The
Evening Rise™
The
Fishing Journal and Photos of Reel Angling Adventures
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Mountaintown Trout: Hot, New Fly-Fishing
Venue
for Trophy Trout in Georgia |
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By
Bob Borgwat
Mountain trout streams
in the Southeast are special places for fly-fishermen who like to
challenge their skills with the long rod.
Twisting
and tumbling through the
backcountry of the southern Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, North
Carolina and Tennessee, these small cold-water streams first test an
angler's physical ability to reach the stream before they put their
practical knowledge to work for knowing where the trout are holding.
Next, mountain stream fly-fishermen confront their technical skills
while pursuing trout among the plunge pools, shallow riffles, pocket
water and undercut banks that typify a mountain trout stream.
Mountaintown Creek is one
such gem, but you won’t have to put on your hiking gear to get there.
The private-access trophy-managed trout waters of Mountaintown Creek
flow for 2 miles through a scenic valley just minutes outside Ellijay,
Georgia (1 ½ hours north of Atlanta). Privately operated by Mountaintown
Trout LLC, this historic spring-creek trout fishery is managed for
holding rainbow trout of all sizes, but it's the trophy trout --
individual fish that measure 20 inches or more -- that are the "reel"
stars of the stream. Reel Angling Adventures is proud to be the
authorized outfitter for providing guided catch-and-release fly-fishing
services on what is sure to be a favorite destination for fly-fishermen
from all over the Southeast US … and beyond!
Mountaintown Creek tumbles off the south slope of the Blue Ridge
Mountains, collecting a strong volume of clear, cold water from small
tributaries and numerous springs that percolate from the North Georgia
highlands. In fact, it’s the influence of the deep mountain springs that
keeps Mountaintown Creek cold, supporting a healthy trout fishery
through even the warmest summer months.
In
its upper reaches, Mountaintown Creek offers anglers the challenge of
fly-fishing in a true mountain setting: Rhododendrons choke its undercut
banks. Hemlocks shade its steep flanks. Wild turkeys and white-tailed
deer roam the adjacent woodlands. And
the
rainbow trout … well, the trout are shimmering beauties that take
dry
flies, nymphs and streamers when you get the edge on the technical
presentations required for drifting your bugs through the plunge pools,
shallow riffles, pocket water and undercut banks.
Midway through the stream’s downstream trek, Mountaintown Creek grows a
bit more forgiving, but only in places. Along the way, pastureland and
meadows ease access and open the banks for casting into deep pools, but
many of the hottest feeding lanes remain hidden from view by thick
bankside bushes. Presentations here require strong skills in
roll-casting and mending, especially when tossing dry-flies to the many
twists and turns |

 
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amid the small boulders and
laydowns that create ideal trout-holding water.
The
lowest reach of
Mountaintown Creek flows through a pastoral valley,
dotted with cattle and shadowed by low, rolling ridges. Summertime is
the right time for this stretch, when the best fly-fishing presentations
are a variety of terrestrial patterns. But even here, the approach to Mountaintown Creek is technical in nature. You won’t find trees, bushes,
not even boulders to help hide your profile. In fact, you might find
yourself on your knees to avoid spooking the wary trout that lay beyond
the banks |
flanked by tall
pasture grassland.
Looking for a mountain trout stream that offers you a real
fly-fisherman’s challenge year ‘round for landing a trout
20 inches long
or longer? Look no farther. The waters of Mountaintown Creek, operated
by Mountaintown Trout LLC and guided by Reel Angling Adventures, will test your fly-fishing skills and keep
you coming back for more!
Mountaintown Trout: The hottest destination in the Blue Ridge Mountains
of Georgia for trophy-managed trout on one jewel of a mountain trout
stream! |
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Reel Angling Adventures
offers private access to the trophy-managed mountain stream trout fishery of Mountaintown Trout on Mountaintown Creek in Gilmer County, Georgia.
Click here
to learn more!
Or call toll free:
866-899-5259 |
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Improving Action Draws Anglers to Trophy-Trout
Bite at Tooni Cove Farm |
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By
Bob Borgwat
The trophy-trout fishery
at Tooni Cove Farm is taking the expected springtime turn to
improving action as the water warms with the season on the upper Toccoa
River in Fannin County, Georgia.
