Coastal Angler Magazine | March 2021 | Great Smoky Mountains Edition by Coastal Angler Magazine

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SPRING CRAPPIE TACTICS

LOCAL SPRING FORECASTS VOLUME 26 • ISSUE 312

F R A N C H I S E

Wild Smoky Mountain Trout

PHOTO COURTESY OF AARON WILL INSTAGRAM: @WISCONSINWALLEYESGUY

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ripletail are some of the most exciting gamefish that visit inshore waters. Their peculiar tendency to hang near the surface around floating debris makes them perfect for sight fishing, and on top of that they are absolutely delicious. Capt. Jeremy Davidson is an angler devoted to these oddball fish. His charter service, Southern Salinity, is based out of St. George Island, where he specializes in inshore tripletail on Florida’s Forgotten Coast. “They start to migrate to shallower water when that water temperature starts rising,” he said “It’s wind and water temperature dependent, but everything starts to move in March or April—the bait, the pelagics, everything.” Throughout the Gulf of Mexico and up the Atlantic Coast, tripletail move shallower in waves. Davidson said the timing is different by location, but the patterns are similar. First, scads of smaller

fish move in from offshore through the passes to find homes on floating debris. The early spring bite is characterized by plentiful opportunities at smaller fish. By May or June, larger 8- to 12-pounders settle in on trap buoys, floating vegetation and tide lines. Big fish in the 20-pound range arrive in deep summer. They’re there to feed and procreate, said Davidson, which means they are primed to pick up a bait. However, catching tripletail consistently is more difficult than it might appear. THE SETUP: To spot tripletail, you must train your eyes to look beneath the surface. Fish will stay with a piece of floating cover as long as it harbors the small crabs, shrimp and glass minnows tripletail feed on. Cover could be anything, and Davidson recommends checking out everything floating on the surface. You might spot the fish itself, but the first indication is usually the sub-surface flash of a turning fish. When Davidson spots fish, he leaves the boat in gear and noses into the current to point the bow at the fish within casting range. THE CAST: “Do not hit that fish,” Davidson warned. “Pick a spot out past it. I don’t care if it’s the treeline. Just make sure to pitch past that fish.” Casting past the fish with an underhand pitch allows the angler to retrieve the bait slowly through the strike zone. If the tripletail doesn’t take the bait on the initial retrieve, it’s time to flip the bail and allow the tide to carry the bait back past the fish. “It’s a slow dance,” Davidson said. “Retrieve it slow and easy.”

THE TAKE: Don’t set the hook! Tripletail feed delicately. They ease up and pluck their prey from near the surface. Then, to avoid spooking their next meal, they move away before engulfing it. “Let that fish roll down or go the other way,” Davidson said. “Give it 5 or 10 seconds, then lift up and he’s on. Then he turns into a wild man!” THE FIGHT: The harder you pull on a tripletail, the harder and wilder it fights back. This is important because, along with brute strength, these prehistoric fish have a sharp, line-slicing gill plate. Davidson reiterated his slow dance metaphor, saying you can sometimes lead a fish right to the boat by taking it slow and easy. “Square up with him. Keep your rod tip up, and let him run if he wants to dig,” said Davidson “Walk him around the boat. Stay square with him, and pump him in slow and easy.” THE RIG: Tripletail eat shrimp, pogies and artificials, but Davidson prefers to make a fresh-shrimp lure. He pops the heads off large restaurant-quality shrimp and pinches the flappers off their tails. Then he runs a 2/0 or 3/0 3X Strong VMC circle hook up the tail and out the second notch before turning the point back into the bait. This hides the hook and allows the shrimp to swim like a lure. To make pitching the rig easier, he ties an elongated float, like Boat Monkey’s Cigar Slip Float, between braided 30-lb. main line and a 2- to 3-foot leader of 30-lb. fluorocarbon. More advanced anglers might go bobberless for better control while working the bait. To do this, tie the braid directly to the leader with a double uni knot. Capt. Jeremy Davidson owns Southern Salinity, which runs charters on Florida’s Forgotten Coast. See their website at www.southernsalinity.com.

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ver the last few months, I’ve shared some techniques in these pages that people seem to be trying with some success. When you think about it, incorporating squid into your offshore spreads really is a nobrainer when you can find and purchase good whole squid. One of the best ways to rig those squid, and ballyhoo for that matter, is with a Chin Weight coupled with a “stiff-rig” stinger hook assembly. Recently, I’ve received quite a few calls and e-mails from folks all over the country asking for a simpler way to achieve the end result of a stiff-rig stinger hook. I had to go to the barn, have a few cocktails and dig deep, but here it is: The simple way to keep a stinger hook in a rigid “stiff ” position without snelling it or making a cat’s paw connection. If the terminology is throwing you off at this point, stay tuned, this actually is a very simple solution that anyone can achieve with a limited amount of materials and know how. The key to this rig is inexpensive heatshrink tubing over a standard crimped-wire connection. Granted, you might only get a bite or two out of this rig before teeth shred the heatshrink tubing and it’s no longer rigid. However, it’s so easy to make this rig that you can churn

Step two: Make a second crimp at 90 degrees to the first crimp. This is a (small) diameter in the cable to fit over a 7/0 or 11/0 Tim Barefoot Chin Weight (as shown in photo). Step Three: Slide a ¾-inch length section out dozens in different lengths of heat-shrink tubing over the crimped for different sized baits and keep them at the ready. Cut your cable to the connection of the hook and heat with a lighter correct length and make a few crimps… that’s in the vertical position. That’s it! all there is to it. Step One: Make a standard crimped connection using the High Seas 1.0 crimp and the American Fishing Wire 175# (7x7) or 49 strand cable.

Now, if you’re a visual learner like I am, go watch the video I made on the process. See it once, and it will be like a light bulb going off in your head. It really is that easy. For more information and to watch the video, go to barefootcatsandtackle.com. Click on “Heat Shrink Tubing Stiff Rig Stinger Hook.”

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INSHORE STRATEGIES FOR THE

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOCKIN TAIL LURES.

Most fish are still in transition between the deep mud and the shallow sand or grass flats, which keeps them spread out through the bays. Add high winds, cool fronts and the small size of the forage, and you have a tougher puzzle to put together than the other three seasons. Here are a few tips to help you sort though this maze and hopefully land a few more fish this spring. First and foremost, baitfish are extremely small this time of year, and it is not uncommon to find dozens of small glass minnows in the bellies of trout and redfish in the spring. This makes my first tip obvious, so I won’t waste a lot of space here, but downsize your lure presentation if you can. Obviously, this can impact one’s casting abilities, so rigging small lures in tandem can be By Capt. Michael Okruhlik a plus and assist in casting distance. Something else I like to use in the spring is a clear or transparent lure with some glitter, or maybe one with a light translucent color. I choose these because it’s more difficult for the fish to see the lure’s actual size, which gives the appearance that it’s smaller than it actually is. I’ve found this to be a productive alternative to downsizing. While choosing a typical-size trout and redfish lure for this application, I look for one with subtle movements. I like either a darting-style bait or a paddle lure with a very subtle vibration. Strong, big-vibrating tails have their time, but early spring is not one of them. One thing I notice about schools of small baitfish is their movement. When displaced, they seldom dart deeper, and most of their movement is side-to-side or upward. Due to this characteristic, I also like a lightweight lure with a slow sink rate. I feel this better imitates spring forage movements and increases strikes. I like a lure that twitches side to side that doesn’t sink very fast on the pause. In early spring while the fish are in transition, they will start to congregate on sandy shores with grass. This will be the main cover for the small fry. While employing these techniques and lure choices, concentrate efforts on broken grass flats with potholes and distinct edges. These areas are best when they are close to deeper water. I hope you find these tactics helpful and as the weather warms and you pring is around the corner, and a lot of fishermen who hang up their gear enjoy the outdoors, don’t forget to take a kid fishing! for winter can’t wait for the temps to rise. Although the enthusiasm is high to wet a line, spring can be the most difficult season to successfully Capt. Michael Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures, Controlled pattern and to consistently catch inshore fish. Descent Lures and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.

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EAST TENNESSEE GREAT SMOKIES

A GREAT CRAPPIE DAY By Capt. Cefus McRae | NutsAndBoltsFishing.com

s our area lakes begin to warm up into the upper 50’s and lower 60’s, the spring crappie bite should fire up, and they will be going shallow to start spawning. Knowing the exact dates for the spawn is somewhat of a mystery, but water temperature is a very good indicator. It pays to spend a little time on the water doing some scouting for likely areas and continuing to check the temps. Pre-Spawn: The week or so before the actual spawn can sometimes be more productive than the spawning time itself, as both the males and females will be putting on their feedbags. Prespawn starts around 55 degrees or

so. In this case, fish a little deeper water than you might during the spawn. Depending on the specific lake and the available structure, pre-spawn depths could be 8 to 20 feet. DownScan on your Simrad or Lowrance units will be super-valuable, because you’ll be able to actually see the crappie schools around structure. Once you locate Spawn: A good indication the the females. The males show up first the school, drop a marker on the spawn is about to happen is when to ‘build’ the nests, and then wait for spot and either anchor up, or set you start catching mostly males, an interested female to stop by and your trolling motor on anchor which are considerably smaller than set up house. When you’re catching about 20 to 30 feet off the mark, and then make a few casts. Continued, see A GREAT CRAPPIE DAY Page 3

2 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

MARCH 2021

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

age 3

East Tennessee Fishing Forecast

A GREAT CRAPPIE DAY continued from page 2 the big slab females in shallow water and on structure, it’s a good bet the spawn is in full swing. On the back side of the spawn, the males will hang around to guard the nest until the eggs hatch, so you have a pretty good window of opportunity for doing some catching. The prespawn, spawn and post-spawn period could be a few days or a few weeks. Not all the females will be ready to mate at the same time, so you could have some really fishy days for a week or two. Tactics: Light tackle is the key with super light line in 2 to 4-pound test and super light jigs in 1/16 and 1/32 ounce. You’ve got a plethora of trailer colors to choose from too. I go with the old adage of clear water means light colored plastics, and dingy water equals darker or more vivid colored tails. If there’s a couple of you fishing from the boat, I’d suggest everyone start with different colors and let the fish tell

you what they like that day. Since you’re casting super light jigs, be sure to give the lures time to sink. If you’re fishing vertical structure, cast just beyond it, so as the jig sinks and the line comes tight, your jig is still on the mark. Live minnows under a cork work really well too, especially when you’re fishing around docks and brush piles near the bank. You can adjust the depth of the minnow with the float in an attempt to keep it from getting tangled often. Use very light wire hooks, so if you do get hung up, you can pull the line and the hook will bend to get it free. It’s hard to beat a bucket of crappie to make a great fish fry. Even though crappie are prolific in some of our lakes, it’s a good idea to consider responsible resource management. Catch and keep enough for dinner, and leave the rest for another day or another angler. So get out there and have a great crappie day!

