The DH stream on Unicoi state park, and the Smith Creek in Smithgall Woods are worth the trip to Helen. You have to call Smithgall and book a reservation to fish there

Check with Unicoi Outfitters in Helen GA. They are the top source of guides gear and advise om N GA trout fishing. Jimmy is the owner, and a great guy. I think they have a store on Blueridge as well.

Very low productivity, low numbers of fish. Beautiful lake though. Try Lake Lanier, much more productive.

[quote=bapabear]Read the whole article, not just the selling headlines.
"• How many people have had mercury poisoning in AR?
ADH is not aware of any current mercury (or methylmercury) poisonings due to fish
consumption."
Trying to create panic is the current trend. Don't po po science. Just use common sense and look at the bottom line rather than the initial scare statements. After reading the entire article Forchion posted, I will not eat fish if I get pregnant. Given the high rat of deaths (zero) I will continue to enjoy fish.

Like I said, use common sense. Mass numbers have died from Covid. The largest 80 something % did not have shots. A handful may or may not have died out of many millions who got the shot. Millions of medical professionals support the shots, while only a handful reject the shots. Most of the objection to shots comes from non medical people. Definitely not science. I am no longer a large concerned if people get shots. That is their own choice, now that they are no longer a major death threat to me and my vaccinated family. The death threat has gone way down, due to the shots and remedies now available. What concerns me is that so many people in this country can no longer use common sense.[/quote
You are 100% correct on both issues. Contamination in fish is not a gpod thing, but using common sense tells you than an occasional meal is NOT going to cause you harm. If you ate these fish every dsy for 70 years, you might jave a problem. The sky is not falling.

Older fish higher up the food chain are the most contaminated. Fish like sunfish are the least contaminated. I worked on the developmemt of fish consumption guidelines for Georgia years ago. The bottom line is if you ate high risk fish every day for 70 years, your risk of cotracting cancer would likely be higher than normal. If you ate one fish meal a month of low risk fish, your risk wold be very, very,very small. Look up your states fish consumption guidelines. These guidlines are very conservative, so you will be quite safe if you follow them.

Should be good. The usual baits (shrimp, sand fleas, cut bait etc) should put fish on for you. I like slip sinker rigs because some of the fish are light biters. Look for deeper water and other fisherpersons

Low water in June

PB last year 8.5 lbs

Best bass fishing I have experienced. Cold fronts in winter can slow things down

Fished both areas for several winters. Shiners are great in colder weather, but they are expensive. We like good old plastic worms, unweighted in the openings in the hydrilla patches. A small worm weight might be needed in the deeper areas. Both lakes are quite shallow, with a few deeper channels.

Yep, a bowfin. The spot on the tail is a dead givaway.

GERBER all the way! Rapalla knives are good. A GOOD sharpener is also a must.

Spoonbills need love too! They are smaller, but they still eat good IMNSHO. I was hunting on a WMA out of my canoe and heard a shot late in the morning as i was returning to the boat launch. When i got there, i saw a fellow holding a shotgun, and the area manager. The AM asked me to retrive a "duck" floating 50 yards away. I did as requested, handing him a kingfisher! I'm not sure what the limit was on them at that time, but I think it was 0!

Yes!

Yes we were........then!