Urbn Outdoors

Whiskey, Dessa, and Fly tying

2010-05-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Once again it's been a while, but once again I've nada to report. Chicago isn't what I was expecting. I have neither money nor time to explore too much. I've played with the lake and river and pond or two and haven't had any luck. I finally broke my skunk streak a week ago with some gills out of North Pond in Lincoln Park. Not too exciting but I was actually really happy. Reason #524 to love bluegills! I picked up a Cabela's Three Forks 3 wt last fall and I've gotta say it makes the bluegills a lot of fun.

I know Cabela's rods aren't the greatest (or so people say) but I actually really like them. For the price I don't think they can be beat. To qoute Fishing Jones..." We fish econo." Sure I'd love to have a brand new Helios or Z- Axis but it aint gonna happen on my salary! I'm glad I found my Orvis Clearwater 9 wt on Craigslist.

Cool thing though is that I met the guy who runs Chicago Trout Bum by chance the other day. Works at the Orvis store down on Michigan Ave. I've been in there once or twice but I avoid Mich Ave when I can. Their average clientele are a bunch of rich jagoffs but the guys who work there seem pretty cool. Anyways, David was a really nice guy. We talked local spots for a few minutes and I learned a bit about why I've had such a hard time up here. It seems there isn't a whole lot going on in this city.

I hope over the summer (if it ever shows up) to go to more county parks. Reports may be more about cylcling or "hiking" than fishing but I'm trying. The wife an I have decided to set in motion some actions to possibly move back to Atlanta in the next year. This just doesn't seem to be working for us. If that does happen, I plan to become much more involved and try to do some things on a larger scale as far as the Urban Outdoors thing goes. Here's hoping. Until then I'll likely be very sporadic as far as posts go.

Thanks to everyone who follows this blog and thanks for all the support and encouragement I always get from you. I hope to meet everyone of you one these days. Good luck and get the hell outside!

Killing a February afternoon

2010-02-14T17:37:00.000-08:00

Trying to prep a little bit for ice out in a month. Cabin fever is kiling me and my motivation to tie. I just want to fish.

Sleeping in the Dirt

2010-02-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

Another new digital mag has been born and it's great. I've been following this blog for a while now and it's obviously a labor of love for this guy.
Link

Hope

2010-01-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

It's winter in Chicago which means damn near everything is frozen and it sucks. I've been able to get a bunch of OT at the new gig (which is good though it seriously cramps my fishing time). Though it kinda kills most hopes of ever getting out ice fishing this season.
But there is hope.
1.) I finally picked up some new glue so I can at least get some stuff tied up for when the temps rise a couple more degrees.
2.) My friends googlemaps, the VX, and I have been doing a teeny bit of scouting. So I at least have a few places on my route to/from work that I'm ready to check out if it's ever still daylight when I leave.
3.) I got a new camera for Christmas after losing mine last summer while kayaking some rapids in a tunnel in GA.
4.) The Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo is next weekend! Finally something to do! It's out in St. Charles since the Chicago convention scene has pretty much killed itself but I can't wait. There's going to be some really good seminars involving Musky, Carp, Pollution, Smallmouth, and Chicagoland waterways. If you're in the area try to check it out. I'm hoping to have a halfway decent report the week after. Check out the website at http://www.greatwatersflyfishingexpo.com/ there's also a show in Minneapolis in March.
So here we go getting ready for spring. Warmer temps are on the way and even if I lose a finger or two, I'm going fly fishing soon!

2009-12-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

I know I've fallen out for a few months and I'm sorry. We completed our move to Chicago back in early Sept and have spent the last 3 or so months trying to find some decent work. Well it finally happened. Starting Jan 4 I'll finally be in a good position. Then Hopefully I'll be able to start working on figuring out Chicago's waterways.

I've spent a good deal of time on the water since I've been here. Being unemployed and 2 blocks from the big lake gave me a lot of time to play. And during the salmon season no less! Unfortunately, no dice. I have no idea how to fish the lake. It's Fucking huge and I have no idea where to start around here.