Along the length of the
Toccoa River, where it runs for a half-mile through
Tooni Cove Farm,
big rainbows showed their colors the past week as they grow bolder day
by day. From The Swimming Hole through Hawg Alley to The Bend and
upstream into Hemlock Shoal, rainbows from 15 to 20 inches are chasing
down streamers, snatching dead-drifted nymphs, and rising to well-placed
dry flies.
That’s the action found late
last week by anglers Randy and Jack Anders of Alpharetta, Georgia.
Randy, and his 12-year-old son Jack shared a warm spring day with guide
Bob Borgwat of Reel Angling Adventures, drawing strikes both deep and on
top during the father-and-son team’s half-day session on the upper
Toccoa River.
“Water temperature was at 57
degrees last week, |
mixing up the action between
streamers, nymphs and dry flies for both Randy and Jack. And it was Jack
– he’s only 12 years old -- who showed Dad how to bring the big fish to
hand,” Bob says. “Jack
completed the day with much
improved fly-fishing skills, landing a gorgeous 20-inch rainbow just
minutes before we finished the day. He was making long casts across what
we call ‘The Big Riffle” area of Tooni Cove, pulling the venerable Bwana
Bugger through the riffle’s fast current to connect with what is only
the second fish taken from The Big Riffle this spring. It was beautiful!
It leaped high once, then used the current to push Jack into a patient,
well-fought fight with what I think is the biggest trout the young
angler has ever landed. As the river temperature rises over the next few
weeks, there’s sure to be more of
those
20-inch ‘bows moving in around the big rocks and tree trunks
associated with the riffle’s feeding lane.”
The fly-fishing guides of
Reel Angling Adventures enjoy exclusive access to more than 3,000 feet
of the upper Toccoa
River on Tooni Cove Farm.
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Rain
threatened to wash out the fly-fishing trip late last week for
father-and-son anglers Randy and Jack Anders.
But when the heaviest
rain missed the upper Toccoa River watershed, the duo joined guide Bob
Borgwat of Reel Angling Adventures for a fine day of fly-fishing over
the big rainbows of Tooni Cove Farm in Fannin County, Georgia.
Randy, left, was first
to score with this fat rainbow taken deep on a dead-drift with a Bwana
Bugger.
But
it was Randy's son, Jack (right), who showed Dad what fishing on the
private trout waters of Tooni Cove is all about. Jack's last fish of the
day was his brilliant 20-inch rainbow that snatched a Bugger pulled
across The Big Riffle.
Photos by Bob Borgwat
Copyright 2007
Toccoa Bend Images LLC |
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Reel Angling Adventures
offers exclusive access to the trophy-trout fishery of Tooni
Cove Farm on the upper Toccoa River in Fannin County, Georgia.
Click here
to learn more!
Or call toll free:
866-899-5259 |
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Slap It Up with the Slob Club -- Relive Your
Trophy Trout Catch in Photos |
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By Chad Bryson
No matter how many different places I go to
fish or how many different species of fish I pursue, almost nothing
quite matches the feelings surrounding a huge rainbow trout coming to
hand in early spring. It’s “physical” first -- the sight and feel of the
take and hook-set, followed by a surging run, a sparkling leap, and the
repeated stripping of the fly line. It’s “visual” second -- the colors
and grace of a trophy ‘bow, 4 pounds, maybe more, burned into my mind
permanently, following the landing of that big fish by net or by hand.
The
Toccoa River at Tooni Cove Farm offers
the potential to burn those same memories into the mind of every angler
who visits this uniquely challenging trophy water.
Springtime at Tooni Cove Farm produces the
first
major insect hatches
of the year on the upper Toccoa River in
southeast Fannin County, Georgia. Early on, caddisflies easily outnumber
the mayflies that first appear as March Browns and Blue-Winged Olives.
Collectively, those wonderful bugs of springtime give anglers great
opportunities to take them in size and number with dry-fly and dry- |
Angler
Bob Shearer is the first client-angler of 2008 to enter the Slob Club
(minimum length of 20 inches). His trophy rainbow caught in mid-March at
Tooni Cove Farm on the upper Toccoa River was taken deep on a
custom-tied stonefly at a location known as The Big Hole.
Early spring at Tooni Cove Farm on the upper Toccoa River has the trophy
rainbows growing active with rising water levels and warming
temperatures. Dry-fly action is getting better with every passing cold
front, while streamer fishing is picking up strong, with trout chasing
down both the usual and unusual Bugger patterns.
