12/17/2024
Weather
12/18 will be our last day of warmth and clouds with a high of 67F and a low of 43F. 12/19 is going to be sun and begins to drop in temperature with a high of 60F and a low of 37F. Highs of 12/20 through 12/24 have forecasted high temperatures ranging from 52F-42F and forecasted low temperatures ranging from 23F-33F. We find that fish prefer stability first, cloud cover second, and water temps from 40F to 60F third. It seems that we will be closest to these conditions on Wednesday, and Saturday through Tuesday (on colder days we would recommend afternoons).
River Flows
As of 12/17/24, the flow of the Soque River in Clarksville GA at the GA-197 bridge is 154 CFS (median). The river flows have stabilized post-front with good flows that should last well into the next rain forecasted for next week.
Tactics
Fly Fishing the Soque is certainly not super technical. However factors like weather, flows, temps, and the fish spawning cycle impact which technique the fish respond to. Our fish spawn in October-March which allows for new fish to cycle through our section of the river, however, this forces us to keep an eye out for redds and actively spawning fish. The fish are finally in their winter-holding lies which are deeper and slower water except for spawning fish. This week will begin with fish quite happy with a small bump in flows and the warmer weather. This means more opportunism in feeding. Stripping flies as well as dry dropper fishing has been quite successful as well as exhilarating. Unfortunately, when things cool back down we will be back to mostly nymphing with a little bit of dry dropper and the occasional streamer or rising fish.
Flies
I have never been a huge fan of fly selection sections of fishing reports due to my beliefs in tactics being much more meaningful. However below are the flies that worked this week and a bit of rigging and usage recommendations. We recommend making a game-time call when picking a bead color. Sometimes, conditions change throughout the day, and we need to adapt bead colors accordingly. As for specifics, we recommend darker or no beads for more skittish fish in the sun or super clear water. Whereas with less skittish fish in the shade or with dirtier water, we recommend brighter beads (ie. silver). Pink and copper tend to cross over across conditions and are usually a good place to start with beaded nymphs.
Micro Streamers
Wooly buggers (black, olive, olive and tan, olive and brown) (size 14-12 3.5mm bead)
Large Streamers
Sparkle minnow (size 4)
Indicator/ Dry dropper nymphs
Yellow Mop Fly (size 12 3.5 mm bead)
Eggs (size 16-18 unweighted, size 12 3.5-4.0mm bead)
Pheasant Tail (unweighted size 16-22)
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail (unweighted size 14-20)
Waltz Worm (size 16-18 2.5-3mm bead)
Euro Nymphs
All unweighted recommendations in the Euro category should be fished on tag ends.
Yellow Mop Fly (size 12 3-4mm bead)
Squirmy Worm (size 14 unweighted-3.5mm bead)
Eggs ( size 12-18 2.5-3.5mm bead)
Pheasant Tail ( size 16-20 2.0-3mm bead)
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail ( size 16-20 2.0-3mm bead)
Waltz Worm (size 16-18 2.5-3mm bead)
Large attractor dry/dry dropper
When selecting a large attractor dry for dry dropper we recommend using smaller dry flies for lighter nymphs and larger dries for heavier nymphs.
X Caddis (size 12-14) For a video on how to tie this click here
Small single dry
This past weekend we had the fortune of picking off a few fish from 16-24 inches on small single dry flies due to the fairly steady midge hatch.
Olive body Parachute Adams (size 16) For a video on how to tie this click here
F fly in tan or brown (size 20-22) For a video on how to tie this click here
This Weeks Fishpics
12/7/2024
Weather
This upcoming week begins with a substantial weather front. Our high temperatures are forecasted to begin the week with highs ranging from 56-61F, and our low temperatures are forecasted to range from 39-50F with rain on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday morning through Thursday the front is forecasted to push out leaving post-front conditions with highs at 45 and 44F and lows at 25F and 26F. Thursday- Saturday are forecasted to leave us with stable partly cloudy conditions with highs at 49-58F and lows at 26-38F. We find that fish prefer stability first, cloud cover second, and water temps from 40F to 60F third. It seems that we will be closest to these conditions on Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday.
River Flows
As of 12/11/24, the flow of the Soque River in Clarksville GA at the GA-197 bridge is 1820 CFS (very high). We received 2.5 inches of rain and the river is now on the drop. 12/13-12/16 should be fishable high water (my favorite)!
Tactics
Fly Fishing the Soque is certainly not super technical. However factors like weather, flows, temps, and the fish spawning cycle impact which technique the fish respond to. Our fish spawn in October-March which allows for new fish to cycle through our section of the river, however, this forces us to keep an eye out for redds and actively spawning fish. The fish are finally in their winter-holding lies which are deeper and slower water except for spawning fish. This week will begin with fish quite happy with a small bump in flows and the warmer weather. This means more opportunism in feeding. Stripping flies as well as dry dropper fishing has been quite successful as well as exhilarating. Unfortunately, when things cool back down we will be back to mostly nymphing with a little bit of dry dropper and the occasional streamer or rising fish.
