Shoalies on the Flint

[bbell]

Has anyone had any success on the Flint this year? I know that it's early, but I need to catch some shoal bass. The water is around 7 at the canoe rental place which I guess is a normal level...don't know what the water temperature is yet. The air is certainly chilly....I may need to run by Walmart and grab a jumpsuit.
Any reports would make me feel a lot better about the hour and a half drive...
Also, if anyone is going to be in the area, I'll be fishing in the Big Lazar WMA...I drive a green Civic and I look like a pond gannet....

[Barry]

I want to hear how you do-
I did a scouting trip to Big Liser(that is the way the locals say it!) and to the Sprewell Bluff area. It was right after a bunch of rain and the water was high and really muddy. The folks at the Outdoors Center said i was waisting my time till it cleared up. I just haven't had the gumption to go back.

I have been killing bass and bream at Charlie Elliot !!

Keep us posted on the trip.....

[edwin]

bbell,

next time you go, let me know. i've wanted to go down there for a while now. just can't ever get a friend to meet up with me. it should be prime in about a month or two, but it's probably not bad now.

--edwin

[bbell]

The Flint is definitely on....as good as I have ever seen it.....

[ICHTHUS]

bbell,
Was it wadable, where you ffing, were you near Lazer wma?
Inquiring minds etc etc.
TIA,
Ich

[bbell]

It was very wadable, I was fly fishing with clousers and poppers, and I was in Big Lazer. The water is still chilly, so bring waders.
I was amazed at the number of insects hatching on the river...if we could only get hatches like that on our trout streams! I saw little golden stoneflies (I guess the river is still fairly clean), big light cahills, blue winged olives, and tons of caddis. The redbreasts and a few shoal bass were feeding on the surface.
It seems like the average size of the fish is picking up...I caught some very large bass.
On a different note...did anyone see the article in the AJC last week? The guy who owns the canoe outfitter in Thomaston was quoted in support of a dam on the river to control flooding and stabilize river levels during summer low flows. I don't think that there's any way that will ever happen, but we need to be on the lookout for it. I can't imagine drowning any of the shoals on the river....
The Flint is an absolute treasure and the shoal bass is one of the best sportfish anywhere. I can only imagine what the shoal bass fishery must have been like on the Chattahoochee before the dam at Buford froze most of them out of the river.....the Hooch north of Atlanta looks like prime shoal bass water. Maybe we can lobby for a top release at Buford that would cook the hatchery trout and be more suitable for shoalies. That's a native restoration program we can be proud of!! I'm sure I'll catch hell for this one.....

[BLACK KNIGHT]

Bite your tongue!

[CBrown]

I did the half day trip from Spruel Bluff about a month ago. It rained on use for about 75% of the trip and hailed for about the last 1/8th of a mile. I was still able to catch four brim on a wooly booger. The water was running at 7.5 then and the temp was around 61.

Take your rain jacket!!
(and mabey a helmet)

[NiteOwl]

I did. Jimmy, where are you? http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif


Maybe I shoulda said shoailes last year instead of smallies...didn't think it'd make that much of a difference. Oh well. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

Owl