A New Years Winter Day start on the DH 'Hooch"

January 6, 2012

It was a great winter day to be fishing on the Hooch Saturday.  The overcast skies and warm temperatures had fishing and boating fever in full swing.  The fish were a little more active throughout the day and the bugs continue to hatch.

Today, the midges were the bug of the day.  Most of us do not like to fish the tiny flies but there are rich rewards to be had if one is patient.  Big fish like to sip midges.

The evening hours provided some great fishing for those who stayed on the river till dark.  From the twilight hours till dark the fish were rising to these smaller than life flies. 

We were using 22-24 small midge emerger trailing our indicator fly, a 20 parachute adams. So as the day starts to end, tie on a midge and enjoy the reward.

This is a shot of the  22 Midge

Look for the fly on the side of the fish jaw

Nice 17"-18" rainbow on the 5wt.- 7'6" cane rod.

Great fall days on the ‘Hooch’ DH

For those who are willing to brave a little cold and overcast skies, the delayed harvest area of the Chattahoochee River has been the place to be this fall. With the river conditions being horrible over the last 2 years, with the flood and the last year’s water release of Lake Lanier.

The water and weather have been perfect for the blue wings olives. On days of low water levels and around 35 degrees rising to the mid 50s, the hatches have been epic. One day the blue wings appeared like a great sailboat regatta with sails in the full wind.  However, you really had to work the rising fish because the bug selection was a eat all you want buffet and your fly had to be different or at the right place at the rhythmic rise and fall.

The type and size of your BWO had to be small, yes small. The fly of choice was a 22-26 emerger pattern behind a 20-22 comparadun BWO. A person needs the “huge” front attractor fly just to see the flies in the water.

So the next time you think it’s too cold and not a sunny beautiful day, bundle up with all of your winter gear and hand warmers and have one of the most fun fishing days on the Hooch.

-Jeff

Check out this video of Jeff Purdy & Bob S. hitting the Hooch Delayed Harvest:

Catch Magazine - The T-Motion Collection - Season #3

If you don't know about Catch Magazine...It's time to get educated!
Subscribe for Free! http://www.catchmagazine.net/


The T-Motion Collection from Todd Moen Creative on Vimeo.

Fish-N-Fowl at Gold Rush Days 2011 - Dahlonega, GA

2011 Gold Rush Days
Dahlonega, Georgia

I want to extend a big thank you to all of you that paid a visit to my booth at the Dahlonega Gold Rush Days. It was two beautiful Fall days and I enjoyed the time we had to visit and tell stories of our fishing adventures. I know that the bamboo rods, rod cases and the custom flies that you purchased will provide you better success and help to make your next fishing trip memorable.

I also want to say a big thanks to the Jaycees that spend so many hours to provide us a place to share our passions and crafts. I know from being around my wife, Eden, who is the holiday director at North Fulton Community Charities, what it takes to organize such large events.
Another person that deserves my thanks is Stephen Dubberly, fishing buddy, graphic expert, photographer and the inspiration for me to share my bamboo rod passion and fishing adventures.

As I mentioned in our talks, I would love to have you send me stories and photos on your fishing adventures to place on this blog. As I discovered, many of you have the same passion for fly fishing as I.

As the Georgia and surrounding area trout season begins, new fishing adventures will be shared on the blog as well as the rods, flies, fly tying and new products that we have to share.

Tight lines,
Jeff

PS: We eventually discover that it is not just catching the fish that is the important part of our fishing adventures.

Here are some photos of our stay at Gold Rush Days:

Summer Bass Fishing

With the arrival of the super hot days Georgia Summer days, most of the trout go to hide in the cold depths and tailraces. We ask ourselves a question: What to do with our desire to wet a line. My fishing friends and I head to the lakes, ponds and rivers to chase after bass. One river that we love to fish is the Flint River for the native Shoal Bass. We have purchased kayaks and this river is a great summer place to wet a line in the heat.

Many eager and hungry shoalies attack your top water poppers and my favorite, the black gurgler. These shoalies average 8"-12”, like our stocked trout, but these guys are mean river fish and have a big need to pull you under their hiding rocks. The hotter the better, and the big ones 16-18”attack your fly, and you will be wanting some relief from this apparent monster of the river.

Spending 10-12 hours of fishing on the river, we do sometimes have moments of using, yes, spinning tackle: soft plastics, small topwater poppers.etc….
Many opportunities exist to wade around Sprewell Bluff State Park, if the kayak or canoeing is not for you. Most of the river bank is on private property or state land but very little development. The river is great just to enjoy a day of kayaking.

The only issue you can have on the river is in the summer when the river can get really low if there is no rain. The last two trips we made in September, the river was very low. This makes for great fishing in some areas if you don’t mind dragging your kayak for miles over the rocks. You will then enjoy a wonderful day of shoalies attacking your fly.

Make plans next year to spend a day bass fishing on the Flint River.





View My Saved Places in a larger map

Muskies!!!

Purdy takes a trip for Muskies!

Custom Rod Cases

We have developed some useful (& beautiful if I do say so myself) custom fly rod cases. We have created several different varieties and styles ranging from wood veneer finished with leather adornments to polywall tubes with metal end caps covered with custom printed graphics on a variety of materials. Check out some of our work here. We offer a few for sale periodically so if you are interested in one we have here, would like to have one custom made with your own image or material or you just want more info please free to contact Jeff or leave a comment here.