Photo by Bob
Borgwat
Copyright 2007 Toccoa Bend Images LLC |
of the Slob Club,
and you’ll understand what I mean!
The trout of Tooni Cove Farm are
well-managed, moderately pressured and carefully handled. The fishery
staff -- from landowners Joe and Debbie Lawrence to the guide team of
Reel Angling Adventures -- is in its fifth year of operating the venue,
having learned the management techniques important to both the fish and
the water, taking care to maintain a natural setting in which the trout
do not become the “pets” some anglers associate with a private fishery.
It takes a skilled and patient angler to
coax a slob trout from its home in
the Toccoa River at Tooni Cove Farm.
However, novice anglers improve their skill levels rapidly upon catching
our average-sized 15-inch trout consistently through out the day.
The first trout to enter the
Slob Club in 2008
was caught and released
in mid-March by visiting angler Bob Shearer, estimated to weigh close to
7 pounds, measuring at 25 inches long. Trophy trout entered into the
Slob Club of Reel Angling Adventures must measure more than 20 inches
long.
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dropper styled fly-fishing techniques.
Still, its not really the bugs hatching that
makes Tooni Cove Farm such a desirable fishing venue in the spring. It’s
the giant slob rainbow trout, displaying their spawning colors like they
were in a drag show on Duval Street! Have a look at the trophy rainbows
that have entered the great halls |
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Reel Angling Adventures
offers exclusive access to the trophy-trout fishery of Tooni
Cove Farm on the upper Toccoa River in Fannin County, Georgia.
Click here
to learn more!
Or call toll free:
866-899-5259 |
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Springtime Hatches Dry-Fly Patterns on the
Hiwassee River at Reliance |
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By
Bill Stranahan
Attention fly-fishermen who like
throwing dry flies: The insect hatches on the
Hiwassee River are growing
stronger day by day, and the activity can only get better as the season
goes on.
Indeed, springtime has sprung on the
Hiwassee River at Reliance in southeast Tennessee, and, with its warm
days,
bug hatches – sometimes quite heavy -- are emerging on all
sections of the river.
As the guides of Reel Angling Adventures
have expected, the Hiwassee’s large populations of rainbow and brown
trout are on the hunt for the hatches. In fact, fly-fishermen in and
outside the driftboats of RAA are finding rising fish
throughout the day on the Hiwassee. But not all of the trout are going
for the adult duns. Many trout are still keying on the emerging insects
caught in the river’s surface film as they head for the surface.
What type of insect an angler finds in early
spring on any given day on the Hiwassee River depends on what portion of
the river they’re fishing and the time of day. In April, the hatches are
likely best patterned with Blue-Winged Olives, Caddisflies and
Hendrickson’s. BWOs appear almost daily now in |
the lower portions of the Hiwassee, while
the Caddisfly and Hendrickson hatches have spread throughout the
riverway -- from the Paddy boat access (6 miles downstream from the
bridge at US Highway 411), all the way upstream to Smith Creek
Powerhouse. (Reel Angling Adventures operates drift-boat trips along the
entire length of the Hiwassee River, depending on power-generation flows.)
And that’s good news for lots of shore-bound
anglers, too! For more than 3 miles, North River Road runs alongside the
river, giving great access to fly-fishermen on foot who don’t want to
walk far to tap into the springtime surface action.
More adventurous
wading
anglers find still more on-foot access by hiking any portion of the
3-mile-long riverside trail, from between Big Bend and the L&N railroad
bridge, Along its length, the trail traces the north shoreline of the
river’s designated “quality trout fishing area.” Trail-access parking is
located along TN Highway 30 at the Hiwassee River Picnic Area, and off
Hiwassee River Road (FR 108) at Childers Creek and Big Bend. Not only
does this stretch offer some great wade-fishing, but anglers who take
the walk can easily place some distance between them and other anglers.
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The
Hiwassee River’s large populations of rainbow and brown trout are on the
hunt for springtime bug hatches. But not all of the trout are
going for the adult duns. Many trout are still keying on the emerging
insects caught in the river’s surface film as they head for the surface.