By Chad Fouts National Park The fishing in the National Park right now is slower in the morning due to the drop in temperatures at night. You will not be disappointed in the water levels! We are catching most of our fish between 10am and 5pm. We are throwing many different dries from blue wing olives, Parachute Adams to Quill Gordons. Dry dropper rigs have been particularly excellent on most rivers. Higher elevation streams are still relatively cold; so definitely spend most of your time on the lower elevation rivers. Some of the droppers we are using are Sexy Waltz, HS pheasant tails, hares ears, black stoneflies, etc. Gatlinburg Stocked Waters The City of Gatlinburg is still stocking every Thursday and water temperatures have increased, which

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has made the fishing amazing. There are several very large fish hiding in those waters. Any bigger, flashier fly will catch these freshly stocked fish, while more natural stonefly imitations and worm flies work well for fish that have been in the river for a while. Smallmouth Waters Water levels fluctuate frequently, which can make it difficult to time your visit. But, if you can watch the weather and find a good window, you will not be disappointed. March can be spectacular Smallmouth fishing on the French Broad and Little Pigeon River. Some of our favorites are EP Minnows and Crawfish patterns dead drifting underneath an indicator. The numbers have not made it up the river yet but some nice fish have moved in. TIGHT LINES!

Chad Fouts is the Fly Shop Manager at The Smoky Mountain Angler in Gatlinburg, TN. He is a self-described fly fishing junky. If you have any questions about fishing in this area give us a call 865-436-8746

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The Casting Corner: How To Chuck A Big Heavy Fly – Then Duck By Rene J. Hesse

ep, there is a term called “chuck and duck”, and it is all about to happen with the early springtime bass fly fishing. Bass are hungry coming out of the winter months and looking for a big meal. March is a great month to get some big flies like dragon tails or lead eye streamers in their strike zone with long casts on points and flats and drop-offs. They are chasing shad, sunfish and herring that are starting to spawn. Searching for bass with long casts and heavy flies requires a particular cast that can keep the loop from collapsing on itself. The cast has to use the line weight and fly weight to deliver the weighted

fly a long way. However, even if you are making shorter casts, the oval cast will be your best friend. There is a setup for the cast that will make your life easier too. Here is how it goes. The forward cast will be the same as a normal cast, slightly off to the side and not straight over the top. By loading the rod against the weight of the fly line and the heavy fly, we get a little extra weight to bend the rod. Keeping constant tension on the back cast as you come into the forward cast is one of the keys. The other important factor is the line trajectory on the back cast. This is the setup and sequence that will make a smooth cast out of something that tends to

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be clunky and awkward. Remember the setup I spoke of? It is simply flopping the line and fly out about 20+ feet in the direction of the target before you start your casting sequence. This gets your line up near the surface and prevents you from having to perform a change of direction cast. That way you can raise your line and go directly away from the target. The back cast is a lift of the line, but not like you normally would. The rod tip will only go up enough to break the water tension on the line, maybe 45 degrees off to the side as you then accelerate to the back and up. The trajectory on the back cast must be moving in

an upward direction from that 45 degrees because the forward cast is going to be coming over the top of your shoulder. That movement, from the back cast low off to the side and then up over the top, is the oval portion of the cast. The reason we use this elliptical line motion is to keep the fly, which is heavy, from crashing down on the loop or kicking over and destroying the back cast. Watch that back cast and see if you are getting the sweeping upward motion and then chuck it out there. Don’t forget to duck as the fly goes by. They hurt!

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What You Can and Can’t Learn from TEAM USA Member Michael Bradley By Stephen Tomasovich

recently had the pleasure of fishing in the Southeast Fly Fishing League Championship event along with 39 other competitors. If you’re not familiar with competition fishing, the river(s) is(are) split into sections we estimate to hold an equal amount of fish. Competitors have a set amount of time to fish their section, usually one and a half to three hours depending on the competition. Most events are competitor controlled or judged. That means when a competitor is not fishing, he or she is measuring and recording the length of fish for scoring purposes of another competitor. On this event, I judged Michael Bradley, a member of Team USA, for three of his four sessions. The first session was a long stretch with the bulk of the fish at the top of the beat. Michael worked quickly through the lower section fishing mostly the prime areas picking up eight fish. He then proceeded to land another 19 at the top of the beat. Yes that equals 27 in two hours. What

you CAN learn - change up your presentation as much, or more, than the flies you are using if you run into a good number of fish in a small area. Michael dead drifted, jigged, and Colorado drifted his nymphs (working them in a downstream manner). There were even times he paused at the end of a drift and simply let the fly dangle for a few seconds twitching it which fooled a few fish. What you CAN’T Learn – how to subdue trout in a net so they do not flop when measuring them. Out of the 27 fish Michael put in the scoring tray that morning (it also happened the other sessions) maybe one flopped around. It was if they had an understanding between them. The second session I judged, he was on a section that my partner and I had just finished fishing (it was a two man team event). We had done well and worked the water very thoroughly. Once again, Michael was able to target the area that held the majority of the fish and spent the bulk of his time there. Even though we were

Continued, see TEAM USA MICHAEL BRADLEY Page 15 COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

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Fishing The Valley River

By Matt Walters

iver fishing in far west North Carolina? You may have fished Lake Hiawassee, Lake Nottely, and Lake Nantahala. Well….. They each have their own local river. The Hiawassee River, met by the Valley River, flows north into the Lake. The Valley River begins in the foothills of the Nantahala Forest just east of Andrews. It is fed from natural springs and winds its way westward through the valley between Andrews and Murphy. Winding may be an understatement, more like quadruple S curves as it criss-crosses highways 19/74. This 15 miles stretch goes widely unnoticed and under fished (until now). The Valley River is hatchery supported and stocked March-September. In addition to care of our waterways, The Hiawassee River

Watershed Coalition has created ‘put ins’ on the Valley creating better access for fishing. If you don’t mind wading and hitting the holes, the Valley is for you. During spring and early summer, the stockers hold in deeper pools. These pools are easily recognizable and you can bet on hooking up. Success can be had with rooster tails, shad raps, twisters, and your typical live trout baits. As the weather cools in the fall, the trout move up river (east) to the small streams to spawn. Smallmouth, catfish, and brim from Lake Hiawassee are also abundant in the Valley as they seek more food and cooler waters during the summer. There are many more outdoor activities in the Murphy area, but the river fishing should be at the top of your list.

Matt Walters is the owner of Murphy/Peace Valley KOA locate at 117 Happy Valley Road In Marble, NC. For Reservations call (828) 562-9382 or (828) 837-6223 or visit www.koa.com/camp/murphy or on facebook at https.://m. facebook.com/peacevalley.campground/

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Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School By David Hulsey

he Southern Appalachian mountain area in North Georgia, Eastern Tennessee, and Western North Carolina are blessed with over ten thousand miles of trout streams. The lushly forested mountains provide just enough elevation and cool, clear water for the trout populations to thrive. Large cities are near and loads of outdoor-loving people go to the mountains, usually several times a year, to enjoy a break from the fast-paced life back home. Fortunately, we have called the mountains home for many generations. The hills, and everything in them, were home and fishing, hunting, and being outdoors was just a way of life. In

fishing is as easy as hitting a few keys on the computer. In our humble opinion though, nothing beats spending time on the river with instructors that are as passionate about the sport as you are eager to learn. The Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School is our reply to the call of folks looking to try fly fishing for the first time and for the experienced angler wanting to expand, or sharpen, their skill set. We’ve been teaching fly fishing since 1992 and wanted a more focused place for people to get more structured information and instruction. Over the years we’ve analyzed the best methods for

the 1970’s, I discovered fly fishing time with a mentor and I was and was taken in a whirlwind and very lucky to have several. Today, I haven’t been able, or wanted, to finding information about fly escape since. Learning to fly fish in Continued, see BLUE RIDGE FLY FISHING SCHOOL Page 12 the early days involved spending

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Rattlesnakes on Ekaneetlee

have a tendency to walk headlong into interesting, sometimes “puckering” situations while fishing streams in our mountains. I don’t think my experiences are much different than what most people would encounter if they were to spends days at a time fishing back country water. I just like to tell the stories. So here goes… Me and my buddy, Barry Holcombe, decided to spend a week exploring Eagle Creek on the north side of Lake Fontana in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had to divide the trip up, so we actually spent about 10 days fishing and exploring the watershed from bottom to top and top to bottom. In all actuality, we could have spent another week and still not have gotten to it all. On our second day in, we were lucky enough to share the campsite with local legend Perry Jenkins. He’s real and not just some bigger than

By Joe Woody

life character you hear stories about from passing anglers. His GSMNP adventure stories will keep you on the edge of your haac (half an ass cheek) camp seat for hours. Maybe one day, I’ll convince him to write for the magazine. Perry, when you read this, I’m trying to recruit you. Where was I… Our first week was filled with wildlife encounters. We ran into several bears during the first few days but similar to most “Smoky” Bears, they paid us no mind. We also found ourselves in the midst of a sow hog and her piglets playing near the trail we were traveling through. I could not believe how big this pig was. She was much bigger than the bears we’d run across. I honestly did not know that hogs in the smokies got that big. She was easily pushing three to four hundred pounds. Like the bears, she paid us no attention…even when her piglets

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ran across the trail leaving us standing between themselves and her. We just went silent and didn’t move a muscle. Eventually, they just moved on off…or maybe it was we who were getting out of dodge. But that is not what I want to share with you guys. Our fifth day in, Barry and I decided to explore Ekaneetlee Creek. Ekaneetlee is a small tributary of Eagle Creek which joins the larger creek just on the north side of campsite 89. It has no discernable trail so fishing it means bushwacking. You will spend a lot of time in the creek or on your knees, crawling through the rhododendron and dog hobble. We spent all day on that stream and barely made it a couple miles. About halfway up in our journey, I spotted an open flat spot on the right side of the creek where I thought I could make up time to the next fishing hole. The way Barry and I fish small

streams is by alternating fishing spots. He fishes one then I fish the other, so as not to spook fish. It works fairly well so I viewed this open spot on my right as a chance to move around Barry and not spook the tiny bit of pocket water he was stalking. There was a fairly high bank that I was climbing up so I grabbed a root from a tree and hoisted myself up to the flat spot on the other side. I crested the hill and stood up straight to enjoy the sunlight that was shining through the opening in the canopy. Before moving on, I glanced down next to the tree where I’d just climbed. I almost did not see it at first but as my eyes focused, it all came into focus. There at the base of the tree, warming in the sun, laid a jet-black rattlesnake. It was so black that I at first I thought it was just a black snake, which would not concern me. I took the tip of my fly rod and moved some of the leaves off of it and sure enough, there were the rattles.

