Gary Sundin
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I have had a few successes with a bright red egg pattern with a black rubber stem (berry fly), and with an inch-long strip of bright green closed-cell foam (grass fly). They are extroardinarly spooky, even by carp standards, and do not fight well. I suppose pulling in a 50 lb fish will put a bend in your rod, even if the fish is dead. The fight seems to consist of a series of short net runs: the fish bolts out 20 or 30 feet, then goes comatose, letting you drag it to the bank again; repeat.
G
I’m interested in hearing some expert responses on this because I’ve typically been spurned by early spawners on the flats. I saw some nice fish crashing around in the weeds on Sunday and didn’t even cast at them. Where I’ve had very minor success with “spawners” is in rivers where carp are stacked below an obstruction like a shoal or dam. I’ve landed a handful of fish on tiny clousers in that situation—by accident as I drifted the fly under an indicator targeting crappie. I’ve always believed that actively spawning carp just won’t eat; and that the only hope is to find the lone wallflowers. That tactic is much easier said than done in my experience. God, I’m glad carp season is coming.
G
A sucker is not at all like a carp.
Yeah. The “sucker” is probably one of a large group of native fishes evolved over tens of millions of years and native to North America. The carp is a giant minnow introduced here by some white guys a handful of generations ago. I can live with that; I spend my entire summer carp angling. I just think suckers are cool fish, difficult to catch, and reeking of good karma due to their native origin.
G
I’m no expert on this, but there are smallmouth in GA. The linked paper, by Warren et al., is a an extremely worthwhile reference to print and keep around. It is my go-to reference for broad questions of fish distribution and status in the south.
http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_warren005.pdf
According to Warren et al. smallmouth are unquestionably native to the upper TN basin. In Georgia this includes portions of the Toccoa, Nottely, and Hiwassee river drainages. Though I’ve never caught a GA smallie, I’ve heard plenty of first-hand accounts of them from the Toccoa. I’ve caught them in the Hiwassee in Tennessee, just scant miles from the Georgia border. So yes, there are a few little patches of native smallmouth habitat in GA. Furthermore, according to Warren et al., they have been introduced into the Coosa system, and their origin (native vs. introduced) in Savannah system is uncertain. That’s news to me; I’ve fished the upper Savannah drainage extensively and never caught one. Also from this source: they have been introduced into the ACF system (includes the Hooch) and their status there was “uncertain” ten years ago. The increasing number of anecdotal reports of smallies in the Chattahoochee in Atlanta makes me think that they are there.
G
Right around the house I have options for unremarkable sunfish and black bass angling. The nearest “worthwhile” salmonid fishery is 2 hours or so. Carp fisheries occur in 30-minute and 1-hour drive increments for me. Striper options vary from 1 hour to 90 minutes. Summer is nice because I can focus on local carp all the livelong day without fretting about what I’m missing elsewhere.
I spent my school years in rural areas that have stayed rural to this day. We never owned a television.
