GA DNR Press Release: Seasonal Trout Streams No Longer Seasonal

Seasonal Trout Streams No Longer Seasonal - But Now Year-Round

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (4/30/2015)

Trout season opened this past March, but unlike previous years, they will no longer have a closing date.  Beginning April 21, 2015, state trout streams will remain open year-round, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division. 

“The Board of Natural Resources recently approved the lifting of seasonal restrictions on approximately 1,600 miles of trout waters,” said John Biagi, Fisheries Section Chief of the Wildlife Resources Division.  “This decision, which initiated as something that anglers had been requesting for many years, comes after many months of research and analysis and extensive public outreach and we anticipate that trout anglers will eagerly welcome this additional time on the water.” 

This change in trout fishing regulations only eliminates the dates of “trout season.”  So, come this October, the season will not close as it has in past years.  

“We are grateful for all the feedback received during the public outreach process. We sought input from anglers through public meetings and surveys and worked closely with trout conservation groups to ensure that we had support of this decision,” said Biagi.  “We feel confident that this change will not negatively impact trout populations, but given the fact that our agency is charged with conserving and managing the wild trout resources of Georgia, we will continue to monitor wild trout stream populations as we have for decades and will respond accordingly to any changes.” 

The daily limit is eight trout on general regulation trout waters. Anglers are reminded to respect private property rights along streams flowing through private lands and to obtain permission before fishing on private property.  

Anglers must possess a current Georgia fishing license and a trout license to fish in designated trout waters and to fish for or possess trout.  Anglers must also possess a wildlife management area license or Georgia Outdoor Recreation Pass (GORP) in order to fish on certain WMAs.  Find a list of designated areas atwww.georgiawildlife.com/Georgia-Outdoor-Recreational-Pass .  

Smith's Creek Delayed Harvest: A Sure Thing

Good Morning Folks!

Unicoi Outfitters

  Despite having a severe allergies attack this weekend, I managed to get out and do a bit of fishing!  Sunday morning I went up to Unicoi State Park, just above Helen, GA, to fish the Delayed Harvest stretch of Smith's Creek.  This was my first experience fishing the delayed harvest and I was sure excited by the prospect of catching multiple fish larger than most I've caught so far.  On the way up to the state park I stopped into Unicoi Outfitters for a stream report and see what flies they might suggest.  After talking to the guys behind the counter for a bit, my confidence level was elevated even more.
  I got up to the park and had to look for the Visitor's Center to check in and get the park permit to fish.  That was my first mistake.  After driving around the park, trying to follow the signs, for what seemed like half an hour, I found the Visitor's Center, tucked deep inside the camping area, locked up tight.  By this time it was after 9:00 and the Center was supposed to open at 8:00.  I got back in the car and followed the signs to the Lodge, thinking that someone would be working there on a Sunday morning.  I've spent a little bit of time at Unicoi, so I thought I knew where I was going.  I didn't.  I made it to the Lodge and parked in the first spot I could find and walked in.  I was on the restaurant level.  Third floor.  Back of the building.  I wandered around looking for an employee and finally found a guest that knew where the registration desk was.  Ground floor.  Front of the building.
  I got all checked in, got down to the correct parking area, geared up and headed toward the water.  As soon as I got to the creek, I saw three guys rigging up and fishing (the parking lot was still in view!?!).  One of the pieces of advice I got from the guys at the fly shop was to walk and since I enjoy hiking as much as fishing, that's what I did.  I followed a bike trail for at least half an hour, maybe closer to 45 minutes, before I thought I had gone far enough and my rod started begging to be cast. I was in the water around 10:00 am.  I fished until about 4:30, when the sun was starting to drop behind the mountains.  I didn't want to be caught in the dark in an unfamiliar place, and I didn't know how long it would take to walk back to the car.  I fished the whole day.  Threw one of every fly pattern I had in my box and I never caught a fish.  I got one soft bite and saw the flash as the fish threw the hook.
  I could go on and on finding reasons why I didn't catch anything when a banner day was supposed to be a sure thing.  I probably wasn't holding my tongue right, the weather change put the fish down, the water was too clear and the sky too blue, but the fact of the matter is, I had a wonderful day.  I get frustrated when I don't catch anything, but I still got to spend the day knee deep in a near perfect stream in the woods on a gorgeous fall day in North Georgia and that, to me, makes it worth it every time.  I'll be back to try again, just as soon as I can restock my fly box.
  If you want to fish the Delayed Harvest at Smith's Creek or any of the other DH streams in Georgia, I put a link to the GA DH Fishing Regs in the sidebar.  Make sure you stop into Unicoi Outfitters when you go, too, it never hurts to have a couple of recommended flies from the guys who know and a little local knowledge goes a long way!  Oh, and remember, check in at the Lodge at Unicoi, NOT the Visitor's Center!
  Hope you all are doing well,
     Tight Lines and Happy Trails,
          -Nick

