Smith Creek Trip

Guided some guys on Smith Creek October 1st. Two brothers, Scott and Craig and their dad Mike. Scott lives in Georgia, but dad and Craig are from Scottsboro and Auburn AL respectively. Pretty much newbies to fly fishing except for Craig. Spent first hour or so teaching basic fly fishing technique: rigging, casting, etc. Then hit the water for a few hours in pursuit of trout. Craig caught a nice 12" rainbow right off. But water was low following a very hot, no rain summer so fishing was very tough. Guys didn't have time to go to better water this trip. Got skunked for rest of the morning except for very small fish. Scott picked up the roll casting very quickly as well as manipulating a wooly bugger downstream. The guys had a great time fishing together on the creek and the weather was spectacular for a fall day. A great time for dad and son's to spend together on the water in the beautiful North Georgia mountains.

Smith Creek is a year round trout stream and from Nov 1. thru May 14 it is managed by the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division as a Delayed Harvest regulation stream: Catch and Release only, artificial fly/lure. The rest of the year Smith is a regular trout stream under Normal trout fishing rules. Smith is located in White County at the Unicoi State Park. A state park pass or a parking fee required. During DH period, you are required to sign in and get a daily fishing permit (free) from the Unicoi State Park lodge just up the road from the creek.

- The Georgia Mountain Angler. A couple of trout bums who know where the fish are!  
 

Raven Fork Trip

The Georgia Mountain Angler headed out to the Raven Fork in Western North Carolina last Thursday in pursuit of some trophy trout. We fished the "Trophy Section" of the Raven located in the Cherokee Indian reservation in the Great Smoky Mountains. Glenn and I wasted no time in landing our first of many 14" rainbows right from the start. Caught a few that went 16" as well. Fantastic fall day on the river with perfect weather. Didn't even see another angler. Water was a bit low but the fish were hitting nymphs very well. Anything with a "hot spot" seemed to work great. Bead head nymphs with some hot orange thread tied above the bead head was the ticket. Fished the nymphs as droppers below a dry which didn't interest the fish, but provided a good strike indicator. If you haven't fished the Raven Fork, you should soon. Located near Cherokee, NC, a special permit is required to fish the "Trophy Section" as well as a daily reservation permit. No NC fishing license is required to fish here. We would be happy to guide for you on this river where 14 to 16 inch rainbows are common and many larger fish up to 22" are landed regularly. Visit our website below for more info.

-The Georgia Mountain Angler. A couple of trout bums who know where the fish are!