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After I gained my composure and hollered at Barry to be careful if he followed the same path, I actually took a picture and a video of the snake. Like the Bears and the hogs, it paid me no mind. Now I’ve thought about this particular encounter quite often over the last year or so. I’ve always been taught that Rattle Snakes will rattle if they feel in danger or to warn before striking, but this snake did not rattle. It remained quiet even when I foolishly brushed leaves off it with my fly rod; it stayed perfectly still. In my research, I’ve discovered that hogs like the ones I encountered earlier in our fishing trip love to eat snakes, and rattle snakes are high on their menu. When a snake rattles, the hogs make a beeline to the snake and eat it up. So are Rattle Snakes evolving to not rattle? This is the stuff of nightmares. I read recently about the rattlesnake roundups in L.A. (Lower Alabama). Hunters find rattlesnakes by shaking

bushes and kicking rocks with snake proof boots on. When the snake rattles, they catch it just like our local mountain hogs do. But something interesting happened in L.A., They started finding Rattle Snakes without…wait for it…rattles. Apparently snakes born with the mutation or defect of no rattle were now thriving in Alabama… Life finds a way. Perhaps this is happening in the Smokys but with behavior modifications rather than mutations. As always, I hope a “Snake Scientist” will read this and give their opinion because this is just the world according to Joe Woody. Getting back to that Rattlesnake on Ekaneetlee. When I got home and studied the picture and video, I realized that I’d overlooked one, maybe two other snakes adjacent to the snake I described; each one making no sound. I was standing in a silent den of rattlesnakes. Now that really is the stuff of nightmares.

Joe Woody is Co-Publisher of The Angler Magazine WNC with his wife Debra. He is an Army Veteran and a self proclaimed “Adventure Angler”. You can usually find him wandering around Western North Carolina telling fishing lies. He is also a baseball nut and a crazy FCS Football fan. He has a Bigfoot magnet on the back of his truck.

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How many snakes do you see?

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Big Ol’ Stripers

By Shane Goebel

tripers, stripers, stripers! It’s business as usual for us here in Murphy, NC. It’s also been an outstanding winter bite and as early spring approaches, the striper bite should get even better. So, get out of that cramped house and get some fresh air while catching some nice trophy fish with us! This month should be amazing! With its warmer weather and longer days, it’s my favorite month for fishing. With that said, give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and book those trips. Let us put you on some of the biggest fish the mountains have to offer. WE ARE MURPHY NORTH CAROLINA’S ORIGINAL STRIPER GUIDE SERVICE. Mention The Angler Magazine and get $25 off your trip. Currently, Lake Hiwassee is 22 feet below full pool. Water temperatures have been in the low to Mid 40’s. Due to all the recent rains, water clarity is stained in the river and creeks and clear towards the dam. Striper fishing has been super out here lately. We’ve had a very successful January and February. Most of the stripers we are catching have been in the 15 to 35 pound range, and we’re averaging about 10 to 20 stripers a trip. The warmer water temps have played a big role on the increase in numbers this year. So, this spring should be amazing! This pattern should continue into the month of March and increase as the stripers start their pre-spawn. Continue the same techniques as the previous months, pulling planer boards with live herring and shad in the backs of creeks and around shallow, sloping banks. As you pull

boards, it’s always a good idea to work the banks by casting a Zara Spook or a Red Fin. As the sun comes up, turn your focus to fishing the mouths of creeks, as the stripers will follow bait to deeper water. With pre-spawn in mind, more and more stripers will start to stage in the mouths of creeks in March. Keep an eye on your electronics for schooling stripers, and pay attention to where the bait balls are. I guarantee you, if you find the bait, the stripers will be close by. One last note, the smallmouth and trout bite has been extremely good. We are catching some very nice smallmouth and trout on nearby Lake Apalachia. in the 4-5 lb. We are at least averaging 15 to 25 smallmouth and trout per trip. These trout and smallmouth have been feeding great. Down-lining live have the best live herring around. Magazine, and let us help you get bluebacks and lite tackle has been So, come fish with the pros for the your fish on! the best technique for catching a opportunity to be featured in Angler slew of these great fish in 15-25 feet Shane Goebel owns Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service and is a member of water. of The Angler Magazine Fishing Team. See the website at www. March is a fantastic month for bigolfish.com or call (828) 361-2021 catching a lot of monster stripers and smallmouth on this Western North Carolina lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake Hiwassee’s best trophy stripers during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Murphy, NC’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Nottely and Chatuge (in North Carolina), and Lake Blue Ridge in Blue Ridge, GA. And for all your live bait and tackle needs, check out Hughes General Store in Blairsville, GA. They carry everything you need for a successful day of fishing and

SMSS has all the essentials for hunting, target shooting, home defense, reloading and more Call for date & time of monthly concealed carry class. 53 Peachtree St, Murphy, NC • 828-837-7677 Beside the Courthouse

www.smokymountainshooters.com www.facebook.com/smokymtnshooter

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BLUE RIDGE FLY FISHING SCHOOL continued from page 7 teaching fly fishing, fly casting, and fly tying and are making these available in the form of short focused classes, and full day events, that make learning to fly fish easy and fun! Our most popular class is a 3-hour action filled river born excursion that gives the beginner enough experience to know what fly fishing is all about. Students of our full day class leave with enough skills to be self-sufficient on the trout stream. We also offer basic fly casting classes for the beginner to the angler needing more distance in their casts for far flung trips to the salt flats or windy western waters. Trout Spey classes are given on the Toccoa River which is the perfect setting for this fast rising aspect of fly fishing. With spey gear, you can launch casts and fish waters that are impossible to fish due to deep water or unsafe wading. Swinging

soft hackles is one of my favorite things to do on the many riffles on the river and trout spey is perfect for that. Czech Nymphing is an extremely effective method to put a lot of fish in the net on almost any given stream. We love teaching this method and can get you going right out of the gate. We limit both these clinics to one angler at a time to give folks as much one-on-one attention as possible. Beginner Fly Tying classes are also available to get future fly tyers started off on the right foot. We tie 4 different patterns that build your skills in steps and produce effective guide flies that we use on the river every day. The fishing is awesome right now in North Georgia and North Carolina so check us out on our website at www.blueridgeflyfishingschool. com and I’ll see you on the river!

Give David Hulsey a call at (770) 639-4001 to book a class or a guided trout trip. See his website at www.hulseyflyfishing.com.

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Lake Chatuge Hybrids and Spotted Bass By Darren Hughes

arch is another great month of fishing on Lake Chatuge. With its warmer temps and longer days, we expect March to be just as great as last year; hopefully, even better. Currently, lake temps are in the mid 40’s. Water clarity is clear all over the lake and water levels are holding at about 7 feet below full pool. The hybrid bass bite has been crazy. We’ve been catching some nice 7 to 10 pound fish in good numbers for early spring. The hybrids are presently staging in their spawning areas in the backs of creeks and feeding on small bait. This should continue through the month of April and into May. Early morning planer boards and free lines have worked the best. As the sun really comes out, the fish are moving to slightly deeper water and hitting on our down lines. Live bait is key here to catching some quality fish, but don’t hesitate to

cast a spook, Red Fin, or sexy dog, especially when these hybrids are busting top-water. Our spotted bass bite has also been insane. We are averaging anywhere from 30 to 40 fish a trip out here. Lake Chatuge offers the best spotted bass fishing in Western North Carolina, and I highly recommend booking a trip with us to experience this super exciting fishing thrill. These big spots are stacking up on shallow points, humps and flats all over the lake and preparing for the spawn. Look for these fish in the 10-30 foot range. The early morning bite has been okay, but it really fires up once the sun comes up. The late afternoon bite has also been pretty productive. Once you find these fish, they are hitting just about anything you can cast at them. Jerkbaits and crankbaits have been working great, but as always,

our super lively blueback herring are the biggest producers for some huge spots. March fishing on Lake Chatuge is always an exciting month. It’s a fantastic month for catching a lot of monster hybrids on this North Georgia lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake Chatuge’s best trophy hybrids during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Murphy, NC and Blairsville GA’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and

hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Hiwassee, Lake Apalachia and Nottely (in North Georgia), and Lake Blue Ridge in Blue Ridge, GA. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on!

Darren Hughes is the owner of Hughes General Store & Bait Shop, a member of The Angler Magazine Fishing Team and a guide for Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service. Look him up at www.bigolfish.com or give him a call at (706) 7456569 or (828) 361-2021.

