Quick Trip to The Chattahoochee River
January 24, 2009
By Nick
I ended up running and working the first part of the day Saturday, but did end up making it over the Hooch (below Buford Dam) for a couple of hours on Saturday. I couldn’t buy a hit on nymphs or buggers, but then I switch to a #18 tan/white dry (sorry…I don’t know the names). I picked up several on that, including a nice little 14 inch brown. When I walked in from fishing I noticed the DNR officer truck parked next to mine. He approached me and asked how I did and then asked for my license. Not a big deal, except for the fact that I just cleaned out my wallet and must have mistaken it for a junk piece of paper and thrown it away. I pulled out licenses from TN, MI, and SC, but no Georgia.
The funny thing is that I stopped on the way fishing to buy a Sportsman’s license at Wal-Mart because I want to get out hunting in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the DNR has changed up their licenses and none of the major stores can sell them at the moment. This didn’t deter me because I knew I still had my fishing license.
Anyway, he ended up giving me a warning and talking to me for about 10-15 minutes. Thank you Officer Brown for being the nicest DNR Officer I have ever met. He said several guys were fishing closer to the dam and had picked up a few 17 and 18 inch browns that were in spawning mode. I may be up for fishing Saturday if anyone is interested. By this time I will have an updated license.
Mud Creek on the Ice
January 3
By Me
Sam and I decided to take advantage of what promised to be a mild and windless January day by driving to the east side of the Bay for some ice fishing. We left Millington at 6:15, had breakfast in Sebewaing, then drove to Caseville to scout the river and marina. The prospects of catching fish in Caseville were dim, so we made the decision to backtrack to Mud Creek (Wildfowl Bay).
The pack of fishermen were located about 1 to 1 1/2 miles from shore – a walk that we were not about to make on the slippery ice. We agreed that a distance of one quarter mile was a reasonable goal, which equated to a five minute walk. We drilled our holes in 4 1/2 ft. of water as all other fishermen sped by on their quads and snow machines to fish in the distant and deeper waters. Sam and I must have appeared to be anti-social fisherman as we were separated from others by over a mile, but the short trek was plenty far enough for a couple old guys from Millington.
We both were amazed by the extreme water clarity and we quickly observed fish just by looking into the holes. No shanty was necessary to view the perch on this day as they continuously moved in and out. We were able to adjust the bait location, moving it away from the smaller perch and targeting the larger ones.
The perch kept both Sam and I busy all day. We hooked in excess of sixty fish from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm, and sorted out 16 keepers, which seemed to be a respectable ratio. Teardrops featuring a bit of white color tipped with a shiner were the winning ticket, although I believe wax worms would have worked well too. Fishermen traveling back from the pack told us that we did much better than those fishing at the greater distance. Terry Cassidy, who traveled out to the pack with his buddy Bob, reported that he saw some very large walleye in the deeper waters on this day, but the big ‘eyes ignored his offerings. He also mentioned that the largest perch was a five incher.
New Year Fishing
2009′s First Report
December 30 – January 3, 2009
By Nick
For the New Year we decided to rent a house in Tennessee on the famed Watauga River. While the river is known for its trophy section of river, the rest of the river is still supposed to produce large numbers of trout. However, with all of the cold I really had to work for them the last few days. Fishing with two nymphs under an indicator I was able to land a few decent fish.
On the morning of December 31st I woke up at 4:20 am to drive up to the South Holston to try for some more of the big browns that I hooked over Thanksgiving. The big fish were not concentrated anymore, but I did manage to land a nice 18″ brown and hook two other fish. I could see one huge brown lying in a gravel run but I could not get it to hit. After about 4 hours of fishing and the fact that my line kept freezing, I decided to head back to the river house.
Today Brett, Crystal, Andrea, and I hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail and I packed my fly rod. Laurel Creek paralleled the trail and I did manage to fish some beautiful water. This is when I realized that there is a reason I fish bigger, more open rivers. I managed to hook every branch of mountain laurel, every weed, and even myself…but no fish. When I would have to get closer to the creek to untangle my messes I would almost always scare trout. Tomorrow morning I will be fishing a different section of the Watauga. Pictures will follow shortly.
Editor’s Note: Was there any doubt who would file the first report of the year?
Ryan and I went on our annual ice fishing trip to the Saginaw River on Super Bowl Sunday. We always fish before watching the game. We have done this for years and have never caught a fish. Same for this year but it is always fun trying and we always know that hot wings and a great football game with the guys is waiting for us.