bad advice

[gregNclayton]

I have a question, and I don't want to get jumped on for asking !! Just opinions, please !! Why do people say that the fishing in the Chatooga isn't good on a day or two; when I can go there any day and catch fish. It may be that this is my home and where I have had a lifetime of experience. Because the fish don't jump on anything throwed to them, doesn't mean the fish aren't there or won't bite or hit !! Contrary to popular beleive, every stream has a pattern. There is no way you can fish a stream for one day and determine what it will be doing tommorrow or next week. Having fished these waters all my life, you have to adapt to the conditions !! That in it's self is the challenge.


Greg

[Tom]

Don't give away any secrets, Greg. You and I know that only chubs and stonerollers make their home in the Chattooga and the shoreline is thick with water snakes and copperheads. Cherokee spirits roam the surrounding hills and if a person doesn't watch it, they'll getcha! Tight Lines,

[fishnpreacher]

I have always had trouble on the 'Tooga, even when everybody else was knockin' em out of the park. I guess you'll just have to be my guide some day and show me the error of my ways some day, Greg. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/wink.gif
And Tom, don't think you've scared anyone off talking about watersnakes and copperheads. Everybody knows that copper-mouth water rattlers don't live this far north. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/wink.gif
And Cherokee spirits? Them ain't spirits, they real. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

(If any native Americans read this, no offense intended) http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

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If you go through life and miss me, you missed nothing. If you go through life and miss Jesus, you missed everything

[GUTHOOKED]

Greg, I think I made one of the posts that you are referring to. What I was talking about was the DH section of the Chattooga. With the water temp at 70 in the morning, I honestly believe the trout fishing is over there until fall. I could be wrong, but I'm sure that many of the fish have died or gone farther upstream, and I don't see the water cooling off again until fall.

Farther upstream, now that's a different story. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

I've fished the river for about ten years or so, off and on. While I don't have as much luck there as ten years ago, I'd still agree that it is a great river. The fish there are fickle, and what works once for me rarely works a second time. If you've figured this river out to the point that you catch fish every trip, then I think you're way ahead of most of us, and I'd sure like to fish it with you sometime. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

Danny

[Grady]

Amen on the fickle Chatooga fish. (I'm talking about above Burrells's Ford.) Seems to me the fish there are either on or off, and if they're off, there ain't no turning them on.

[gregNclayton]

ok, Tom !!!!! I will give away nothing. All I am saying is why do people think the fish die or what ever when the water reaches whatever temp. They may move ......or change; but you have to change with them. As far as the fish passing away.....well, if that happen , the EPA would get an interest in that.

As far as length of time fishing the chatooga......well....10 yrs of fishing it is a long time. i am not bragging or tring to make a point.....i have been fishing the river all my life and i am 45 yrs old.

i may be talkin' to biologists and doctors and what/who ever. DNR thought it was a good idea to have "DOE DAYS" here in the county. HUH....that was a good idea !!!! DNR thought that stocking the "mighty brown" was a good idea !!!! HMMM....and ya'll wonder why the "brookie", as ya'll callem', is so hard to find !!! the brooks are here !!!! They are as is said, hard to find, but ya have to know where to look !!! And it ain't where the brown is !!!


No offense meant !!

Greg

[This message has been edited by gregNclayton (edited 06-05-2004).]

[coolh2o2]

Could it be that alot of people are so spoiled by DH level stocking that they couldn't catch a cold unless a few hundred of them were fresh of the truck and bumping
into there legs .nah .

[GUTHOOKED]

Greg, I think you may have misinterpreted the tone of my post. I didn't mean to imply that you were bragging or anything like that. I'm sure that with the knowledge you must have of the river, you can probably do well all year. However, its a fact that trout get very lethargic when the water reaches the 70 degree range, and will either move to cooler areas or die if it gets much higher than that. Naturally, when this happens, the fishing will slow down quite a bit. Also, most DH streams are hammered by C&K fishermen in late May and early June. Nothing wrong with that. I just thought that folks might want to know that the fishing on the DH section likely won't be as good as it was a month or two ago.

BTW, the part about hoping to fish the river with you sometime wasn't a wisecrack either. I'd love to get the opportunity to pick the brain of someone with your experience on the river. If you ever want to give the Hooch a try, let me know. Maybe we could trade trips or something.

