If I had to say there was something I had that I could only live once, it would be a life. Most people would say, "get a life," to which I would say, "Get two, to go." I know. None of this makes any sense. But whatever.
I accidentally pocket dialed Ken Bradshaw today. He called me back about ten minutes later, and I had to have an awkward and unscripted conversation with him this morning. Neither of us had been doing anything, except he had been hunting this morning "in the land of the ice and snow" and had no luck.
I hadn't even done that. I left work about 9:00 and the truck broke down. I limped it back and got another truck and finished everything from there on. I had such a boring day. For lunch I ate a chicken sandwich and read the newspaper. I saved the sports section to read during the game tonight. I hope I don't forget it. I need to set it out to make sure. I start every sentence with "I", almost.
I'm very cold also.
But don't give up now. You have only one life.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
There's more to life than meets the eye.
I'm sitting here the day after Christmas, watching Garden State. I'd have to say that it's not going to make my top 10 list. Anyway, as I said, it's the day after Christmas, and I've accentuated my fly fishing gear very nicely. We've racked up two new, water proof fly boxes, leaders, and a new fishing pack.
I bought the pack for myself with money we got from my Granmother. It's a very nice Orvis model with lots of pockets and compartments. I think this is going to be extremely handy when I finally get back out there. After I use it a couple of times, I'll write about it. The old one was a hunk of junk I got from work. It was a promotional item that held everything I needed and was functional, but I needed something with separate compartments and more flexibility.
I'm having an Ebay yardsale to try to raise some money and get some waders. I think I'm going to need them for the Conasauga. Not sure at this point when or where I'm going fishing next, but I'll let you know how it was.
Until then, buenos nachos.
I bought the pack for myself with money we got from my Granmother. It's a very nice Orvis model with lots of pockets and compartments. I think this is going to be extremely handy when I finally get back out there. After I use it a couple of times, I'll write about it. The old one was a hunk of junk I got from work. It was a promotional item that held everything I needed and was functional, but I needed something with separate compartments and more flexibility.
I'm having an Ebay yardsale to try to raise some money and get some waders. I think I'm going to need them for the Conasauga. Not sure at this point when or where I'm going fishing next, but I'll let you know how it was.
Until then, buenos nachos.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
I've been doing everything wrong
I haven't been fishing in forever. The plan is to go to Little Cedar Creek, which I found out is open year round for trout fishing, hopefully Christmas weekend, or the first Sunday in January.
I'm also working on a trip to the Conasauga River, in the Cohutta Wilderness area, for the spring. I'm not sure if I want to make this a daytrip, a weekend, or just go all out and do it for a week. Ken Bradshaw, of the Cohutta Chapter of TU has fished the area for many years and recommends doing a whole week there. But I'm not sure I'm up for it. Maybe it's just the cold, and maybe I'll be more enthusiastic when it gets warm, and when everything gets settled at work so I can start taking some weekends off.
Anyway, if anyone wants to go to Little Cedar Creek, that can fish, just let me know.
I'm also working on a trip to the Conasauga River, in the Cohutta Wilderness area, for the spring. I'm not sure if I want to make this a daytrip, a weekend, or just go all out and do it for a week. Ken Bradshaw, of the Cohutta Chapter of TU has fished the area for many years and recommends doing a whole week there. But I'm not sure I'm up for it. Maybe it's just the cold, and maybe I'll be more enthusiastic when it gets warm, and when everything gets settled at work so I can start taking some weekends off.
Anyway, if anyone wants to go to Little Cedar Creek, that can fish, just let me know.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
9/25/2010 The hole in the wall that you made with your elbow
Saturday, Sept 25 2010
On the banks of Little Cedar Creek in Cave Spring, GA, sits a small fishing village. Well, not really a fishing village, just a few extended stay cabins on the west side of town. I want give the exact location because it's not open to the public. Anyway, the fishing is excellent. I caught my first trout on a fly. My spinning rod is non-functional, so I didn't try it out there. This area is open wide on the one side of the creek, while the other is inaccessible brush. But one side's all you need.