Unicoi Outfitters
Unicoi State Park

Year Round Georgia Trout Season | GA DNR Press Release

Mornin' Folks,

  I'm just trying to help spread the word!  There are going to be two public meetings coming up from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to inform, answer questions, and get public feedback on the possibility of instituting a year round trout season on Georgia's streams.  One meeting is to take place on Thursday, November 13 in Gainesville and the the other will be on Tuesday, November 18 in Acworth.  I'll be attending the Gainesville meeting and I hope to see lots of folks there!
  Have a great day!
     -Nick

Here's the original press release from DNR and a link to their page:
http://www.gofishgeorgia.com/node/3750

Changes in Trout Regulations Subject of November Public Scoping Meetings

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (11/3/2014)

Currently, trout streams are designated either seasonal or year-round.  But, what if that designation were to change?  Agency staff recently evaluated the effects of removing the “trout season” entirely and opening all trout waters to year-round fishing.  The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division would like to have your input on this topic at two upcoming public scoping meetings. 

Public input is important when considering any changes to fishing regulations, so these scoping meetings will provide an opportunity for interested citizens to hear more about the reasoning and research behind these possible changes from WRD staff, and have a chance to ask questions and provide feedback. 

Two public scoping meetings are scheduled.  People who plan to attend are also encouraged to tell others who may be interested in participating.  Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. 

DATE	LOCATION
Thursday, Nov. 13	Fair Street Neighborhood Center 715 Fair Street Gainesville, GA 30501 www.gainesville.org/fair-street-neighborhood-center
Tuesday, Nov. 18	Red Top Mountain State Park Conference Center/Park Office 50 Lodge Road, SE Acworth, GA 30102 www.gastateparks.org/RedTopMountain

Photos from IFTD and iCAST Day 4

I finally managed to get the last group of ICAST/IFTD photos captioned!  I still have more that I haven't posted yet, I'm going to try to highlight some of the booths that I really liked at the show.  Hopefully these pictures will tide you guys over for a while!

Enjoy, like, follow, subscribe, and comment!

  Thanks, Tight Lines!

     Nick

Evenin' Folks,

  I know I promised to caption these photos once I got home from the IFTD show. I'm still working on it, I promise. Things have been busy here since returning from Florida. So, as consolation, I offer up more original photos from the 2014 IFTD and iCAST show. Please enjoy!

  Tight Lines!

     Nick

Native Watercraft had a bunch of their kayaks on display.  They almost look like canoe/kayak hybrids!

Speaking of hybrids, these little hybrid kayak/drift boats from Nucanoe looked pretty sweet!

TFO had a booth jam-packed with rods.  I loved the look of all these different grips lined up in the rack.

Hobie Kayaks, the kayak you pedal! The new tandem model they introduced looks like it could be an awful lot of fun!

It was nice to see a booth from Georgia DNR at the show.  

This map shows all the fishing related companies that call Georgia home.  I was tempted to tack a Suburban Angler business card up near the Oyster Bamboo Rods sticker!

The size and shape of these Ion video cameras seems like they'd be more practical for all sorts of sportsmen to record their adventures.

I want the camo one!

They're about the same size and weight as a chunky little LED flashlight.  Definitely on my wish list!

WTP, Inc had some really cool looking self adhesive products for lure making, I think these eyes can cross over to fly tying pretty easily!

They had too many products to fit the whole booth in one shot!

All of the WTP products are made right here in the USA, too!

Redington had a huge booth with loads of awesome products on display.  I've got to try one of these Butter Sticks real soon!

This picture shows maybe a quarter of the rods Redington had on display.

Redington also had a nice display of their own reels.

A 6' 2" 2-weight Butter Stick, I had to get a close up!

A Canadian group called Mouche had a fishing cabin/lounge set up as their booth.  Check them out on Facebook, it's a really cool concept of passing on flies on the water that they were successful.

Nikko is a soft plastic bait company out of Japan.  While not necessarily for the fly angler, the minute detail of these plastics, I think, could be integrated into more realistic flies.

The front doors of the show, taken on the last day.  I had such an amazing time, I can't wait to go back next year!

Just a beautiful truck in the parking lot.  Oh yeah, it belongs to the Spanish Fly!

