Blog Renewal

Fresh content on Jeff Samsel Fishing is farther past due than it has been in this history of this blog. I won't make any bold proclamations, but the plan is to get back to posting regularly, with a high priority being to wrap up my 10 Favorite Fishing Destinations list. I left that hanging with only a few to go.

To get something going, though, I'll just mention my most recent fishing trip, which was a little more than a week ago (too long, I know).  I spent a recent morning fishing one of our local delayed harvest streams and caught and released quite a few rainbows and browns. DH waters in Georgia and the Carolinas provide some fun and easy trout opportunities through the cool months and are always great for photo work for my job.

I also made a lakeside stop the same day and made a few hopeful casts. I didn't have high expectations, though, and that part of the day was more for the sake of getting some lure shots I needed. 

I'm not sure what's next on the agenda, fishing-wise, but I'll probably visit a few other recent outings as I seek to get back into a blogging groove.

Bass on the Fish List

With two months having already passed, my 2018 fish species list remains sadly sparse. I did add a two bass species a couple of weeks ago, though. Largemouth bass and spotted bass doubled my tally, and the list now includes two species of trout and two species of bass.

The bass came from Lake Eufaula, an impoundment of the Chattahoochee River along the Georgia/Alabama border, and the first of each came from creeks that come in on opposite sides of the river, so I actually caught my first largemouth of the year from Alabama and my first spot from Georgia. The day actually produced a handful of bass and I caught a few more during the days that followed while traveling. However, I only tally the first of any given species on my list.

Certainly March will bring spring fishing opportunities, and I can get this catch list cranking a little better!

Fishing Licenses

Recent mail delivered the hard copy of a North Carolina fishing license and trout permit that I'd bought online a week or so earlier, and as I slipped it into my wallet I realized that I have half a dozen current annual licenses for different states. I get to fish in a lot of different places, so I buy a lot of licenses, but I think that's more active annual licenses than I am normally carrying.

The annual vs. short-term question is one I face frequently, and I often find myself comparing costs, looking at expiration dates and pondering possible fishing plans. In some states it's easy. I pretty much always get an annual for Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama because I know I'll be back often enough, and I get them at least semi-often in several other states. It's a bit of a guessing game, though, and I often guess wrong. Either I opt for annual and fail to make it back before it expires, or I buy a short-term, and then end up returning and needing another, and another, and another...Trout and saltwater licenses add another level of complications.

I don't mind fishing licenses. Much of the money goes where it should, and I'm very thankful for all that state fisheries departments do to provide access and create the best possible fishing opportunities. I'm admittedly no crazy about the structure in some states, and sometimes picking the best license seems like more of a game than it should be. For the moment, there are half a dozen states where I can fish without giving the license any thought!

31 Species in 2015

I may be getting ahead of myself. After all, nearly two weeks remain in 2015, and who knows what kind of fishing I might end up doing. I don't really think I'll likely tally any new species in that time, though, and if I were to, I could always post an update, so here we go:

As of now, my 2015 species list is at 31. That's my largest tally in the few years I've been keeping a list, and a pretty fair number, I think, considering that I didn't do any coastal fishing this year. Next year's fishing plans look like they'll include a decent amount of saltwater, so the list could be longer and look a lot different.

The way I keep my list, which has no purpose beyond my own journaling, is to record the first fish of any given kind I catch in a year and list the species, water body, state and month.

The top contributing state this year was a tie between my home state of Georgia and neighboring Alabama, with six listings apiece. A dozen states accounted produced at least one.

Top month, quite easily, was January, with nine. That doesn't mean I catch the most fish during January. It gets first crack, though, so it easily grabs the first pond bluegill and bass and stuff like that. Plus, I did an Arkansas trout trip and a Pennsylvania ice trip in January this year, and both offered completely different species. Nine months yielded at least one listing (all except March, August and December).

The most geographically distant species this year was a whitefish, which came from a little stream in Olympic National Park in Washington. Closest to home were bluegill and largemouth bass, which came from the same pond, which is about 4 miles form my house.