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Fishing Off The Beaten Path

lue Lining for wild trout is out of this world. The term “Blue Lining” is becoming more mainstream, and four-wheel drive is recommended along with a good pair of hiking boots. As for Blue Lining, I am not quite sure how the term came about, but, it’s simply fishing tiny water that is remote enough to be mostly left untouched, for a chance at catching a trout that has never been caught before. The most common and wellknown trout fishing waters in the Southeast are all stocked streams and lakes. Summertime tailwaters and wintertime delayed harvest provide a year round fishery, but they almost always exclude native fish. Named waters do contain decent numbers of wild fish; to clarify, wild and native fish are different. Wild fish would be reproducing brown, rainbow, and brook trout. A true, native brook trout would be one that was not introduced to its environment by stocking, rather

By William Reed

reproduced naturally in its waters. Comparatively, if one of each was held in the hands, one would easily be capable of telling the difference. Native brooks have vibrant colors and sport a great fight on the end of the line. The best part about native fish is, even though they sound elusive, they’ll be abundant once found. The fish common in Blue Line waters are five to ten inches long, with a trophy being over twelve inches. What do I mean by “Blue Line”? To find Blue Lining water, choose almost any well-known waterway and find its source (the feeder creeks and springs). The farther off the beaten path, the better. My rule of thumb is, if the waterway has a name on Google Maps, it’s probably too big and has too much traffic. Search for the creeks on Google you see as an unnamed blue line but you can’t see water in satellite view because of the tree cover. Finding the water in person

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should be just as challenging. Park on a gravel road and hike through a hardwood thicket. Remember, the area just out of view or over the next hill probably holds the fish hiding that have never seen a fly before. When Blue Lining, the key to these small streams is presentation. Fly selection isn’t critical, and one of my go-to setups is a small chubby or dry fly with a 18-22 single nymph dropper. I run a shorter 3-5 wt. rod around seven and a half feet. You should never have to do anything other than a small roll cast or flip of the rod to get your fly in the perfect position. Make sure your fly has a natural presentation. I will give one word of caution; don’t spook the fish. Native and wild trout aren’t used to people trampling around them, and they do spook easily. Camouflage clothing and even hiding behind a tree make life easier.

The last thing to impart is my personal secret of how to find untouched waters. More than ever, people are exploring the outdoors, making untouched streams harder and harder to find. Being an avid kayaker, I use my Nucanoe to hit tiny tributaries miles from the closest road while floating some of the biggest named rivers in the state. To name a few, the Toccoa has hundreds alone along with the Nottely, Chattahoochee and any other river in the northernmost part of the state.

William Reed is a Nucanoe National Pro Staff Writer. You can contact him at will@nucanoe.com or find him on InstaGram @wde_will

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WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA GREAT SMOKIES TEAM USA MICHAEL BRADLEY continued from page 5 on trophy trout water, Michael downsized to 7x tippet and was able to land some fish over 20 inches despite the light line. What you CAN learn – downsizing flies and equipment on heavily pressured areas can be the key to success. What you CAN’T learn – how to land large fish like he does on light tippet. I live on trophy trout water and pride myself on working the technical aspects of landing large fish with solid fundamentals. Michael broke some of my biggest rules like getting the rod pointed at the fish at times. However, his sixth sense for when a fish was going to run hard or lay low was amazing and something that cannot be taught. I believe I caught as many fish as Michael did on that stretch, which

made me proud, but that pride would be short-lived. Again on his last session, Michael and his partner fished water that my partner and I had just worked over. By now, the fish are tough to get as they have had 14 anglers after them for 14 hours over the past two days. We managed to land a few which was good enough for a second place finish for our session. My philosophy fishing this deep, clear, placid pool was to hit every nook and cranny from the tail out to the top and change flies frequently, always showing something different. We tried Euronymphing, dry dropping, and working streamers. Within 20 minutes of the start of his session, Michael had landed more fish

than our total and ended up with 12. For his two hours, Michael fished virtually the same drift, hardly moving. He also almost exclusively fished a dry dropper, and only worked two different dries, and two different droppers. What you CAN learn – While fish might be holding all over an area, feeding fish may only be in one place. Michael figured out what line the feeding fish were on and stuck with it. What you CAN’T learn – being fishy. Fishy is intangible, unexplainable. Michael works extremely hard to be as good as he is and Michael is the fishiest of the fishy. That’s a tough combination to beat. Yes,

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he and his partner won that event. Michael guides trips in Western North Carolina and can be followed and contacted on Instagram at @ fly_fish_cherokee or visit www. flyfishcherokeenc.com.

Stephen “Big T” Tomasovich is the owner of Big T Fly Fishing, Outfitter and Ecommerce Fly Shop. Visit them at 106 Grand Ave, Suwanee, Georgia, or look them up online at bigtflyfishing.com

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Buds & Baits of Spring

By Capt. James McManus

arch is the renewal month and if there was ever a time we needed renewing, it is now. Saw some jonquils down in Georgia last week and the snowdrops are coming up in our yard. That means the fish everywhere will be waking up, and that warms my heart more than a 70-degree day. With all that has gone on lately, the local fishing has followed suit. Fontana has been exceptionally slow this winter. Not sure what the problem is but not even marking much on some trips. The walleye made a brief showing but have disappeared again. I have made five trips to Hartwell and have just caught my first striper of the year. I did hook the biggest striper in probably eight or ten years only to have the hook pull close to the boat - didn’t really bother me but it was 30 lbs plus, I have caught lots of 20’s and this was a different beast. All this crying is to point out that hope, like spring, is eternal. Just maybe, the next time I pull up to T2 over on the Tuckaseegee side, my sonar will light up with spaghetti. When I round the bend into Sadler’s Creek, the gulls will be thick and diving all around busting stripers and hybrids. It’s spring and anything is possible. The rivers and headwaters will be getting most of my attention at Fontana. That’s at least where I will start; if that’s no good then

spawning points with gravel and sunny exposure will be next. There is usually some top water this time of year, so always be open to just riding and looking. If stripers are on the menu, then they are heading to the backs of little coves; seems like they should be up the rivers but I typically find more towards the dam back in shallow pockets. After talking for years to NC Wildlife, I am hoping they stock hybrids in Fontana. I have never seen so much bait and that’s bluebacks and threadfins. The spot die-off two years ago and the algea bloom the past two years has the baitfish population super dense right now. Almost anywhere you turn on your sonar you will see huge clouds, March marks hope for the future. and take some younguns with you mostly undisturbed by predators. I Enjoy what God has blessed us with when you go. Later, Capt. James think it’s time to put a little fear into Capt. James McManus owns 153 Charters. Give him a call for a great their lives. day on the water at (828) 421-8125. When fishing Fontana, try and release all your smallies. They actually seem to be holding their own against the spots. For whatever reason, they haven’t been affected as much by whatever has hurt the spots. With the unlimited (and I think stupid) creel limits on spots, you should be able to put on a feed without smallies. If you do get into some walleye, don’t get greedy the limit is way out of proportion to what’s there (again stupid). Here’s hoping in the next few years we will mark hungry schools of hybrids chasing bait on Fontana; after all,

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MARCH 2021

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Mountain Lake Bluebacks

By Ronnie Parris

s everyone who fishes any amount of time on our lakes in the Western North Carolina area knows, an invasive species of bait fish has become well established; this would be the Blueback Herring. These prolific breeders seem to have taken over at alarming rate. The average size of the Herring seems to be 5 to 7 inches. The only good thing to come from the Herring population surge is the size of the fish that feed on them. Every fish species in our lake seems to love eating the Herring, the only fish I haven’t seen them in is Buegill. I’ve even seen Bluebacks in fish not noted for eating big baits, such as yellow Perch and Crappie. So what’s the down side you might ask? Well, every lake that has been introduced to Herring has seen a disappearance of their Walleye. Some biologists say the Herring have an enzyme that when eaten enough by the Walleye will render the Walleye sterile. Not all biologists agree with this but what everyone will agree on is that, when you start seeing them in your lake, the Walleye catches will slowly dwindle. Another fish that has almost been eliminated are the Kokonee Salmon that were established in Nantahala Lake. Most agree that the Bluebacks are feeding on the salmon and the other fish species’ eggs and eating the hatched fingerlings. The only cure to control the blueback numbers seems to be introducing fish species that will follow the big

schools of Bluebacks, feeding on them and therefore lowering their numbers. Lakes, like Hiwasee, have been stocked with the best fish, in my opinion, for reducing Blueback numbers by adding stripers. The striped bass are a great sport fish, as well as great table fair and, in a day, will eat pounds of the Bluebacks. Chatuge has had good luck with the hybrid bass, which is a cross between a striper and a white bass. Glenville has had good results with the Triploid Brown Trout that grow really fast and are voracious feeders. The last two years, Fontana, Nantahala, and Santeetlah have had double the threadfin shad than in previous years. I think this is due to the fish feeding on the Bluebacks instead of threadfin and also the Walleye and other fish species numbers being lowered by the Bluebacks. What should be done to remedy the overpopulation of Bluebacks? I’m not a biologist so I can’t say for sure. What I have seen is that the lakes with hybrids and stripers seem to be doing the best to recover from these voracious invaders. What I do know is that we can’t sit back and just hope the situation resolves itself. Hopefully, our North Carolina wildlife biologists will be proactive and get a handle on these invaders. Thus far, I’ve failed to see the reaction that’s needed to bring our mountain lakes back to their original glory. As always, please be safe on the water and take a kid fishing!

Ronnie Parris is owner and head guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors UnlimitedFontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, N.C., heart of the Great Smoky Mountains www.smounlimited.com; (828) 488-9711).

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Fontana Lake Fishing Guides – Ronnie Parris, Owner & Head Guide LAKE, CREEK & RIVER FISHING • FLY FISHING • CAMPING We offer both full and half day trips with the most competitive rates available. All tackle and supplies you will need while you are on your trip is covered by our listed price.

1012 East Alarka Road, Bryson City, NC • 828-488-9711, Cell: 828-736-9471

smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com

MARCH 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 19

LOCAL AUTHOR CORNER

Tails of the Smokies By Jim Parks

riving towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you decide to take a backroad leading you into the fictional town of Laurel Cove, population 278. You notice a sign outside a church showing Sunday’s sermon, “The Prodigal Son”, which everyone in town knows is a reference to Dr. Jay McMahan returning home to assume the practice of retiring Doc Hembree. Jay’s best friend from birth, Dillon Webb, sees it as an opportunity to resume their friendship and love of fly-fishing. This they will do amongst the unique characters and humorous activities that can only transpire in a small town on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Excerpt:

Dillon has not been afforded a good look at the size of his quarry. He knows and expects the trout to be a brown based on the flash of yellow he’s previously seen. Experience has taught him that when it cannot be seen, to judge the relative size of the trout by the force by which it shakes its head as it attempts to eject the fly embedded in its hooked jaw, while working its way toward somewhere near the bottom of the pool. With the thick overhanging trees shading the deeper part of the pool, the bright sunlight does not penetrate deeply enough to allow Dillon a view of the fish at the end of the line, but the power of the movement tells him it is something big. Very big.

