October brown on a dry

Toccoa Tailwater

I fished the tailwater below the dam for a few minutes Saturday evening.  The water was much warmer than normal.  Apparently, it rained so much this year that the lake does not have a cold water reserve.  The fishing was off to say the least.  I caught a blue gill, which is not a good sign. I talked with others who said they got skunked.  I hope things turn around this winter. 

Good News on Hatcheries

This morning I received an email from Congressman Chuck Fleischmann as follows:

Thank you for contacting me with your concern for the federal fish hatcheries in Tennessee. I appreciate you taking the time to reach out to me, and it is an honor to represent you in Congress.

 

As you may know, locks and dams can have a worrisome impact on fish populations. Like you, I believe it is an important to restore fish populations in areas negatively impacted by such structures. Nearly 900,000 Tennesseans and visitors buy fishing licenses, and they depend on our fish hatcheries to replace trout in Tennessee.

 

You may be pleased to hear that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) recently announced an agreement to continue popular trout stocking programs in the Tennessee Valley region. TVA will provide more than $900,000 per year over the next three years to support federal fish hatchery operations that provide trout for stocking. The stocking will occur in reservoirs and tailwaters of certain TVA dams in the region. In addition, these agencies also signed an agreement to form a working group with key stakeholders who benefit from the recreation-based trout stocking to identify a long-term funding source.

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe was recently quoted as saying the Obama administration has no "imminent" plan to close any federal fish hatcheries but the facilities are endangered by another round of automatic budget cuts next year. Despite this concern, you can rest assured that I will continue to work my colleagues in Congress to find a long term solution for our hatcheries.

 

Thank you again for contact me with your input. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I may be of further assistance. 

 

Sincerely,

Chuck Fleischmann
Member of Congress

November

I haven't been able to hit the water much lately, but next month is looking good.  I have plans to fish a number of rivers, including the: Davidson and Nanny in North Carolina, upper and lower Toccoa in Georgia, Little Red River in Arkansas, and the Hiwassee DH in Tennessee. With the mild summer in the region, I'm hoping November will be on fire!  Reports to come....
The Gubna!

Rock Creek Bow

Streamer Rob Recent Brown from North Carolina