Waist Deep in Service

While bouncing around on the web this morning, I found myself on the Calendar page for our local Trout Unlimited Chapter (GA Foothills, Chapter 629). Looking down the page, which lists scheduled events for the entire calendar year, I was struck by the fact that this group is truly about service. The calendar is crowded with doing and giving: regular volunteer time at the nearest fish hatchery, sponsorship and volunteer time for various youth events, stream cleanups, habitat enhancement workdays, Healing Waters events, teaching at local schools... The list goes on an on.

Actually, except for monthly meetings and a couple of fundraising banquets (which are designed to raise support for all those service projects on the calendar), everything on the list is some sort of a service opportunity for chapter members and friends they are able to gather. And in truth, not everything gets listed. When the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division needs extra hands stocking trout or some other project, they might just pass along word to someone in the chapter and a mention at a meeting or note on the website will bring out volunteers.

Too many organizations and chapters of organizations, even organizations founded with service as the main objective, seem more about talking than doing (and about gaining recognition for whatever projects they volunteer for or sponsor).  GA Foothills TU seems the opposite to me.

Don't get me wrong. This crew has a common passion for streams and trout and fishing for trout, and the social aspect is of chapter involvement is super valuable. They also get together pretty frequently to fish, as they should, and like any group of anglers, they enjoy trading fish stories. When I attended a meeting not long ago, though, I noticed that the fish stories fairly quickly took backseat to discussion about upcoming events that needed volunteers and opportunities to back worthwhile causes.

Like many organizations, Trout Unlimited accomplishes a tremendous amount of good with big projects on a national level. Even more important, though, in my opinion, is the hands-on work that only can be accomplished locally by an active chapter with good priorities, and that definitely seems to describe GA Foothills.

Year-Round Georgia Trout

The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division announced recently that when 1600 miles of "seasonal" trout streams opened for the year last month they opened permanently. The annual seasonal closure has officially been removed from the law.

Georgia has always had enough waters open year-round that I haven't lacked opportunity to chase trout. In fact, between delayed harvest waters and late fall and early spring opportunities on a few wild trout streams that have always been open year-round, the cool months are probably my favorite months. I'm thankful for the change, though, because there are a lot of smaller wild trout streams that I at times I have wished I could visit during the cool months and could not because they were closed.

From my understanding, the need for a seasonal closure has been question by anglers for several years as fall/winter/spring trout fishing has grown in popularity, so the Georgia WRD began really looking at potential impacts and gauging angler preferences. The final verdict was that there was not biological need to close streams seasonally and that it made more sense to open more opportunities.

One thing I have not heard is whether streams that are fully hatchery supported and that were previously closed seasonally will now be stocked year-round. This obviously would require either far more trout to be produced or fewer fish to be stocked at other times. It could be that some streams will be technically open to fishing but not realistic angling destinations some of the year. Of course, the same is already true about waters that get to warm or too low for trout stocking during late summer.

I wonder if anglers who have a longstanding "opening weekend" tradition will still plan a late April trip to the same stream every year?

Time will tell how such things are carried out. For now, I'm simply thankful for fisheries managers who continue to look for ways to provide the best opportunities for Georgia anglers.

Georgia Trout Opener

Limit catches will be plentiful this weekend in North Georgia. Trout season opens Saturday morning, and you can count on streams being well stocked. Georgia trout fishermen don't have to quit fishing through the winter. Many of the state's trout waters stay open year round. In fact, some of the state's best opportunities occur during the cold months. Many streams are designated as seasonal, though, closing in November and reopening the last Saturday in March.

That's this Saturday, and they officially open 1/2 hour before sunrise.

Many of Georgia's most popular stocked streams are seasonal, so opening day is heavily anticipated by many fishermen. Popular streams will be crowded on Saturday, but it is one day that most folks don't seem to mind the crowds. It's part of the tradition, and many anglers likely share their favorite opening day stream with many of the same fishermen year after year. Tradition often also includes camping or staying in cabin in the mountains and/or cooking up a fresh limit of trout on Saturday night.

