Peering into clear-green water from the casting deck, frantic movement is the first thing to catch your eye. As a morning fog evaporates, rolling mountains rise up all around and the sun breaks through to reveal small groups of blueback herring. They dart back and forth, skittering near the surface to evade or confuse predators below.
Then it happens. It starts with a few scattered topwater hits and intensifies. By the time you look up from impaling the nose of a blueback from the bait tank, there is an acre of water boiling. Big hybrid bass herd herring around the cove. The trolling motor whirrs to keep you in casting range.
For the next few hours the action came in flurries, with multiple anglers battling through double and triple hook-ups whenever baits encountered a school of hungry hybrids. Some fish came on multiple downlines arrayed in rod holders. The most exciting takes were on the pitch rods, lightweight rigs kept ready for surfacing fish. Either way, the key to drawing strikes was a lively bait, and this is the style of fishing you’ll experience with Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service. They fish the gorgeous mountain lakes on both sides of the Georgia, North Carolina border.
This trip was on Lake Chatuge, a 7,200-acre impoundment of the Hiawassee River that stretches 13 miles from Hayesville, North Carolina south to Hiawassee, Georgia. The lake is known for big spotted and hybrid bass. If you’ve never battled a hybrid approaching double digits on light tackle, it makes reeling in a 10-pound largemouth seem comparable to fighting a wet shoe. The same could be said for most of the species guides Shane Goebel and Darren Hughes pursue.
Big Ol’ Fish concentrates on three lakes in the region and plans trips based on where the current bite is best. Southwest of Chatuge, Lake Nottely is a 4,200-acre impoundment of the Nottely River. Its primary draw is trophy striped bass. Stripers from 20 to 40 pounds show up regularly on this reservoir outside Blairsville, Georgia. The elusive 50-plus-pounder is what everyone seeks, and very lucky anglers just might find it trolling bluebacks, big gizzard shad or trout.
Those who prefer counting fish to weighing them will find fast action on Lake Hiwassee near Murphy, North Carolina. It is a 6,000-acre reservoir in the same drainage, which for some reason is spelled differently in NC. Lake Hiwassee features breathtaking cliff formations and spectacular fishing for smallmouths that reach 6 pounds and larger, as well as big walleye and striper.
Over a couple action-packed trips with Darren and Shane on their The Angler Magazine-wrapped Carolina Skiff, one couldn’t help ask why they don’t fish artificially when the bite gets so hot. Their answer, almost in unison, was: “Because we like catching lots of fish.” That sentiment is hard to argue with, but it’s worth noting that Darren owns Hughes General Store in Blairsville, the area’s primary purveyor of live baits. Rumor has it they make a mean biscuit.
Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service can be found online at bigolfish.com. Call them at 828-361-2021.