"Live like you'll die tomorrow (fish every day),
.....fish like you'll live forever (preserve the resources).
December 22 - Callaway Gardens - Selden
& Ann, who fished with me in October, came back for a trout trip. A nice
day, with some nice trout.
December 20 - XXX River - Ran
way upriver, through two sets of heavy shoals, and found the striper in the
deep, slow pool below the third shoal. Ralph had never caught stripers before
- the first hit he swore he was hung on a log...until the drag started to
roar. He never turned that one, but he did land his next two, plus one more.
December 17 - Callaway Gardens - Wanted
to try something new today. Some of the trout that we stocked this year are
really big (I've seen several over 5 lbs, and one close to double that!). And
there's that old saying, "...big fish, big bait...". So I took my
8-weight and a big salt water 2/0 seaducer and got to Lower Falls Lake at
first light. I'd seen a big brown cruising the dam a few days ago, and was
hoping to meet him up close & personal. He didn't cooperate, but 2
big rainbows and a wild little brookie slammed the fly as I stripped it
erratically. After the first three fish, the hits stopped. I switched to
a bead-rattle booger and caught a few more. Boy, it was cool this morn!
December 19 - Chattahoochee River - Fished the river
near to Harding. Spots were active, especially as the afternoon temps
rose.
December 17 - Callaway Gardens - Fished
Wren with Esther & Matt from Atlanta.
Nice folks, a nice morning and
cooperative trout - you can't ask for anything more.
December 16 - Soque River - Fished with Richard
C., a friend & regular client from LaGrange. It was his first trip to the
Soque & he liked it. Morning started cold, but a couple of 18"
rainbows soon had us plenty warm. Fished a long, slow flat for a couple of
hours where the only successful tactic was to make long, careful downstream
drifts with #18 emergers and twitch `em a little as they neared the fish. Then
in mid afternoon, we found a little gray caddis hatch and the LaFountaine
sparkle pupas worked like a top. It just stayed near perfect all day, and we
climbed out of the stream at dark.
December 13 - XXX River - Carl wanted a repeat of
Jason's trip (see12/5) but we didn't get it, as the hybrid didn't show. But he
managed to redeem the trip some real nice spotted bass . After the generation,
we fished down the river & found the spots on the rocky edges (plus one
lone white bass). And had a pair of red-tail hawks scorn us at great length
from nearby trees - what a beautiful bird.
December 12 - West
Point Lake - Spots on the rip-rap at first light, then hybrid on the
flat til 10. Afterwards hunted the largemouth & found `em shallow on wood.
December 7 - West
Point Lake - Found the hybrids in a little cove off the river on an
afternoon trip. They were bashing bait all over the place, even running up on
the bank and out of the water. Plenty of them were suckers for the clouser -
black, chartreuse & multicolored - it didn't seem to matter. It is a blast
to fish these wolf packs - the tough part is finding `em. Unlike usual, this
school stayed in the cove and kept coming up - we didn't crank the big mototr
for two hours.
December 5 - XXX River - Fished with Jason just
below this old low-head dam. The jet-drive took the shoals like a champ, and
Jason took the hybrid (& the
spots) the same way.
December 1 - Callaway Gardens - Fished Wren with
Roy and a group from Black & Decker. We caught lots of trout, even though
all but Charlie were new to the fly.
November 28 - XXX River - Over the line to
Alabama today. Looking for the stripers, but must still be to warm for `em to
be strong in the rivers. We did find the spots though - these guys may be the
best bass of all.
November 25 - Callaway Gardens - The boys
couldn't stand it & came back to fish again today - Tim, Jason &
Brennan had another good one & provided me with 5 hours of hilarity.
Thanks, fellows - look forward to seeing you in January (Jason's already
booked for he & his wife).
November 24 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Richard & Janice and Creighton & Miriam on Wren. The guys threw flies,
while the girls opted for spinning rods. Richard and Creighton were looking
for revenge, as they were recently out-fished on Smith Creek by the ladies.
Not sure whether they got it or not, as all caught fish - bass, bream &
trout.
In the afternoon, I fished with Mark P. from Atlanta. I'd
fished with Mark earlier in the year (his first time with a fly rod). His
mother-in-law called the fly shop to complain a few weeks later - said that
since that trip all Mark wanted to do was fly fish, all he wanted to talk
about was fly fishing, and that he was thoroughly ruined! She booked a trip
for him as a birthday present. Mark proved to be just as his mother-in-law
said - he definitely has spent some time with the long rod. We fished Chapel
and caught some, and finished at dusk with a big rainbow on Wren.
November 23 - Callaway Gardens - Fished
with Tim, Jason &
Brennan this morning - what a riot. Three self-proclaimed
"good ol boy" bass fishermen from Eufaula that caught onto the fly
thang pretty quick, caught some fish & had heck of a good time in the
process. The cold rain didn't slow us down a bit.
