Upper Chattahoochee Chapter #436 - Trout Unlimited
www.ucctu.org
November 2015

As the year end holidays approach, it's a good time to reflect on our activities and accomplishments this year. UCCTU volunteers have participated in youth training with the Boy Scouts and at the Georgia Trout Camp, brook trout stream restoration projects, Chattahoochee River tributary stream monitoring projects, a major Chattahoochee River cleanup, and fly tying/casting instruction events at major fly fishing retail shops.  We have expanded our communications utilizing social media tools.  And we have partnered with Georgia Women Fly Fishers on several events in order to encourage more participation by women.
 
I'd like to thank the volunteers who made all this possible, with a special thanks to UCCTU officers and board members for their contributions.  I am looking forward to doing even more to help preserve cold water fisheries in 2016, and encourage your participation in our meetings and activities.
 
And speaking of looking forward, we are planning a Fishing Dayz outing on December 6 at Cochran Shoals, assuming the water conditions are good.  Look for details from Ken Mock via Constant Contact.
 
Wishing you and your families a Happy Holiday Season,
Jim Harvey
Sincerely,
Jim
Jim Harvey
President
Upper Chattahoochee Chapter #436 - Trout Unlimited

UCCTU News
Fishing Dayz
Cochran Shoals Delayed Harvest Section
December 6th



We're headed over to Cobb County and the Cochran Shoals Park CNRA for some delayed harvest fishing in early December.

Let's plan to meet in the main parking lot ($3 parking fee or annual pass) at 9 am with plans to fish until early afternoon. We will NOT be meeting at the Old Alabama/Holcomb Bridge Waffle House.

Fishing gear might include a 4/5 wt. rod with floating line and light leader and tippet. Fish streamers and double nymph rigs for the best results. If you see a hatch switch out to a dry. (If you need equipment, sent a note to  [email protected].

For this section of the Hootch you can wade the upper shoals or float from there to the bridge. A wading staff is highly recommended!




News from Georgia Council Trout Unlimited
Georgia Council Climate Change survey results (2015)

Georgia TU Leaders:

Your climate change survey results are in and the survey closed on September 28, 2015. We received 572 responses which resulted in a total response of approximately 17%.

Carl and I have reviewed the results including most of the comments and have learned a great deal about the opinions that Georgia TU members have on climate change. I don't want to take a lot of time or discussion with our findings, as you can look at the results and draw your own conclusions. However, there are a few concerns that surfaced from the responses.

First, 31 members did not agree that Georgia TU should pursue and practice the ten steps presented in 2007 for protecting our trout waters (Healing Troubled Waters). We have been and should be practicing these steps or activities whether we believe in climate change or not. Considering the other comments that came with their "no" vote, it appears that there was a misunderstanding of what the question was asking. I any case I encourage those members to share their thoughts with me on this opinion.

Approximately 60% of the respondents did not believe there has been any degradation of trout habitat due to climate change and 70% of those members based their opinion on their fishing experience in the field. There are very strong opinions expressed by Georgia TU members on both sides of the climate change issue and your review of this information will lead you to your own conclusions.

The survey data has been tabulated by council total responses and individually by each chapter's responses. All of the data is available to download at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p6t26hvn8gtgsa3/AAAWLRlFxFMEGnP9v_o0l0dNa?dl=0. The ten steps for the protection of trout water are also included in this link for your information.

The chapter getting the highest percentage of responses to the survey was Chattahoochee/Nantahala and the runner up was Blue Ridge Mountain. Congratulations to them both as they will be fund raising with Winston BIII-x and TFO-BVK fly rods respectively.

Thank you to all that took your time to respond to the survey. We now have a very good assessment of where the TU members in Georgia stand on this issue. It is suggested that you get this survey information (dropbox link) to your chapter members via newsletter, website or constant contact.


