Spring Patterns Draw Trophy-Trout at Tooni Cove/Noontootla Creek

By Bob Borgwat

The trophy-trout fisheries at Tooni Cove Farm and Noontootla Creek Farm is taking the expected springtime turn to improving action as the water warms with the season on the upper Toccoa River watershed 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 17 to 22 inches chased down our guides' streamers, snatched dead-drifted nymphs, and occasionally rose to well-placed black caddisflies.

Meanwhile, big rainbows and the occasional trophy brown are falling for big stonefly nymphs, as well as small patterns like the Prince nymph, in the tight narrow runs and long dark feeding lanes at Noontootla Creek Farm. The spring-fed stream, which challenges experienced fly-rodders, is  colder than the main-stem Toccoa River, so dry-fly action may lag behind the bigger Toccoa by a couple weeks.

Springtime at Tooni Cove Farm and Noontootla Creek Farm produces the first major insect hatches of the year Early on, the black 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-dropper styled fly-fishing techniques.

It's all these springtime bugs and the

opportunity to battle trophy trout to 10 pounds  and more that makes trophy trout at Tooni Cove Farm and Noontootla Creek Farm such desirable fly-fishing venues in the spring. Imagine 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 of the 2008 Slob Club, and you’ll understand what I mean!

The trout of Tooni Cove Farm are well-managed, moderately pressured and carefully handled by both the fisheries' staffs and the guide team of Reel Angling Adventures, which enters its sixth year of operating at Tooni Cove and its second season at Noontootla Creek. Combined, the fishery teams have learned well the management techniques important to both the fish and the water, taking care to maintain natural settings in which the trout do not become the “pets” some anglers associate with a private fisheries.

It takes a skilled and patient angler to coax a slob trout from their homes on the Toccoa River and Noontootla Creek. However, novice anglers improve their skill levels rapidly when they consistently hook -- and sometimes lose -- the big rainbows that average around 18 inches long.

As the water temperatures rise over the next few weeks, there’s sure to be more of those 20-inch ‘bows moving at Noontootla Creek Farm and Tooni Cove Farm. Maybe you will be the first fly-rodder to enter the Slob Club in 2009!

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. 

Both novice and expert fly-fishermen find the action challenging when targeting the trophy rainbows and browns of Noontootla Creek Farm and Tooni Cove Farm.

Join the guides of Reel Angling Adventures this season for full- and half-day trips on Georgia's best trophy-trout waters for your shot at taking the trophy trout of a lifetime!

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Photos by Bob Borgwat, Copyright 2007
Toccoa Bend Images LLC

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

Early Spring Delivers Hot Trout Fishing on the Lower Hiwassee River

By Chad Bryson

Spring is just a few weeks away, and the Hiwassee River in Reliance, TN, is responding. The combination of water discharges, insect hatches and an even distribution of trout make the float from the Reliance bridge to Hwy 411 one of top trip options for in early spring for both fly-fishermen and those who prefer tossing lures and spinning tackle.

Winter rainfall has been sufficient enough to bring most of the TVA lakes well within the required levels to have reliable water releases below the dams. Appalachia Dam, which releases power generation flows into the Hiwassee at Smith Creek Powerhouse, is no exception. With at least one generator flowing for several hours daily, the float through the “meadows” is one of scenic beauty that all anglers should experience. Sheer rock cliffs, high mountain ridges and pastoral farmland on either side of the river for 6 miles provides anglers with views not often not seen in the Southeast. After you get over the

On early spring days when just one turbine spins at Smith Creek Powerhouse, day-long float trips operated by Reel Angling Adventures take place on the lower Hiwassee River.

From Reliance downstream through "the meadows," trout anglers see fine dry-fly fishing -- from the drift boat as well as on foot when wading in the less technical sections of the riverway.