In the
afternoon, Marshall W. & his dad, Johnnie, fished Hummingbird & Wren
with me. Wow - Marshall, at 12, had a phenomenal cast, double-hauling &
throwing tight, arrow-shaped loops. And the trout rewarded him too!
November 22 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Elizabeth on Wren Lake. It was a perfect start to Turkey Day, catching some
trout on a beauitiful morning with an lovely angler. The girl is new to this,
but she catches on quick.
November 17 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Paul
-trout were slow to start but we got some, plus a big cat.
November 16 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Wayne H. A good day with trout, big bream and some bass.
November 10 & 11 - Callaway Gardens - This
was the weekend for our last school of the year, and did we ever have a great
group. All had fun, caught on quick & caught some fish.
November
8 - West Point Lake - Fished down the lake early and caught the hybrids up
for a while - we took about a dozen in three separate jumps. Then we moved
back in the coves and fished the wood. Largemouth and spots liked the clouser
(they almost always do!), with the big fish about 5 lbs.
November 3, 6, & 7 - Chattahoochee River - Couldn't
stay away, with the fishing good and the scenery near perfect. Water is very
low, so we saw only one other jet-drive boat on Saturday and none on the other
days - that makes it even better!
November 2 - Chattahoochee River - Fished up the river
with Louise from Dalton. A beautiful day to be on the water - Louise had
fished West Point lots of time but had never been up past the shoals. She
loved the river, and caught fish to boot.
October 28 - Chattahoochee River - Fished up the river
into the shoals & found the spots active, plus a few largemouth laying in
the slow, deep holes near blowdowns. They ate chartreuse-and-white clousers
and deceivers.
October 27 - Callaway Gardens - Fished all day
with a big group. Fish were slow in the morning, but came on strong in the PM.
October
24 - Callaway Gardens - Fished today with an old-time client, Bill
T. from Atlanta. Bill & I have been fishing together for several years
now, and it's always a treat for me - he invariably brings good weather
conditions & good luck with him. After doing OK on #4, we remembered our
trip last October where we "wore `em out" on Mountain Creek at dusk.
`And it happened again - bass on the banks chasing bait & loving clousers
(plus a giant grass carp that was on and into the backing for several minutes
. Thanks for the luck & another great trip, Bill
(aka Flip)!
October 20-21 - Callaway Gardens - Did a private
school with Dan & Dan, old military & fishing buds wanting to learn
the fly. And did they learn, catching bass, bream & cats on Saturday
afternoon & Sunday. Good guys & good fishing.
October 17 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Anne
& Selden - caught big bluegills & bass on #3.
October 16 - West Point Lake - Fished
in the gale winds, but found quiet coves with bass suspended off the
bank and on the wood. A couple took poppers early, and then it was the
clouser and a PolarFibre minnow on the sinktip.
October
12-14 - Blue Ridge, GA - Fished with Sam on big & little water.
It is time for trout! The fish are moving, and fattening for the winter. The
fish took little gray caddis, midges, and pheasant tails. Best fly was the
bugger, followed by a flash-back pheasant tail. The most fun fly was a big
black tarantula - didn't take that many fish, but a several (including a fat
brown) made complete fools of themselves over it.
October 9 - Callaway Gardens - Fished a late
afternoon trip with Don & Mike. Both were new to the fly rod, but picked
up quick. Fishing was slow with the cold front that had blown through, but we
managed to catch a few.
October 8 - West Point Lake - A late start this
morn, waiting on clients to show. We finally got on the water, but the
topwater was over. Fished our way into coves, and found the fish one the
deeper points. The largemouth were hugging cover; the spots suspended in
12-18'. They liked the clouser.
October 5 & 6 - Callaway Gardens - The
fly-fishing school was this weekend. `Had a great group, lots of fun and
interesting questions in the classroom; and more importantly, everybody
catching fish on the water.
October 1 - West Point Lake - Early this morning,
in spite of the wind, we found the hybrid busting on top. Fly of choice was a
red/white seaducer on a sink-tip line, tho' often they hit it before it sank a
foot. After the early bite, we hunted the off-channel points and caught
largemouth and spots suspended with chartreuse/white clousers.
September 29 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Thad & Brent W. Brent has been throwing the fly all summer, but his Dad
was a novice. And Brent showed him how! Mucho bass and some bluegill, too.
September 24 - West Point Lake - Fished the
afternoon with Paul H. Fish were scattered, but we caught largemouth shallow,
suspended spot, and one lonely hybrid on a shallow flat.
September 22 - Callaway Gardens - In the morning,
I fished with Kelly & Ginger from Mississippi. Both were new to the fly
rod, so we did a casting lesson on the lawn. The girls did well, & we were
on the water quickly. Kelly scored first with a bream in the shallows, and
followed with a bass. Then Ginger got into a good bass. A good morning with a
pair of great ladies - who could ask for more.
