by Jimmy Harris
Unicoi Outfitters
One of my best friends is a fish snob. He’s a very good angler but he has a blind spot when it comes to fishing for anything other than smallmouth bass. Living in Northeast Georgia, that means he generally has to travel a little to get to them. Me, I’m more bourgeoisie. Give me a pole, some bait and a puddle of water. I’ll spend the day right there; fly rod, spinning rod, cane pole, whatever.
That’s why June is a prime month for me. First of all, I can shed the waders because the water has warmed to the point it doesn’t coagulate my old blood when I wet wade. More importantly, it’s the opening of slam season. Every species that swims is now fair game. Those who know me well will attest that shoal bass fishing the Chattahoochee River is my passion in the summer. They’re my local version of smallmouth and, to me, are every bit as feisty.
The icing on the cake for river fishing in June is the variety of species you can target. Shoalies are at the top of the pyramid, but there are abundant options as the river warms. In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:
• Carp. Probably the most challenging quarry in the river, particularly with a fly. If you’ve never hooked into one, let me tell you, it’s a rush. There’s a reason some anglers refer to them as the freshwater bonefish. When 
hooked, they leave that place! I have caught them on Clousers, but you’re more likely to have success in shallow backwater eddies sight fishing with a fly imitating a hellgrammite or dragonfly nymph.
• Gar. If carp are the bonefish of fresh water, gar are the tarpon. The go-to fly, if you want to call it that, is a nice 8 – 12 inch piece of nylon rope that’s been shredded and tied securely to a swivel. Gar will slash at the “fly” as if it was a baitfish and their teeth become entangled in the rope. At this point, you hang on. They’re usually good for a couple of aerial acrobatics and, I don’t care who you are, a four-foot fish clearing the water is impressive. If you decide to target a gar with a real fly, one with a hook, you can expect one good leap before that hard bony mouth spits it back at you. The upside is you don’t have to remove rope fibers from the fish’s teeth. The downside is your fly may be toast.
• Redbreast Bream. Granted, most river redbreast are not particularly large, but they’re aggressive and can make your day if nothing else is biting. And now and then you’ll find a place that has some good size fish that you can enjoy and release or take home for dinner.
If you want to go for the grand slam, you can target spotted bass, largemouth and redeye which are all residents of the upper Chattahoochee River. To take it a step further, keep an eye out for a striper now and then or maybe a white sucker. Now you’re talking!