2007 Archived Reports

Dec 29 - Fished today with the Copelands from Newnan - KC and his 3 boys - Josh, Jake & Jesse. These boys wore me out, kicking from one side of the lake to the other, netting fish & taking photos. KC was the only one who'd ever thrown the fly, but the boys caught at least as many fish. If you notice a preponderance of Bama colors, Josh is a pitcher in his senior year. Jesse, the young buck, said to be sure and note that he had the most fish. But then Jake managed to get a bass and a bream in addition to all his trout, so he got the slam. There was some debate over who had the biggest..........

Dec 15-21 - Trout fishing has been pretty much on fire at Callaway all month long, with big fish eating all variety of flies. Here's a nice one from 12/15 that Frank stuck with a big green bugger....

And here's Emily with her 1st fish ever on the fly rod - a nice feisty rainbow that ate a egg-sucking pheasant tail (???)..........

 And from today, Brad's biggest fish on his first day ever with a fly rod....

Nov 11 - `Had a great trip at Callaway today with David, Carmen, Dennis & Mark. Carmen got her first ever on the fly, plus several more. Here's Dennis (below) with one of the day's big fish. The trout were eating almost any fly....as long as you got it deep.

Nov 11 - Fished a club trip at Callaway today with the boys from NGTO. That's always a recipe for fun, and especially today. The fish were eating (BK got around 30), and the weather was perfect.

Oct 27 - Been awhile since I got a report up - very busy - but there's been a lot of good days and good folks on the water since the last one. The Flint has been great, though the cooler weather will start to slow it down soon.

But I had to get this one up - the umpteenth report in a continuing saga ..........

`Fished at Callaway today with one of my very first guiding customers (poor guy, but luckily he didn't really need a guide), and we've been at it now for a long time. So here's the standard double photo that I've been posting of Billy for years- Bill always wants me to fish, but he's much more photogenic so I work the camera.........

The big gill was Bill's (one of many), but he wound up getting the big bass of the day too...

Sept 21 - `Had a chance to fish the Big Thompson River in Colorado on Wednesday. I'd been in Denver for the Fly Fishing Retailer Show, and stayed over an extra day to fish with an old friend, Norman P. (who used to guide with me at Callaway). `Turned out Norman couldn't get off work but he put me up two nights and sent me off in his car to a great river full of beautiful big trout - that's a friend.

Aug 22 - In many places these days, anglers are moaning about low water, high temps and slow fishing. I'm happy to say that's not the case down here on the Flint - though the water is low and the weather is hot, the fishing is even hotter.

When the fishing is this good, you are usually willing to overlook some discomfort. But the fact is that the weather is not bad on the Flint. We're wet wading in knee-deep depths (on the average) where there's a good flow and the sound of running water - those 2 things alone really help keep you cool. Even so, most days around mid-afternoon we decide to find a deeper pool and take a quick swim or relaxing float.

I had a rare treat today - had a day off and fished with my pal Zack F. from Columbus. Zack guided at Callaway for years and we caught some fish there, but had never done the Flint together. We made up for it today, fishing from daylight to about noon. Our fish count approached the temperature reading, with virtually all the fish on stealth bombers. The water was low, the fish were stacked and awaited the bomber with open mouths. Or so it seemed.

We caught many like the one above, many smaller, and we each had a real big fish come unbuttoned during the fight. But oh boy, where can you get dozens of fish to explode on a topwater when the temps are near 3 digits.

June 12 - On the Flint again today with David P from Atlanta. David usually brings someone new to the Flint - today it was Doug and Lindsay. Everybody caught a lot of fish - most were small as we fished the upper part of the river where the water is pretty low. But it's a great spot for beginning anglers and the fish are usually quite cooperative. Here's Lindsay with a bright feisty redbreast...

