The Great Outsmores

This Saturday & Sunday (Jan. 26-27) is the 2008 Atlanta Fly Fishing Expo at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. A number of local and national pros will be on hand teaching both fundamentals and the latest techniques to land more fish. Seminars include:

• Secrets of TVA tailwaters
• W. Carolina Fly Fishing
• Kayak Fishing
• Kids Casting
• Fishing Lake Lanier
• and about a dozen others…

For a complete list & schedule, visit Atlanta’s Fly Fishing Festival’s website.

Also the first 20 visitors to purchase a certificate for a full day of fishing at Nacoochee Bend at our regular price will receive a FREE FLY ROD from Unicoi Outfitters .

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If you’re not into seeing the peach drop, and want to see something spectacular on New Year’s eve, you can catch the best show in the North Georgia Mountains. This time of year, enchanting sunsets can be found near Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest peak. While a night hike to the summit can be special (with headlamps of course), an easier and nearly equal showing can be had from the South West corner of the parking lot.

Here’s a google earth view of the summit & parking lot looking Southwest over the Cohuttas and Cumberland Plateau:

I’ve had the chance to catch this one twice before, here’s a photo from the last outing:

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Now that the heat, humidity, bugs, leaves, and football season have left us until the coming year, it’s time to head to the North Georgia Mountains. Cooler weather makes it the perfect time to enjoy Georgia mountain hikes, and they’re plenty of gems to choose from. As the trees lose their leaves, and the summer haze diminishes, mountain trails lend grand vistas of the Blue Ridge, Cohuttas, Cumberland Plateau, and much more.

In the hot summer months, I try to stick to the river trails so that a quick dip can be a quick fix for our infamous heat and humidity. In winter, it seems that Georgia mountain trails take on a whole new identity once the orange and yellow trees succumb to their winter hibernation. Bluffs once enclosed by canopy, now offer stunning views of the valley floors below. I can’t help but wonder if the Blue Ridge were named this time of year, with endless ridge after ridge rolling off into the horizon like waves at sea.

In the coming weeks, I’m going to be profiling some of North Georgia’s best mountain hikes, as well as a couple hikes in neighboring North Carolina. It’s a great time to find solitude on the trail, and frozen waterfalls too. Here’s a taste of what’s coming up, so check back soon or subscribe with those little orange buttons on the top left.

• Cloudland Canyon State Park
  Simply the best mountain hike Georgia has to offer
• Rabun Bald
  Northeast GA’s crown
• The best mountain sunset on New Year’s eve
• Snow hiking in Great Smoky Mountain National Park
  No snow shoes required!
• Brasstown Bald
  Georgia’s highest peak
• Whiteside Mountain, NC
  Walkin’ in the clouds

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Here’s a one of my personal favorites from Lake Burton in Northeast Georgia. For more photos, you can visit the Lake Burton Civic Association’s Gallery.

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What’s next, calling off wet t-shirt contests? We finally got some rain today… about a tenth of an inch, which leaves us about 16.9 inches short this year. Drought conditions in the deep South are reaching epic proportions, with legal battles heating up over the region’s main water source, the Chattahoochee River. The problem is, residents from three states get their water from the ‘Hooch and the Corp. of Engineers are mandated by law to release enough water from Buford Dam to save an endangered shellfish. That said, Buford Dam impounds Lake Lanier, the source of most of the drinking water for Metro Atlanta’s four million residents.

Now, I live about a half mile from the Chattahoochee, and go running next on the banks a couple times a week. The river appears to be normal, but drastic measures, even rationing, may be in store for a lot of people if don’t get some water here. I’ll keep ya’ll posted on the insanity, in the meantime consider this my virtual raindance:

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Georgia Power has elected not to drop water levels on Lake Burton, Seed, and Rabun for the first time since their construction in the 20’s. GA Power thinks it prudent due to the recent inflows into Lake Burton in the midths of a record drought. The fear is, if they release water for hydro electric power during the winter as normal, they may not get the rain needed to replenish it by spring. It’s that bad. So what’s unfortunate for paddlers, may prove interesting for fishermen that normally have difficulty getting boats in the water once it’s below most of the boat ramps. As a conservationist, and paddler, I hate to see the drought effect on our community, and the hell that it must be playing on our local enviorment. But, as a fisherman……………………….

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The Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper is guiding a paddling trip through the Suatee Valley to HWY 115 this Satuday. If anybody is interested in paddling, new to the sport, or new to the area, this is a great opportunity to check out some of the most beautiful paddling in North Georgia. From the UCR website:

Our river trip begins on Sautee Creek in the Nacoochee Valley downstream of Helen, Georgia. Sautee Creek enters the Chattahoochee after about 1/2 mile. The first river section, which consists of eight miles of Class I-II whitewater, has very little flatwater. It is very secluded and is the most beautiful section of the entire upper Chattahoochee. Changing fall leaves should make it even more beautiful. The second five-mile river section runs from Hwy 255 to Hwy 115. It is also very pretty with some flatwater, including a section named the Dead Sea and one Class II-III rapid at Smith Island. Beginners can run this rapid with instruction.

Meet at Wildwood Outfitters on the river at Hwy 384 in White County at 10:00 am. Wildwood will be closed, so we will need to provide our own shuttle, but rental boats can be arranged. Bring your own lunch, snacks, drinks and dry clothes, just in case you need them.

If you have any questions, call Gary Gaines: 770.654.5501 - Directions to Wildwood: Take Hwy 985 North from Atlanta approximately 20 miles past Gainesville to the 3rd red light. Take a left on Hwy 384(Duncan Br Rd) and travel about 5 miles to the bridge across the Chattahoochee. Turn right next to sign with kayak on top.

I’ve done the first section, and while it’s not challenging, it’s a lot of fun and a great experience.

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It seems like every organization wants a specialty license plate these days, and I just got back from the tag office with my new Trout Unlimited license plate.

It’s an additional $25 a year, but $24 of it goes toward Georgia DNR efforts to stock and support trout in Georgia.  Additionally, you can get TU license plates in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Montana.

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A couple months ago GA DNR closed the Smithgall Woods Conservation Center trout fishing program due to extremely high water temp. and has now announced it has been reopened. If you’re thinking of heading up there, remember call to set a time & bring only barbless hooks.

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With the upcoming Georgia Hunters for the Hungry (GHFTH) collection weekend scheduled for Oct. 27-28, 2007, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) announces a change in the Dawsonville collection site location. WRD has relocated the Dawsonville collection site from Dawsonville City Hall to the Georgia Forestry Commission – Dawson Forest Unit/Hightower Educational Forest to avoid potential conflict with the annual Moonshine Festival, which is scheduled for the same weekend. The new site, just one mile east of the old site, offers improved convenience to hunters who want to participate in the event.

The new location, the Georgia Forestry Commission – Dawson Forest Unit/Hightower Educational Forest, is located on Hwy. 53, adjacent to the Etowah River, one mile east of Dawsonville City Hall or approximately 1.5 miles west of GA 400 (4500 Hwy. 53, Dawsonville, Ga. 30534).

See the Press Release for more info.

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