In the
afternoon, Bill & Mark came to fish the evening rise. It started a bit
slow, but as the sun got lower, we began to find the fish. Mark used to throw
the fly a lot, but not in recent years. I think we got him hooked again,
however. Over in a shallow cove, with a silted-in channel on the side, we saw
bass running bait up onto a sandbar. I tied him on a small popper, and he cast
it into the deeper water beyond the sandbar. And let it sit,....and
sit...suddenly the water exploded, stopping our hearts! A big bad bass, he
turned quickly and ran, spitting the hook. But, oh, that strike! I think Mark
will be hunting more of that - it's what makes the largemouth such an
incredible fish.
And isn't it always the one that got away that
we remember the best. I've landed some pretty good fish, got lots of photos,
etc., etc., etc.... But the ones I remember best are the ones that came off.
Now the memory is not always a completely pleasant one - I still feel the
dejection and the disappointment of the suddenly slack line. But more than
that, I can feel the power of that big brown as it raced upstream in a tiny
north Georgia creek, leaving me no chance of following thru the rhododendrons.
I can hear right now the scream of my drag as the unknown assailant raced away
from the little mash inlet at Cape San Blas, abandoning me helpless on the
shore. And the huge snook, leaping with the tangled mangrove background,
clearly spitting the hook at 75 yards. I guess that's what keeps us all coming
back for more - just the chance that we might get to try that fish one more
time.
September 21 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Ron
L. & his brother on Upper Falls and then on Robin. Cold front still had
the fish off, but we found `em deep and slow on RLD's
and black bead-rattle buggers.
September 18 - West Point Lake - Fished this
morning with Roy back up Wilson's Creek. The spots were schooling here and
there, and liked the chartreuse clouser. And so did one lonely hybrid.
September 16 - Callaway Gardens - Fished early
this morning with Cathy C. from Atlanta. It was cold (felt like fall) and the
fish were a little off. But we managed to catch a few & had a fine time
doing it.
September 15 - Callaway Gardens - Supposed
to have a corporate group of 10, but only 3 showed (along with 4 guides!). But
Brian & Brian Jr. of Mobile came in with the hankering to fish, so that's
what we did. Brian Jr. had been throwing his new rod at home for some bream,
but wanted to catch some bass. And did he ever catch some! He's a football
jock, but his real talent may be with the long rod. Self-taught and pretty
new, he's throwing 50' casts with good tight loops; and he'll be hunting the
sea-trout when he gets home. And Dad may have gotten the bug, too.
September
12 - West Point Lake - After the week's tragedy, I had to get out. Fished
the coves up Yellow Jacket. The bass were sitting off the banks in 8-12' of
water and liked the seaducer on a sink-tip line.
September 10 - Callaway Gardens - Fished a quick
afternoon trip with Fred R. from Birmingham. We didn't "set the woods on
fire " as he had to quit at 6 for more meetings, but we got a few
including a nice bass.
September 9 - Callaway Gardens - Did a full-day
private school with Robert S. and his 13-year-old daughter
Lydia. We had a
great time with Lydia especially just eating the stuff up and developing a
fine cast. We finished up on the Chapel Lake, and Lydia had the fish of the
day - a fine bass.
September 8 - Callaway Gardens - Fished at
daylight with Dr. Tom H. and Norris C. It's a good sign when your clients show
up 30 minutes early on an early morning trip. These guys were good & a lot
of fun. We caught lots of fish, bass & bream. The Doc had the fish of the
day - a fat 12" shellcracker with as much fight as a 4 lb. bass.
September 6 - Callaway Gardens - Did a casting
lesson with Louise D. from Dalton. She'd slipped out of association meeting
for a break, while the less-informed of her group played golf. Louise is a
regular bass angler, but wanted to learn to fly cast. She did well, and I
expect she'll be using that bait-caster less & less.
September 3 - West Point Lake - Dodged the storms
and found the largemouth of the deep channels in coves. `Caught a few on
poppers up shallow, but most of the fish came on a chartreuse clouser. Late in
the afternoon we found schools of mixed spots & hybrid bashing bait on top
- they liked the clouser, too.
September 1 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Rob
W. & his dad, Bobby. Fishing was tough, but we caught bass & bream,
with Rob landing the big fish of the day.
August 29 - West Point Lake - Went out with the
intention of "test-fishing" a new boat. Got to test the boat (a
18'x60" PolarKraft modified-vee, welded, tunnel-hull jon). `Had so much
fun running the boat, that by the time I got ready to fish, a thunderstorm was
coming in hard. `Took out in the downpour - maybe tomorrow we'll see how it
fishes.
August 27 - West Point Lake - Fished the rip-rap
at dawn and took several good spots and largemouth. About 8, the hybrid were
up at Hybrid Point and liked the seaducer on a sink-tip.
August
26 - Callaway Gardens - An early AM trip to Upper Falls found the bass
along the banks. And I mean right on the banks - throw the popper 2' off and
odds of a hit were slim; throw within a couple of inches and they wanted it!
`Caught a few of the big bluegill and redbreast the same way, and the biggest
bass came on a little-bitty bream popper.
