Member Fly Fishing Blog

June 11, 2014 Club Meeting features Unicoi Outfitter’s guide Jake Darling

Posted on June 10, 2014June 10, 2014 by Editor

June 11 Fly Fishing Club Meeting features Jake Darling of Unicoi Outfitters

Our fly casting instructor, Ed Chamberlain is assisting the TU youth fly fishing camp this week and therefore we will not have our usual casting instructions.

Jake Darling in action

Jake Darling of Unicoi outfitters will explain all about Dynamic Indicator Fishing.

What is it?
When do you use it?
Why do you use it?
(and I suspect the others… who uses it and how they use it…)

Related subject… here is a great writeup in Midcurrent on indicators

Should be a great meeting, please join us!

Unicoi Outfitters , who has been a long time supporter and friend of the Atlanta Fly Fishing Club, prides itself on educating new fly anglers. They offer a variety of learning opportunities, and our staff includes several FFF certified casting instructors, graduates of the Orvis guide school, and graduates of the Joan Wulff school for fly fishing instructors. We are extremely committed to helping you learn as much about the sport as you’d like. Our speaker this month is one of the most outstanding guides in the state and promises to give you a new technique to add to your arsenal for fly fishing!

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Allen McGee, May 14, 2014 Soft Hackle Flies, Atlanta Fly Fishing Club speaker

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Editor

May 14 Club Meeting – Allen McGee, Riverfly Angler

Allen McGee is a well known author and expert at tying and fishing. His book “Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackled Nymphs” has helped thousands of fly-fishing enthusiast learn the craft of fly-tying. He has created a collection of original fly patterns that are made to catch fish. There will be a fly-tying tutorial at 5:00 for those who have signed up. His presentation is always educational and fun. His book is reviewed by the Ohio FFF with great endorsements!

Allen is also a well known photographer as you can see in his blog posts.

April 9 Atlanta Fly Fishing Club Meeting

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Editor

Fly Casting Instructions – April 9 Meeting begin at 5:00 hosted by Ed Chamberlain

Ed, one of the club’s certified FFF fly casting instructors will be hosting sessions at Manuel’s parking lot at 5:00 preceding the club meeting with Gordon Tharrett.

Tune up your cast! Just beginning or experts …. you can benefit from his instruction.

April 9, 2014 Club Speaker – Gordon Tharrett – Green River, UT

Gordon has worked a number of rivers over the years, but Utah’s Green River has been his home waters since 1993. He is also one of the most highly rated guides on the river with repeat visitors extending over 15 years. He operates and guides out of Green River Outfitters which serves the Flaming Gorge section of the Green. Traveling to Flaming Gorge is one of the most scenic sections of the country if one lands in Salt Lake. The Gorge is also unique with some of the most crystal clean water that lets you sharply see fish 15′ below the raft. The fishing is EPIC!!!

Come join us. Meeting starts at 7 pm, however, most come at 6 pm for dinner. Manuel’s tavern.

David Edens; Fishing the Georgia coast for Tripletail

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Editor

March 12, 2014 Club Speaker – David Edens; Fishing the Georgia coast for Tripletail

Arrive before 6:30 PM and program starts at 7:00 pm. See club events for location information.

Capt. David Edens is the Coast Guard licensed captain of Fly Cast Charters and is an Endorsed Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide. He has received 5 out of 5 ratings on the Orvis sight. A typical day of fishing with Captain Dave will be spent sight casting to feeding or cruising red fish. If the tides are high enough, we will look for Tailers on the many grass flats in the area. As the tide changes, we will target either Redfish or Trout with a fly rod or light tackle.

Tripletail reach a maximum size of 40 pounds although the average size is much smaller. Tripletail, as the name implies, have a body that appears to have three tails. This is actually just the anal and dorsal fins. Tripletail are common in the Gulf of Mexico but are a species that gets little fishing pressure. Most tripletail are caught as an incidental catch by anglers targeting lemon fish or sometime snapper fisherman if they happen to be in the right place at the right time and stay alert.