Whether trout are kept for dinner or released for someone else to catch, the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division will make sure there are plenty of fish in the rivers. Hatchery workers have been busy all week stocking streams all over the northern third of the state to make certain they are ready for opening day. Of course, fish are still fish, and you still have to get them to bite. They'll be there, though!

Christmas Stockings

Trout being stocked into the Chattahoochee River, just in time
for Christmas vacation. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Wildlife
Resources Division.

Some call 'em stocking elves, the hatchery workers and volunteers who team up to spread Christmas cheer in the form of trout. Whatever you want to call 'em, they've been busy this week, stocking plenty of trout in various spots along Georgia's Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam and most likely in some other year-round trout waters, so folks can enjoy good trout fishing during the Christmas break.

Untimely rain may add a little chocolate to the river for a few days and could make both access and fish catching somewhat challenging. It'll settle though. Always does. And when it does, those freshly stocked trout will be there waiting and ready to eat.

Trout can be harvested through most of the Buford tailwater. Three miles of river, through Marietta, fall under delayed harvest regulations, which means that all fishing this time of year must be done with single-hook artificial lures, and the trout all must be released.  For obvious reasons, the fishing tends to stay really good throughout the "delay" period in those waters. In fact, I may need to slip down there some time very soon. I haven't fished the 'Hooch DH yet this winter, and it seems to be calling my name, even as I write this. Maybe I'll see you there.

To learn much more about trout fishing in Georgia, visit the trout page on the Wildlife Resources Division website.

Daydreams About Ice Things

Yeah. I'm bitten. And if your follow this blog at all, you probably know it. The fact is that I like ice fishing WAY too much for someone who lives in Georgia. I watch reports from northern friends with undeniable envy and do a lot of dreaming and scheming of ice travels. Fortunately, I sell a lot of ice stories and photos to various magazines and websites, so traveling well to the north two or three times every winter makes good business sense to me, along with being big fun.

If you have facebook friends who live in the ice belt, you likely know it. If you live there you know it all too well. Winter is coming on quickly this year, and with Thanksgiving not even yet passed, quite a few fishermen have already been out on the ice. And I'm not even talking about eager beavers who tiptoe where they probably ought not tread. Quite a few places now have several inches of really good ice, and conditions are getting better every day.

My first ice trip of this winter remains a few weeks away, but it's solidly planned, so I have something to count down toward. I have a little extra anticipation about this one because we'll be spending a couple of nights in a sleeper house, out on the lake, which is something I haven't done before. Why I'm excited about sleeping in a hut on the ice, I can't tell you exactly. But I am.

Because it's always most practical for me to fly to ice trips and because it only makes sense to go a few times each winter, I've not begun gathering any of the bigger equipment I'd likely have if I lived in the North. I have ice rods, good clothes for most conditions and plenty of ice lures. I don't have my own hut, auger or ice electronics. I sometimes think about an ice tour road trip, which would involve gathering that stuff for myself, but so far, I've not done more than thinking about such a plan, and a this point, the time, gas, miles between me and most ice fishing destinations, and a lack of knowledge are bigger prohibitives than the equipment.

For now, I'll have to stick with vicarious ice fishing through friends on facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Soon I'll be back out there, though! Very soon.

Sweet Georgia Brown

Chad Daughty's 20-pound-14 ounce brown trout, which he
caught from the Chattahoochee River, broke the Georgia state record
by 2 1/2 pounds. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources.

"You have trout in Georgia?" people sometimes ask. In other places, when folks think of Georgia, many think of peanut farms, downtown Atlanta, Okefenokee Swamp and maybe a peach orchard. Few picture the mountainous country that I live at the edge of, and somehow trout just don't fit the stereotypes.