August
21 - West Point Lake - Got out early in the afternoon & fished
the deep cove creek channels with a fast sink-tip and a red & white seaducer
- caught 4 or 5 small fish and then one near 5 lb. In route to another cove,
we found the hybrid bashing on top. A couple wanted the seaducer, but a change
to a big white lead-eyed muddler started
bringing fish on nearly every cast. We chased the school for a hour or more,
in and out of a cove - for a couple of minutes they were running bait onto the
bank.
August 18 -
Chattooga River - Fished the West Fork with old friends, Joe &
Sam. Fishing was pretty tough, low water and high temps. We only managed to
get a couple to come to our dries and one to a Serendipity fished with a
dropper. But it was a beautiful day in a beautiful place with good company -
can't ask for much more!
August 16 - Callaway Gardens - My
morning trip cancelled, so I just went fishing. Got side-tracked stalking the
grass carp, and had one on for a few seconds. When I shed the big fish fever,
I finally landed some good bass on a chartreuse clouser.
In the afternoon
Mike & Allen S. from LaGrange. Allen picked up on the casting quickly and
we were off to Upper Falls Lake. Fishing was slow, but we found bass chasing
bait at a water inflow. Landed a couple of big bream , some small bass and
Allen ended the day with a nice largemouth on a bead-rattle
wooly bugger.
August
15 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Dave S. from WA. He's just beginning
with the fly, so we did a casting lesson first. Turned out to have a nice,
easy cast without bad habits common to the self-taught. We worked on a couple
of things and hit the water. Dave did well, and he's gonna have a blast back
home with that new rod & his sea kayak.
August 14 - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Jan
& Art on Hummingbird. Jan had been around fly fishing for years with her
father and brothers, but it was never a "girl thing" then, so she'd
never thrown the fly. `Wish those guys could have seen her today, as she threw
tight loops back up under the trees and landed plenty of bass and bream.
August 12 - Callaway Gardens
- 4 pm - Fished with Craig H. and his family from Tallahassee this afternoon.
We only managed one fish before the rain blew us off, but it was a nice bream
(2 lb. +).
August 8 - Callaway Gardens - Fished the morn
with Guy, Mel, John and Conan. The catfish were on the rampage again. We saw
`em first chasing bait on the bank - thought they were bass til we hooked one
on a clouser. We wound up catching several more, plus bass and bream, on
RLD's.
In the afternoon, fished with Bill & Billy P., plus their
bud, "wild" Joe, from Lanett, AL. The boys did good, picking up the
cast well and landing some fish.
August 7 - Callaway Gardens - A
morning trip with Louisianna guys - we caught a lot of fish, including
Guy's big cat and Craig's bass.
In the afternoon, George & Shawn O. fished with me on
Upper Falls. We did good on the bass with a RLD, and at dusk, a small green
popper.
August 4 - West Point Lake - Fished the late
afternoon/evening topware fro hybrid. They were all over, up quick & then
down. But in most every binge where we got within range, at least a couple
fell for a big white lead-eyed muddler.
August 4 - Flint River - Fished with my old bud,
Bill (Flip) T. down below Yellow Jacket Shoals. We took some pretty good shoal
bass, plus a few redbreasts.
July 21 & 22 - Callaway Gardens - This
was the weekend for a beginner's fly fishing school at Callaway. On the
casting field the first day, I worked with Dan & Glen. They were an
instructor's dream. Dan had a little experience, as did Glenn. Both threw the
fly OK, but with big loops that often tailed. But as soon as I showed them what
was happening, they tightened the loops and delayed the power - and looked
like pros! That afternoon we fished the dam at Wren Lake, and it was catfish
rodeo for a while. George & Jim from Alabama got several, Dan
& Glen did too, Ken from
LaGrange got a good one (I think - it was hot & heavy for a while), and Nancy
busted off a giant.
On Sunday, we left the classroom a little early as everybody
was ready to fish (unfortunately, Nancy had to head for home). We fished Upper
Falls and the fish (& the fishermen) were on! I only got photos of Glen
& Ken, but everyone got
fish. Dan slipped off to the far side and was wearing `em out - guess he had
well over a dozen!
July 17 - 7 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished in the
morning with Charles and Chad from Louisianna. They were new to the fly but
wanted to learn so they could fish for the reds down on the bayou. And I think
they can - they landed bass, bream & big cats today.
July 17 - 3:30 pm - Callaway Gardens -In the afternoon,
I fished with Michael, his son Doug and nephew Kyle - all from Ohio. Fishing
was a pretty slow, but Michael got a nice bluegill and we took a couple of
bass. Kyle had two big fish on that broke off quickly - cats, I think. A fun
afternoon and evening, though, with 3 great guys.