I started out directing my casts under the overgrowth and floating under the tree limbs without much luck. As I moved my way down the creek, I hardly saw any fish at all except some bluegills along the opposite bank. But when I got down to the bend in the creek, where the water slows a bit, from where I was standing, I could see the rainbows hovering in the current. After a few casts, and getting the drift just right, they were all over my mayfly. I may have caught the same fish, but I caught him a dozen times, all eight inchers, and looking about the same.
I'm not sure if John's Creek is going to make the short list this year. Everything has been so busy lately and only two more, well this weekend is out, so one more chance, and then it's over. Next spring though, we'll be all over it. I've heard about some secret holes they've been stocking and I bet those fish will be big in the spring. Speaking of this weekend, Andy Bowen, owner of Cohutta Fishing Company,, has an intro to fly fishing, covering gear, necessities, and maybe a little casting out back, for free, which is sweet. It's from 9:30am to 11:30am at the store in Cartersville, on Main Street behind the Wachovia.
On the banks of Little Cedar Creek in Cave Spring, GA, sits a small fishing village. Well, not really a fishing village, just a few extended stay cabins on the west side of town. I want give the exact location because it's not open to the public. Anyway, the fishing is excellent. I caught my first trout on a fly. My spinning rod is non-functional, so I didn't try it out there. This area is open wide on the one side of the creek, while the other is inaccessible brush. But one side's all you need.
I started out directing my casts under the overgrowth and floating under the tree limbs without much luck. As I moved my way down the creek, I hardly saw any fish at all except some bluegills along the opposite bank. But when I got down to the bend in the creek, where the water slows a bit, from where I was standing, I could see the rainbows hovering in the current. After a few casts, and getting the drift just right, they were all over my mayfly. I may have caught the same fish, but I caught him a dozen times, all eight inchers, and looking about the same.
I'm not sure if John's Creek is going to make the short list this year. Everything has been so busy lately and only two more, well this weekend is out, so one more chance, and then it's over. Next spring though, we'll be all over it. I've heard about some secret holes they've been stocking and I bet those fish will be big in the spring. Speaking of this weekend, Andy Bowen, owner of Cohutta Fishing Company,, has an intro to fly fishing, covering gear, necessities, and maybe a little casting out back, for free, which is sweet. It's from 9:30am to 11:30am at the store in Cartersville, on Main Street behind the Wachovia.
9/19/2010 I think the name of the band was Smallmouth Buffalo
Sunday, Sept 19 2010
Armuchee Creek, home to the elusive, if not downright, repugnant, ignorant, and uncatchable smallmouth buffalo, was teeming with fish this morning. Not much was biting but they were surely out there. I saw many shiny, silvery fish jumping in the deeper pools across the creek from me. I caught a few bream and had a larger fish escape me, then decided to get out my spincaster and shoot for those fish further away, as I have not mastered the art of shooting line yet. As I was casting out and up the creek to nail one of these little fish, I noticed right in front of me, 7 or 8 feet out, in three feet of water, a large fish in the 18-24 inch range. Until I got home and researched it, I thought the fish may be a rainbow due to the golden hue on it's back and sides. It turned out to be the smallmouth buffalo, which explains why I wasn't able to bring him in.
According to most of what I read about the smallmouth buffalo, they are very hard to catch. Being mostly bottom, filter feeders, it's hard to find a good bait that they'll strike. I found none. I drug four different spinner baits right under his nose. I sunk mayflies, grubs, and woolly boogers right in front of him while he taunted me for an hour and a half.
Trout season is counting down towards halloween, so I guess we'll start working on John's Creek and Cedar Creek the next few weeks. I scoped out Cedar Creek at Rolater Park tonight and only saw 3 or 4 riding the current. My spincaster is locked up, so there's lots of work to be done before next Sunday.
I must offer an amendment to this section, as, after further review, I believe the fish was a Golden Redhorse rather than the Smallmouth Buffalo. The Redhorse gives a slimmer profile like the fish I saw and is more common to the area, as well as matches the description of other fish I have seen in the creek over the years. I left the story with Smallmouth Buffalo, though, because it sounds cool. Like a Neil Young song.