Photo by Bob Borgwat
Copyright 2007 Toccoa Bend Images LLC

Not only does the BWO hatch drive the trout nuts, many other insects begin their annual life cycle. Among the top early spring dry-fly patterns are March Browns, Caddisflies and the occasional Hendrickson. Being that multiple bug hatches can happen on any given day, anglers need to carry fly patterns imitating all stages of insect life. Over the years, I have developed my own insect patterns in every stage and cycle of life that are just a bit different from the regular store bought bugs. These often seem to make the difference between good and great fishing for both brown and rainbow trout.

While on this float through the meadows and lower Hiwassee, anglers can expect a mixed bag of float-fishing and easy, non-technical wade-fishing. Massive numbers of trout hold in this stretch that features areas of sculpted granite, freestone and boulder gardens.

The Hiwassee River at Reliance, TN, offers a fantastic float to tune up your casting after the long winter hiatus.

scenery, of course, there’s the fishing!

Early springtime favors this lower section of river with the some of the first significant insect hatches of the year. Like any tailwater in the Southeast, the Hiwassee River has a huge BWO hatch on this lower section. The fish get stupidon it!

Reel Angling Adventures operates guided float trips for rainbow and brown trout on the Toccoa River at Blue Ridge, GA, and the Hiwassee River at Reliance, TN, 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

Fast Action on Spring Menu for Dry-Flyers on Delayed Harvest Waters

By Bob Borgwat

As the looming spring promises warming days ahead, 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.

Photos by Bob Borgwat.
Copyright 2007
Toccoa Bend Images LLC  

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.

Anglers 'Ripping' Up Smallmouth Bass Action at Lake Blue Ridge

By Bob Borgwat

Don't miss the fast springtime bass fishing for smallmouth, spotted and largemouth bass on the scenic lakes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. Click here -- or call toll free: 866-899-5259 -- to book your trip now!

Wild Trout Waters Set Spring, Summer Stage for Fly-Rod Adventures

By Bob Borgwat

Fly-fishermen who trek this spring and summer into the remote woodlands of the Chattahoochee and Nantahala national forests can find remarkable dry-fly    fishing for wild brown, rainbow and brook trout in some of the most beautiful settings imaginable.

Among the waterfalls, deep gorges, sparkling riffles and emerald pools in the backcountry of north Georgia and western North Carolina, wild trout feed almost haphazardly on just about any bug -- or fly pattern -- that falls on these crystal clear waters.

It's a matter of opportunity for the fish -- the opportunity to grab a bite when that bite is available. That's what these beautiful -- albeit small -- trout do when you float a buggy looking fly over a riffle, alongside a drain, down a chute or across a deep pool.

And when they're hooked, you'll find a little hellion on the end of your leader! They jump, they drive deep and they dash quickly across all the available water.

  But you'll have to be adventurous to locate the best of the wild-trout waters that lace in and out of

the hills and hollows of the southern Appalachian mountains. We call it a Trout Trek!

Do it youself, and you'll first have to locate the streams on a map. See all those little blue

lines at the highest elevations around places like Hiawassee, Blue Ridge, Blairsville and Clayton, Georgia? Or look in the vicinities of Robbinsville, Highlands, Cashiers and Franklin, North Carolina. Yep -- that's them!

Next, you'll have to find the roads that lead toward those little blue lines. Then, locate a trail or plan on some bushwhacking. Either way, get ready for a hike -- maybe up, maybe down, but certainly a mile or more before you catch the song of a riffle or the clatter of a waterfall. The best streams offer you a chance for completing the "Appalachian Slam" -- the taking of all three species -- browns, rainbows and brookies -- in a single day!

Or you can let us help you!

Reel Angling Adventures offers two options for guided fly-fishing for wild trout. Book a Wild-Trout Trek with RAA and you'll be introduced to three of these stunning fisheries in a single day. You can also choose to book your trip into a single wild-trout fishing destination, where you'll spend a full- or half-day scrambling into a gorge where waterfalls separate brookies from their rainbow and brown trout cousins.

Either way, you're sure to find a new dimension in your fly-fishing when you go on the chase for wild trout with Reel Angling Adventures.