July 7-11 - Kiawah Island, SC - Fished the
backwaters and golf course ponds in this golfer's dreamland. Best day was the
last - on Willey's Pond (really a bay/creek) the reds were shallow and feeding
hard on bait. After several fly changes, the decided they really liked a
weighted white muddler. And, I'm tickled to report, the gators kept their
distance, even though I was wading their territory. Big fish was about
22", with a couple of more very near that. Plus one that cut me off clean
after a hard run - guess there was more than the gators that had teeth in
there. Don't try this at home.
July 5 - 5 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Paul H. from Jacksonville, Fl. On Hummingbird we took a few bluegill til a
thunderstorm blew us off. After the squall passed, we hit another lake where
Paul landed a nice bass.
July 4 - 7 am - Callaway Gardens - Paul & I
fished Wren with a group of seven. It must be near the spawn for catfish, as
they were everywhere - chasing bait on the bank, sipping emergers from the
film (yes!), and taking our flies every which way. Plus a healthy mix of bass
and bream to go along. Between seven guys spread out over 6 acres of water,
Paul & I were pretty busy! Every year, it seems the catfish turn on this
way for a couple of weeks.
July 1 - 4 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Bill B, a buddy from NGTO. Last time we got out was for trout, New Years Day,
in the snow! It was much warmer today, and the fishing was a bit hotter too. Bill
is a fishing machine, and loves to fish for big bream - I think he nearly
got his fill today.
June 29 - 6 pm - West Point Lake - Dodged the
squalls with Paul as we hunted the hybrids. But the only thing we found was a
boat safety inspection from the DNR.
June 23 & 24 - Fightingtown Creek - Fished
with Joe & Sam in the late afternoon, but got in early enough to fish my new
bamboo rod for the the first time for trout. I began to understand the
attraction of bamboo as I landed two nice fish and a couple of small ones. In
the evening Joe also got a good fish, but Sam got just little guys. In the
morn we fished hard and long, but with little luck - just a few small ones.
June 19 - 7 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished Wren
with Mark, Bill & Terry. Everybody got into fish, including a big
cat that Mark landed.
June 16 - 5 pm - West Point Lake - Fished up the
river above Yellow Jacket & found the hybrid schooling just off the
channel.
June 13 - 7 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished Upper
Falls with Laura T. from Mississippi. Laura had never thrown the fly, so we
did a quick lesson first. Laura caught on quick and went on to land her first
ever fish on a fly (a big bluegill). The bass and bream were right on the bank
in the shallowest water and were actively feeding. Most of the took my new
"san-juan" bug ( though the way they were eating, they would
probably have taken anything you got in front of `em).
June 10 - 5 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished #2 with
Jason. We hunted the fish all around the big lake, picking up just a few. Back
at our put-in site, we fished for a minute before heading for new water. And
all the big bluegills were there - right where we'd started. They wanted the
fly down deep & slow, but once we figured it out... Moved to Wren for the
evening rise and caught some more, this time throwing the new bamboo. I'm
starting to see the attraction of bamboo rods now. They are heavy and slow,
but beautiful. And I could feel ever flip of the bluegill's tail right down in
the cork, thumping and strumming.
June 9 - 5 pm -Tyrone - Private Pond - Fished at
Jeff W.'s pond while making a rod trade. My end was a beautiful bamboo made by
R. L. Thrasher back in the early 80's. The bluegill were on and very shallow.
June 5 - 4 pm -West Point Lake - Fished up the river in
a small creek. Found the largemouth way in the back. The biggest was 19",
and he was in a 9' wide feeder laying almost on the bank in submerged grass.
Like most of the rest, he slammed the popper. At dusk, the hybrid were up on
the main channel. Continued to throw the popper for awhile - 9 out of 10
missed it even on repeated strikes so I changed to the chartreuse popper and
landed a dozen or so.
June 3 - 9 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished Wren
with a group from the Ball Company. With slightly overcast skies, the fish
were on. Most of them were taking topwaters. Final tally included bluegill,
redbreast, bass & two big catfish.
May 25 - West Point Lake - Fished WP, amidst all the
holiday revelers. Still managed to find some semi-quiet coves where the
largemouths loved my big white popper. Then at dark on Hybrid Point, the white
bass & hybrids were chasing bait on top & settled for a white clouser.
May 17-20 - Gulf Shores, AL - Attended the Federation
of Fly Fishers Southeastern Conclave under the guise of a casting seminar
instructor. And while I did do some instructing (along with seeing some great
tyers, meeting some interesting folks, and even take a terrific casting lesson
from Gary Taylor), our focus was on fishing (of course). Thursday afternoon
while waiting on check-in time, I caught some white trout in the lagoon.
Friday morning at daylight I walked down the beach to a long sandbar in the surf, started throwing a merkin crab on a lead core shooting head, and caught
mucho pompano.