Yep. We have trout: brown trout, rainbows and brook trout. Only the brookies are native, but many Southern Appalachian streams support natural reproduction of rainbows and/or browns.

Along with the mountain streams, a couple of tailwaters stay cold enough to support good trout populations, and that's where the trout tend to grow big. Chad Daughty, a 27-year-old angler from Winder, Georgia, was the most recent person to prove that in grand fashion. While fishing from a kayak in the Lake Lanier tailwater (Chattahoochee River), Daughty had a whopper trout attack his spinner. Forty-five minutes later Daughty landed what would soon be confirmed as the new state record brown trout.

The record brown weighed 20 pound, 14 pounces and eclipsed the former record by 2 1/2 pounds.

Yep. We have trout in Georgia.

Species 19 & 20

Yesterday's swing to the Chattooga National Wild & Scenic River yielded Nos. 19 and 20 for my 2014 Species List. No. 19 was a redeye bass. Redeyes are regionally distinctive black bass that look and act like mini smallmouths. No. 20 was a chub. Spend enough days casting in mountain rivers, you'll eventually find your chub most years.

I've noted before that while I've caught lots of pond and stream fish in from Georgia this, none of my list fish, which are the first of any given species in a year, have come from my own state's waters. This year's list now includes fish from nine states, but none from Georgia! Yesterday was the closest. The chub actually might have even been in Georgia when it hit. I was wading on the SC side of the border-straddling river, though, and I don't even know if my  cast crossed the middle (or exactly where the line runs in that area) so I still had to record it as a South Carolina fish.

I don't know what species will make the list next, but part this weekend's fishing plan in Wisconsin is to go after salmon, and any salmon species would add to this year's list.

Speices Number 9

With apologies to anyone who has visited this spot on the web and found the same thing on top that had been there a couple of days, travel and deadlines got the best of me for a few days, and my blog has been too quiet. During travel, computer access was an issue, but I can't claim that about this week.

That noted, my most recent travels produced fish species number 9 for 2014: a brown trout. Looking at the list to date, I've caught at least one new kind of fish each month this year, and four states have contributed to the new species list. Interestingly, my home state of Georgia is not yet listed. I've caught a few fish in Georgia, but they were species I'd already caught somewhere else.

I wonder what species will be next? My best guess would be a brook trout or a white crappie, but that's not based on any specific plan, and I really don't know. Smallmouths should come by late April, but I'm guessing I catch another fish kind or two between now and then.

New Year Fishes

And so we begin anew. New friends, new places, new fishing adventures and almost certainly a nice dose of time enjoyed with old friends on favored waters and around familiar fish camps.

So where will this year's fishing adventures take me? Many, many unknowns there. I don't even know where I'll spend my first fishing days of the new year. The soonest solid plan puts me on ice in Pennsylvania in a week and a half (as much as an ice plan is every solid), but I may travel to South Carolina between now and then, and it's certainly not impossible that I steal a day or part of a day to visit a pond or a trout stream close to home.

Looking at my calendar, at appears 2014 might include quite a bit of fishing in the North. Confirmed travel plans, as of now, have me fishing in seven different states, and those seven include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New York.

The seven states with the set plans don't include Georgia, but I'm fairly confident I'll spend at least one day fishing around home some time in the next 52 weeks. I suppose the same could be said about both Carolinas.

Fishing dreams and a trip I hope to make include a big western swing, possibly in September. The Walnut Valley Festival takes Nathaniel and me to Kansas most Septembers, so assuming we make that trip this year, I may work around the notion that we'd already be more than halfway to the Rockies and make some trout fishing plans. That would mean a lot of driving and gas and a pretty long block away from home, but I sure could use the material we could gather on such a trip, and I've never spent time stream fishing in the American West.

The trout trip, like most 2014 fishing plans, remains a big maybe. Whatever waters I get to discover, species I get to target and folks I get to meet, I'm looking forward to it, and I'm grateful for each opportunity ahead.

