Local Fishing Report 09/17/23
By Matt Morrison
Cohutta Fishing Co. – Blue Ridge
Toccoa Tailwater: The tailwater is in turnover right now. The last couple weeks the temperature has hung in there, but this week it seems to be getting warmer each day. The latest temp I’ve gotten was 66 degrees below the dam. The water is very murky coming from the dam as well. Once temps get to 68, fish get lethargic and can be tough to catch. And once you do catch them, most of the time they can’t recover even if they do swim off. Let’s give the fish a break on the tailwater until temps get back to a fishable level.
Upper Toccoa: DH starts Nov. 1st, so be sure to stock up on eggs, squirmies, Pat’s and other junk flies before then.
Small Streams: As I am writing this, it is 67 degrees and lightly raining. The past few days have really been starting to feel like fall. The leaves on some trees are beginning to turn red. We are not done with summer yet, but fall is coming. With some rain and cooler weather, our small streams should be phenomenal right now. Some of the stocked small streams, I have been fishing Dry Dropper rigs with a Pat’s Rubber Legs or something with a bright colored bead like a Sexy Walt’s Worm, Lucent Hare’s Ear, or Lucent Pheasant Tail. In the wild trout streams, I’ve been fishing a similar rig just a bit more natural. Dry dropper rigs with a Pat’s, Tungstone, Jigged Pheasant Tail, or a Holy Grail. If flows are a bit lower between the rains, then throw a dry and you will more than likely see some action in riffles and pocket water. Terrestrials have still been great across the board. Smaller hoppers and ants have been great, but there are definitely some bugs hatching too. Yellow Sallies, Caddis, and a few sulfurs have been flying around and the fish are still noticing.
Warmwater: As stripers move out of some of the rivers, the bass get less worried about being eaten by stripers and more worried about packing on some weight for the winter. The bass bug bite is still great in places where the water is still low and clear. Especially on sunny days where bass are tucked away in shade and structure. As the weather cools down, bigger bass will look for bigger meals to prepare for the winter. Flies like Sluggos, Swinging D’s, and Gamechangers on intermediate or sinking lines are good ways to find some hogs this time of year. This is a great way to get on the water as we wait for some of the prime trout fishing coming in October and November.
Hot Flies:
- Yeti Hopper
- Galloup’s Ant Acid
- Black Foam PMX
- Donkey Kong Hopper
- Rainbow Warrior (sz14-18)
- Jigged Rainbow Warrior (sz14-18)
- Pat’s Rubber Legs (sz 12-10)
- Tungstone (sz14-12)
- Holy Grail (sz16)
- Elk Hair Caddis
- Yellow Stimulator
- CJ’s Sluggo
- Swinging D
- Polar Gamechanger
- Boogle Bugs
- Double Barrel Popper