Late Friday afternoon Carl, Jonathan & I went back down to
the bay. The Georgia Women Flyfishers showed up shortly and we had flylines
strung down the lagoon for half a mile - you would have thought it was the
striper run in New England or something. Unfortunately, no one was catching
anything. I walked down to the inlet at the beach, waded out to a submerged
sandbar at its mouth, and was immediately into ladyfish. What a blast - fast
runners, especially in the heavy surf, and acrobatic jumpers. As they
continued to bash my seaducer as it sunk down on the lead-core head, I
inwardly debated whether to stop fishing & go get Carl and Jonathan, or
let them fend for themselves. Luckily, Jonathan (with his fish-sensing nose)
showed up as I hooked into another one. He saw the bent rod from 100 yds and
before I'd landed the fish, he was in the water & casting himself! We
caught a few more and my conscience got the better of me - I went to get Carl.
It didn't take him long. As the sky got
dark, we continued to catch fish. And
they seemed to be getting bigger and hitting harder - we all broke off more
than once. Nothing like re-tying tippet & fly in the pitch dark - of
course, we had not brought flashlights. We finally made it out to the Waffle
House at about midnite for a late dinner - worth the wait tho'!
Friday morn I was giving casting lessons, so I passed the
early fishing trip. Carl & Jonathan hit the inlet mouth again but the fish
didn't show. Late in the afternoon, Carl was giving a slide show. Jonathan
& I were standing on the balcony of our rooms waiting for him. Down the
beach, I begin to see a lot of bird activity. "Grab your rod!", I
told Jonathan and we were trotting down the beach. Soon we were into ladyfish
again, plus I took a big flounder on my lead-core head & seaducer. Carl
finally showed up, tracked us down the beach, and since the action was
slowing, we headed for the inlet.
Saturday night was pretty much a repeat of Friday, with
ladyfish galore. Then Sunday morning, we hit the freshwater ponds across the
street to land a few bass before the drive home.
May 15 - 3 pm - Callaway Gardens - With Al
M. and his friend Ted, we caught many bream and some nice bass on Hummingbird
- almost all on foam bugs. Finally quit in the dark! Al had the fish of the
day, about a 3 lb bass. What we missed in size, we more than made up for in
numbers.
May 10 - 7 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished
with Larry F. and his young son, Matt. On Upper
Falls, we wore `em out,
especially Matt. Almost all the fish (bluegill and bass) came on topwater
bugs, chartreuse being the hottest. Throw right on the bank - it was usually a
bass; throw out a ways, and the bream would pop it. After Larry & Matt
left for home, Brian & I slipped out to fish ourselves. Fairly slow on #4,
but on #1 the bass were up in the shallow grass. I threw a small bendback that
worked great in the grass, almost never hanging up - and the bass liked it,
too!
May 7 - 3 pm - Callaway Gardens - My trip
didn't show - nothing to do but go
fishing. And it was good on all three lakes
I tried. Lots of shallow bass on top, plus a big grass carp on my tarantula
that came unstuck after about 5 minutes.
May 2 & 3 - Soque River - Fished with Jeff
W., brother to Joe from 4/29 below. Started late on the first evening, but we
hit a heavy cahill hatch at dusk on the new un-managed section and had a blast
til dark (on light tan emergers on a downstream swing). Next morn we were
primed for the big guys. And Jeff didn't disappoint, landing a very heavy
22" rainbow plus some smaller fish. Jeff's big fish was also on a fly he
tied - and he's been fly fishing about a year, and only tying for a few
months. Good job!!!
April 29 - Flint River, 9 am - Fished with Joe
& Shirley (Sam) W. on the Flint below Manchester. Water was a little high
but fishable, and though the fishing was a bit slow, Joe nailed a 17"+
shoalie on a Bitch Creek he'd tied.
April 28 - Callaway Gardens, 9 am - Fished with
Greg S (a regular) and a group of 7 doctors he was hosting. After a casting
lesson, we started the day on #3. Fishing was good, but not great. After a
late lunch, all but 2 headed for home. Dave & Titus had stayed to fish
Upper Falls in the afternoon. And did we ever wear it out. Mucho bass and big
bream were swarming the shallows, nosing the grass and popping just of the
banks. We caught `em on small poppers til just about dark. Dave has a new fly
rod, and to the little Tituses, I know what Daddy wants for Father's Day!
April 22 - Chattahoochee River, 6:30 am - Put the
boat in at Franklin and ran upstream to the shoals. Or, actually, I made a few
stops to catch fish busting bait as I went. All but one group turned out to be
white bass, only one hybrid. Caught 6 more hybrid (3-5 lb) below & in the
shoals. Then I drifted back down, catching a mixed bag of hybrid whites, and 3
good spots. All the fish took clousers or polafibre minnows.
April 19 - Private Pond, LaGrange - Had a trip
planned but client had to cancel - nothing to do but go fishing! And there's
not much better than a quiet little pond and a float tube, warm weather and
big bream slurping loudly and slamming your fly.