There's also the river. Which most of the time is lined with currogated steel and you're standing on a "bank" 10 feet above the waterline. Makes it interesting to say the least.

But that's what the winter is for. Research, research, and fly tying. And some ice fishing (which I haven't done in years)!

So hopefully next spring I'll be able to get a new camera and start getting more regualr with this thing. I'm hoping to hook up with some more area fly guys so if anyone knows anyone in the area, hit me up.

Hope everyone enjoys the winter. Good luck and I'll see you next spring.

BWCA '09 III

2009-09-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Our base camp for days 3 and 4 was right below Lower Basswood Falls. We spent our first day there exploring our little point and fishing the falls and island. We caught a good number of smallmouths on both fly and spin, and lost even more.

We kept a few for dinner. Sometimes you've just got to.

I cooked these up wrapped in foil with butter and Jack Daniels. We even put some crunched Pecans in with it for a twist. Usually I put in onions but we forgot them.

And Mike caught the smallest fish of the week!

So day 3 was a great fishing day.

Day 4 not so much. Dad and I decided to go back up Horse river to a couple of pools we had seen on the way up. It had rained that night and I think it changed the rules of the game on us. We tried everything but the smallies were no where to be found. It picked up in the afternoon though and we brought in a few smalls and pike. Dad hooked up with something big that straightened out the treble on his rooster tail and shook it. I lost a decent pike on a black wooly bugger. I wasn't expecting pike and he cut my tippet. Crazy part was that I watched the same fish try to hit the spinner I ran through the pool 5 times! I could see the black bead head in his mouth!

The campsite was great. We had the sound of the falls in the background, a great open view across the lake, and the best neighbors ever:

And one more photo just because I like it:

BWCA '09 Part Dos

2009-09-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Ely, MN. It was a group of 5 of us rolling into town at about 6 am after driving all night. I had moved to Chicago about 4 days earlier and was glad to be there. So I pulled into a park, everyone else got out of the car to walk around and I stretched out across the middle bench seat in the Suburban to try to get a little sleep before breakfast.

That Saturday was spent getting hooked up with the outfitter Canadian Waters, walking around town getting any last minute supplies, and trying to find someone, anyone who had a decent fly selection. (By the way, there's no fly fishing shop in Ely so if you go, take EVERYTHING you need.)

Canadian Waters was a great outfitter. I highly recommend them. They're a family business with a lot of experience. We stayed in their bunkhouses instead of springing for a hotel with is an awesome cheap alternative. Plus we got a free breakfast next door on Sunday morning right before heading out for staying there! Pancakes, eggs, and bacon and all I had to pay for was coffee.

Sunday morning we headed out. We used Mudro Lake as our entry point. The trip started with a 30 rod portage to the put in thanks to low water levels. Gave us a little taste of what was to come.

From Mudro we paddled up to Horse Lake. 3 portages and a couple of small rapids and we made it to our first camp. After pitching tents and gathering firewood, it was finally time to fish!

We were situated on the face of a hooked point with a small protected cove off the back of the point. Myself, my cousin Mike, and my new friend CJ headed towards the cove to try our luck. I ended up getting a hold of a decent little Pike but that was it for the night. We got a couple of strikes, but the curse of the week had begun-- short strikes.

The next day we headed up Horse River towards what would be our base camp for 2 days. Upper Basswood Falls. Right at the Canada line. Horse River was unlike any river I'd ever seen. It was a grassy, reedy river. Just one single path about 3 canoes wide through marshland. Beautiful. It flows right into a lake that looks like it would be amazing pike habitat in the spring. Reed and weed beds all over the place. Then portage through Canada around the falls. They're not huge but there's a lot of water moving through them. Back in below the falls and to our camp.

Boundary Waters '09

2009-09-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

Back from the Boundary Waters. It's beautiful there. If you ever get the chance, go. Here's a taste. More to come of course.

Two more days till BWCWA

2009-09-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

All tied on 2/0 hooks. For the big guys.