Flies
We recommend making a game-time call when picking a bead color. Sometimes, conditions change throughout the day, and we need to adapt bead colors accordingly. As for specifics, we recommend darker or no beads for more skittish fish in the sun or super clear water. Whereas with less skittish fish in the shade or with dirtier water, we recommend brighter beads (ie. silver). Pink and copper tend to cross over across conditions and are usually a good place to start with beaded nymphs.
Micro Streamers
Wooly buggers (black, olive, olive and tan, olive and brown) (size 14-12 3.5mm bead)
Large Streamers
Sparkle minnow (size 4)
Indicator/ Dry dropper nymphs
Yellow Mop Fly (size 12 3.5 mm bead)
Eggs (size 16-18 unweighted, size 12 3.5-4.0mm bead)
Pheasant Tail (unweighted size 16-22)
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail (unweighted size 14-20)
Waltz Worm (size 16-18 2.5-3mm bead)
Euro Nymphs
All unweighted recommendations in the Euro category should be fished on tag ends.
Yellow Mop Fly (size 12 3-4mm bead)
Squirmy Worm (size 14 unweighted-3.5mm bead)
Eggs ( size 12-18 2.5-3.5mm bead)
Pheasant Tail ( size 16-20 2.0-3mm bead)
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail ( size 16-20 2.0-3mm bead)
Waltz Worm (size 16-18 2.5-3mm bead)
Large attractor dry/dry dropper
When selecting a large attractor dry for dry dropper we recommend using smaller dry flies for lighter nymphs and larger dries for heavier nymphs.
PMX Caddis (size 14)
Small single dry
This past weekend we had the fortune of picking off a few fish from 16-24 inches on small single dry flies.
Olive bodied Parachute Adams (size 16)
This Weeks Fishpics
12/1/2024
Weather
This upcoming week looks like the benign of winter. Our high temperatures are forecasted to range from 44-52F and our low temperatures are forecasted to range from 20 -35F. For cloud cover the week is forecasted to start with lots of sun with clouds rolling in on Wednesday and projected to stick around until the end of the week. For precipitation, we are projected to have another dry week except for a sprinkle on Saturday.
River Flows
As of 11/27/24, the flow of the Soque River in Clarksville GA at the GA-197 bridge is 91.7 CFS (low) with rain projected via scattered thunderstorms. If we only receive ¼ inch I do not foresee river flows changing.
Tactics
Fly Fishing the Soque is certainly not super technical. However factors like weather, flows, temps, and the fish spawning cycle impact which technique the fish respond to. Our fish spawn in October-March which allows for new fish to cycle through our section of the river, however, this forces us to keep an eye out for redds and actively spawning fish. The fish are finally in their winter-holding lies which are deeper and slower water with the exception of spawning fish. Some of our fish are currently spawning with most holding in slower deeper water with colder temps. I recommend a small streamer stripped slowly, nymphs any style, and a dry dropper with a large attractor dry.
Flies
Micro Streamers
Pine squirrel leach (olive, natural squirrel, tan) (size 14-12 3-4mm bead)
Blank Saver (black and red, tan and olive, blue and white, and peach) (size 14-12 3-4mm bead)
Guacamole Bugs (size 14-12 3-4mm bead)
Wooly buggers (black, olive, olive and tan, olive and brown) (size 14-12 3-4mm bead)
Indicator/ Dry dropper nymphs
Mop Fly (size 12 3-4mm bead)
Soque Sanko aka double-sided mop (size 14 3.5-4mm bead)
Squirmy Worm (size 14 unweighted-3mm bead)
Trout Brain (size 14-12 3-4mm bead)
Eggs (size 16-18 unweighted, size 12 3.5-4.0mm bead)
Pheasant Tail (unweighted size 16-22)
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail (unweighted size 14-20)
Waltz Worm (size 16-18 2.5-3mm bead)
Euro Nymphs
All unweighted recommendations in the Euro category should be fished on tag ends.
Mop Fly (size 12 3-4mm bead)
Soque Sanko aka double-sided mop (size 14-12 3.0-4mm bead)
Squirmy Worm (size 14 unweighted-3.5mm bead)
Trout Brain (size 14-12 3-4mm bead)
Eggs ( size 12-18 2.5-4.0mm bead)
Pheasant Tail ( size 16-20 2.0-3mm bead)
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail ( size 16-20 2.0-3mm bead)
Waltz Worm (size 16-18 2.5-3mm bead)
Large attractor dry/dry dropper
When selecting a large attractor dry for dry dropper we recommend using smaller dry flies for lighter nymphs and larger dries for heavier nymphs.
Chubby Chernobyl (size 14-6)
Parachute Adams (size 14)
CDC/Elk hair/Dear Hair Caddis (size 12-16)
Big T’s Mac Daddy (size 12-14) video here
Josh Miller’s Popsicle (size 12-18) video here
Small single dry
The Soque is not the best for a small single dry fly, but when bugs hatch, it can curtly pick off risers.
CDC/Elk hair/Dear hair Caddis (size 14-20)
Parachute Adams (size 16-20)
This Weeks Fishpics