April 15 - Soque River, Brigadoon - Now this is
the way to spend tax day! Fished with Jim Y. in the rain and mist, and we had
a blast. `Took several fish to 20" in the morn on nymphs. Late morn found
us on a long, slow flat with the rain coming down. On the off-chance of luck,
we tied on a tarantula - several flashes and a miss, and then the big rainbow
slipped gently from the depth and inhaled it. And did he ever take off - up,
back and around. The tail-out was just below us, with a swift and rapid
drop-off. He headed down toward it as Jim put on the side-pressure - not
enough though, as the big fish headed for the chute. He tangled momentarily on
a blow-down, and I pounced with the big net. Jim was a
happy man - his biggest trout ever at 22.5" long and 13.5"
around.
April 14 - Soque River, Brigadoon - Fished with
father & son, Jim & Big Jim W. `Had perfect weather and a great day on
the water - big fish all around.
April 8 - 9 am - Callaway Gardens - Day two of the
fly fishing school with Tommy, Ken & Pete. A good morning with lots
of bug talk (one of my favorite topics) and an advanced casting lesson mixed
with "fishing the water". We fished Upper Falls in the afternoon and
everybody got fish - shallow bass on tarantulas and big bluegills on bead-ratttle
buggers. Pete had a huge bluegill that he worked for 30 minutes and finally
landed - I think he's pretty well hooked, too.
April 2 & 3 - Soque River, Brigadoon - A fine
Texas angler, James M., joined me on the Soque on a beautiful afternoon and we
had a blast. The fish were on! We took several over 20" and lost one near
26", mainly on small nymphs and emergers. Late evening saw a pretty good
mixed hatch that let us have a few on dries. It began to rain in the middle of
the nite, and continued all the following day. It didn't slow the fishing
much, however - the water was up a little and discolored, but not muddy. `Had
good luck with the big, black and ugly stuff (as you'd expect) and took a
couple on a chartreuse clouser, but on a long,
deep flat we found three fish that wouldn't take the woolies, stones or rubber
legs. Switched to a pheasant tail and then a san juan - got a couple of
looks but no takes. We debated the next fly and I told James we should see if
we could get one to make a fool of himself as I tied on a big #10 tarantula
dry. James made a nice soft cast 20' above the fish. The water was murky so we
saw just shapes on the bottom, but as the fly neared the fish, he slowly rose
in the water column and leisurely inhaled the big bug. As he lazily moved back
toward the depths, James set the hook and it was off to the races. Carefully
playing him away from the big ledge below us, we landed the fish - about
23" of fat brown trout. Late in the day when the sun peaked a bit, we caught a
mixed midge/BWO hatch and took
some more on little dries. A fine, fine rainy day!!
March 31 - 1 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Jimmy & Vann from LaGrange. We started on #3 and caught some bass and big
shellcrackers, but it was a little slow. Van did have a bass of near 3 lbs;
but, of course, we wanted more! About 5 we moved to Wren - just in time for
the evening rise. Shortly after we hit the water, the midges began to come off
and the fish were all over the lake. We caught trout, bass, and bream on
wooly-buggers and small emergers. `Was a little disconcerting to have fish
coming up all around you - couldn't really figure where to cast, but we had a
ball, giggling like kids as the fish splashed around us.
March 25 - 8 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Joel D. Fish were pretty finicky with the cold front and wind, but Joel
managed to take bluegill and bass.
March 23 - 9 am - Soque River, Brigadoon - Fished
with Paul, John & Price. The guys did good, landing a majority of the fish
they hooked (not always the case). Price had the big one at about 24",
though Paul "ldr'ed" one that would have pushed it. The hot flies
were red-beaded bloodworms and a soft-hackle pheasant tail.
March 20 - 8 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished this
cold, cold, rainy day with Richard W. We had to work hard for the fish, but
found the big shellcracker on Mockingbird and the bass on Wren.
March 16 - 3 pm - Callaway Gardens - It's been a
tough week with no fishing & I couldn't take it any longer. Slipped off to
#1 - fishing conditions not ideal, but I caught a few including giant bluegill
that must have been 3" thick. About 6, I packed up and headed out. On the
way out I passed Wren and, even across the golf course, I could see the trout
rises everywhere. Nothing to do but stop & string up again. With a new
parachute emerger I've been tying and a little midge dropper, I began casting
from the fairway. Three casts and a trout is on - a big trout - running &
jumping. And here come the golfers. I'm at the end of a right dog-leg across
the lake, so they let me "fish-thru" and land the trout. They are
rising all over the lake, sometimes coming completely out of the water. I
caught `em til dark, dodging 3 late foursomes playing through. In
addition to the trout, I took a 4-lb cat that sipped the emerger form the film
as softly as any rainbow.
March 11 - 7:30 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Jack & Tim from Swainsboro. These guys were anglers but had never thrown a
fly rod, so we started with a casting lesson. In spite of the wind, they
picked it up quickly and caught several bass on Robin, Then we had lunch and
switched to Hummingbird lake. There they caught the big "Callaway
bream." The fish were deep and wanted the fly presented very slowly -
most of them took on the stop. Best flies were the bead-rattle buggers and
oversized rubber-legged hares ears.
