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.