David Edens fishing for red fish in St. Simons Island

The Drug Store: A Fisherman’s Account

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Editor

AFFC member Clyde Buchanan recently published a novel that includes a lot about fishing. The Drug Store: A Fisherman’s Account is based on his experience working in his father’s drug store. His fishing mentor also worked in the old-time drug store located in Eastern North Carolina. It is fiction as to characters, names, dates, places etc. but is written as a memoir of a teenage boy coming of age in the 1960’s. This is not about fly-fishing but about how one kid learned life lessons from learning to fish.

Here are links to the ebook (it hasn’t been published in hard copy):

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HUG5QTM
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-drug-store-e-c-buchanan/1118002677?ean=2940045533416
It is also available for iPhones and iPads by searching iTunes for The Drug Store under the heading books.

February 12, 2014 Club Speaker – Rus Schwausch of EPIC Angling & Adventure

Posted on February 7, 2014February 10, 2014 by Editor

February 12, 2014 Club Speaker – Rus Schwausch of EPIC Angling & Adventure

Due to projected bad weather during our meeting, the board has opted to cancel this months meeting. This only the second time since 1990!

See you in march!

EPIC Angling & Adventure offers fly-fishing adventures in one of the most isolated coastal fishing areas in Alaska. It is also one of the best places in the world to pursue chrome-bright, ocean-fresh silver salmon. The SAFARI camp is a true outdoorsman experience and a separation from all the things that business and technology do to clutter our daily life. The area is noted as “one of the fifty places to fly fish before you die”.

Come out to Manuel’s Tavern and share the adventure. Program begins at 7:00 pm, but most members arrive at 6:00 pm.

Epic Anglers location — Aerial View of Nakalilok Bay Valley

See more about Rus’ operation in this video: Epic Angling and Adventure

Coastal Fly Fishing Opportunities – January 8, 2014 AFFC Club Meeting

Posted on January 8, 2014January 8, 2014 by Editor

Our January 8, 2014 Atlanta Fly Fishing meeting we will feature Captain Charlie Beadon and be will be on coastal fly fishing opportunities near Hilton Head, South Carolina. Topics for the meeting include areas and species to fish, equipment and casting requirements.

Captain Charlie Beadon is originally from Daytona Beach, FL but now operates as a saltwater fly fishing guide out of Hilton Head, SC and Key Largo Florida. He is a FFF fly casting instructor with a passion for sight fishing in shallow water and teaching others about fly fishing.

Charlie Beadon can be booked at

Fishing the shallows with Charlie Beadon

Video Fly Fishing near Hilton Head

Davidson River Club Trip – December 2013

Posted on December 9, 2013February 4, 2017 by Editor

JD’s Report

Bob “Taj” Prator and I braved rainy skies to travel up to the beautiful area of Brevard, NC this past Thursday. I had my doubts. It was pouring as I left my house and I was wondering if the trip would be a wash out. I’m very glad I continued because for the majority of the long weekend, the rain only came at night, and the fishing was unimpeded during the day. In fact, when we arrived at Brevard, the skies were turning blue.

Davidson River with Alex Bell — Fly Fishing on the Davidson River in December

Taj and I headed up to the Davidson, close to the hatchery. The fishing was pretty tough, but very interesting. I got 5 or 6 with some on a copperhead softhackle midge dropper and some on an Adams. Nothing big, but interesting, challenging fishing. Taj had the major excitement, with one hitting his dropper and breaking off (I think that was a pretty big one) and a really big boy hitting his Adams and Taj fighting it for a while before it threw the fly. I know that was a big boy (18-20 something or more) because we saw it flash.

We ate supper with Tyson “skinny boy” Reed and Rob Kissel. (see their trip report below) They had come up on Wednesday and fished with Alex Bell (the presenter of the NC fly fishing trail at the club meeting). They had nothing but praise for Alex as a guide and a great day on the NC Pigeon, a dh stream. They also fished on Thursday with a guide from Davidson River Outfitters. He had them throwing size 22 and 24 midges with a touch of weight and using pinch on strike indicators. They were successful at this fishing near the hatchery and even saw a 26 inch bruiser. In the afternoon they hit the shop’s private water and pulled in some big boys.