Armuchee Creek, home to the elusive, if not downright, repugnant, ignorant, and uncatchable smallmouth buffalo, was teeming with fish this morning. Not much was biting but they were surely out there. I saw many shiny, silvery fish jumping in the deeper pools across the creek from me. I caught a few bream and had a larger fish escape me, then decided to get out my spincaster and shoot for those fish further away, as I have not mastered the art of shooting line yet. As I was casting out and up the creek to nail one of these little fish, I noticed right in front of me, 7 or 8 feet out, in three feet of water, a large fish in the 18-24 inch range. Until I got home and researched it, I thought the fish may be a rainbow due to the golden hue on it's back and sides. It turned out to be the smallmouth buffalo, which explains why I wasn't able to bring him in.
According to most of what I read about the smallmouth buffalo, they are very hard to catch. Being mostly bottom, filter feeders, it's hard to find a good bait that they'll strike. I found none. I drug four different spinner baits right under his nose. I sunk mayflies, grubs, and woolly boogers right in front of him while he taunted me for an hour and a half.
Trout season is counting down towards halloween, so I guess we'll start working on John's Creek and Cedar Creek the next few weeks. I scoped out Cedar Creek at Rolater Park tonight and only saw 3 or 4 riding the current. My spincaster is locked up, so there's lots of work to be done before next Sunday.
I must offer an amendment to this section, as, after further review, I believe the fish was a Golden Redhorse rather than the Smallmouth Buffalo. The Redhorse gives a slimmer profile like the fish I saw and is more common to the area, as well as matches the description of other fish I have seen in the creek over the years. I left the story with Smallmouth Buffalo, though, because it sounds cool. Like a Neil Young song.
9/12/2010 I don't think we're in Texas anymore Dorothy
Sunday, Sept 12 2010
This was probably my best fly-fishing day to date. I caught alot of fish and only lost one fly. I did catch a few trees, but not to worry, played right through it. Frustration didn't take hold as I fished four different locations.
Early in the morning, I started fishing at Ridge Ferry Park on some rocks jutting out into the Oostanaula, just upstream from the trestle. With the right bait, fishing could be good here. Streamers would be a good choice, however, the water is murky and there are lots of underwater obstacles. The river bed is littered with tree trunks, rocks, branches, trash, and any other fly-snagging items you can think of. The white bass seem to feed in this shallow area, I suppose on shad or darters, just about anytime of day. I have seen some large catfish and possibly a sturgeon around those rocks.
After a while, I decided to move on, so I went to the mud shoal behind the library. Not much to speak of here. A guy caught a catfish when I was climbing down to the river. He caught it on a chicken liver. If you're after the bottom feeders, then this could be your spot. Not mine though. I hate catfish.
I moved on from there and went to Armuchee Park to fish on the creek of the same name, around the swimming hole. This is a nice spot to fish. The water is crystal clear running and just a little murky in the deep standing pools. There are alot of fish to catch here, but be prepared to do some wading, as some of the spots aren't accessible from the steep bank. Wading to these spots means a foot or two of water, so not to bad. I didn't catch anything to speak of, but I will back with some good wading shoes.
The last spot I fished that day was the Hippy Hole on Big Texas Valley Road. I caught a feisty Red-Breasted Sunfish (Bream) under the bridge, and his girlfriend, and about 10 or 15 more in another hole downstream from there. It's very tight there, with low hanging branches and the creek is 10 to 15 feet wide in most spots. My leader is 9 feet so there is a low margin of error. It's quite nice though with a mountain stream feel, just a few yards off the road. I finally caught my fly in a tree branch bad enough that I couldn't shake loose. I pulled the limb down to where I could almost grab it and the leader broke. After searching through the tree to find the fly, I couldn't bear to lose, having caught two dozen fish on, I finally saw it on the bottom of the creek. A few minutes of delicate trolling with a long stick and the fly was back in my possession. And my day was done.
This was probably my best fly-fishing day to date. I caught alot of fish and only lost one fly. I did catch a few trees, but not to worry, played right through it. Frustration didn't take hold as I fished four different locations.
