A Fishless Weekend. . .

Weeeeelllllll doggies! (That's a Jed Clampett thing, but he is mah hero, so sometimes I say it also too.) It 'pears that this weekend ain't gonna be a partic'larly good one on the 'Hooch. It ain't real bad yet, accordin' to the follerin' page (http://ga2.er.usgs.gov/bacteria/), but the water clarity could git a good bit worse if'n these rains continue to load the 'Hooch with run-off from the storm rains in the towns along it's path. As of the writin' of this evenin's post, the turbidity has retch 17! That's purty heavy fer trout fishin'! In essence, that prolly means that there ain't a-gonna be no worthwhile trout fishin' on the 'Hooch 'til Saturday afternoon at best. But, in order for it to be within acceptable fishin' range fer me, I would want that turbidity readin' to be in he range of 3 to 12. It's still fishable (to some mild degree) all the way up to 23 or so. But it ain't preferable to have to deal with such muddiness. Even if'n it ain't as bad as the Miss'ippi or Ohio rivers. Ya gotta remember, we ain't fishin' fer catfish here!

I figger that fer me, this ain't so bad, though. I was just informed by mah wife, Meaux, that we was a-goin' to Jonesboro tomorrow afternoon fer a singin' event which her niece is participatin' in. At least I won't feel like I missed an exceptional day of fishin' on mah 'Hoochee-River.

As fer now, I reckon I'll just surf the web an' try to find somethin' to take mah mind off'n the fac' that I ain't out on the river today, and that Saturday is prolly a lost cause also too.

If'n anybody gits out an' has a good day fishin'. . . post right here an' lemme know 'bout it. I can't promise I won't git cussin'-mad 'cause I didn't gt to have a good day as well, but hearin' that somebody had a good day is better'n not hearin' nuthin' an' figgerin' that ever'body's day was a-just as miser'ble as mah own.

Mebbe Sunday after church'll be better.

One other thang, y'all. . . What other river waters are within drivin' distance of north metro-Atlanta that are as enjoyable as the 'Hooch? I got a nephew comin' up to visit from Dothan, Alabama, an' I gotta keep up mah appearance that I know what I'm a-doin' when it comes to catchin' fish from these rivers. He prefers crappie (sac-au-lait) fishin', so it ain' necesarrily gotta be a trout stream.

Well, y'all. I figgered I'd update this jes' a bit an' mention that the turbidity level has been a-climbin' upwards 'stead of retreatin' downwards. The latest readin' from Medlock Bridge (at 10:00 AM in the mornin') has it at a level of 78. That means that it's currently 'bout as thick an' brown as this fourth cup of coffee that I'm a holdin' in mah hand raht now.

Anuther way of puttin' it is that the fish prolly ain't a-gonna be able to see enuff fer to bite no matter how hungry they might be!

Now this may not be the case on further upriver, fer a lot of that muddiness on the 'Hooch at Medlock that comes from where Suwanee Creek adds to the 'Hoochee's flow about a mile or so up from Roger's Bridge. It's entirely possible that it's a bit better up at Shakerag an' McGinnis Ferry. It's purt' nigh mos' certainly better at Settles Bridge, but prolly still not as good as we'd like it to be.

Up at the dam, it may be better, but the dam is currently generatin' only seven mega-watts per hour, and does not have a major release scheduled for today. So, we prolly won't see the river git flushed out real good 'til Monday afternoon or so.

That don't mean that it's a lost cause though. It's always possible to git the big ol' spinnin' rod out and go up t'other side of the dam and tight-line fer some whiskered fish. Lanier Park, up in Gainesville, with all them softball fields has a couple moderately productive holes if'n your into this type of endeavor when the fly-fishin' has hit the skids.

As fer me an' Meaux. . . Well, her parents just called to remind us about Victoria's singin' event in Clayton County this afternoon. So, I reckon I'll be sittin' this dance out and checkin' back ever' so often to see if'n anybody done made a good day of it in-despite of the poor conditions.