It was good to see Jerry Sherman and Mike Behan at the campground. They had a good day on the Davidson.

On Friday Taj and I fished really hard, I mean really hard on the Davidson and we might have gotten one strike between us. It was made even worse when Rob Kissel pulled in 6 and had a really big boy on (he estimated 20+) until it threw the fly. Rob had a very good day, especially when the guy at the fly shop said he also had a tough time that day. Sonny Marshal and his friend, Wally, came in the campground that day. It was good to see them.

Taj and I were so frustrated that on Saturday we headed to a dh, the East Fork of the French Broad. This small stream is south of Rosman, NC, and is a bit of a strange fish. It is country, but there are several farms and houses around that make you feel you might not be in public water, but it is still a dh and the fish loved the y2k. Between Taj and I we had 30 or 40 fish in a couple of hours fishing. Taj had to leave at noon and I had enough of catching dh fish, so I headed back to the Davidson.
I fished 2 hours when I got back to the Davidson without so much as a nibble. I changed flies over and over and never had a hit. My last choice was a desperation choice, the San Juan worm, and it worked to my surprise. I had 8 or 9 fish before it got too dark to fish, including my last and biggest fish of the weekend, an 18-19 inch brown.

Sonny was kind enough to invite me over for some of his spaghetti that night and it was really good-I mean REALLY Good! Thanks Sonny. Wally and Sonny went the fly fishing show in Asheville that afternoon (it turned out the show was only 17 miles from the campground) and they had great time at the show. Thanks to Jerry and Mike for having me over-I sure enjoyed the fire.

Sunday I awoke to 38 degrees and rain and the rain didn’t seem to be stopping and that was confirmed by weather radar so I broke camp and came home.

All in all it was a great trip and I think everybody who went on it had a good time. If you really want to get to know people in the AFFC and make fishing buddies, I encourage you to make it to one of these trips. The next one is tentative for the 2nd weekend of February on the Nantahala, details later.

Tyson’s Report
The brookie, fly photo, and Kissel with the guide from Davidson River Outfitters were from the Davidson River. The others were from W Fork of the Pigeon River where we fished with Alex Bell that spoke at November’s meeting.

Home » Davidson River Club Trip - December 2013 » 2013-Dec

Midge on the Davidson

Tyson Reed on the Davidson

Rob Kissel on the Davidson

Rob Kissel wi

Nice December day on the Davidson.

Kissel and I fished Wednesday afternoon with Alex Bell of AB’s Fishing. The generation on the Tuck didn’t cooperate, so we fished the DH of the West Fork of the Pigeon River near Waynesville, NC. Great afternoon. We caught lots of decent fish and several large fish despite fishing behind the morning fishers. Thursday we fished with Ken Hardwick of Davidson River Outfitters on the Davidson River.
Thursday morning we fished near the fish hatchery. What a learning experience. The lightest sets you’ll ever imagine needed. We both probably broke off six or eight fish before kind of getting the hang of it. Tiny flies–sizes 20-24. EXCEPT when the hatchery discharges into the river…then it gets nasty. Ken had us switch to pegged beads above a size 10 or 12 bare hook like fishing in Alaska. Crazy…but it worked! Apparently some of the browns were still spawning…or at least the rainbows thought so. That afternoon we fished their private section. While we did some nymphing, we actually got to cast dries instead of that mind-numbing high stick nymphing! We caught several nice fish late in the day there.
Friday we caught up with JD and Taj for breakfast then headed back to the river. The weather wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as pleasant as the first two days or the following day–Saturday. Tough day. I may have stuck one and missed a couple all day. But seeing Kissel miss a GIGANTIC trout was priceless. I turned to look just in time to see the small breaching whale of a trout splashing back into the river then Kissel jumping with frustration and excitement. Of course, he spent a couple of hours again Saturday trying for that same fish!