As brown trout rarely break the surface like their cousin the rainbow,

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Jim Parks, a native of Newport, Tennessee, has spent forty-three years fly fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which he considers his home waters. During that time, he has taken self-guided trips to Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, Virginia, Vermont, Wyoming, and Mexico. He also enjoys occasional fly-fishing trips to tailwaters in Tennessee and North Carolina. Jim graduated with an MBA from the University of Tennessee in 1992. He has written articles for Fly Fish America and various fly-fishing newsletters and has worked as a volunteer for the National Park Service. Jim has given fly-tying demonstrations, taught fly-fishing courses, and given talks to civic organizations where he shared his experiences. Those who know Jim know his skill in catching numbers of and releasing trophy trout in the Smokies. He enjoys remembering those who taught him by being a mentor in sharing his knowledge with the next generation of fly-fishing enthusiasts. Jim currently resides in Kodak, Tennessee, with Trena, his wife and best friend of thirty-three years.

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MARCH 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 21

ASHEVILLE / HENDERSONVILLE / BREVARD

Choosing the Right Net for the Job - Guide’s Advice

landing net is an often overlooked, but yet critical, part of every angler’s arsenal from beginner to expert. It is my essential tool that I never leave home without, whether I am fishing for myself or running guide trips. As a guide and professional angler, one of the biggest mistakes I see from novices is that they either neglect to use a net entirely, or they use the wrong kind of net for the job. Since many new anglers have joined the community over the last year, I thought I would share my advice on what type of landing nets work best for anglers fishing the river systems of the Southern Appalachians. Firstly, I need to stress the importance of carrying a landing net in the first place, before talking about specific types. Landing nets are an essential part of every angler’s arsenal. A good landing net with the appropriate handle length, basket material, depth, and opening width will ensure that fish will have the best chance of survival upon being released. A good landing net will also help keep fish in the water for longer periods of time without having to be removed, which I think is essential, especially when it comes to trout fishing. The less you have to physically handle a fish, the better its chance of survival. It also ensures that fish can be kept from banging into rocks or having to drag them on dry land, which can cause internal bleeding and remove a fish’s slime layer that helps protect it from bacteria in the water which could lead to infection. The landing net you’ll need personally mainly depends on two different factors: the size of the fish you’re after, and the size of the waterway you’ll be fishing. This mainly determines the

By Ethan Hollifield

handle length and basket depth that will be appropriate for the scenario. For large rivers that have larger than average fish (say for example, smallmouth bass or large stocked trout) then I’m going to primarily use a net with a handle at a minimum three feet long with a basket that is at least a foot deep, with a wide opening to allow for bigger fish to be able to sit inside the net without having their spines bent into a U shape. This puts the least amount of stress on the fish as possible and also ensures larger fish can be kept underwater for longer periods of time. My guide net, that I use for situations such as this, has a five foot long handle with a basket depth of two feet, with a wide enough opening to ensure I can land big fish as quickly as possible. For smaller water (let’s say wild trout streams that are 20 feet or less in width, with average fish sizes being smaller) then you can get away with a smaller handle size. However, I don’t skimp on the depth of the basket or the net opening. I should also mention material type here. Do not use a net without a rubber or coated lining! Rubber is a more gentle material on the fish’s skin, and it will also keep hooks from getting tangled as easily, compared to traditional rope material used for nets. My preference for nets on wild trout streams also would include net webbing itself to have very small diameter holes. I can’t tell you how many small trout I have seen that have been harmed from people letting them slip out of the holes in larger nets onto rocks. Frabill has a variety of options that fit the bill very well for the small stream trout angler. For musky, a net is essential to ensure a clean release. The Frabill

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stow-away series of nets, in my experience, provides the right type of handle length, storage capacity, width, and basket depth to ensure I can land these large predator’s and have enough room to leave them in the water, off the side of the boat, while retrieving hooks and reviving fish. Having a net that is too shallow or doesn’t allow for the musky to sit completely in the water is one of the biggest detriments to this species’

survival from a catch and release perspective. One final note I will mention is that you do not have to spend a ton of money for a quality net. Finding one that follows the parameters listed above, however, will help you, as an angler, better practice catch and release so our fisheries in Western North Carolina can be productive for years to come.

Ethan Hollifield is a member of a conservation organization called 2% For Conservation and a guide for Southern Appalachian Anglers. He is a Professional Fly Fishing, Smallmouth Bass, & Musky Guide. (828)-467-7862

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Are You Ready For The Lake?

By Johnny Holden

wish I were on the lake. Whether you are a late winter/early spring angler or you will be DEwinterizing your boat in April or May, here is what you should do to get your boat ready for the season. (If you DE-winterize early, make sure you keep an eye on your engine for freezing temperatures in the late winter-early spring months). Let’s see how well you winterized your boat in the fall...Uncover your boat, clean out all the leaves and mothballs. Go ahead and put fresh fuel in your boat. Remember, fuel that contains ethanol (made from sugar alcohols) is not recommended for your engine. I know boats and beer go really well together, but engines should not become alcoholics! Hook up the water hose to the motor. Always fasten the flusher with a bungee cord to the lower unit. Otherwise, when you walk off to grab a tool, you will find the hose lying on the ground when you come back.

That will hurt your heart. Pump the fuel bulb on the outboard and pump the throttle on the inboard/outboards. Choke the outboards, unless the engine is fuel injected. If your engine is fuel injected, just turn the key. Nothing? Well, you probably forgot to charge the battery and check for the correct water level. It will likely take a while to crank the oil injected outboards. Just keep choking it! I have had to keep choking some motors for up to an hour to keep them running. Everything running now? No? Oops! Did you forget to stabilize the fuel or stabilize the fresh fuel? Here is a little tip: before tearing into the carburetor, pour a bottle of Techron into 3 gallons of gas. Remember to add the correct ratio of oil to the gas mixture, if your engine is not oil-injected. Techron is usually available at Walmart. Run the motor from the gas/Techron mixture, choking or pumping the throttle to keep it running. Use up to 2 gallons

of gas/Techron mixture, without running the engine out of fuel. Shut the motor off and wait 24 hours to restart. If it does not run well after an hour on the hose, you will have to go into the carburetor. This, however, is not for the faint of heart! If trying to repair your carburetor overwhelms you, take it to a reputable boat service shop. There is a “stupid-tax” added to these repairs. The “stupid-tax” is for being too lazy to properly prepare your boat for winter. At this point, you should consider replacing the water pump impeller, which should be replaced every three years if you use your boat regularly. Check your safety equipment: life jackets, bilge pumps, horns, and

navigation lights. Are you ready to go? NO, wait! Check the bearings in the trailer! Jack the trailer up and spin the wheels…do you hear any rumble or growling? If so, replace the bearings and seals. Use plenty of grease. Air up the tires and LET’S GO TO THE LAKE!! Note: Remember to always check your owner’s manual for detailed instructions for your particular motor!

Johnny Holden is the owner of John’s Boats, located in Pisgah Forest, NC. If you need help getting your boat ready for the water, give him a call at (828) 883-9388.

release

tion is d a ton nding meters help ractice heries can be

led 2% He is a 7-7862

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MARCH 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 23

The Guide’s Angle: A Smorgasbord For Trout Under The Surface JOHN'S BOATS's staff of friendly, cooperative and knowledgeable people are ready to serve you as you make your important buying decisions. We have an outstanding service department with factory trained technicians. 21 Upper Glade Creek Rd., Pisgah Forest NC

828-883-9388

Always wear a personal flotation device while boating and read your owner’s manual

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By Chris Scalley

ate winter into early spring is the peak window for the “larval stage” of most aquatic insects in trout streams. Anglers should take the time to flip some rocks or use a seine to take a quick inventory of the trout’s menu. Your larger critters should be imitated

with your heavier point fly, attached to the end of your leader, and the smaller critters should be imitated with one or even two droppers. You will be amazed with the abundance and variety of bugs under the surface this time of year.

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HIGH COUNTRY

Cataloochee Gateway – Cove Creek Gap

ou know that feeling when you get ready to embark on an adventure? The building excitement... the thrill of the first moment you step foot on a trail. That setting is so important – it sets the tone and context for your experience. Unfortunately, many of the public lands and trails in the Southern Appalachians are bordered by forests and fields on private lands which, as an area increases in popularity, could be developed for residential or commercial uses – forever changing the experience for those seeking serenity in outdoor recreation. Thanks to generous conservation supporters, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy recently purchased 10 acres at Cove Creek Gap, the Cataloochee Valley entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The land borders the Cataloochee Divide Trail, rising from Cove Creek Road to the ridgeline and sharing a 0.3-mile boundary with the trail and national park. Although small in acreage, these 10 acres have the potential to make a big impact. In addition to sharing a boundary with the trail and national park, the tracts are located just across Cove Creek Road to the left of the park sign, highly visible to visitors entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the Cataloochee Valley entrance. “We are so grateful to the Overholser and Hultquist family for helping SAHC successfully protect this slice of land along the Cataloochee Divide Trail at the entrance to the national park,” said Conservation Director Hanni Muerdter. “We will own and manage it in the short term as forested habitat buffering the park, and we hope to transfer the land to become part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”

The 10 acres that SAHC recently purchased at the Cataloochee Gateway were once part of a larger parcel of land owned by the Hultquist family. Kay Hultquist worked with SAHC to permanently protect the family’s 65acre tract nearby in 2000 through a conservation easement, preserving wildlife habitat that buffers the national park, scenic views in the landscape, and 2,000 linear feet of stream. Kathy Overholser (husband Jim), Chip Hultquist, and Joe Hultquist carry on the conservation legacy of their parents, Kay and Charles Hultquist, honoring their love of the mountains and continuing to help preserve these important natural spaces. The idea to protect the park entrance by generously donating funds to SAHC to purchase the land and eventually transfer it to the national park resonated with Kathy and Jim Overholser, who spearheaded the Hultquist family’s fundraising effort for this project. It has culminated in the successful land purchase to protect the ridgeline and the Cataloochee gateway to the park. “The preservation of these 10 acres prevents development right at the trail,” says Jim Overholser. “There is an access road right at the gap, at the park boundary, and the land there could have easily been developed. We’re pleased to help SAHC protect the ridgeline and park entrance. We’ve been lifetime members of SAHC since 1979, and conservation has always been an aspect of our lives. It’s an important thing to do.” We are grateful to the Overholser and the Hultquist families for their continued support and commitment to conservation, to Brad and Shelli Stanback, and to all our members for making conservation successes like this possible!

