Gary Sundin
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The Fish Hawk is a good shop right in Buckhead. As long as you’re resigned to fish for stocked fish, you might as well fish the delayed harvest section of the river below Morgan Falls dam.
G
I’ll second the trout. Backpacking is the perfect occasion to eat off the land a little. The number of fish you kill this way will not affect the fishery one bit; the environmental impact will be less than eating just about any kind of meal you can carry in. I usually plan on fish for one meal with a backup of granola bars. Fishing for dinner adds a real glow to those last couple hours of fishing.
Of course, I understand that native brookies are small and feel pretty special. I admit I’ve never eaten one because I never pack in just to target them. But you won’t hurt the fishery by eating a few.
I also enjoy the dry mix hummus that comes as a powder. It goes great with a few cut veggies or with toasted pita wedges.
Another staple are simply “upscale ramen”, the kind that can be purchased in a variety of flavors at Asian markets.
I’ll be in town, but will not be at the game. Unfortunately I’m not a football fan. You’ll have lots of options for drinks and dining downtown (if parked towards north end of campus) or in the fivepoints area (if parked on south end of campus). To the south, I’m partial to Calientitos (low price, festive atmosphere, outside seating) with Cuban food right next to campus. Unfortunately BYOB and they charge you to bring it. A block away Kelly’s has decent Jamaican cuisine in a low-key atmosphere. Downtown is nothing but food and drink.
Duncan E or Gary G are expert foodies and could really point you right.
G
Lovely carps! Those flats look familiar. I spent much of my summer carping the greater Atlanta area. Tried for some summer stripers, fooled around after black bass a bit, and fished for trout only once all summer.
For documentation only. I’ve no photography skills.
G
Car-topping a 120lb boat alone on an SUV will feel like hell. I’ve never paddled a Riverhawk, though I’ve seen them in action a few times. Personally, it would not be my first choice for a river boat. You can get a square stern canoe that will be stable for 1 person to stand, will weigh <100 lbs, and can handle a small motor.
The only real advantage of the Riverhawk, I think, is the stability of the stand-up casting. I would only choose it as a flats boat to use in areas with easy access.
G
I do most of my fishing from a kayak or with kayak assist.
Take advantage of the 100 degree weather, pile all your gear on a rock, and practice dumping and re-entry.If you go on the big lakes, get a flag for visibility.
Take a slow approach to customizing. Fish until you see what you want and where it should go. Most of my “customizations” are made with pool noodles, pvc pipe, and zip ties.
G
Gary –
Were you fishing from float tubes below 41 bridge?
Zach
No, my father and I were fishing from kayaks and we had plenty of company for the early float.
Carp in muddy water over mucky bottoms are eating hidden things that they only find by randomly sucking up mouthfuls of mud. I don’t think they’re particularly selective about flies, becauase they don’t see what they’re eating. I think they get patterned on the feeding-by-numbers approach until they just aren’t acting much on any kind of visual cue. Because of their own muddy habits, they can’t see more than a few inches anyway. They’re opportunistic and if they pop up from the mud and see a fly gently descending right on their nose, they’ll eat it. I try not to cast blindly on the mud plumes—it never, ever works and the fish are usually a foot or so away from the mud you see. I try to get close, like rod length close, to the mud. Wait until the fish “picks up” to move, then dap an unweighted fly right on their nose, if you can see the nose, or make your best guess. If you can’t see at least part of the fish, it’s hopeless. I fish 2-fly rigs often. Mud fish don’t mind seeing some action, but they won’t pursue far because they can’t see far. I personally don’t’ like weighted flies in muddy water. Fish in 3’ of water are going to be tough and invisible. Go where the water is 14” deep.
I’ve never fished the creek that flows through the park itself. Be aware that the Amicalola River, much farther south, has a delayed harvest section that is stocked during the winter and has nothing to do with the state park. That may be a source of confusion. You’ll be within a 30 minute drive of some notable (by Georgia standards) stocked and wild trout water. The Blue Ridge WMA is nearby. Feel free to shoot me a message if you’re interested in that option and I can offer you directions to some decent water.
G
I’ve seen nude bathers a handful of times, but the most awkward encounter involved a young man and just himself. I was fishing downstream, swinging a streamer, planning to exit at the bridge. I kept glimpsing a person downstream at said bridge doing…something. Fishing, I finally decided, but with strange technique and a lot of furious arm movement. 50 yards out I suddenly realized the pole in hand was not a fishing variety; what I was witnessing was an earnest and vigorous display of self-love. He noticed me about then, looked right at me, and (here’s the unnerving fact) didn’t stop. Although he was standing on the path I wanted to take, I opted to clamber up the far bank and fight the underbrush back to my car.
I really enjoy fishing for spring running linesides, though I don’t claim great expertise. An obvious place to fish is behind total or partial barriers like shoals or dams. In rivers with steep, rocky shoals the fish will tend to stack around the base of the shoals right beneath the runs with the greatest volume of flow. I like to stand upstream and swing and dangle down along the edge of the fastest water. Another typical hangout on southern flows is behind a flat or sandbar where the river runs over a shallow bar into a deep pool. Swing a fly down to come tight just beyond the edge of the bar and fish will come up from the deep to grab it. Stripers respond better to slow retrieves in my experience. When you find fish in a place, remember it forever. I’m always impressed with how some little eddy or chute will always hold fish, when other similar-appearing habitats nearby never do. I usually use 2-4” white and dark clousers, with gray/white my favorite. In slower water I like EP baitfish-style flies in gray/white. While running fish can be a little less picky, stripers don’t like sun as a rule. Fishing is always better dawn and dusk.
G