Danny

[gregNclayton]

guthooked>>>>>"However, its a fact that trout get very lethargic when the water reaches the 70 degree range, and will either move to cooler areas or die if it gets much higher than that."

TOM !!!!!! He is getting close to our secret for catching fish in year round up here, except for the dieing part !!!

I know a cove on a local lake here that has a rather large stream running into it. In the summer, a "LOT" of trout hold in this cove. The water there is not wide enough to turn a pontoon around in. This is where I learned to read the movement of the species at a very early age, regardless of water depth in the lake. This cove I speak of, well, still exsists.

As a matter of fact, I beleive there are some members that come up to this lake on a regular basis.

Anyhow, the fish move !!! If they were to be found on the banks dead, well......who knows what that would cause !!!! I can see the headlines now !!!!!!!! ........"FISH KILL ON THE CHATTOOGA" !!!!!

no offense meant.

Respectfully,
Greg

[Hoover]

To gregNClayton,

This is Kyle "N" Clayton, Kyle Burrel that is, I'm not sure who you are? Can we have your last name? I thought I knew everybody in Clayton. Around home everybody know's me as "Henry's boy" as everybody seems to know my dad.

So anyway...
I have a thing or two to say about the Chattooga and the fish there. First of all, let it be known that I too have been fishing the Chattooga since before I can remember. I got serious about it in high school, mostly following the footsteps of Doug Adams. I used to fish the Chattooga about 50 days a year, until I had to move off to the "big city" to find work in 1999.

Back in 1995-1996 I did my college master's thesis on Brown trout in the Chattooga by putting radio transmitters in them and following them up and down the river for a year. What I found was that the vast mojority of the browns did not move up (or down) the river to find cooler water during the summer. Every brown I tagged (there were 28 fish in all) had a small, less than 150 yard long, home range and the only time they strayed from their home range was when they spawned, which is a whole different subject. BUT, and this is a big but, browns that had a tributary stream within their home range DID move into the smaller stream in an obvious attempt to seek cooler water. And as soon as the water temps went back down in Sept they moved back into the river. So we don't need to assume that trout survive by finding cooler water, some do, some don't (and barely survive), and some die. The fish in my study stopped moving and actively feeding from mid-June to early September. They hid under rock ledges and dead falls, and just toughed it out. To my knowledge none of them died because of the high temps, but they weren't going to be caught by fishermen either because they wouldn't bite.

During my research in the 90's, I read a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of scientific journals concerning trout behavior. One of the most interesting concerned how trout were able to survive high water temperatures in the Fire Hole River in Yellowstone. The authors found that trout in water temps that reached the 75-80 degree mark did not necessarily die, but they were able to survive by reducing their caloric intake (they stopped feeding) and instead of producing eggs in the summer (so they could spawn in October) they put all their enegery into their metabolism just to survive. Fortunately for those fish, the high temps only persisted during the hottest times of the summer. Chattooga trout below about Big Bend Falls are subjected to hot (>70 water) anytime from June through September. Of course every year is differnet and weather from year to year changes too. They Chattooga trout have a hard time of it, that explains why only 1 out of 100 fish in the Chattooga is a trout. The rest are chubs, shiners, redeyes, suckers, etc. Below Big Bend it is marginal trout habitat at best, all due to summer temperatures.

So what it all comes down to is this. Yes, trout do survive the summer as long as they are in good shape going into it and there are not wild extremes (i.e. continual 100 degree days and no rain). However, we as fisherman are doing them no good by catching them in hot water (again, that has been well documented to be water over 70 degrees). They have to spend way too much precious energy while they are fighting us. There are many studies that have shown that stressing fish (by catching them) in water over 70 degrees significantly reduce their survival rates. Even if they swim out of your hand and look good, they will very likely die within a day.

So my advice...go to Seed Lake and catch some bream on poppers, go up to the head of the Tallulah , or just about anything esle in the summer. But give the Chattooga a break and look forward to September and that first good cool front.

Look forward to hearing back form you and discussing this more. Great topic!

Regards,
-Kyle

[Tom]

Amen, Brother Kyle, Amen! Just got back from fishing in the Smokies - Middle Prong of Little River - smallish trout - great fun!

[GUTHOOKED]

Kyle, thanks for clearing that up. I knew that eventually an expert would chime in. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif BTW, I remember a DNR officer telling me years ago that someone was tracking the trout there with radio transmitters. I always wondered how that study turned out. If I had known it was you, I'd have asked. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif