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From
the Editor
The
VIP Code for message board registration at GRF is grf2007
Creekstalking 101
There are a lot of people out there who want to find rivers and
streams to fish but don't know how to go about it. The following is
a detailed look at how I went about finding a promising little creek
less than an hour from home.
I have always
loved creek fishing. To me, catching a one pound bass from a tiny
little flow provides as much satisfaction as catching a five pound
bass from a larger one. Don't get me wrong: I love catching big
fish, and I always brag about the big ones. There's just something
about catching keeper-sized fish from places that everybody
overlooks that makes me feel like I've discovered a hidden treasure
that is right underneath everyone else's nose.
My favorite
region of Georgia for "creekstalking" is the mountains, with the
northwest quadrant of the state edging out northeastern Georgia for
the top spot. Middle and South Georgia are great also, but I really
enjoy the creeks in the mountains and foothills the best. The water
and air temperatures are a little cooler, and I especially enjoy the
gurgling streams and the riffle-run-pool pattern typical of these
streams. Undoubtedly, there are some folks reading this who could
state a strong case for the creeks in their own particular part of
the state.
Back in the
day, I'd drive around with a map and upon finding a decent-looking
stretch of water I'd hop in and start wading and fishing. I struck
out a lot, usually because the creek ended up being a little too
small or shallow to grow decent-sized fish. Sometimes, I'd strike
out simply because the fish weren't biting. I came to realize,
however, that any stream with a few holes that were more than
waist-deep was worth a return trip. I've found more than a few great
little streams by doing this and each one of them feels like a
little pot of gold to me.
Recently, I
stopped to look at a creek I've been driving over for the last
twenty years. This creek is in the Piedmont region of northeast
Georgia and is in the Oconee River watershed. The bridge I always
cross is pretty high and you can't see the water as you drive
across. Finally, I pulled over and gave it a look and was shocked to
see that it held a pretty good bit of water. I scurried back up to
the truck and looked at my Georgia Atlas and Gazetteer (if you don't
know what this is, stop reading, Google it, buy one, and then
continue reading) and saw that this creek fed another waterway that
eventually met up with the Oconee River. I also noticed that there
was another bridge a few miles downstream.
I was in a
little bit of a rush at the time so I couldn't do any fishing or
further exploring, so I went home and checked out Google Maps on the
computer. I've marked below the information I now had available to
me just by looking at a map. Now as is customary here at GRF I'm not
going to name this little creek, so I've crudely marked out the
names of all the landmarks. The point here is to demonstrate the
process I use to find a fishing hole. So here's what I had thus
far...
(OK, the map and the rest of the fish porn can be
found by clicking here. I hope this inspires some folks to get out
and explore a little!)
Creekstalker |