And some more Crappie Candy. The original vanilla flavor as well as new Strawberry and Lemon-lime!

Made it

2009-09-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Made it to Chicago. Interview tomorrow. Leave Friday for Boundary Waters. Tied a couple for the toothy guys today.

Should have an Illinois liscense in a couple weeks and then we'll start anew with the urban exploration. Thanks to those of you still hanging out. If anyone's around Chicago, hit me up. I could use some new friends.

I'm back!

2009-08-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I know I haven't been on here in a while, I've been a bit busy. I've had the opportunity to go out a couple times recently but not a whole lot going on right now. Mostly I've been busy preparing for my move to Chicago at the end of the month. In fact I leave for the airport to go try to find an apartment in about an hour!

I plan on continuing this blog in Chicago. Maybe with a few changes, and hopefully more consistent content.

For right now, the fishing will probably be put on a little bit of a hold as cross country moves take a lot of prep. I'm also going to be getting ready for a Boundary Waters trip the first week of September at the same time. Tying up some pike flies I've been drooling over from Simon's site for some time now. I'll try to give some fly updates as I go along.

On the other hand, I did get to take the god kid fishing. Or "playing fishing" as he called it. His parents aren't really into fishing but he loved it. The kid's got a hell of a cast. But no patience waiting for a bobber. Next time there will be a rooster tail on the end instead of a flying night crawler! I'm trying to get him and his dad out once or twice more before I leave town. Just a spinning rod for now, but when he gets into it, I'll spring the fly rod on him and after that there will be no looking back!

Better late than dead...

2009-07-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I know I'm a little sparse with reports lately, but I've got 2 weeks worth in one here.

1) Intrenchment Creek

From what I've read and some of the research I've done, Intrenchment Creek is the worst of the urban waterflows in Atlanta. And I guess they mean it. I've been at some funky water, but this is the first time I've seen this sign. I went down to the bank anyways to check it out but with low flows and a lot of trash there was nothing but some shit minnows. Not really worth a second look except to see the difference between a Sugar Creek type urban situation and about the worst water you can get in town.

2) South River at Bouldercrest Rd & 285

I've fished the South River out by Panola Mountain State Park and had fair luck there. So I wanted to try it in town. Last time I tried off of Moreland. So this time was a bit further down stream where it starts to get a bit bigger. About a mile outside of 285 it crosses under Bouldercrest Rd. This looks a little better. Still a bit of a low water level, but at least there's starting to be a few deeper holes and bends. I didn't get to explore too much, I didn't bring wading gear or anything, so I only played around on rocks and sand bars. Got a hold of a couple good size gills and a couple small bass but nothing too exciting. Next time I'll get wet and check out some more of the river.

3) The Hooch at S. Atlanta Rd.

So far I've pretty much stayed away from the Hooch. Everybody knows it, and there's a wealth of information on damn anything you want to know about the river. But I decided to go check it out by an area no one seems to go to expect worm drowners. This area is a bit too far down stream to have trout. But the bass are hungry. I got into a few of them. The pic is a small one, but there are bigger there. The shoreline is mostly rocky a combination of concrete riff raff and natural granite. It was a beautiful section even with the construction going on at the bridge. Got to watch the sunset and everything.

Weather permitting I'm going to try again tomorrow up stream a bit closer to the water reclamation plant. We'll see how it goes.

Something for the Southsiders...

2009-06-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

Or at least I tried.....

I went out on recon with a rod to check out the South River near Moreland. I never even got the rod out of the tube though. Unfortunately the sections I checked out had no real access or flow. Just skinny water with some of the standard mini gills. Same at Forrest Park Rd. I even tried to find Charlotte Lake which was on my paper map in the car as Charlotte Nature Preserve. The road into the park no longer exists and according to satellite views of the area, neither does the lake! Like I said, I tried. And I'll keep trying.

On another note, I was in Sheboygan WI this past weekend spending some time with family and while there, the wife and I took our niece to the beach at Lake Michigan. I spotted these lovelies while walking the break to the light house.

Two feet of smelly golden goodness. I saw at least a baker's dozen of them. What I would have given for my 9 wt and a handful of swimming nymphs....

2009-06-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been a bit rough and crazy so there hasn't been much time for fishing. And luckily when there was, I was able to get outside the Perimeter so it doesn't qualify for this website. But I was able to snag some time at the vise this weekend and tried a new material. 2 inches of poly rope gives you this:I have no idea if they work or how they look underwater. I guess I'll find out.

One more tight wad tip here, I don't know about anyone else, but my cat goes ape shit when ever I pull out the boxes of bits and pieces at the vise. I'm constantly having to slap her around to keep her from pulling feathers and fur out of bags and running off to chew on it.

So I decided to be extra nice to her (and keep her away from my shit) and tie her a toy. That's right.

I think she likes it....

We'll see how long that thing lasts!

Now stay away from my deer hair!

Booze for a good cause

2009-06-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

Anytime I can drink heavily and say it's charity is a good deal to me. Sweetwater tastes good. The Hooch is best water the Atlanta area has to offer. Makes sense. Save the Hooch.

Cheapskate

2009-05-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

It's been raining for 2 weeks straight so I decided to make some things I can't afford to buy.

After making my rod socks (and with a bit of inspiration from roughfisher) I decided to make a rod tube. It took me a while to decide what size to make it, but I finally decided on a 3" tube. It's big enough for me to put 4 rods in with out having to cram them. That should do me for most trips!

I added a few extra touches to this tube. By using some hose clamps and D-rings I made it so I could add a sling to throw it over my shoulder. It'll also be helpful when checking it on flights, I can lash it to my pack or suitcase.

The other change I made to it was using a test plug as the open end cap. It uses a bolt with rubber washer to seal it. Nice thing about that is it's now water proof. If I run out of room in the VX on a trip I can run with it on the roof rack and not have to worry. I also added a jam nut and made myself a "key" so I can lock it on flights too.

I also decided to make myself a streamer box. They seem to be a bit higher priced than my cheap ass is willing to spend. I went to home depot and bought one of the good sized $5 boxes with the dividers, got some open cell packing foam from work, and grabbed a pair of scissors and my dremel tool.

With the dremel, I cut out a couple of the dividers as smooth as I could get them. Then I cut the foam so it would be a nice tight fit in the hole.

Stick the foam in the box and fill it with flies. Simple as that! I didn't bother glueing the foam, I figure this way when the foam gets destroyed from ripping flies in and out, I'll just yank it out and stick another piece in.

So do yourself a favor, save some cash, and get a little creative.

Urban escapees

2009-05-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a weekend on the Etowah River up by Dahlonega. I haven't showered since Thursday night and I've been wearing essentially the same clothes for 3 days. I've got almost enough river sand in my toes I could make a sandbox. Dirt bag river bums.

We rented kayaks from these guys and stayed here. It was a much needed respite from the city and work. I'd put up some pictures of the gorgeous river we were on but the camera is somewhere downstream of the tunnel. Next time I'll leave it in the dry bag instead of being the hero and trying to take a picture halfway down. That water was fucking cold when you swamp the boat too.

No fish but we had a damn good time anyways. Every now and then even us urban guys need to get out. In fact I can't wait to do it again.

Sugar Creek

2009-05-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

I got off work a couple hours early yesterday so I made up for it by going to check out a new creek I found on the map. Sugar Creek. I went to the section under Mary Lou Lane off Bouldercrest Rd near East Atlanta Village.

As per the usual, it's a pretty little creek although this one is a bit less "urban" than others I've been to. This section was in a nice little neighborhood. Parking and access were a bitch, I ended up parking right before the bridge up the curb into an open lot littered with tires and brush. The creek flows through the whole neighborhood and has quite a few bridges and even flows though a park. I'm certainly going to have to do some more exploration.

For once I decided to heed the No Tresspassing sign so I got to the river by following a little path through the brush upstream of the bridge. To really be able to fish this, you're going to have to get wet. I had to wade to get anywhere.

