is excellent. The water temperatures are in the low 50s. This week’s hot bite target zone is 15 to 18 feet deep with an abundance of smaller crappie in the 10 to 20 foot range The bigger fish seem to be in 25 feet of water and deeper. Be flexible in your techniques figure out what depth the crappie are biting and what they want to eat jigs or minnows. Then concentrate on what they want no need in throwing all jigs if they only want minnows that day. This week has been even minnows to jigs for me. Look for open water brush in 15’-20’ of water plan on losing several jigs and minnows you got to be down there with them to catch them. Look under docks that are in 15 to 30 feet of water and have brush or structure use your electronic charts to locate these areas. Try down lining a small Crappie minnows with a sinker or set up a slip bobber. Jigs have been producing this week. My Jig recommendation is baby shad purple over silver or a royal blue over silver single tail. Jigs can be used for short casting, vertical jigging or dock shooting. I’m using 5 pound test high visibility yellow K9 braid for my line and a Piscifun reel. Use scanning-type sonar (e.g. Down and Side Imaging) to locate schooling fish, and complement this with the latest in live-scanning sonar technology (e.g. Garmin’s LiveScope, Humminbird 360 or Lowrance’s LiveSight). Set waypoints on your electronic charts so that you can quickly return to productive locations. You can do this on a smartphone using the Navionics Boating app. Find me on Facebook and like my page @crappieonlanier
Lake Weiss Report: (This report courtesy of Mark Collins Guide Service ) —Bass fishing is good. The bass have moved to a deep winter pattern, on the creek and river channel ledges. Spinner Baits and Crank Baits working well, jigs and Carolina rigs are catching fish also. Crappie fishing is good. They are on deeper cover 18 to 22 feet deep. Look on the main Coosa River channel ledges from Cedar Bluff to Leesburg. Spider rigging over brush and on the river channel ledges with live minnows and jigs is catching fish. Long line trolling with jigs is starting to turn on, as some fish are starting to suspend in the river and creek channels. Striper fishing is Poor, and no reports on any fish being caught in the last few weeks.
Lake Hartwell Bass Report: (This report Courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com ) — Bass fishing is fair. The fish are still holding to lay downs along the bank and most of them are being caught out in the tops of the trees in the heavy branches on jigs. Use a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce jig in brown and green colors with a twin tail or frog trailer. Out on the main lake points, fish are still breaking the surface and on occasion are hitting top water baits. As the lake turns over, bass tend to suspend and Ito 110 jerk baits are excellent. Bass suspend on cloudy days when barometric pressure is dropping or on sunny, windy days. The fish cling to rocky bottoms during calm, sunny weather. In clear water bass hang close to brush piles. Suspended bass can take a lure offered at the right depth and with the right action. The McStick is a suspending stick bait. It looks like the bait fish they are after. It can quiver like a dying shad making an easy meal. Try the Deep Husky Jerk on the deeper channel ledges. Stay on the main lake or in the rivers this week and out of the coves. Spinner baits are catching a few bass that are roaming the banks and most of these fish are small spots. Use the six inch worms, the Rapala #5 RS Shad Raps and trick worms with a very light Texas rig. Fish every point and piece of structure and it may be necessary to fish several baits in one locations to trigger a strike.
RIVER REPORT
Coosa River Report: Some quick info in this Thread on GON about crappie, white bass, and other fishing opportunities on the Coosa River.
TROUT REPORT
Top Tips for New Flyfishers: (This report courtesy of Unicoi Outfitters ) — Our friends at Unicoi Outfitters asked the following last week: “Flyfishing vets, it’s the holiday season and a time of giving, so let’s help out our rookies. What are the top three things you wish you had known when YOU started flyfishing? List them and we’ll get a good conversation going for our home waters and their new fly-flinging fans.” Click HERE to see all the great tips they received from the Facebook world, and HERE for some tips directly from the Unicoi Pro staff. There are some good ones in there, so read carefully.
High Water Trout Report: (This report courtesy of “Academy Jack” Becker) — This week I found myself drawn to a mountain stream in the North Georgia Mountains. I was hoping to find Post Spawn Brown Trout but never imagined I would land my personal best. A 22 1/2 inch beautiful female. Rain the night before made for high water and I decided not to attempt to wade in the water. I caught several nice rainbows on a white 1/4 oz. white rooster tail and a silver spoon. I found an area with several large lay downs along the bank on the other side of the stream. There was a lot of shade to make it a good area to hold quality fish. I made dozens of casts and lost several lures In the lay downs before I hooked up with a big brown on a shallow running 4” trout pattern crank-bait. I was lucky she came out into the current and was swept along a seam to my side of the stream. I will remember this one for a long time.
Conasauga River Article: (This report courtesy of Jimmy Jacobs from On the Fly South) — The online magazine “On the Fly South” has a great article this month on trout fishing the Conasauga River in the remote Cohutta Wilderness Area. If you are looking for a day-hike or longer to get away from crowds, the Conasauga is a great spot. Check out the article HERE for all the info.
Sarah’s Quick DH Tips: (From Fisheries Biologist Sarah Baker) — Heavily weight your line and fish your wooly buggers, eggs, squirminators, or rubberlegs, near the bottom. Fish midday when the water is warmest.
MISCELLANEOUS
Another Invasive Species Introduced to Georgia: (From Fisheries Biologist John Damer) — Another invasive fish species has been introduced to Georgia waters called the Oriental Weather Loach. Hopefully, this species’ potential effects on our existing fish populations will be minor, but only time will tell. Read the full story HERE. In the meantime, please remember to not move live fish of ANY species from one waterbody to another, or from an aquarium to the wild. Trying to remove or control invasives can be costly, and often nearly impossible (spotted bass for example). The best way to minimize the impact is to prevent the introduction in the first place!
Fishing the Peach State in 2020: (From Fisheries Biologist Sarah Baker) — Georgia has an incredible amount of water! As anglers, we are mighty grateful for this. In a relatively short amount of time, you can find yourself alongside a body of water; a pond, big river, swamp, or creek. During the lockdown, my husband and I walked less than a mile to fish 3 different bodies of water, and had a fun time hooking into some fish. It provided us with an awesome opportunity to leave behind our anxieties about the current state of the world, and create fun, and joyful memories together. I know many of you have pursued similar experiences- maybe for your entire life. But this particular year of “hydro-therapy” has appeared more needed than ever. I’m excited about how the pandemic created the opportunity for beginner anglers to have a lot of time to practice and improve their skills. When I was just beginning, I’d spend nearly three quarters of my time creating or undoing tangles and knots in my line. My poor, patient grandpa would grumble under his breath as he retied a double overhand knot in the line for the 20th time. I still get my line tangled up, and I take forever to tie my knots. But now, I have assurance that I can get the tangle undone, and I will tie the knot. For me, fishing has helped me to slow down, be more patient, and have more confidence. There’s a ton of information out there about a lot of different things related to fishing. You could spend years reading through all of the ‘how to’ books. I definitely recommend that you snag a few of those books, and take your time highlighting or taking notes from them. Learn the safety precautions to consider when fishing- for example, don’t attempt wade fishing if the flow is high. There’s a lot you can consider while you’re out on the water, but- the most important thing to remember is: your hook has to be in the water in order to catch a fish! I hope that, whether fishing is a new hobby, or has always been a lifelong passion, that you will continue to make use of all the amazing aquatic resources this great state has.
Fly Fishing Dreams: (From Louis Cahill at Gink and Gasoline) — YOU are the one that can make your fishing dreams reality. See more HERE.