The Southern Highlands on a Fly Rod

September is finally here!  I met up with Doc and we drove to Curtis Switch, arriving at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday.  Two guys were getting out of the river when we arrived, and their report was discouraging.  One guy was a professional bamboo rod maker from Portland, Oregon.  Super nice guys, and beautiful bamboo fly-rods.  We put in at the launch and started wading downstream.  I started with a size 12 wolf and a size 20 zebra midge dropper.  Doc went with a similar rig.  We both caught stream chubs at the outset, which is usually a bad sign.   After about 30 minutes, I caught a nice 12 inch brown.  We worked on down river, and I caught another.  The fishing was a little slow at the beginning, when Doc suddenly caught fire, catching a good mix of browns and bows.  I ended up with 10-12 trout, all browns.   Doc caught somewhere between 12-15, with the majority being browns. This was our best trip in a long time.  Doc had luck with a large caddis and a small cream emerger dropper.  I caught fish primarily on size 20 and 22 midges.  The Toccoa has made a remarkable comeback.

There are only a few websites I view on a regular basis when it comes to fishing.  I may have just found another:  Gink and Gasoline.  I don't know the guys that are running this site, but one is a great photographer, whose photographs adorn many of my fly fishing books.  The other is a highly respected guide.  Their website is awesome! Check it out:  Gink and Gasoline

I haven't posted a report since my trip to Alaska.  Truth be told, there has been very little fishing since that time.  I fished the Elk with Doc for about an hour one afternoon in August, catching a few fish, but the fishing was so poor that we packed it in after an hour and hit a local bar to cool off.  I went up to Gee Creek for a few minutes with my son, but other than stream chubs, trout were not to be seen.  And finally, I made another scouting trip to the Jacks with Brown Trout Zilen and my son, only to be told by the land owners located at the headwaters that the water was all private property.  Apparently, at least one of the landowners feeds the fish and considers said fish to be his pets.  That was a little frustrating.  September is now here.  Cooler temps and more rain should equal more enjoyable fishing opportunities.  First on the list is the Toccoa, hopefully tomorrow afternoon.  A trip report to follow.