Outdoor Adventure Opportunities to Abound on Saturday

Smith Creek at Unicoi State Park gets well stocked for Outdoor
 Adventure Day, which is always held on National Hunting &
Fishing Day. Georgia DNR photo.

Smith Creek will be full of trout and its banks full of trout fishermen this Saturday, but that won't be the only activity at North Georgia's Unicoi State Park. As part of the National Hunting and Fishing Day celebration, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will host Outdoor Adventure Day at Unicoi from 10 to 4 on Saturday. Activities ranging from skeet shooting to fly tying will be available to children and adults alike and concentrated in a big field along Smith Creek within the park.

If you want to learn more about opportunities for activities such as camping, hiking, fishing and hunting or try some of those skills first-hand, Outdoor Adventure Day is tough to top. Likewise, if you want to provide some opportunities for your children or maybe for a co-worker neighbor family, it's the place to be. Putting on such an event calls for a vast volunteer team, and most volunteers are knowledgeable and experienced outdoorsmen from this area.

You don't even need even need a fishing rod to fish. Although you're certainly welcome to bring your own gear, and most folks probably will do just that, loaner tackle will be rigged and ready for visitors to use. Live worms, by the way, are tough to top for freshly stocked trout.

Making Saturday an extra good day to bring a friend to Unicoi or to one of your favorite fishing holes, Saturday, Sept. 28 is Free Fishing Day in Georgia, meaning that no license or trout stamp is needed to fish Georgia waters.

While Unicoi's Outdoor Adventure Day gets my attention because it is the nearest special activity to my home, don't feel left out if you're not nearby. Similar events occur all over the country on the same day, and several states offer a free fishing day or two on the same weekend. Do a little searching online, and chances are good that you can find a fun event to attend or opportunity to share your love for fishing in your neck of the woods.

For information about National Hunting and Fishing Day activities in Georgia visit the Georgia DNR website.

Adding Largemouths to the Mix

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is experimenting with largemouth bass stockings in Lake Allatoona. Photo courtesy of the GADNR.

 

Will stocking large numbers of young largemouth bass in Georgia's Lake Allatoona increase the abundance of largemouths relative to spotted bass in the lake? Biologists with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division don't know that answer for sure, but they intend to find out. And based on a similar experimental effort in another North Georgia lake, they have reason to believe it might work.

Allatoona, which is at the northern edge of the Atlanta metro area and is highly popular with bass fishermen, has become more of a spot lake than a largemouth lake in recent year, with largemouths now making up only 10 to 20 percent of the black bass population. Local anglers enjoy catching spots, but they generally favor largemouths, which grow larger than spots, and have hoped that something could be done to improve largemouth fishing.

Of the next few years, the GADNR will stock 1/4 million 1- to 2-inch largemouth fingerlings per year in the spring, plus several thousand 5- to 7- inch bass each fall. Biologists will closely monitor the black bass population throughout that period and for three more years so stocked fish that survive have time to grow and they can monitor individual year classes.

It'll be fun to see what this project reveals and how Georgia's stocking emphasis might shift if it is successful.

Fish for Free in Half the Nation

A recent e-mail reminded me that this Saturday is the second of two Free Fishing Days in my home state of Georgia, which means quite simply that on that day you can fish without a license. The other date was last Saturday. Like many other states, Georgia sets its dates based on National Fishing & Boating Week, which is actually an extended week that takes in two weekends and runs June 1-9 this year.

Most state have one or more Free Fishing Days, and based on a quick survey, it looks like 24 states' dates include this Saturday (June 8). Some are a single day. Others last a week. Some are resident only or limited in the waters they cover. Others are for everyone and everywhere. For details about your own state, check out the great state-by-state listing compiled by Takemefishing.org.

Because I buy a Georgia license (and various others) every year, I admittedly don't think enough about Free Fishing Days. The fact is, though, that a Free Fishing Day provides the ideal opportunity to introduce a neighbor or co-worker to the fun of fishing. Even though most short-term licenses don't cost much, the very fact that that it is not required for a day feels like an invitation from the state to try out fishing to many people.