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Convenient to Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and Beech Mountain Our resorts offer the perfect vacation or getaway in the mountains of Western North Carolina

Located on the headwater of the Watauga River, we are convenient to all of the wonderful attractions of the High Country like Grandfather Mountain, Tweetsie Railroad, Linville Falls, Gem Mining and more. Enjoy the adventure at affordable rates! Hook up your RV, pitch your tent or rent on-site lodging. We are conveniently located 10 miles south of Boone on Hwy. 105 or 7 miles north of Linville on Hwy. 105. You’ll find the High Country of N.C. offers many activities for everyone in the family!

Call Today 800-788-2582

www.grandfatherrv.com 125 Proﬁle View Rd., Banner Elk, NC 28604 MARCH 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 25

A quaint hotel in Blowing Rock, NC right on Main St.

Our Rooms are within walking distance to all the shops and restaurants. Our Villas offer one bedroom suites with a quiet atmosphere.

Within walking distance to over 80 shops and galleries and over 20 local restaurants. The Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Tweetsie Railroad, Mystery Hill and Linville Caverns are all within a short drive.

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(828)-295-7921

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Hatchery Supported Trout Waters to Close Feb. 28 - April 3

ALEIGH, N.C. (Feb. 5, 2021) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will close approximately 1,000 miles of Hatchery Supported Trout Waters to fishing one-half hour after sunset on Feb. 28 and reopen them at 7 a.m. on April 3. This year, Wildlife Commission personnel will stock approximately 960,000 trout — 96% of which will average 10 inches in length, with the other 4% exceeding 14 inches in length. Hatchery Supported Trout Waters are stocked at frequent intervals in the spring and early summer every year and are marked by greenand-white signs at the fishing locations. Anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no minimum size limit or bait restriction. Hatchery Supported Trout Waters are open

from 7 a.m. on the first Saturday in April until one-half hour after sunset on the last day of February the following year. For information about trout fishing in North Carolina, visit the Wildlife Commission’s trout fishing page, or call the Inland Fisheries Division at 919707-0220.

www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Fish/Trout/Trout-Fishing Photo credit: Missy McGaw, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

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mission

Untangling Trout

By Jeff Durniak Unicoi Outfitters

y exercise route takes me along the Smith Creek trail, where last year’s storms put a lot of wood into that stream and others across our region. GADNR fish biologist Anthony Rabern has a great saying for trouting fans: “Wood is Good!” Those instream messes of logjams and trees create some great lairs for sneaky trout. They are the underfished critters and often the biggest browns in the creek. It’s hard to cast upstream and get a good drift down to the trout without snagging wood. So how do we “untangle” those trout? As mountain streams start to warm from their winter lows, my Unicoi Outfitters gang has some tips to help you succeed this spring. Untangle those trout by sneaking in above them, casting down, and twitching your bugs in front of their noses. Quietly slip into the stream, well upstream of the tangle. If you can, slowly wade down and over so you’re directly upstream from the tangle, still at a good distance above it so you don’t spook the residents. Then make a short cast with a weighted Woolly Bugger (lead wraps inside it or some split shot a foot above it) across and downstream, into the open, main current below you. If the cast is short, let a little more fly line out. Then steer that Bugger with big mends toward the tangle and by pointing your rod tip at it. Let the Bugger swing just in front of the logjam.

Then put your rod tip on the stream surface and twitch and shortstrip that Bugger just upstream from the branches. “Call out the trout” to come up and smash your streamer. If your tip’s on the water, the fish will hook itself. But if you hold your rod high, the fish will just pull on your loop of loose line and you’ll miss the strike. Just use heavier tippet so that it doesn’t snap upon impact with your shark. When hooked, then sidearm that trout away from the snag and toward the far, clean bank. Sometimes those fish can be short-striking or picky. Nail the short-strikers by a) using a smaller Bugger or b) taking out your scissor/clamp and trimming your marabou tail a bit shorter. Picky fish can be convinced in several ways. First, try a double Bugger rig. Tie on a small Bugger first and then put a slightly larger one behind it as your dropper fly. The double Bugger rig will look like one baitfish chasing a smaller one. If that doesn’t work, then trade out that back dropper. Tie on thinner tipper and a small, soft hackle wet fly (ex: Pheasant Tail) as your rear offering. If they’re still shy, ditch the Bugger, risk the breakoff, and swing one wet fly in there on light tippet. You’ll hook more than you land, but you WILL be in the game. Good luck untangling trout from the trees this spring!

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MARCH 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 27

UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Back to Basics, Fishing Docks

ocks are magic locations and many anglers overlook them for bass, crappie and even stripers. The docks on major lakes offer food and shelter to game fish, and even a platform dock is a good hiding place for fish. While anglers may find docks that are floating, there are also other styles of docks. On some lakes, the docks are on poles, and this can also be a great area for game fish. No matter the style of these docks, they provide shelter and the baitfish can be around them feeding on the algae that live in the water on the floats. Docks also provide the beginning of the food chain in plankton. Game fish don’t eat plankton, but the tiny minnows do. These fish feed under these docks all year. Another reason

By Ken Sturdivant

docks are great locations is that the water around them is usually a few degrees warmer. Next time you pass a dock mid-day, touch the wood and see how warm it is. This heat is transmitted into the water. The best way to fish any dock is to fish all the way around it. Many anglers never go behind the dock and fish the back and the gang plank. Many dock owners add structure around the dock but put it on the back side. Docks are magic areas to the game fish, and most anglers don’t fish them as effectively as they could. Fish don’t need a lot of cover to hide, and in many instances game fish can school up together under docks. But while many anglers know they are there, making only a couple of casts to a dock can be a mistake. Docks can be fish houses. Dock

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owners use all sorts or tricks to make the dock hold fish. Adding old Christmas trees, old tires and bales of hay make even a plain dock a better place for the fish. Game fish need cover and food, and this is what makes a dock a home. Docks provide shade no matter what size the dock may be. Game fish like to hide under docks to avoid sunlight and to ambush food. If the dock is close to deep water or even a small point or ditch, even better. Docks like these can and usually do hold fish all year. Look out in front of the docks for brush piles placed there by the owner. If the dock is a common swim area, the brush may be

farther away. If there is a door on the dock, skip the baits under them to get the bites. To unlock the best docks from the bad ones, the Lowrance Structure Scan technology can make this extremely easy. Scanning the docks usually at a range of 80 feet both left and right with the Structure Scan beams is average based on the size of the dock. Be sure to run the Down Scan beam at the same time so you don’t miss what might be in front of the dock. The next time docks are your target, spend more time and learn to fish the whole thing. It could produce even bigger and surely more fish.

Ken Sturdivant is a member of the Lowrance Pro Staff. You can find him at 770-889-2654, www.southernfishing.com, or kensturdivant@att.net

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Lake Hartwell Fishing Forecast for March 2021

By Preston Harden

ater Level: 3 ft. Below full pool Water Temp: 50 degrees March is one of my favorite months to fish. I love to fish small artificials and catch big fish. I fish small bucktail jigs and flukes and fish shallow like a bass angler. But I am looking for a fish that can rip the drag, unlike a bass. This is finesse fishing and not so easy. You have to slow down the presentation. You have to put the jig where the fish are. Concentrate on wind blown banks. Don’t start early and fish late. The water warms on a warm day and the fish move shallow later in the day. Expect to catch stripers, hybrids,

largemouth bass and spotted bass. Crappie become more aggressive by March and move farther back in the creeks. I start shooting docks more than fishing jigs vertically. I am still looking for crappie in the shade of docks and bridges. I will upsize my jig from 1/32 oz. to 1/16 oz. By late March, I will start looking for crappie around structure as they prepare to spawn. They like to attach their eggs to wood, rock, stick-ups, and other structures. March is a great month to fish artificials, so if you like to cast small jigs and catch big fish, get ready.

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Preston Harden / Bucktail Guide Service / 706-255-5622 / bucktailguideservice.com

MARCH 2021

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 29

What’s On The Menu For Spring On The Water?

arch brings the transitional time on the waters here at Chattooga River Fly Shop. February brought us rain, snow, and temperatures in the 60’s, who can complain about that. The warming trend and early spring rains now upon us, we see the water temperatures start to raise. Warmer southerly breezes make daily excursions to the river refreshing, but also remember, we may see below freezing temperatures in March, with a little snow still possible, but that would a rarity. Warmer water temperatures will equal the first emergence of the caddis and mayfly season. We have seen Early Winter Black Stoneflies, Blu-Winged Olives, and Midges throughout the winter, but the hatches of the spring will be much more prolific. In typical form, this emergence starts off slowly, with the first of the Quill Gordon’s and Black Caddis. Although on some

By Karl Ekberg

days these bugs are in what seem to be swarms all around the river, no fish are rising. This is common to see early in the spring, with water temperatures still in the low 40’s; fish are slow to start rising for the dry flies/adults on top water. Truly, fishing the nymph patterns, soft hackles, and wet flies will produce more fish. Fish will move out of the depths of the river bottoms, and into riffle and shallower water areas for feeding, as the water warms. Start the day with a tandem rig with a nymph and wet fly or soft hackle, prior to hatches happening. Fish the riffles into runs of the rivers, or shallow rocky swift moving waters into the calmer slower depths. The fish will hold in these calmer waters just off the riffle areas awaiting emerging nymphs, and caddis. As the fish start to rise on top, have ready your dry fly selection. A longer leader, slight upstream cast, mend, and a nice drag free drift toward rising fish will be essential.

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Refusals on the fly being drifted can be frustrating, make sure to have all bugs that are hatching and a size or two of each. If the fish are just dimpling the top of the water, the fish are eating emergers or adults that have sunk back under the surface, so fish a wet fly or even a dry fly just by itself just under the water’s surface on the “swing”, to the area that the rings are on the water. Do not let frustration set in; one of our guides can take you out on a full or half day trip, and show you the entomology (bugs), the where’s and why’s of how to fly fish on the river, and break this all down very simply. We are all looking forward to a wonderful spring season, let us all

remember to “Leave No Trace”, and please have respect for all, keep a social distance, and stay safe.