June 11 - Fished the Flint today with Tom T, and his fishing pal Bob joined us from Florida. They had spent the weekend at Callaway for the FFF show and were ready to get in the cool, flowing waters of the Flint. Bob had actually caught a shoalie on a winter striper trip we did on the Chattahoochee, but added his first from the Flint today.

I saw many fresh clumps of dobsonfly eggs on limbs and leaves overhanging the river today. They always lay so that the hatching larva will fall into the river no matter how low the water level drops. We first saw the eggs on leaves in the tree, and there were so many it looked like some kind of blossom from a distance. On closer examination, it turned out to be a batch of hellgrammites-to-be. Yum, yum, said the shoal bass. There's more hellgrammite info here.

June 10 - `Had the pleasure today of fishing with Beth and Julie from GA Women Fly Fishers- this trip has become an after-the-conclave standard. We were joined by one of the special guests from the show, Dave Hughes. It was a somewhat slow day of catching, but a fine day of fishing with great folks. And Dave said even the smaller bream would have been trophies in Oregon.

May 28 - Rain is still non-existent, but the fishing remains excellent at the Gardens and on the Flint. Here's Kristina from yesterday with a feisty, colorful warmouth.

We're catching lots of fish on topwater. For me (of course) that means the Stealth and the Tokyo spider. But my cohort Paul is smacking `em on a foam "toad" variation I tied for him. I'll get a photo of that one up soon for y'all to play with.

May 16 - Spent the last 2 days fishing the Flint with Rob Rogers from Deep South Fly Shop in Birmingham. This guy can fish! We had some fun and caught some fish. The Flint was near perfect - spider lilies & shoal bass.

May 9 - Another banner day at the Gardens with Tim, Ryan and Gretchen. Gretchen grew up fishing the Snake in Idaho, but adapted pretty quickly to the big Callaway bluegills.

May 9 - `Been fishing either Callaway and the Flint every day for 14 days now, and they both keep getting better and better. Today was another real treat with Bill T at Callaway. You've seen this photo (or one almost identical) for about 10 years if you're an old timer on this website. Bill is a self-confessed Callaway bream junkie, and will even stoop to catching bass on occasion. We had a good one, bangin' `em til dark (again).

May 1 - Fishing on the Flint just keeps getting better.` Was on the river today with Joel who always wants me to fish too. Thanks, Joel.

April 30 - The Flint is still really turned on, with the shoal bass and the red-breasts in the mood to eat. The water is in excellent shape, and even a couple of cold spells have not put the fish off.

Above is Leigh on her second day ever with the fly rod, in 25 mph winds and very cool temps, with a nice shoalie. This was a couple of weeks back during our fly fishing school. But we've been catching `em regular and the weather is getting pretty nice - I waded wet for the first time last week.

Callaway fishing is also prime.  The bass are eating topwaters like the Stealth Bomber, and the bream are on the bed.

April 6 - `Been fishing down on the lower Hooch this week, catching a few hybrid early in the morn. Then we've spent the rest of the day catching skipjack (aka Tennessee tarpon). These great little fish on up in the shoals spawning, and they are great on a light-weight fly rod. They look just like little miniature tarpon, and they hit, run and jump like their big cousins.

April 3 - Fished the Hooch at Franklin with Dusty & Sandy. The hybrid were not very cooperative, so Dusty asked if those big gar we were seeing would eat a fly. Well, as a matter of fact,...

April 1 - No April Fools today. Andrew and his son Hayden turned the tables on the jester and landed many nice redbreasts and shoal bass. Hayden got his 1st fish (and 2nd, 3rd, 4th and more) on the fly.

March 28 - Fished with Dave S. today in the shoals above West Point. Dave caught white bass, hybrid, and baby striper (from the renewed stripe stocking in West Point). Late in the day, we saw some big gar rolling in the current. I asked Dave if he wanted to try for one of them, and like a true southern fly fisher, he was all over it. Sight-casting to the rolling fish with the hookless fly, he was soon hooked up to this big boy.  Dave found holding him for the photo even tougher than landing him (think 4' fish with lots of teeth loose in the boat). Good day, Dave.