I've found that more people than I would guess not only would try fishing if asked but would take their own children fishing with a even bit of direction and encouragement. They'd like to take their children, who would like to go fishing. They just don't really know how. Free Fishing Day is a perfect opportunity to get that started by taking them out and providing some basic direction.

Beyond the document listed above, by the way, Takemefishing.org is a spectacular resource for anyone seeking almost any kind of direction about fishing. It offers a wealth of information about where to fish, how to fish, how to get licenses and much, much more.

Spring Trying to Spring

 

Waning writing productivity on Friday afternoon and a forecast for Saturday rain convinced Nathaniel and me that we needed to make a lap or two around the beaver pond to see if the fish were acting springish. Recent days have been chilly for the latter part of March in Georgia, and the radar even showed a few flurries near us yesterday morning. Still, some days have been quite warm, nights have been less cold overall, and flowers around the yard suggest that spring is trying to happen. 

 



Our test was admittedly quick. We had a little more than an hour of fishing time. Still, we found evidence that spring fishing might be trying to awaken. Despite it having been cloudy and only in the low 50s while were were out there, the fish bit fairly well and seemed to be in ambush mode. We caught five fish -- three on weightless plastics and two with a square-billed crankbait -- and missed a handful of others.

The next few days are supposed to remain damp and cool, but after that we're forecast to climb into high 60s and stay there for several days. My best guess is that we are right on the edge of the fish getting substantially more aggressive, and that soon Nathaniel will be creeping around the ponds' edge looking for fish he can target by sight.

Georgia's Spring Walleye Run

Most folks probably don't associate Georgia with walleyes, but the truth is that several lakes in the northern part of Peach State support outstanding walleye populations. Georgia's mountain lakes offer fine walleye habitat and plenty of food, and the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division stocks fish every year to keep the numbers strong. The WRD's website also provides great descriptions of its reservoirs, with annual assessments of fish populations and even some location-specific and seasonal fishing tips.

Right now, the fish are up major river arms, preparing to spawn, which makes them easier to locate than at other times of year. Fish the deepest pools you can find well up the river arms and close to moving water, dragging night crawlers across the bottom. Early and late in the day and at night the fish will move up onto shoals and can be targeted with stickbaits reeled slowly and steadily.

If you've not yet tried walleye fishing in Georgia, now might be the time to give it a try!

Georgia Fishing Photo Contest

If you plan to spend any time fishing in Georgia this spring, take a moment to look at the rules of the facebook fishing photo contest that's being putting on by the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. Basically, you send a 2013 Georgia fishing photo by e-mail, the folks running the contest select photos to post each week, and then you spread the word and try to gather votes based on photo "likes." Two winners win $50 gift cards from Bass Pro Shops. Details are on the page, but that's about all there is to it.

Sweet Georgia Brown

A 9-pound Chattahoochee River brown captured and then released during recent sampling efforts. Photo courtesy of the Georgia WRD.

The good folks who manage our fisheries occasionally share photos that remind us what might be looking at our lures any given day -- like this beautiful hook-jawed brown trout that a Georgia Wildlife Resources Division crew shocked up while doing sampling work in the Chattahoochee River. Of course, Georgia's state record brown trout, which also came from the the 'Hooch, was twice the size of this one, so you know there are some other big ones swimming around down there.

I'm excited about the fact that I'll get to do at least a bit of fishing on three or four days next week, and all will be in Georgia. The only bad part about getting to fish so many cool places as part of my work is that I really don't get to spend as much time as I'd like fishing home waters. However, Monday is Asher's 8th birthday, and we're likely to at least spend a couple of hours at the pond. Then on Tuesday, Nathaniel and I are meeting two friends to hike and fish in the mountains. Then, next weekend, Nathaniel, Asher and I are camping with friends from church along the Tallulah, where we'll definitely do some trout fishing.

I'll keep you posted on what we find!