The woodlands found in the back-county of the mountains in North Georgia and western North Carolina is a beautiful backdrop for fly-fishermen.

Fly-fisherman Tim Otremba and his son, Ryan, of Acworth recently trekked into one such site near Blue Ridge, GA, where they found wild rainbows to be willing participants in their adventure afoot. Dry flies were the ticket for the father-and-son duo.

More Photos!

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Photos by Bob Borgwat / © 2008 TBI

Use summertime to make an adventurous trek through deep gorges, climbing waterfalls, scaling boulders and more with a fly-fishing trip for wild trout -- browns, rainbows and brookies -- on the remote waters of Georgia and North Carolina.
Click here -- or call toll free: 866-899-5259 -- to book your trip now!

Catch a Striped Bass on a Trout Stream? Plan Your Trip Now!

By Bill Stranahan

Known for its superb trout fishing, the Hiwassee River at Reliance in southeast Tennessee, offers up an unusually exciting opportunity in summertime for taking striped bass – BIG STRIPED BASS – and it’s a blast for anglers of all skill levels.

In summertime, big striped move into the trout waters of the Hiwassee River. And we’ve got the catches to prove it! (See the photos at right).

Chasing striped bass on the Hiwassee River is not your usual fishing trip, especially since catching these stripers is done on a river that’s regionally known as one of the finest trout streams in the southeastern US! Locating the bruiser “linesides” on the Hiwassee River is more like hunting and stalking for a trophy buck. Like a big whitetail, the Hiwassee's trophy stripers are limited in number, including only those fish that migrate during the summer months up the riverway from Lake Chickamauga on the Tennessee River.

The stripers that find their way into the cold trout waters of the Hiwassee do so because, starting in late June, the water temperature in the riverway around Reliance rises into the low to mid-60s.  Stripers tolerate those temperatures just fine, especially when they can dine on the Hiwassee’s tasty rainbow trout!

Last year, the guide team of Reel Angling Adventures took several stripers that averaged about 15 pounds in size. Guide Bill Stranahan leads the team in both numbers of fish and size,

tackling individual stripers in the 30-pound range in 2007, and, once again in 2008, landing stripers in late June that unofficially top 30 pounds!

Striper fishermen who share a drift boat with the guides of Reel Angling Adventures on the Hiwassee River have taken the stripers on both fly rods and spinning tackle. But no matter the method, hooking up on a Hiwassee River striper is not for the faint of heart. Your guide is looking for that one special fish – the one that makes you smile every time you think about the hunt, the chase, the fight and the landing of your Hiwassee River striper!

Your catch won’t always come easy. Hiwassee River striped bass are finicky fish and can swim across long distances from day to day. Some days we’ve got ‘em in our sights. Other days, the stripers prove elusive to even our best fishing secrets. If you are looking to come out and catch numbers of stripers, this is not the trip for you. But if you would like to get that chance for hanging into a trophy-class striped bass, there’s no more exciting place to take that dream fish than on a trout stream!

Reel Angling Adventures is booking drift-boat trips daily on the Hiwassee River at Reliance, Tennessee, for summertime stripers – and year-round trout, too! Trips start at 10 am and are available in both half-day and full- day excursions. For more information, call Reel Angling Adventures (toll free) at 866-899-5259. 

Hang onto that rod!

Known for its super trout fishing, the Hiwassee River at Reliance, Tennessee, produced this 30-pound striped bass for angler Dave Fletcher on a late June drift-boat trip.

Once the cold riverway temperature warms into the 60s in summertime, Hiwassee River stripers move into the trout waters to feed on the rainbows that make up the bulk of the local fishing action.

More Photos!

Photos by Bill Stranahan / ©TBI 2007

Reel Angling Adventures operates guided float trips and wading trips for striped bass on the Hiwassee River at Reliance, TN, seven days a week for fly-fishermen and spin-fishermen. In season on the Hiwassee, we take our shots at smallmouth 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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