RFJ25
Member
Last weekend, we took our boys to the GA DNR National Fishing and Hunting outdoor adventure day at Unicoi State Park. It was a great event. My eldest, age 6, tried his hand at the bow and firing an air rifle. The DNR and volunteers really did a great job. I highly recommend going to an event next year if you have little kids.
Disclaimer: I'm referencing a creek below in a well known GA state park. I hope I am not breaking any rules.
After the event when the boys were napping in the van with my wife, I dropped into the creek above the lake for an hour or so where they had stocked a truckload of rainbows for the event. I wet waded beyond the frenzy of the stocked pool not expecting to find great conditions due to the drought, but I thought could get some casting practice in among the low hanging limbs and mountain laurel. I brought several creek chub to hand and sighted two wild rainbows in the 7-8 inch range. One was a long distance release and I missed the set on the other. All together not a bad hour of fishing as my expectations were low.
I've been given approval from the boss for trout fishing this coming weekend. I'm from the Atlanta area so my options would be North Georgia or Western NC and willing to drive 2 to 3 hours. Last time I had a full day on the water was about 4 weeks ago in the Chattahoochee National Forest on a small headwater creek for the Hooch. Flows were cold but very low. Landed a half dozen wild rainbows ranging from 5 to 9 inches all on the dry fly with aggressive takes. (new to the board so I'm working on figuring out photo posting)
I'm curious if the members of the board have any general location recommendations for fishing this weekend given the current state of the drought. Should I try tailwater, stick with North GA mountain streams (maybe blue lines), is NC side of GSMNP fishing okay? I've wanted to get back to the Chattooga after fishing it early this summer, but I'm seeing the flows are so low in the gauge reports. I'm not looking for any specific fishery names in this thread, but I'd be more than happy to discuss in private messages. If you had a free Saturday and typically get to fish only once a month or so, what would you be thinking about location-wise while we're in this drought?
I think we've turned the corner and summer weather will finally say goodbye. I know I'm ready to be standing in the water in the brisk air with the brilliant colors of fall on display around me.
Disclaimer: I'm referencing a creek below in a well known GA state park. I hope I am not breaking any rules.
After the event when the boys were napping in the van with my wife, I dropped into the creek above the lake for an hour or so where they had stocked a truckload of rainbows for the event. I wet waded beyond the frenzy of the stocked pool not expecting to find great conditions due to the drought, but I thought could get some casting practice in among the low hanging limbs and mountain laurel. I brought several creek chub to hand and sighted two wild rainbows in the 7-8 inch range. One was a long distance release and I missed the set on the other. All together not a bad hour of fishing as my expectations were low.
I've been given approval from the boss for trout fishing this coming weekend. I'm from the Atlanta area so my options would be North Georgia or Western NC and willing to drive 2 to 3 hours. Last time I had a full day on the water was about 4 weeks ago in the Chattahoochee National Forest on a small headwater creek for the Hooch. Flows were cold but very low. Landed a half dozen wild rainbows ranging from 5 to 9 inches all on the dry fly with aggressive takes. (new to the board so I'm working on figuring out photo posting)
I'm curious if the members of the board have any general location recommendations for fishing this weekend given the current state of the drought. Should I try tailwater, stick with North GA mountain streams (maybe blue lines), is NC side of GSMNP fishing okay? I've wanted to get back to the Chattooga after fishing it early this summer, but I'm seeing the flows are so low in the gauge reports. I'm not looking for any specific fishery names in this thread, but I'd be more than happy to discuss in private messages. If you had a free Saturday and typically get to fish only once a month or so, what would you be thinking about location-wise while we're in this drought?
I think we've turned the corner and summer weather will finally say goodbye. I know I'm ready to be standing in the water in the brisk air with the brilliant colors of fall on display around me.