Early in the morning, I started fishing at Ridge Ferry Park on some rocks jutting out into the Oostanaula, just upstream from the trestle. With the right bait, fishing could be good here. Streamers would be a good choice, however, the water is murky and there are lots of underwater obstacles. The river bed is littered with tree trunks, rocks, branches, trash, and any other fly-snagging items you can think of. The white bass seem to feed in this shallow area, I suppose on shad or darters, just about anytime of day. I have seen some large catfish and possibly a sturgeon around those rocks.
After a while, I decided to move on, so I went to the mud shoal behind the library. Not much to speak of here. A guy caught a catfish when I was climbing down to the river. He caught it on a chicken liver. If you're after the bottom feeders, then this could be your spot. Not mine though. I hate catfish.
I moved on from there and went to Armuchee Park to fish on the creek of the same name, around the swimming hole. This is a nice spot to fish. The water is crystal clear running and just a little murky in the deep standing pools. There are alot of fish to catch here, but be prepared to do some wading, as some of the spots aren't accessible from the steep bank. Wading to these spots means a foot or two of water, so not to bad. I didn't catch anything to speak of, but I will back with some good wading shoes.
The last spot I fished that day was the Hippy Hole on Big Texas Valley Road. I caught a feisty Red-Breasted Sunfish (Bream) under the bridge, and his girlfriend, and about 10 or 15 more in another hole downstream from there. It's very tight there, with low hanging branches and the creek is 10 to 15 feet wide in most spots. My leader is 9 feet so there is a low margin of error. It's quite nice though with a mountain stream feel, just a few yards off the road. I finally caught my fly in a tree branch bad enough that I couldn't shake loose. I pulled the limb down to where I could almost grab it and the leader broke. After searching through the tree to find the fly, I couldn't bear to lose, having caught two dozen fish on, I finally saw it on the bottom of the creek. A few minutes of delicate trolling with a long stick and the fly was back in my possession. And my day was done.
8/8/2010 And somedays the bar eats you
Sunday, Aug 8 2010
Did return to the same lakes. Had no luck. It seemed to be a bad wind day for fly-fishing. Spent most of the morning untangling my leader and tying on new flies. The bream weren't even biting. There are some monster bass in Sandy Beach Lake though. I'm sitting there watching them fly out of the water chasing dragon flies, probably 60 feet out from me. I didn't feel like wading, so I guess I'm a spectator this day.
I'll tell you about my troubles this day. When I got my leader out, it knotted together and I couldn't get it loose. I ended up having to cut it into pieces and tie it all back together along with some other pieces I had to make about a ten foot leader. This slowly broke off to about a 5 foot piece and I didn't have anything else to use and lost about 6 flies, so I just quit for the day.
Did return to the same lakes. Had no luck. It seemed to be a bad wind day for fly-fishing. Spent most of the morning untangling my leader and tying on new flies. The bream weren't even biting. There are some monster bass in Sandy Beach Lake though. I'm sitting there watching them fly out of the water chasing dragon flies, probably 60 feet out from me. I didn't feel like wading, so I guess I'm a spectator this day.
I'll tell you about my troubles this day. When I got my leader out, it knotted together and I couldn't get it loose. I ended up having to cut it into pieces and tie it all back together along with some other pieces I had to make about a ten foot leader. This slowly broke off to about a 5 foot piece and I didn't have anything else to use and lost about 6 flies, so I just quit for the day.
8/1/2010 Some days you eat the bar
Sunday, Aug 1 2010
Fished Lake Conasauga in Rome mid morning. Caught a 4 inch large mouth bass. Ha-ha. I don't know who's prank that was, but it was funny. Moved over to the Sandy Beach Lake, and aside from hooking a few bream, landed about a 10 or 12 inch largemouth bass. Put up a hell of a fight. That's it though. Thinking about going back to the same lakes this Sunday, but starting earlier. About 7 maybe. The fishing report calls for good fishing around that time.
Fished Lake Conasauga in Rome mid morning. Caught a 4 inch large mouth bass. Ha-ha. I don't know who's prank that was, but it was funny. Moved over to the Sandy Beach Lake, and aside from hooking a few bream, landed about a 10 or 12 inch largemouth bass. Put up a hell of a fight. That's it though. Thinking about going back to the same lakes this Sunday, but starting earlier. About 7 maybe. The fishing report calls for good fishing around that time.
