Island Ford?

[Cheesesteak]

Has anyone fished Island Ford in Dunwoody recently?
Any suggestions on where to fish and what flies to try?
Anything I should be concerned about? Deep holes... places not to fish, etc
Any information or suggestions would be great.

Thanks in advance!

[RobKelley]

I fished there last spring one time and did OK. There are some nice deep areas that I caught a few nice rainbows from. I was thinking about heading there this afternoon.

Rob

[Gillseeker]

I usually fish there during the summer. Leave the waders in the truck and break out the old tennis shoes and fanny pack. My favorite spot is on the other side of the island right before it joins up again with the main body of the river. There is a deep pool there and it is by the road so I guess that is where it's easiest to dump the fish. On summer evenings I have caught some very pretty bows on the dry there and I am a sorry fly fisherman.

Dan

[Cheesesteak]

This will be my first attempt at fly fishing in the Hooch and since Island Ford is literally right up the street from me- I figured I'd give it a go this weekend. I walked the trail down from the Ranger Station to get a look at where to fish.
Where do you usually park when you fish here? I'm hoping you may have some inside info on the best place to park. I was only imgaining my fat *** sweating up a storm hiking along in my waders down to the Shoals area..
Its supposed to be great out on Saturday (64 degrees and sunny). If anyone is interested in going fishing at Island Ford on Saturday please let me know. I still have a hard time figuring out where exactly the "Shoals" are? I am assuming they are those rapids/rocks areas in between the two islands in the middle of the river?..... Shoot at this point I think I'm more excited to spend a day in the river figuring out how to cast.

Everytime I've walked the trail I have never seen any fishermen out there, is there a better time in the day to give it a go?

If anyone is interested in heading out there this weekend please give me a buzz- 678-315-7538

thanks
Quentin

[big worm]

\
Everytime I've walked the trail I have never seen any fishermen out there, is there a better time in the day to give it a go?


sounds like the perfect time to go...

[Gillseeker]

I have driven from my old house in Carrollton all the way to the river only to find out that it was too high to fish. That place can be outright dangerous if the water is high. I usually park at the ranger station and walk down and into the river. I fish all oer that place. Another neat thing to do is to get a float tube and float it to the end ofthe island then walk back to the parking lot up that hill!! :D

Sometimes I park on the side of the road across the river from the park and go in from there. I forget the name ofthe road but I think it is Riverside Dr. I can walk right to the place i was telling you about in the earlier post.

Dan

[Fletch_W]

I am going to the hooch for the first time Saturday, putting in at Azalea Drive and motoring up to the shoals, and if it looks passable, explore a little further. We won't be fishing, just exploring for the future. If you see a gray jonboat with a Gamefisher 7.5 motor, wave.

[RScott]

Quentin,

Island Ford only has chubs, carp, a few bluegills and people in jon boats buzzing around looking. AND if you park in the first lot on the left, it is a long azzed walk both up and down the hill. It about kills me everytime I go.

You might get lucky if you look for the deeper runs in the sun, that is usually where the carp hang out.

RScott

[Cheesesteak]

Well its a definite! I'll be heading out to Island Ford to get my feet wet..(well I hope not since my waders still have the tags on them!) but I am going to pop my fly fishing cherry on the HOOCH on Saturday at Island Ford around 11 AM, if anyone wants to join me - the first cigar and drink will be on me! Look for the guy in Tan (well to me they look like they are Orange) Waders. I'll be the one spending most of my time trying to untie all my windknots.
Thanks for all the great info everyone, and hopefully I'll luck onto the dumb trout and catch one or a few.

Is anyone planning on fishing next week, I am thinking of giving Paces Mill a try sometime during the week, as I hear it gets plenty busy during the weekend.

[sandsclark]

Two parking options:

Park for free - Take Northridge Rd exit off 400 to Roswell Rd. Turn right on Roswell and travel about a couple of miles. You will cross a bridge that goes over the hooch turn right and follow the hooch to a small park on the right hand side (not even sure if it has a name). Park there and hike upstream.

Pay to Park - Simply follow the signs for the Island Ford DNR office when you get off at Northridge RD. Head all the way in the park where the offices are and park. Follow trail down to water. $3 (suggested)

When you make it down to the river hike a half mile down you will see rocks protruding from the water go to the last set, there are some decent deeper runs you can fish there, also some shoals are located just upstream from there. There is pretty much a 2 mile stretch of half decent fishing right there. I must say the winter fishing is not the best. It is a great place to go on a weekday during the summer though.