Saturday, June 07, 2014

Fish, Local History, and Fish!

 Afternoon Folks,
  I haven't gotten around to posting in a while, so this one's a bit pic heavy.  Because of that, I'll try to keep the rambling short!  I've been fishing every chance I get lately and the Little Girl and I have been checking out some of the historical places we have here in North Georgia.  So, even though I'm out of school for the summer, we're still staying pretty busy.
Antiques are another of my passions. 

  The first set of pictures is from an evening in the kayak on Lake Lanier.  I caught a few little bluegills, but the fishing didn't seem to be too good.  The lake seems a lot busier this year, I'm having a more difficult time finding quiet places to fish without jet skis and speed boats flying by the whole time.  I'm still exploring some of the different areas of the lake, hopefully soon I'll find a good, quiet, fishy spot all to myself!
  The next few pictures are from a little day trip we took up toward Helen, Georgia.  We spent a few hours walking around the North Georgia Zoo and Wildlife Wonders park.  The Little Girl bonded with some young Pygmy Goats that were ready to adopt us.  If we had a bigger backyard, I wouldn't have been opposed to bringing a couple home myself.  I'm a little more partial to the chickens and miniature donkeys though.  After a wonderful German lunch at Hofer's in Helen, we stopped at Nora Mills Granary to feed the trout by the dam.  This stretch of river is owned by the mill, no fishing is allowed unless guided by one of the Unicoi Outfitters guides, catch and release only.  I'd love to do it, but I'm in no position to pay for fishing!  We ended up getting a tour of the mill, samples of the grits and had to buy a few pounds of assorted grains before we left!  A great little roadside stop, you should really check it out if you're ever in the area.  And, don't forget the trout above the dam, they put on a better show!
  I've got some pretty good fish pictures next.  I've been fishing Suwanee Creek a lot to avoid the traffic on Lake Lanier.  I found a pretty good hole where the creek doglegs and it seems to hold a good many bluegills.  The last time I was out there was  a beaver swimming around checking things out.  I think that's a good sign for the health of the creek!
  Lastly are some pictures of the historic Poole's Mill covered bridge outside of Cumming, Georgia.  It was a very picturesque spot and I look forward to going back with the kayak and a flyrod!  I do hate to see so much graffiti on a historical landmark, some people have no respect. I am fascinated with the milling marks on the old timbers and love that it's all peg construction!
  I hope you're all doing well, and that I didn't ramble too much for you!  Enjoy the pictures and get out and explore the fishing holes and history in your backyard!
  Tight lines!
      -Nick
  
 
 
I won a 3-month subscription to PostFly Box on Instagram. Each shipment includes a sticker, so I found an appropriate place for it!

A nice bluegill on a white popper taken kayak fishing on Lake Lanier.

Another nice little bluegill.
Just a fly-keeper shot.

Two week old Pygmy Goat kids nursing on the Little Girl's fingers at the North Georgia Zoo and Wildlife Wonders park.


A look back downstream at the Granary building.

A view upstream on the Chattahoochee River from Nora Mills Granary looking above the dam.


The hand-built log dam at Nora Mills Granary.  This is the last privately owned dam on Chattahoochee River. There's been a dam on this spot for over 150 years!
Did you know that the phrases "a damsel in distress" and "keep your nose to the grindstone" both originated in stone ground grain mills?


I know I've said this before, but I have a major fascination with water-powered mills!

They may be tough to see, but these are the trout below the dam at Nora Mills Granary.  I stopped counting at 20!

A good looking Suwanee Creek 'gill.

Another good Suwanee Creek fish, possibly the biggest yet!
Trying to shake the popper! Beautiful colors on this Suwanee Creek bluegill.
My favorite hole on Suwanee Creek.  Makes casting tough.

The aquarium at the Macon, GA Bass Pro Shop.

A monster Bluegill in the Bass Pro aquarium.

The vintage fly display at Bass Pro Macon.

Beautiful bridge.  The center support was added recently to shore up the sagging bridge.


100 year old milling marks.

The underside of the bridge.

The bridge from upstream.  You know there's fish in that water!