The reason for the season. Fishing Season.
I may not fish as much as some people, definitely not as much as I'd like to, and honestly, I had gotten out of it for a long time. But I'm back now, mainly due to fly fishing and joining Trout Unlimited. I do still carry my spincaster with me and pull it out at least for a little while everytime I fish, but if I say I caught something, you can be 99% sure that it was caught with a fly.
I joined TU, the Coosa Valley Chapter 519 in the late winter of 2008. I was getting bored sitting at home all night, so I decided to join a club to get me out of the house, at least one night a month. I tried a photography club and found that they weren't very interesting, not to mention the fact they met in a church. We just sat in a circle talking about taking pictures. It felt more like a support group than anything else. Hi, my name is Mike, and, ah, well, I like to take photos, with my camera. "Hi, Mike! We love you!"
So then I saw the entry for TU, meets the last Thursday every month at the Landmark. I knew a couple of the guys, Paul DiPrima and John Furr, whose names are basically synonomous with TU around town. So I drove over to the Landmark and signed up. What I found out, and I was definitely wrong about, was that TU is not a fishing club. TU is all about stream conservation and saving these precious resources for our children and their children. They are so much more than just a fishing club.
Shortly after joining, I got a part-time job working at night. Mainly working every Thursday. So in a nutshell, I didn't get to attend any meetings for a while. Things changed at work later on and better enabled me to get back in it. Now I'm fairly involved in volunteering, at stream clean-ups and work days, and taking a weekend for the chili cook-off. In case anyone doesn't know by now, Chapter 519 of Trout Unlimited organizes a chili cook-off every October as their only fund-raiser for the year. All the scholarships, operating budget, donations to education and conservation groups, and other efforts are supported by the chili cook-off.
But back to fishing and why I created this blog. I decided to start fishing somewhere in northwest Georgia every Sunday. I may not make it every Sunday, but most every Sunday, I'll be out there, probably up to my knees in a creek somewhere with my flyrod going at it.
I'd like to relay as much information as possible to anyone who reads the blog, that they may also enjoy fishing at these locations. I don't always catch fish when I go out, and you may not either, but hopefully we can get to the point where we'll have detailed information about all the fishing spots. And that might, probably not, but might help us catch more fish in the future.
I joined TU, the Coosa Valley Chapter 519 in the late winter of 2008. I was getting bored sitting at home all night, so I decided to join a club to get me out of the house, at least one night a month. I tried a photography club and found that they weren't very interesting, not to mention the fact they met in a church. We just sat in a circle talking about taking pictures. It felt more like a support group than anything else. Hi, my name is Mike, and, ah, well, I like to take photos, with my camera. "Hi, Mike! We love you!"
So then I saw the entry for TU, meets the last Thursday every month at the Landmark. I knew a couple of the guys, Paul DiPrima and John Furr, whose names are basically synonomous with TU around town. So I drove over to the Landmark and signed up. What I found out, and I was definitely wrong about, was that TU is not a fishing club. TU is all about stream conservation and saving these precious resources for our children and their children. They are so much more than just a fishing club.
Shortly after joining, I got a part-time job working at night. Mainly working every Thursday. So in a nutshell, I didn't get to attend any meetings for a while. Things changed at work later on and better enabled me to get back in it. Now I'm fairly involved in volunteering, at stream clean-ups and work days, and taking a weekend for the chili cook-off. In case anyone doesn't know by now, Chapter 519 of Trout Unlimited organizes a chili cook-off every October as their only fund-raiser for the year. All the scholarships, operating budget, donations to education and conservation groups, and other efforts are supported by the chili cook-off.
But back to fishing and why I created this blog. I decided to start fishing somewhere in northwest Georgia every Sunday. I may not make it every Sunday, but most every Sunday, I'll be out there, probably up to my knees in a creek somewhere with my flyrod going at it.
I'd like to relay as much information as possible to anyone who reads the blog, that they may also enjoy fishing at these locations. I don't always catch fish when I go out, and you may not either, but hopefully we can get to the point where we'll have detailed information about all the fishing spots. And that might, probably not, but might help us catch more fish in the future.
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