Karl and Karen Ekberg are co-owners of Chattooga River Fly Shop, located at 6832-A Highlands Hwy, Mountain Rest, SC 29664. Give them a call at (864) 638-2806 and visit their website at www. chattoogariverflyshop.com.

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE 31

The Big Move

By Scott Norton

t is now late winter and before you know it, those bass will be thinking about spawning. Some of you fished through winter and some have stored and winterized your boats for the season. One thing for sure is that both kinds of anglers will be faced with a plan for the spawn. Every angler should have a routine ready because this will kick off fishing for the rest of the year. Now let us start with the basics. Your boat will be the bulk of your plans at this time. Timing is everything because boats, of all kinds, will be in the mix for maintenance when the weather starts to get warm. I find that, if you get your boat ready at the end of winter, you won’t be waiting on your mechanic and getting in a long line when spring arrives. Things to think about would be your water pump, batteries, bilge pump, and gear oil. Most of the time, one of these will set you back for a month if you wait until the busy season for boat repairs.

Next, I want to talk about doing an inventory of items in the boat as well. Not only will you be changing out your tackle but you also need to know if your boat contains what it needs to be legal. I always find that your fire extinguisher will lose its charge after some time. Life jackets will also get mildew on them so you may want to clean them off. Check your registration and tag to see if it is up to date. All these things will get you on the water first while other anglers who forgot something can’t make it out there yet. It is so easy to get lazy and forget some of these important issues that stay in the back of the mind when all you think about is catching fish. Now that the boat is out of the way, we can concentrate on your gear and tackle. More than likely, you will notice more noise coming from your reel at this time. It is a good time to oil and grease your reels before the season starts. I find that when you gain skills in the

maintenance of your gear you won’t be faced with a mishap or a surprise that could damage your gear as a result of not having them cleaned and lubed properly. The downside to not knowing how to fix your own gear is that you have to send in gear to be lubed and cleaned. This will take some time so you will need to have these things done early to avoid the surprise that can ruin your trip. Don’t forget to check your trailer for tire wear and pressure. If this goes wrong, you could be stuck on the side of the road in a bad way. Most people neglect to keep up with

their lights and ground connection on the trailer. Some things are as easy as just replacing a bulb while others are more complicated like troubleshooting an electrical problem. Electrical issues often turn out to be a bad ground due to corrosion. You see, a lot of things go into your planning before you even put your boat in the water. Put some thought into your preplan so you can have a trouble free start to your season. Hope this helps and, as always, tight lines and new records for the new season.

Scott Norton is a Western North Carolina native. Born in Asheville, N.C., he is a long-time hunter, angler and weekend warrior. He is a member of Southern Raft Supply’s prostaff, representing them in his Jackson Kayak Coosa FD

32 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS & THE UPSTATE

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SPRING TROUT IN THE SMOKIES

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STAY LOW FOR

By TAM Staff

uide Ian Rutter is fired up about spring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ample rains and a mild winter bode well for the wild trout that inhabit more than 800 miles of trout streams in the park. This time of year, fish are perking up to feed on an abundance of aquatic insects. But there’s another reason the Smokies are inviting to anglers in spring. The summertime crowds, with their campers and inner tubes, haven’t yet invaded the larger rivers. Ian and his wife, Charity, run R&R Fly Fishing out of Townsend, Tennessee. They have guided anglers in the park for a quarter century and live a stone’s throw from Little River, one of the largest and most popular streams in the Smokies. From high-elevation brook trout rills to roadside rivers, they fish it all, but Ian said it’s wise to stick to the larger flows in lower elevations this time of year. In March, and even into April, it’s likely there will still be snow on the ground up in the hills. Trout thrive in cold water, but their metabolisms slow, and they feed less readily in icy temperatures. Also, the bugs they feed on are mostly dormant at higher altitudes, which can make things slow for fly fishing. Meanwhile, down in the valleys, larger rivers like Little River, Deep Creek and the Oconaluftee will be waking up. In afternoons, even on cold days, fish should be looking to the surface for hatches of mayflies like Quill Gordons, blue-winged olives and blue quills. Throw in a few early brown stoneflies, and you’ll see why the Smokies are known for great dry fly fishing. “Oftentimes you’ll have some combination of those bugs all at the same time,” Ian said. “They’re not too particular. And even the one’s that are particular aren’t as particular as some folks think they are.” Being sneaky is more important than fly selection, Ian said. Trout in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are wild, stream-born and extremely wary of predators. So wading very carefully and making short accurate casts are important to success. Another thing about trout in the Smokies is they grow slowly. Fishing is less about catching big fish and more about the overall experience. “I like to say, ‘your results may vary,’” said Ian when asked about angler expectations. “We do catch some 16-inchers, but the important thing to remember is it’s a wild trout fishery. There aren’t any stocked trout that were put in last week at 14 inches. A 16-incher might be 10 years old. It’s survived every type of predator out there, so it’s super-smart and difficult to catch.” A proficient angler can expect to catch good numbers of brightly colored 8- to 10-inch wild trout. Any angler can expect to wade through some of the most gorgeous mountain trout water in the East. For information on fishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, contact R&R Fly Fishing through their website at randrflyfishing.com.

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fact, you’ll find GILLZ shirts breathe like nothing you’ve ever worn. And of course, all of their shirts provide UPF 50+ sun protection, so you can fish from sunup to sundown safely. GILLZ masks feature “gills” that channel air down your neck and mesh mouth openings that prevent your sunglasses from fogging. Plus, their masks can also be worn in a variety of ways to suit your particular needs. Functional hybrid shorts with pockets where you need them also feature four-way stretch fabric, an expandable waistband and a vented, gusseted crotch that lets cool air in. And who couldn’t use some cool air down there? And you’ve got to check out the epic designs and styles. Each color and print is inspired by and pays homage to nature and marine life. You’ll find bold, confident styles for anglers like you. Whatever your destination – the Bahamas, Florida Keys, Outer Banks or the Gulf of Mexico… whether you’re fishing offshore, the flats, lake, or river, only GILLZ Technical Fishing Apparel brings this level of durability, comfort, and performance to the table. That’s why it’s the choice of many pros. Rest assured, GILLZ will continue to push innovation and performance to the limit with elite new products. So, breathe in that moment out on the water when your muscles are working overtime and the sun is beating down. You’ll know that GILLZ apparel breathes with you so you can be at your absolute best. See the latest GILLZ collections by checking out their website: www.gillz-gear.com

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MARCH 2021

NATIONAL 15

LOCAL ANGLER CRUSHES VIRGINIA SWORDFISH RECORD A daytime deep drop expedition yielded spectacular results for a Virginia angler this past September. It took four months for the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament to officially announce it, but a 597-pound swordfish caught by Nicholas Kontodiakos on Sept. 25, 2020 absolutely crushed the existing state record. Kontodiakos, of Norfolk, Va., was drifting in 1,000 feet of water off Virginia Beach when the massive swordfish hit a bait suspended at 800 feet. Caught along the southern edge of Norfolk Canyon, Kontodiako’s fish topped the existing record by more than 130 pounds. The previous record of 466 pounds was caught in August 2019 by Tony Gower Jr., of Virginia Beach. Kontodiakos and fishing buddy Trey Wallace left Rudee Inlet at 4:30 a.m. aboard the angler’s 2007, 29-foot SeeVee. After arriving at their location, they made several long drifts and had a couple of bites that did not come tight. The lines were set for “one more drift” before they planned to head in for the day. At 3:30 p.m. the deep “buoy rod,” with a rigged dolphin belly on a blue and white skirt, came tight. After wrestling the fish for nearly five hours, it was clear it was a large swordfish, and when the fish was finally secured at the transom, they began to relax. But securing the fish to the transom was

just round one. Round two consisted of couple hours of inching the fish onto the deck. Kontodiakos’ passion for swordfish began a decade ago while living on the east coast of Florida. “I had no idea how to go about catching them,” he admitted. After moving to Virginia Beach and realizing there were swordfish 60-plus miles off the Virginia coast, he decided he needed a bigger boat. Unfortunately, even with a bigger boat, his lack of success in Florida tagged along to Virginia. “No one wanted to fish with me because I never came back with any fish,” he said. Relentlessly perusing information on the Internet and talking to successful anglers eventually began to payoff, and his success improved in recent years. He said he’s caught a swordfish in every month of the year except January. It was nearly midnight when the pair pulled inside Rudee Inlet on Sept. 25. A call had already been made to alert the Virginia Beach Fishing Center of the catch, and the boat’s bow was pointed straight to the Fishing Center’s main dock. Representatives from the Fishing Center were dockside to assist, and a small crowd of onlookers had assembled, despite the late hour. The fish measured 180 inches total length,

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with a lower jaw fork length of 111 inches. It sported a hefty girth of 69 inches. Kontodiakos used a custom Joe Leffler 80-pound class rod, teamed with a Shimano Tiagra 50 reel, spooled with 80-pound PowerPro braid and topped off with a 25-foot, 250-pound Moni mono leader with a Mustad 7691, 11/0 hook, attached to the business end.

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p b sh It’s the fry can Bu catchin vetera tips to 1) crappi hold o times shallow “Th for the the spa mid-5 As Then seek o of cree back o Th targets spawn could have m Sa the 10 discard

pringtime is crappie time. When water temps begin to climb, the crappie schools move shallow to stage on structure before the spawn. It’s the time of year when loading coolers for a fish fry can be quick and easy. But the thing with crappie is you’re either catching them or you’re not. With that in mind, veteran crappie angler Dan Saknini offered some tips to consistently catch slab crappie. 1) Know The Cycles: The comfort zone for crappie is 35 feet and shallower, said Saknini. They hold on deep brush during the coldest and hottest times of year, but in milder weather they move shallower in search of optimal water temperatures. “This time of year, the crappie are fattening up for the spawn,” he said. “Their comfort zone for the spawn is when water temperatures rise into the mid-50s, preferably closer to 60.” As the spawn begins, fish stage up on structure. Then they’ll move extremely shallow in waves to seek out spawning areas on the banks and backs of creeks. The females move in, lay eggs and move back out. The males stay shallow to guard the beds. Through the stages of the spawn, Saknini targets brush in 15 feet or shallower. With the spawning season lasting about a month, these could be pre-spawn fish or post-spawn fish that have moved back out. Saknini shoots jigs in and around docks in the 10- to 15-foot range. Many lake homeowners discard Christmas trees off their docks. These are

the docks you need to find. 2) Locate Structure: Regardless of the season, black crappie school up on some type of structure. They change depths, and move off structure momentarily to feed, so catching them consistently means knowing the locations of brushpiles at all different depths. Saknini said good electronics and prospecting are key to being a good crappie angler. If you fish a lake that allows it, you can build your own honey holes. “I probably sink 50 or 60 brushpiles a year,” Saknini said. “Then I go back and fish them. There might be fish there, or there might not, but I always have another one to go to.” 3) Ditch the Minnows: Fishing a minnow under a bobber is traditional, and it can be effective. However, Saknini said fishing jigs is a far more efficient. “Once you get used to jig fishing, it’s always more productive,” he said. “If you’re fishing a minnow, it’s either under a bobber or on a downline, and it’s stationary. With a jig, you’re moving and covering water.” Crappie are lazy and won’t chase a bait more than a few feet, Saknini said. There could be fish all over a piece of structure, but you wouldn’t know it if your minnow is just a foot out of the strike zone. With a jig, you can cover water vertically and horizontally for a better chance of passing through that zone.