Photo by Bill Stranahan
Hiwassee River
Springtime Fly Patterns
(All patterns, size 14
to 18)
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Light and Dark Hendrickson
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Rusty Spinner
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Hendrickson Emerger
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Quill Gordon
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Elk
Hair Caddis (olive and tan)
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Caddis Sparkle Pupa
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Soft-Hackle Hare’s Ear
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Soft-Hackle Pheasant Tail
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Reel Angling Adventures
operates guided float trips and wading trips for rainbow and brown trout on the
Hiwassee River at Reliance, TN, and on the Toccoa River at Blue Ridge, GA, seven days a week for fly-fishermen and
spin-fishermen. In season on the Hiwassee, we take our shots at
smallmouth bass and striped bass, too! Bring your favorite tackle, or let our guides
share their selection of quality rods and reels -- fly fishing
or spin-fishing -- with you.
Click here to learn more!
Or call toll free:
866-899-5259 |
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Fast Action
on Spring Menu for Dry-Flyers on Delayed Harvest Waters |
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By
Bob Borgwat
As spring days grow
warm,
the
"delayed
harvest"
trout waters in Georgia, North
Carolina and Tennessee will come alive with mayflies, stoneflies
and caddisflies. The result? Fly-rodders manic for dry-fly
fishing!
From now through
mid-May, bug activity only grows stronger as stream and river
water temperatures begin a warming trend that typically takes
hold by April 1 (see the RAA
hatch chart). And the aquatic insects that spend their early
lives in
the Nantahala, Tuckaseegee, Chattooga and Toccoa rivers
will have many fly-fishermen restocking their fly boxes with the
many patterns that imitate them.
Blue-winged olives
dominate the hatches in mid-March, but the bigger March Browns
flutter around periodically until the hatch periods of these big mayflies grows
strong in early April when water temperatures approach 50
degrees.
Water temperatures
continue rising through April as spring storms run water levels
up and into streamside grasses from time to time. Watch for the
stoneflies to take advantage of the high water, climbing out on
grass stalks, forest debris and rocks. Expect these early spring
stoneflies to be small -- size 10 and 12 works nicely -- and
black in body color. Try a black Caddis or black Stimulator to imitate
the adult bug, but don't overlook sinking a black stonefly nymph
in the riffles. |
Warming water will also bring more fish -- especially rainbows
-- into the riffles. On the "buggiest" days, you'll easily
discover what dry fly pattern works best. Choose your fly to
match the hatch, then float it through the lanes of small
standing waves in mid-stream. Strikes are quick.
Then watch for the brookies! There's a good number of brook
trout already in the DH waters, but the state and federal
fisheries agencies responsible for stocking these waters seem to
run the brook trout numbers up as springtime comes around.
Combined with bug life that grows more active as spring keeps
running water temperatures upward, dry flies floated on the
margins of strong runs -- especially at river edges -- will
suddenly get sipped ... probably by a brookie!
There's really nothing like the DH streams, as
far as fly-fishing goes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fish numbers are high, fish quality is
high, the streams offer every physical feature you'll find on
Southeast trout streams, and the venues stand out among the most
beautiful areas in the southern Appalachian Mountains."
Fly-fishermen of all skill levels are treated to outstanding
fishing action on the area's DH streams. Each of the venues
offer challenging fishing conditions where an expert fly-rodder
can hone his/her skills. Novice fly-fishermen are equally at
home where the streams' more easily fished areas allow them to
build their fly-fishing skills with confidence that they're next
catch is only another cast away!
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Swift water -- including riffles and standing waves -- grow more
likely to hold trout as the water temperatures rised in spring.
Rainbows are more likely found in the fastest water, while
brookies, like the one shown below, often lie on the margins of
the riffles, especially at streamside.
The
"delayed harvest" trout waters of Georgia, North Carolina and
Tennessee offer great opportunities for fly-fishing on
streams/rivers that feature all the characteristics of trout
habitat common to the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Photos by Bob Borgwat.
Copyright
2007
Toccoa Bend Images LLC
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Don't miss your opportunity this year to
fly-fish the delayed-harvest trout streams of Georgia and North Carolina.
Click here
-- or call toll
free: 866-899-5259 -- to
book your trip on the Nantahala, Tuckaseegee, Toccoa or Chattooga rivers. |
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For trip reservations
and information, contact ...
Reel Angling Adventures
PO Box 12
Suches, GA 30572
Toll-Free Phone:
866-899-5259
Email ...
BBorgwat@ReelAnglingAdventures.com
Reel Angling
Adventures is a division of Toccoa Bend Images LLC
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