Need advice...

[brantd]

Okay guys the forums are a little quite right now but I am looking to get into some fly fishing , got a boat , fish inshore and offshore and want to try this as well...can you give me some pointers as well as locations around northeast ga to go...not asking for your honey holes ..just wanted to get into it and see if I can catch a trout or three..lol..

 

[Paymaster]

Okay guys the forums are a little quite right now but I am looking to get into some fly fishing , got a boat , fish inshore and offshore and want to try this as well...can you give me some pointers as well as locations around northeast ga to go...not asking for your honey holes ..just wanted to get into it and see if I can catch a trout or three..lol..

Get a popular guide and check the trout season section. You want to look for "Annual" streams. Seasonal ones are closed until late March. Also there are several Delayed Harvest Streams(C&R Only!) open right now. Amicalola is a good one.

 

[laniergb]

no better place to start than the chatahoochie

 

[luv2drum]

Yep the hooch is a good place when the water is not too high. Just make sure you have some good wading boots. I have found this out the hard way as I spend more time falling in the water than fishing.

 

[brantd]

so what about rod weight and length ? I wanna go after trout of course and maybe a few shoalies ..maybe even some speckled trout when out near the flats...

 

[luv2drum]

Well I'm still learning myself, I use a 5wt, I think its 9' long. That is kinda middle of the road. There are some other guys on here with lots more experience that can really give you some great advice. The length mainly depends on how much room you have to fish. If you fish small streams like the Tallapoosa and and its tributaries, then a shorter rod maybe the ticket. I got the BPS white river hobbs creek combo. It is a descent outfit for a beginner. Some of the guys were talking about some of the walmarts has some killer deals on '09 fly rod packages.

 

[yaknfish]

Brantd,
You can't go wrong with a 9ft 5wt. It's the standard mid weight, good for a lotta stuff, first fly rod. It's light enough for fun, heavy enough to throw poppers for bass. If you feel like driving into Atlanta, the Fish Hawk in Buckhead is a good place to start, shop and buy. Don't get freaked at the prices on the rods on the racks. Tell the guys your price range and see what they've got. Save money on the reel if you have to. Put a little extra into the rod and line. (That's what they will tell you, too.) If you play your cards right, you'll get a mini casting lesson in the parking lot. Buy a handful of poppers and Wooly Buggers and a few leaders. Then,try your hand over the bream beds. Unless you make it to the trout streams first. ;^)

If you don't feel like the trip to Atlanta, I bet the experience would be similar at any real fly shop.

BTW, Brantd, do you know Jake, on the MO forum?

 

[luv2drum]

I've never been to the fishhawk, but they sound like good folks. There is a shop in Hiram called Natures Tacklebox. I go in there all the time, David and Christie are great. Then there is Flybox in Kennesaw, Willie is a stand up guy. Then there is Cohutta Fishing Company in Cartersville, I've been in there once, seem like really good guys who know thier stuff.

 

[gtfisherman]

5 wt is a good one.

I use a 4wt for trout and a 6 for most of the shoalie fishing I do. An 8 if I am throwing giant poppers and streamers. A 5 will get you started right and also a trip to the Fishhawk is almost priceless.

If you want to catch bass and shoalies and lots of panfish (which are all lots more fun with less travel than most trout). Check out dp poppers online. Gary at the FishHawk carries them too. Stealth Bombers, RLDs, and pencil poppers.

Fly fishing is more fun than you can imagine!

 

[brantd]

Alright guys , I ended up getting a sweat deal today at Academy so I bought a 9 ft , 5/6 superfly ...is this is a nice combo ? Just dont know much about it... regular price was around $130 I got it on clearance... what type of flys should I look into stocking up with ? there are so many !!! I need some for of course trout in north ga , and maybe a little something for crappie and bream around here . May also try my luck this summer with some speckled trout down in Cape San Blas... hook me up with some suggestions....

 

[centerpin fan]

Alright guys , I ended up getting a sweat deal today at Academy so I bought a 9 ft , 5/6 superfly ...is this is a nice combo ?

Never heard of it, but that doesn't mean it's not any good.

As for flies, virtually anything that will take trout will also take bluegill. Prince nymphs, gold-ribbed hair's ear, pheasant tails are all standard nymphs. Wooly buggers are a great streamer that will take about anything. For gills, get some small (#8 or #10) poppers and foam spiders.

 

[stasher1]

Never heard of it, but that doesn't mean it's not any good.

As for flies, virtually anything that will take trout will also take bluegill. Prince nymphs, gold-ribbed hair's ear, pheasant tails are all standard nymphs. Wooly buggers are a great streamer that will take about anything. For gills, get some small (#8 or #10) poppers and foam spiders.

Check the clearance section of your local Walmart. I picked up a bunch of Betts "Pop n' Hot" poppers (#10) for $.75 each and a bunch of Betts "Bream Getter" foam spiders for $.25 each.

 

[flyfisher76544]

Match the hook size to the lip size

Like Centerpin said, most trout flies will work on gills. Don't just limit yourself to poppers and spiders, there are a lot of nymph and dry flies out there that will work. Seems most patterns that have some peacock herl really attract gills. Grey hackle peacock and the Prince Nymph are some of my favorites.The hares ear and the pheasant tail are also excellent patterns that work on the gills. My new favorite this last year were fur ants. I tied them in red or black and could be fished as a dry or subsurface. Bass will take most streamer patterns, wooly buggers are great along with double bunnies and clouser minnows. Hope this helped you some, keep an eye out for the May fly hatch in April or May.

 

[brantd]

wow thanks for all the advice guys, heading to Bass Pro at the end of the week and I am gonna pick up a bunch of flys..having second thoughts on the rod and reel though talking to some people they told me the Okuma rod/reel was a better combo or even the yellowstone..Any suggestions..? They also told me to go with an 8' footer ...? Hadnt second guessing..lol

 

[centerpin fan]

If you're going to Bass Pro, check out their Hobbs Creek combo. It comes in an 8.5' 5wt that would be perfect. They have various other combos, too. A TFO or Redington Crosswater combo would also be good choices (but a little more expensive.) They may have Scientific Angler combos, which are also good.

Pick up a casting DVD while you're there and practice.

 

[brantd]

I wish I could , but I bought it with a gift card so they will only give me a store credit back on the return...so I got to buy one there for now..looking around online looks like that Okuma has gotten some good reviews..

 

[yaknfish]

Stick with the 9 footer. Quit second guessing yourself. Buy some flies and some leaders. Catch some fish.

So Brantd, ever stop by the Marlin Owners Forum?

 

[centerpin fan]

Does the Okuma come with a reel and line? If not, you could get them at Bass Pro. If you buy a reel and line from BP, they will spool the fly line and backing for you.

 

[akb1994]

Another good book to check out is Fly Fishing Georgia by David Cannon. Have a great time!

 

[brantd]

Yea the Okuma comes with everything and reading online it looks like a better outfit even though its about 40 bucks or so cheaper..here were the specs on the combo I bought, all this is greek to me I dont know what any of it means..but..rod has ceramic stripping guide, oversized snake guides cork handle with aluminum seat, reel is a large arbor, aluminum offeset disc drag, spooled with braid dacron backing, knotless tapered leader, superfly- WF floating line....? The rod is a 5/6 but does feel a little heavier than the other 5/6 I picked up..?