Georgia Panfish Research Series: 1-Identification

Afternoon Folks,

  I hope you’re all doing well today.  I don’t know about where you are, but here in Georgia we’re having an absolutely gorgeous Sunday, high in the low 80’s and not a cloud in sight!  I think I may have to hit the lake this evening! 

  In my last post I mentioned that I’d been doing a bit of research on the panfish species that inhabit the lakes and streams around me, so this post is my first installment on that topic.  I firmly believe in giving credit where credit is due.  The information below is not my own original work.  Rather, I copied the info form the Georgia Department of Natural Resources website.  I hope by being up front with that that I’m not breaking any rules.  One thing I did do, however, was put all of the information together.  On the GA DNR website you have to click an individual link to each fish species.  For our purposes, I thought having it on one single page would make things a little easier.  It’s one thing to see a picture of what you’re trying to identify, it’s a whole lot easier when you can compare pictures together.  You’ll also see that each post has its original image credit intact as well. 

  Each fish description from DNR is excellent, and the artwork in incredible (…to be so talented!), but I particularly like that the state record weights are included with each description.  I knew that crappie could get pretty good size, but I can’t imagine pulling in a 3 pound Bluegill!!! A new goal to aim for indeed!

  Look over the info here, and let me know what you guys think.  I’m going to keep researching and see what else I can find of interest.  Post any questions down in the comments and I’ll do my best to research an answer.  Now get outside and catch some fish!

  Tight Lines!

    -Nick

Bluegill

The bluegill is round and flat, with a distinct dark spot or smudge at the base of the dorsal fin. The ear flap is entirely black, which distinguishes it from a lot of other sunfish. Its back and upper sides are dark olive-green to black, and its belly is reddish yellow. The bluegill also has a pattern of vertical bars on the sides. During spawning season, males can be especially dark or colorful.

Scientific Name:  Lepomis macrochirus

State Record: 3 lbs. 5 oz.

Image D.Raver (USFWS)

Black crappie

With a compressed body, small head and arched back, the black crappie is silvery-green to yellowish, with large dorsal and anal fins of almost identical shape and size. It has a large mouth with an upper jaw extending under the eye. It has many dark spots on its sides and fins, which become more mottled toward the back. To differentiate between a black crappie and a white crappie, count the dorsal spines. The black crappie has seven to eight dorsal spines, while the white crappie has only five to six.

Scientific Name:  Pomoxis nigromaculatus

State Record: 4 lbs. 4 oz.

Image D.Raver (USFWS)

Redear sunfish (Shellcracker)

The redear sunfish is a deep, slab-sided fish with pointed pectoral fins. Its most distinguishing feature is a red or orange edge along the ear flap. With light green-to-gold sides speckled with red or orange flecks, the redear has a yellowish-orange belly. The redear sunfish also grows faster and larger than other sunfish, often reaching 2 pounds with 1-plus pound fish common.

Scientific Name:  Lepomis microlophus

State Record: 4 lbs. 2 oz.

Image D.Raver (USFWS)

Redbreast sunfish

One of the brightest-colored sunfish, the redbreast has green-to yellow-brown sides with reddish spots and a reddish-orange belly. It has bluish streaks on its cheeks and around the eyes. The most distinguishing characteristic of this species is a long, narrow (no wider than the eye) extension of the gill cover. These flaps may exceed a length of 1 inch and are entirely black.

Scientific Name:  Lepomis auritus

State Record: 1 lb 11 oz.

Image D.Raver (USFWS)

Warmouth

The warmouth has a thick, oblong body, which varies from brassy to dark olive-green. It has broad, irregular dark bars that give it a mottled appearance. It is easily identified by red eyes and a large mouth, which is similar to a bass. Its upper jaw extends to or beyond the middle of the eyes. Three or four conspicuous dark stripes radiate back from the eyes across to the cheek and gill cover. The soft-rayed portions of the dorsal and anal fins are marked with rows of dark spots.

Scientific Name:  Lepomis gulosus

State Record: 2 lbs.

Image D.Raver (USFWS)

Flier

Fliers are small, deep-bodied, compressed sunfishes with large dorsal and anal fins that are nearly equal in size. The upper jaw extends backward to the front of the eye, and the tongue has two tooth patches. Olive green to pale yellow sides are marked with several rows of brown spots. Small fliers have a prominent black spot surrounded by an orange circle in the soft dorsal fin.

Scientific Name:  Centrarchus macropterus

State Record:  None Noted

Image D.Raver (USFWS)

Information and images reposted from Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division at: http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Fishing