March 9 - 8:30 am - Soque River - Fished at
Brigadoon with Doug B. from Salt Lake. It was an almost perfect day - Doug was
a very good angler, the sky was slightly overcast but the temps were warm, we
caught lots of big fish including quite a few on a mid-day Hendrickson hatch.
During the morning, we did well with soft-hackle hares ears and green
rockworms. We saw the big mayflies starting about noon, and for almost two
hours we stalked the trout in the long, shallow glide, laughing out loud as
the big fish bashed our flies and launched themselves like missiles when they
felt the hook. Strange thing was, amidst the red-brown bodied naturals, we
caught most of our fish on a big yellow Humpy. Never try to understand a
trout!
March 4 - 9 am - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Pat T. in the gale winds. We took lots of shellcracker, bluegill and a few
bass in the whitecaps on Wren Lake, and added a few more on Hummingbird. The
bead-rattle wooly bugger in green/black was the ticket.
March 3 - 12 pm - Callaway Gardens - Today was
one of those days - the extra-good ones! `Had a corporate group of 14 who had
actually called off the fishing trip due to hard rain. Carl & I went
over to set up for a fly-tying demo & I guess they saw we where excited
fishing the low pressure front moving in. So the brave souls (almost all were
novices) decided they'd fish in spite of the weather. By the time they got
done, they thought they were fishing gods!!! We caught so many fish......bass,
bluegill, shellcracker (big ones). And when you fish on a day like this, you
deserve it! We finished about 5, but I bet the tales ran fat into the
nite.
February 27 - 12 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished with Chris,
Harold, Jane & Keith - two great couples from Atlanta, along with
Brian F. Jane & Chris had never thrown the fly so we started with a
casting lesson. The girls picked it up pretty quick (as women usually do) and
we hit the water. Weather was springtime and the fishing was good. We landed
the "Callaway winter slam" - bass, bream, and trout, and had a lot
of fun to boot. Flies of the day were small sparkle streamers, bead-rattle
buggers, and bloodworms. We kept one gut-hooked trout and when I field-dressed
him, his gullet was full of pebbles. Obviously he'd been eating from the
bottom - whether it was snails & mussels, eggs or bloodworms, I'm not
sure. At almost dark, we had to pry Chris from the tube - she loves it.
February 25 - 9 am - Brigadoon Lodge - Supposed to fish
this morn with regulars, Joe & Sam. Unfortunately, it had rained hard all
night and the river was blown. Fact is, we'd stayed so late around the lodge
fireplace last nite ( a bunch of 40-and-50-somethings listening to old music)
with Rebecca, it wasn't too much of a hardship to roll over and go back to
sleep as the rain splattered the decks and the river roared. We'll get
the trout next time.
February 24 - 1 pm - Brigadoon Lodge - Fished the Soque
with Fred and Patrick, two teenaged brothers from Atlanta. Fred landed his
first fish ever on the fly - a 22" rainbow!! Patrick had a couple on, but
they came unglued. Next time, Pat.
February 23 - 3 pm - Callaway Gardens - We had a large
group from Milliken in from a corporate retreat. One of my guys was from
England - and a "coarse" match fisherman. For those that don't know,
that translates to carp tournament fishing. And these guys are serious - they
like carp even better than I do! `Had a great time talking with Ken about the
coarse fishing, and watching him fish - he'd never threw a fly rod but picked
it up quickly. And his fishing instincts showed as he landed several nice bass
and bluegill.
February 22 - 1 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
David W. and a group of 4 on Hummingbird. After a hard rain, we landed trout
and numerous bluegill, plus a 4 lb largemouth.
February 18 - 1 pm - Callaway Gardens - Fished with
Carter B. Turns out he's from LaGrange, but lives in West Point. We had a good
day with trout, largemouth,
shellcracker and bluegill. Most of them came to a
dark wooly bugger.
February 15 - 1 pm - West Point Lake - Fished the coves
off Yellowjacket. Many bass shallow, & about half keeper size. Plus some
spots on the rip-rap.
February 11 - 8 am - West Point Lake - We fished up the
river today on the off-chance of finding a few hybrid already moving. Turned
out we didn't find them, but the largemouth instead - kind of a surprise with
the cold front, but hey, we didn't complain. The fish were back in the coves
and creeks a bit on deep banks. Best tactic was throwing a seaducer on a
moderate sinktip line, and retrieving with long strip, followed by stops and
twitches. The seaducers
were unweighted and heavily hackled - with this retrieve the climb through
several different water levels and suspend a little after the stops. The bass
loved the action, and were nailing it on the stop. Most of the fish were
suspended just off deep banks, but some were up pretty shallow.
February 6 - 3 pm - XXX River,
Alabama - Fished with Carl from Callaway. We were hunting the stripers,
but they didn't show.
February 4 - 8 am - West Point Lake - Fished on lower lake over
standing timber. Took several hybrid on full-sink shooting head with polafibre minnows and seducers. Moved back into creek channels and caught 3
largemouths in pretty shallow water on clousers.