The fishing was about par for the course on most of these little streams. You seem to get a little pool on some of the bends and then a bit of ankle deep water in between. There's a nice deep pool with some rocky cover right below the little fall under the bridge. A bunch of bluegills. Some big some small. I'll go check out another section one day. Hopefully with some bigger fish. I'm going to have to get a 2 wt if this is all these creeks have!

Henderson Park.

2009-04-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

Henderson Park in Tucker.

I finally went mountain biking for the first time of the season. I decided it was high time to get the bike dirty. So after work today I went to Henderson Park. Henderson Park is only a couple minutes outside 285 in Tucker. There are two main entrances: 2803 Henderson Rd, Tucker, GA 30084, and the main entrance off of Livsey Rd., Tucker, GA. (Google it!)

I found this park while looking for random lakes around town and it turns out it has a subpar lake but really good trail system. The trails are great for either hiking or more importantly, mountain biking. It also has tennis courts and soccer fields which are usually in use either in a pick up game or youth league.

There are a couple of main loops that are approx a mile each but with all the side trails cutting in and out and criss crossing all over the place there's a pretty good amount of mileage. The trails are a good mix of easy to technical but with the lack of maintenance there are a lot of gnarly rooty areas. The trails twist through a bunch of suburbs sometimes almost seeming like you're riding through someones back yard. Other times it's like being in the middle of nowhere. Make sure you take some of the climbs up out of the park and then turn around and enjoy the run back down.

Depending on how you run the trails, you can experience several creek crossings. Some easy, some impossible. One of my favorite parts is the creek crossing below the falls. There is another crossing about halfway up the falls, but those rocks are damned slippery. Be careful.

Below the first parking lot at the Livsey Rd entrance there are even some freeride obstacles built along with a nice fast gulley run. If you're into that sort of thing....

I definitely recommend Henderson Park for a quick getaway. Or for a family day. In any case, if you only have a couple hours to go spin, try this place out. You'll be glad you did.

Rod socks!

2009-04-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

That's right! I made my own rod socks!! (Thanks to my lovely wife for the help!)

Slow week

2009-04-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Not much to talk about this week.

I went out to Henderson Park but got skunked. I saw a lot of bass but they didn't show any interst in anything I had in my fly box. I'm starting to kind of get tired of not catching anything there...

Went to Piedmont Park and got some more crappie for dinner this week. I got to do the whiskey and onions bake this time. It's delicious.

I also went to Ptree Creek at Piedmont. I want to explore upstream some more but the water was running a little high for the rubber muck boots I was wearing. Maybe I'll try again next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

2009-04-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Piedmont Park Wednesday 4:15:09. Loyd and I hit the Park to try to get some fish for ihm to eat. Usually we're catch and release, but Lake Clara Meer is a stocked pond, so we don't mind keeping a few every now and then. We got a nice mix of crappie and bluegill to give Loyd a nice dinner. I'm going again tomorrow to get a few more for myself. I love fresh fish.

Friday I went to Yellow River.

It's not inside the Perimeter but it's very close to Stone Mountain, so I'm going to throw it in here too. I found Yellow River Park because of the mountain bike trails, it's a great park the trails are nice and the "other" trails are just pure kick ass.

Yellow River Park is on Juhan Road in Lithonia. 78 east to Snellville, take the West Park Place exit and turn right. Hang a right on Juhan Road and the park is about 1.5 mile down.

I've fished the river for about a year now and I've always had decent luck there, and it's a pretty area. Wading is fairly easy, a little bit of rock slime that's kinda slippery, but not really too bad. From what I saw the storms of the last few months seem to have changed the river a bit and I think the water level was a bit high still. Usually there are a lot of small pools but there was a much stronger current this time. I was still able to have some fun though. Caught a few

nice sized rock bass, a little largemouth and damn nice bluegill.

I highly recommend Yellow River for a good time. Poppers are a blast in the summer, and I fully expect to find some shoalies out there one of these days. Enjoy!