March 23 - I spent yesterday and today with Steve & Peter L. from down south in Alabama. They came up for an introduction to fly fishing. Yesterday we fished at Callaway and they got some of those big Gardens-style bream, their first fish ever on the fly. Today we went over to the Flint River for some moving water. And they both got fish, mainly bream (red-breast) at first, but then started to get a few bass. Peter got a good one on a Tokyo spider.

But Steve came on strong late in the day, proving that sometimes the old guys can still do it better. He's shown above in the right-hand column with a really fine 21" shoal bass that ate an RLD.

March 21 - On the Chattahoochee again today, this time way, way below West Point. I was scouting today, anticipating the hybrid spawning run on these waters too. It appears to just be beginning to happen - we got a couple of big fish plus a few more of various species.

March 19 - Fished today with Donny D., and as many have already heard, the hybrid, stripe and white bass run above West Point has definitely started. It was a lot of fun fishing with Donny, who was celebrating his 50th birthday today. Donny's an excellent angler and I'm happy to say that he got his start back a number of years ago in our fly-fishing school. Today, he fishing all over (warm, cold and saltwater), keeps boats in a couple of places - I take great pride in the part I played starting his obsession.

Here's one of Donnie's hybrid - we got hybrid and some of those spunky little white bass. Happy Birthday, Donnie!

March 18 -  Fished Callaway with William M. and his dad, Keene. Brand new to the sport, but William was banging out nice casts after a quick casting lesson. Then when we hit the water, I got to witness and help land the first fish William caught on the fly, including a big 12" bluegill shown below (today may have been the first, but I'll bet they won't be the last - the boy is a natural!).

March 5 - Got good generation from West Point today and with the current strong on the river, the hybrid and a few stripes were eating. George & Janet P were just back from a golden dorado trip to Argentina. The golden dorado didn't cooperate very well, but the hybrid today sure did. George was feeling good and came up with a new tag line for me -  "If you want to tango, go to Argentina. But if you want to tango with fish, go with Kent". Not especially catchy (sorry George) but I sure like the sentiment.

February 14 - Fishing at Callaway continues to be real good - we're catching both numbers and size of the rainbows stocked for the winter fishery. And they're eating everything from the little midges (that hatch in profusion all year here) to big buggers and small clousers - you pick.

Stripers on the river have not been quite so reliable. On those days when the water flow is good, we're getting fish. But the spawn time is coming and we're expecting to see fish on the move shortly, regardless of water levels.

January 13 & 14 - There're a lot of good things about my job - like this weekend. Friday (1/12) w/Tom we spanked `em good. Today I fished with a club group from NGTO - always a hoot (details here).

Yesterday was a real treat too. I fished with 12-yr-pld novice angler Jacob M. and his dad Tom. Jacob landed many fish, angling like a pro. Tom got some too.

I had cautioned Tom that at 12, Jacob might or might not enjoy fishing all day with the fly rod. Boy, did I miss the boat on that one! Jacob stayed on `em, and caught fish all day. The fact that he was out-fishing the "ole man" didn't hurt much either.

January 12 - In spite of what they say, a good angler does not always listen to his guide. Witness Tom T below, who came to fish in spite of my reports that the fishing has been slower than usual. Tom's view is that you can't catch `em if you aren't out there. He'd booked this trip way back (in fact, has 1 a month booked all winter), but by luck he hit it today (Tom may tell you you make your own luck). Anyhow, after some heavy rains this week, West Point dam was releasing a lot of water and the fish were "turned on." Tom landed a load of `em, including several on top with a crease fly.

January 6 - Got a busman's holiday today, so Paul Hudson & I went over and fished for the Callaway trout. I'm happy to report that I had the hot new fly - you can see it below planted in the mouth of the day's big fish (a big sow just a dab over 23").