PHOTO BY NICK CARTER

Catch More Crappie

Dan Saknini is a member of Lanier Crappie Anglers Club. Check them out at www.laniercrappieanglers.net.

FREEDIVER SPEARS WORLD RECORD SNAPPER

reediver Stephanie Schuldt broke a world record in late November when she speared a 19.3-pound (8.8 kg) dog snapper in the Bahamas. At a depth of 45 feet, Schuldt stuck the big snapper with 9-foot Headhunter Nomad roller polespear while wreck diving off Nassau. The fish qualified her for the International Underwater Spearfishing Association’s women’s world record for the species in the sling/polespear division. It also outweighed the men’s record of 19.1 pounds, which was caught by JonMichael Degidio off Grand Cay in 2016. “At the end of my breath hold I saw the dog snapper swimming in and out of the wreckage,” wrote Schuldt in a description of the event. “I came back up to the surface and told my boyfriend, Matt, ‘There is a world record dog snapper down there.’ I took some time to get a good breathe-up, dropped back down into the wreck and got a solid holding shot on the fish. It fought for a bit on the way up, but I was able to clear it from the wreck and get it to the surface. Once at the surface, it tried to bite me and tangled up my float line, but I was able to grab it by the gills and swim it back to my boat.” Even on a rod and reel, Schuldt’s fish would have been impressive. The IGFA all-tackle world record weighed 24 pounds. It was caught back in 1994 by Capt. Wayne Barder off Abaco. Check Stephanie Schuldt’s adventures at www.saillaviecharters.com. COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

MARCH 2021

NATIONAL 19

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here should be a betting pool for just how quickly the Black Lake, Michigan sturgeon season will end each year. In 2020, the season lasted just six hours. This year, the scheduled Feb. 6-10 season was shut down after two hours of fishing when the harvest limit was met. Imagine getting all geared up to go spear fishing through a hole in the ice for these big prehistoric fish. The season opens at 8 a.m. Then, at 10 a.m., your hopes are dashed when Michigan DNR knocks on the door of your ice shanty. Apparently, that’s the way Black Lake sturgeon season goes for a vast majority of anglers. More than 500 anglers registered to jockey for a harvest quota of just six fish this year. It’s a credit to Michigan DNR that they even hold the event at the 10,000-acre lake, which is connected to Lake Huron by the Black and Cheboygan rivers. Rehabilitation of the lake sturgeon population in the watershed is an ongoing effort, and this limited harvest creates excitement around the effort. There are reports of anglers who have fished the season for decades without getting a single sturgeon. The six fish caught ranged from 50 to 63 inches and 25 to 61 pounds. Three of the fish had been tagged before during studies of the spawning run up the Black River. A 61-inch-long female, estimated to be about 20 years old, was tagged during the 2006 spawning run. Male sturgeon have a lifespan of about 55 years. Females can live longer than 100 years. For more information, go to Michigan.gov/Fishing. 20 NATIONAL

MARCH 2021

ooking through Facebook and reminiscing on traveling for boat-show season, one conversation starter I remember most fondly is, “That’s too big for my rope locker.” In spite of American fiberglass OEMs like Sea Chaser and Sea Pro factory-installing the Rebel EZ-4 on specific series, there’s still a popular myth that drum anchor winches are built predominantly for aluminum boats. One too many boaters have told me this when they stopped at our company’s booth during the 2020 season, and while we’re officially homebound due to the pandemic, we’re as busy as ever answering questions and informing customers about our product. We want to help them achieve the best anchoring results for them. From newbies who have recently embraced boating, to longtime hobbyists who have extra time to add new features on their boats, there is usually an anchoring solution, whether it’s a Patriot direct drive unit or a Rebel free-fall unit. “You can click the ‘Products’ tab on the website and select the winch that interests you,” Sara Hitchins, E-Z Anchor Puller’s office and trade show manager said. “Select the unit you’d like to view and the link to the dimensional drawings are on the product page. One way to measure is to make a cardboard cutout at home to measure against your boat.” If you’re one of the new boaters looking for a new fiberglass model or researching that windlass upgrade on your family boat, these center consoles from customers and builders prove that a drum winch looks sexy on center consoles, too! SEA PRO: Sea Pro Boats introduced the world to their 320 Deep V Center Console at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, joining Carolina Skiff to become another American fiberglass OEM to factory-install E-Z Anchor Puller’s Rebel EZ-4 free-fall unit, adapting the innovative technology one year after Georgia-based OEM Carolina Skiff began installing. SEA CHASER: “I liked it so much I installed a Patriot on my own personal boat,” Ed Johnston, engineer at Carolina Skiff told us when we saw him at the Miami International Boat Show. The 35’ Sea Chaser also uses the free-fall Rebel EZ-4 and hides it in the rope locker. PARKER: “I know this is an old post, but I love my EZ on my 2820,” one writer on Classicparker.com posted to a company thread, “I have 600’ of dyneema, 75 of nylon and 50’ of chain. With lots of extra room still.” Live2fish posted several pictures depicting the Rebel EZ-4 unit resting on a bow pulpit. ARIMA: Mark Fitch was an avid poster of his installation process on ArimaOwners.com, documenting his journey with various “beer breaks” in between. Mark’s 1987 Arima Sea Pacer was sized for the Patriot EZ-1, a smaller complete 316 stainless steel unit. He still tags #ezanchorpuller in his fishing posts.

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HUGE SWORDFISH SETS NEW FLORIDA RECORD

n Jan. 20, four young anglers from Pompano Beach, Fla. set out early from Hillsboro Inlet to get in on the fast action being reported from the swordfish grounds, some 15 miles off the coast. They returned to the docks that evening with a 767.8-pound swordfish that set a new Florida state record. The official record holder and the man who manned the LP electric reel was 21-yearold Timmy Maddock. The 31-foot center console they fished from belongs to 17-yearold Hunter Irvine, who put the final dart in the enormous fish. Lady angler, Jaime Johanson, 20, videoed the landing and got in with the gaff, while Jeremy Rafferty, 21, manned the helm as they subdued the new record. It took five and a half hours to fight the fish into submission. It took almost another hour and a radio call for help to get the swordfish through the tuna door and safely in the boat. Rob Doda, who was fishing solo nearby left his boat floating and boarded Irvine’s boat to help haul the giant fish onboard. It was an epic catch for the group of young anglers, and the 400 pounds of meat their fish yielded was shared with friends and family, with the charity organization Filet for Friends, and at a celebratory barbecue for the whole Pompano Beach fishing community. To read Timmy Maddock’s account of the catch, see the Florida section of this magazine or online at www.coastalanglermagazine.com. 22 NATIONAL

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NEW ENGLAND AWAITS

warm water, and they’re looking for that constant bait source. That’s what the rivers provide.” Action is fast in tidal rivers like the Weweantic on the north side of Buzzards Bay. Murphy walks the dog with topwater baits like a 7-inch Lil’ Doc to draw explosive strikes from good numbers of stripers in the rivers. They’ll also eat By Nick Carter soft-plastic eel or herring imitations like those made by Hogy, and although these river fish aren’t the monsters Murphy pursues later in the season, there aren’t many anglers who’d turn their nose up to consistent topwater activity from fish up to 20 inches. As the season progresses, the bite moves to the mouths of the rivers, where stripers ambush herring moving out. This is where some of the bigger fish come into play, and they also can be taken on topwater. By mid-May, Murphy said he’ll be chasing the classic New England bass blitzes, when schoolie-sized fish ball up bait and crash the surface. At this point, fish will have spread up around Cape Cod or through the Cape Cod Canal into Massachusetts Bay. Action ou can almost feel the excitement building on the coast of can be intense for fish in the 2- to New England. Winter is ebbing, and soon warming water 10-pound range. conditions will spark the migration of striped bass up the “You can go out early in the Atlantic coast. Jack Murphy will be waiting when they arrive. morning any day and find blitzing Murphy and his partner, Jack Loveday, co-founded Lucky Jacks schoolies,” Murphy said. “You can Fishing in Marblehead, Massachusetts. For them, April begins the catch 30 or 40 fish in just a couple busy striper season off Rhode Island and Massachusetts. hours.” As you read this, striped bass are spawning in tributaries of By the first part of June, anglers Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay and the Hudson River. When in search of big fish will head 5 to water temperatures rise into the 50s, these fish push north with 10 miles offshore to find big pogy huge schools of menhaden to feed ravenous post-spawn appetites. PHOTOS BY SEAN MAIORANO PHOTOGRAPHY (menhaden) schools. This is a Murphy said the first fish collect on the south side of Cape Cod WWW.SEANMAIORANOPHOTOGRAPHY.COM short-lived first-light bite. in Buzzards Bay. Timing is dependent on weather and water temperatures, so “When you come on one of these schools that’s getting harassed, you’re in Lucky Jacks spends spring studying winds and water temps to try and intercept the first waves of migrating fish. They normally show up in the second or third for a heck of a day.” Murphy said. “We’ve had a few days when our smallest fish were 37 pounds, and 40- to 50-pound fish are very possible.” week of April. “When river herring (alewife) push into the rivers to spawn, the first waves of stripes will be right on their tails,” Murphy said. “They’re looking for that Check out Lucky Jacks Fishing at www.luckyjacksfishing.com.

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