Sincerely,
M. A. (Mack) Martin
National Leadership Council Rep
Georgia Council Trout Unlimited
www.georgiaTU.org
News Bites
Break ins at Paces Mill

It has been reported that several cars were broken into and fishing items stolen at the Paces Mill parking lot on Saturday afternoon, October 24.  This unfortunate incident is a reminder for us all to be vigilant when parking to fish in the metro area, or anywhere else.  Evidently fly fishers are sometimes targeted in areas such as Paces Mill, so keep rod tubes and other fishing evidence out of sight when you leave the vehicle.  Don't try to be a hero by confronting thieves; have the phone number of local police and be ready to call to report any incidents you witness.     
 
Hopefully, none of us will ever experience a break-in, but it behooves us to take precautions to help prevent such misfortune.



Don't forget to pay your UCCTU Voluntary Dues  Here

Contact Fulton County's Georgia DNR Officer Mark Puig if you see any poaching or violations while your fishing next time.
Ranger Hotline: 800-241-4113
Cell: 404-997-3214
Email:  [email protected]

Check out the new Chapter Website at  ucctu.tu.org and leave comments in the Shout Out box. 
Volunteer Opportunities

 
Please let Tom Hayes know which events you would like to volunteer for at [email protected] and we look forward to seeing you next month!

In This Issue
Quick Links

 
Coming Events
December 3 -
UCCTU Board Mtg

December 6 -
Fishing Dayz

November 24 -
No November Mtg

December 3 -
UCCTU Board Mtg

December 27
- No December Mtg

January 26 - Chapter Mtg

February 3 - UCCTU Board Mtg

February 23 - Chapter Mtg
A Must Read
A must read - Georgia Wild E-Newsletter 
Welcome to UCCTU
Sean Burke
Steve Fairchild
Chris Fluehr
Matt Lunger
Dillon Mann
Stephen Riechel
William Roseiii
Atlanta Fly Fishing School  

Facebook - Find Us

    

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Backcasts
34-inch Brown Caught in Chattahoochee River recently

River Through Atlanta Guide John McCloskey of Acworth Ga "caught and released" this 34inch length 22inch girth brown trout on a fly rod yesterday on the Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam he could have kept and killed this specimen trout to get the official weight but he did the noble act of releasing this fish so other anglers may have a chance to enjoy our natural resources. This fish could potentially be an all time Ga state  record but stewardship was more important to this gentleman than  making the record books!






2015 Autumn on the River/Fly Fishing Film Tour

        




Fall Fishing Trip - Cherokee, North Carolina - November 5 - 8, 2015



Ken Mock says......
The thrill of landing a 24-28" redband trout on Raven Fork late Saturday afternoon will stay with me forever. What a fabulous and colorful fish! The fight lasted well over 10 minutes. Using a 5 wt. and 6x tippet the fish ran several times and flopped several times as well. Too guard losing him, I had to get him in faster than normal. One problem--my net was too small to hold him! He stuck his nose in and half his body but the rest hung out over the front of the net. The weight of this large trout was incredible. One giant flip and he broke loose and soared back to the river with my size 12 golden rubber-leg stonefly in his mouth. With no grip and grin shot to document this monster the result left me disappointed to say the least. Bill Lott and Jim Williams were my fishing companions during the trip (which we cut short due to rain on Saturday) and we enjoyed the Nantahala on Thursday and Raven Fork on Friday. Not a lot of fish were caught but the experience and friendship was unsurpassed.




Louisa Haney says..... 
A group of us rented a vacation house for the weekend near the Nantahala DH. We cooked fabulous breakfasts and dinners together, swapped stories, ribbed each other for all our faults and told tales of fish caught and  missed. Great time!



Jim Harvey says.......
Denny Desmond and I decided to concentrate on the Raven Fork.  We found open water early and late in the day, but crowded conditions most of the day, especially in the larger pools.  Crossing to the far side of the river sometimes provided access to seldom fished water.  It rained all day Saturday, but the weather was warm, the river stayed clear, and most of the crowd dissipated in the afternoon.  Sunday was less crowded.  We never found a single go-to fly but caught trout up to 22 inches on a variety of nymphs and streamers.  We will be back.  J

Upper Chattahoochee Trout Unlimited | | [email protected]
30 Golf Circle, NE
Atlanta, GA 30309

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