By Jimmy Harris
Heading into the New Year, it’s so enticing to write about all the new possibilities we’ll have to get outdoors, but this month I want to help you focus on optimizing your opportunities. So let’s take a look at your vision.
Are you NEARSIGHTED? I mean, are you prepared for that chance trout fishing trip you may hop on in a moments notice? Where is your winter fishing gear? You don’t want to get all the way to the Chattooga River only to find you’ve got three bottles of Gink floatant but no split shot. Ever spent good fishing time looking for a river pebble that you could tie on your tippet and pray it stays there and helps get your fly to the bottom where the fish are? Uh huh, I’ve only heard these stories myself. Take time to go through your vest, pack, or whatever and make sure you have everything you need for winter fishing before you head out.
Are you FARSIGHTED? Where and when are you going fishing? As valuable as your personal time is to you, don’t spend days or weeks planning a trip without looking at weather conditions, stream flows, and water temperatures. If you have a few hours to fish, don’t waste them getting on the stream at daybreak when the water temp is in the 30’s. Catching is going to be almost non-existent. Time your arrival to get there later in the day when things have warmed up a little. Once that water temperature hits 40°, the bite will likely turn on also. But if it doesn’t hit that magic number until 11:00 and you got on the water at 7:00, you’ve put in a half-day of fishing with little to show.
Finally, use your X-RAY VISION. Read up, study, and find out what other anglers are doing successfully. Best way to optimize your X-Ray vision is to delve into the internet. Locally, North Georgia Trout Online and GNO both have active message boards where you can pick up tips to improve your game. Of course, YouTube is where everyone goes to get their advanced degree these days, but be warned, there is plenty of misinformation there also. It doesn’t take much surfing to find the folks who really know what they’re talking about and truly want to share it with others. George Daniel (the angler, not the drummer) has some of the best information, and he’s a tremendous communicator. Tom Rosenbauer with “The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing” will keep you entertained and educate you on almost any subject you can imagine.
The bottom line is that we want to make the best of our time on the water. Sure, getting out there and learning by trial and error is a great way to do it (I personally spent years pursuing this exact technique), but if your time is limited, spend some of it planning your vision. The one where you’re on the cover of a magazine holding a beautiful fish and grinning like a mule eating briars.
Jimmy Harris is the owner of Unicoi Outfitters Located in Helen, GA.