I had never fished the Davidson before and was a bit intimidated by its reputation. But it is easily accessible and a comfortable sized water. While the areas near the hatchery can get crowded, there are plenty of really good stretches all the way down to town.

December 2013 Club Meeting – Ben Moore – Trophy Trout on the Saluda River

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Editor

December 2013 Club Speaker – Ben Moore – Trophy Trout on the Saluda River

December’s Atlanta Fly Fishing meeting features guide Ben Moore who will be speaking about fly fishing in Columbia South Carolina on Wednesday December 11, 2013 at 7 p.m. Most club members start arriving at 5:30. The December meeting is one of the best of the year as it is always a full house and has some of the best raffle prizes of the year.

The Saluda River is one of those “undiscovered” gems of the south. To see why, take a look at Gregg’s fly fishing trip on the river earlier this year where he landed a 22″ brown (see post).

The guide said it was the biggest brown he had seen taken on the river.

Ben guides fly fishing float trips and wading trips on the Saluda River in Columbia South Carolina, the Chattooga River, and the Savannah River. He has spent his entire life on these waters and has mastered the secrets to catching trophy fish in local streams. The cold, fast-flowing oxygenated water offers a perfect environment for growth and survival, he said. “I’m catching fish all the way up to the 24-inch range.” Ben guides for East Anglers out of Augusta, Georgia

Come out to Manuel’s and hear Ben as he shares some of his secrets for catching these trophy sized trout.

Video of Ben

Louisiana Red Fish Trip – Bayou Beatdown

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Editor

Freshly back from a Cajun redfish adventure resembling more of a Bayou Beatdown than a victory over our piscatorial prey, Big Bill Kessler, Colonel Rob Kissel, Gordon Middleton and Doug Brady almost cried “uncle”, uncle Boudreau that is.

Venturing out of our back door at Camp Drum in Port Sulphur, or driving down to launch at Venice, we were like all anglers at the beginning of each day, stoked, confident and ready to slay. However, for the most part when the days were done, we were left to nurse our bruised egos with adult beverages, and wonder at what had just happened.

What causes a hooked fish to come unbuttoned, or incites one to charge a fly 4 feet away, while another ignores the same fly 4 inches away? Why do we insist on pulling the fly out of the fish’s mouth, or use a trout set versus line set. What happened to our casting skill, and what has happened to our eyesight, and how do we keep confusing 9 o’clockwith 3 o’clock, and what the heck is a goat rodeo anyway?

These wily reds were full of trickeration. They drifted up and down in the water column, ( more often the color of yoohoo than gin) allowing us only the narrowest window of opportunity to place a fly on their noses before they disappeared, while managing the movement of the wind and boat.

Now you see them now you don’t.

Oh, to be sure there was plenty of user error, but the 15 foot back cast to a vanishing fish moving one direction, boat and wind moving two other directions, is tougher than it sounds.

Fortunately the fellowship, food and fun, (thank you Abita and Kettle One) helped make up for the slender fish count.

Captains’ Nick Sassic, and Scott MacCalla, once again did a noble job of getting us to big fish, but they could not cast for us, nor coax the fish to bite, nor fight the fish for us.
Certain things beyond the rod, are squarely in the angler’s hand, while other things, such as weather, habits of Cajun redfish, and luck, are in no earthly hands at all.

And before you think we were completely ruined, take a gander at the beauties below.
There were indeed moments of fishing bliss, with greedy charging reds, mighty runs, screaming reels, big grins and trophy catches.

Louisiana-Red-Fish-2013-3 — Gordon Middleton

When all is said and done, this adventure will join the pantheon of fishing trips in our four memories, grow fonder over time, and be remembered not for the errant casts and missed hook sets, but the entirety of the experience. Selective memory is a good thing indeed, and next year on the Bayou already tempts us with opportunity and the promise of epic fish and great fellowship.

The big G and I are in, who wants to join us?