Otherwise, here's what I've been tying lately, the grey ones have been doing great for me so I decided to try them in black too.

Now I just need to find those big ass carp to break in that 9wt. Time to get out and get fishing. Time to quit playing with the little fish!

Dinner tonight (and tomorrow)

2009-04-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

A small one I didn't keep.

About a dozen crappie courtesy of the City of Atlanta via Piedmont Park.

Cornmeal and PBR. Tomorrow I'll try whiskey and onions and peppers.

My new toy...

2009-04-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

So I've had the rod for a couple weeks now. Orvis Clearwater 9wt. I got it for a steal off CList. But today I finally got the reel. Lamson Radius 3.5. Loaded with line, I'm so ready to go. Ready for the big fish now!!

Peachtree Creek Book

2009-04-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

A book was written a couple years ago by David R. Kaufman called Peachtree Creek: A Natural and Unnatural History of Atlanta's Watershed. Essentially the author canoed the entire length of Peachtree Creek from it's headwaters to it's convergence with the Hooch. The book is full of great history on the creek. The photos are amazing. There's even a chapter about how the city is trying to clean up the waterways.

If you're interested in Peachtree Creek at all, check it out. I highly recommend it.

Peachtree Creek Fork (Again)

2009-04-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Loyd and I decided to do a bit more scouting/ fishing on Ptree Creek. We started out at N Druid hills checking it out by the bridge. It didn't look any good to us so on a tip from a friend of Loyd's we headed over towards Emory. It was a good tip.

We started out with just a spinning rod rigged with a rooster tail. And we slaughtered them. Peachtails galore. Hell, I only had the 5wt out for a couple minutes and I got a couple on that too. It was a good afternoon.

After running out of fishable creek on the south side of Clifton we moved the trucks over to the Emory campus and checked that out. It was easy to get to the creek and it looked gorgeous. Parts actually looked a lot like a N Ga trout stream. Too bad it's a bit too warm. Anyways, I left the camera in the truck so you'll just have to take my word on it till next time! We didn't spend too long over here but long enough to go back again. And soon. I finally hooked up with a bass in Ptree Creek! Unfortunately I lost him in the current but I'm still happy. Loyd and I have a sort of contest to see who can land the first bass. I was so close but it don't count till it's in hand!

I'm going to go back and try to wade a large section of this part of the creek. There looks like some decent parking at a shopping plaza just off Briarcliff or right at the Emory campus. Just watch the no parking signs!

Recon

2009-04-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Last week and this week have been rain. Rain, rain, and more rain. With luck we've gotten a couple of afternoons with a couple hour dry spells. So lately it's been reconnaissance.

Here's the results::

Glen Emerald Lake. Off of Bouldercrest Rd in Dekalb Co. Not too far down the road from EAV. It's a wierd location. I've driven past the park a few time but had no idea there was a lake back there.

As for a report, the lake is pretty. I saw a few fish, got chased by a few geese, didn't catch a damn thing and almost stepped on a used condom. Bank access is incredibly limited so fly fishing is limited to roll casts and wading. I didn't have any luck but I'll definitely check it out another couple of times.

Peachtree Creek. Above 285 at Northcrest. Kinda pretty except for the usual trash and some "urban campsites" that were a bit unnerving. I get the feeling that there's not usually enough water flowing to support any decent fish population. It was barren except for a handful of little shit minnows. Probably never look at it again.

Peachtree Creek. At Clairmont. There's a little dog leg pond off Clairmont next to the Sam's Club parking lot. Unfortunately it's surrounded by chain link. Can't get in. P'tree Creek there seems like it's a bit shallow, but I didn't get to check it out too much.

Peachtree Creek. Briarwood Rd between Clairmont and North Druid Hills. Turn right before REI. Now this was good. The river here looks very promising. I caught a handful off bluegills off a rooster tail. I didn't explore too much, but I'm looking forward to going back. I love the color of the gills in Ptree. We've started calling them Peach tails because of their unique colors. They're brilliant and beautiful. Downstream from the bridge looks pretty bassy. But access might be an issue. I'll have to go back to scope it out when it's not raining. Not bad for a scouting mission though.

