by Karl Ekberg
The “Dog Days” of summer seemed to have passed us by as the summer heat has let up on the waters near Chattooga River Fly Shop. With the late summer rains and cooler temperatures, the fishing on the rivers has been good. Despite some heavy rains at times, the rivers have been subsiding quickly, and the water has been clearing up quickly as well.
Folks have had good fishing trips on the Chattooga and Chauga rivers fishing for red eye bass and panfish. Using top water poppers and terrestrials has proven to be a great day on the water for these fish. Small streamer patterns have proven themselves as well when the topwater bite subsides.
Fishing for trout has been good and the fall fishing for trout will get much better as we receive the cooler fall temperatures and cooling water temperatures.
As we look forward to the cooler temperatures of fall, we will start to see the emergence of the first of the “fall bugs”. The rocks in the rivers are loaded with very small dark nymphs as well. Try swinging the larger emerger imitation or a heavy nymph with a smaller nymph dropper through the riffle areas of the river and into the heads of the pools. As daytime temperatures heat up, the fish will move further into the depths of the rivers, so getting a bit deeper with a heavier front fly or a pinch of split shot will help greatly.
Streamers are equally productive and will continue as well through the fall season. With the heat of the summer behind us and a good amount of water in the rivers, the fall fishing here looks to be excellent for another year. If you are interested in a mountain lake guided fly fishing trip, we have added this new adventure to our fly shop, in addition to our wading trips on the rivers. For one or two clients per boat outing, we are just a phone call away to book your trip in the beauty of the mountains on the lake. Please find us on find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for daily water condition posts, and we look forward to seeing everyone out on the rivers!