Did anybody see the show on Georgia trout today?

[Rawthumb]

Georgia's streams are not particularly fertile because of riverbed and mineral deficiencies. NC has streams that are relatively more fertile and capable of growing and sustaining bigger fish overall. There is an occasional big fish in every stream, but there is no Kenai River here. The water that we have that is capable of producing the biggest fish are the reservoirs fed by coldwater streams and the Chattahoochee River, a tailwater. The biggest streambred fish that I've caught in GA came from such waters.

I think that we will see more pay to play in hunting and fishing.

Going to a place like Brigadoon and paying to catch big cornfed fish and bragging about it is akin to one going to a brothel and bragging to all his buddies about being a ladies' man.

[vargoje3]

Buddy I feel the same way about the sport. There has been some very promising litigation and court cases in the past several years. I'm not sure if your familiar w/ the spring ridge club or the Little Juniata in central Pa. but it is one of the best flyfishing streams in the state. Several years ago when I was going to college someone strung barbed wire across the river and posted it. Turns out the land surrounding this section was bought by Donnie Beaver who owns the spring ridge club in which elitist flyfisherman pay 80,000 dollars for a membership and 10 grand a year after, get to fish for stocked trophy sized farm raised browns and rainbows on private streams. There was flyfisherman outrage.....its was the only way I can describe it. To make a long story short the Pa. fish and boat commision as well as a local flyfishing guide sued Beaver and that section of the river was designated navigable therefor open to the public. Beaver still owns the land and regularly threatens flyfishers in that section (including myself) but it is perfectly legal to fish there. There have been several other court cases across this country that have sided on the side of the publics right to fish once private water. This gives me hope for the future of flyfishing in this country.

If you really want the easiest fishing of your life for huge rainbows......Donnie still stocks that section for his club members.

[FlySwatter]

Going to a place like Brigadoon and paying to catch big cornfed fish and bragging about it is akin to one going to a brothel and bragging to all his buddies about being a ladies' man.

LOL! What a great analogy!

[hungNtree]

My inlaws live in GA and once a year we meet in the north GA mountains and spend a week. Part of the reason I took up fly fishing, imagine stuck in a cabin full of 21 inlaws

Anyway, they have WMA's in GA, that is Wildlife Management Areas they are public fishing grounds but you have to pay for a special permit to use these areas. They have other areas to fish that are stocked too, but it is my understanding that the WMAs are stocked more often. I know for an out of state WMA permit, fishing license and trout stamp you are looking at around $100. I assume the pellet farm fish areas you guys are talking about are different? At least I hope they are, I was looking forward to fishing the Cooper's Creek WMA this fall, but I don't care anything about fishing in an aquarium. If anyone knows if the WMAs are different please let me know.

thanks,
hNt

[Rawthumb]

People generally only produce large, cornfed fish where they can control access to them and restrict the benefit of the feeding. You won't run into that on Cooper's Creek, but there is a lot of corn slinging rednecks there. I am not a flyfishing snob, I'm just telling you that there are some rough people on streams where bait is permitted. I often laugh about a long night in a campground years ago where the men and women got drunk and got in a fight and when the women and kids tried to get away in a car, the men jumped in a truck and were trying to cut them off and then chased them down. Screaming, cursing, car chases...what else could a guy want on his getaway to the mountains.

I knew that it was going to get fun when I cam walking out of the woods and into the campground in the evening and they were already mildly bickering, and I heard one trashy redneck to his trashy woman, "[t]hat didn't seem to bother you none while I was in prison..."

I always go fishing and camping heavily armed.

[deathb4disco]

Most likely it was the Soque River

Didn't see the show, but you're probably right. They're all pellet-fed aquarium fish.

[Jeremy]

No thank you!

Jeremy.