Today we checked out Peachtree creek near Briarcliff and Clifton. I'll report on that one tomorrow. Let's just say, good things....

Peachtree Creek at Piedmont

2009-03-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well last week Loyd and I decided to go out to Yellow River near Stone Mountain and try our hands at some sunnies and bass. That was an hour before we were scheduled to get out of work, and about 2.5 hours before we actually did get out. So we decided to hit Peachtree creek and see if we could have any luck down there. Last year we had gone down there a couple of times and saw a couple large pods of carp and even an 18" goldfish! This time I saw a carp.

What happened and where did all the fish go? Good question. Maybe caught by the "urban campers" that have apartments built under the bridge. Maybe by some immigrants who we've seen under there. Maybe they were killed off by some of the nasty shit that gets dumped into that creek all across town. Or maybe they were washed downstream by a havy rain some time between now and then. Whatever the reason, there were no carp. All we got into were some shellcrackers. Good size and color but no way in hell would I even think about keeping them. We also saw a couple juvenile largemouth and a couple turtles. And lost a couple of carp flies I had tied up in the week before tossing them blindly into a couple deeper holes.

All in all I had a decent time. I was certainly dissapointed by the sterility of the area we worked. But I am looking forward to checking out some other areas and exploring the stream more. Pictures tell a better story than I though so here ya go.

Peachtree creek under Piedmont Ave in Buckhead Atlanta:::

2009-03-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm antsy. I'm ready to get out. The weather's been perfect for 2 weeks. Highs in the mid 60's to low 70's. Perfect. Work is slow so I'm getting out earlier than usual and with the time change that means plenty of sunlight to play in.

I went to Piedmont Park a couple times last week. I've been here almost 5 years and never thought of fishing that little lake until last week. Okay. So maybe I'm a little behind on the ball but at least I'm playing... And I must say, I'm impressed. Apparantly they stock that lake and it shows. There are some nice bass in that thing. They're a little lure shy, but can be enticed.

The gills and crappie are fun too. They're starting to bed in the shallows. I was swinging a bead head nymph and took several good crappie. That's right. A nym

ph.

I love fly fishing. And flyfishing in public is even better. No one has any idea what the hell you're doing!

"Why's that fishing line neon orange?"

"That's a funny looking pole. Why are you casting funny?"

or my favorite when I'm wading ass deep in one of the little ponds or creeks that tend to have a playground near them-

"Mommy, why's that man in the water?"

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So today since I couldn't actually wet a line, I decided to tie up some flies. Some poppers I promised to send to my Dad, some other foam stuff, some Pike streamers for the BWCAW trip this fall (can't start too soon!), ya know, some flies!

This week we're doing brown water. Good times big fish.

Until next time.

2009-03-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

Atlanta. 4.2 million people stacked on top of each other. Which is amazing considering the endless sprawl this city embodies. So how do those of us who love the outdoors get out? With work and crazy traffic we can't always get out of the city. So what do we do?

Get outside. This city is full of little pockets of "wilderness" to enjoy. The city of Atlanta has over 3,300 acres of parks. Some of which have fishable water, hikable trails, or climbable rocks or structures. They may not be huge, but they are something to enjoy when you only have a quick moment on the way home from work or in between appointments on a busy Saturday.

My hope with this blog is to share the places in town where I find relief from the city while still in sight of the city. Where I am able to enjoy the outdoor sports that I love when I don't have time to run to the mountains or the coast. I've spent a lot of time searching for info on playing in the city only to come up mostly empty handed. I hope this helps you find something to do or somewhere to go to enjoy the outdoors.

I'll do my best to cover everything I can, but obviously I have my own favorite hobbies. If you're reading this and have a suggestion of something I check out please please let me know. I want this to be a community. I want this to be a benefit to everyone.

So, until next time. Go outside. Have fun. Enjoy the nature in the city.