A great time at the Whitewater delayed harvest volunteer stocking!

Volunteers -- all trout fishing enthusiasts -- lend a hand during Wednesday's stocking of a part of the Chattahoochee delayed harvest section. The stocking took place at the Whitewater access point off U.S. 41 and Mount Paran.

Yesterday -- Wednesday, Dec. 22 -- was the day. The Whitewater access point to the Chattahoochee river was the place. Trout were the subject. The  excitement was intense.

So what was the occasion?

Starting shortly after 10 a.m., an eager cadre of volunteers donned waders and boots, hefted 5-gallon buckets, and got to work on the second of this season's volunteer trout stockings at the Whitewater access point on the Chattahoochee delayed harvest section off U.S. 41 and Mount Paran Road.

The volunteer stockers placed more than 2,000 rainbow and brown trout in the river -- and among the fish stocked were a number that you'd definitely put in the "big" category.

"Would you look at this one!" said one of the volunteers as a particularly large brown went into one of the stocking buckets.

"And that one is mine!" added another as an equally impressive rainbow made an appearance on its way to the river.

The volunteer stockers distributed the fish over a large area, in some cases wading far into the river before gently placing the fish into the flow.  Believe it: There are plenty of trout in the Chattahoochee DH this year!


A family adventure for many

One of the neatest things at this week's stocking was the number of kids who were there to help. Most Atlanta area school systems were already closed for the holidays, so many parents were able to bring their children -- and many parents did.

But unfortunately for parents living in Fulton County, Fulton County's schools were still in session.

"I wish that Fulton County had been closed like everybody else," one dad said. "Then I could have brought my own kids too."

Hmmm...maybe the Fulton County Board of Education needs more fly fishers among its membership!

But the kids who were there had an absolute blast. Each time the folks unloading the stocking truck scooped up a new load of fish to place in one of the waiting buckets, the excitement level among the young people went up by several notches.

"It didn't matter to the kids whether the fish were big or little," another dad said. "They got excited about every one."

Some of the older children were able to carry stocking buckets by themselves, while the younger ones generally helped their dads by helping to carry the buckets.

There were even some grown-up kids there. One was my daughter, visiting for Christmas from New York. She jumped right in there, toting buckets of fish with the best of them.

Believe it: Toting a five-gallon bucket of splashing water and wiggling trout is a workout, and on the way back from the river I said to another dad, "I don't know what we'd do if we didn't have these young folks to help!"

"I know what you mean!" he replied, as his young sons tugged him yet again toward the stocking truck with shouts of "Come on, Daddy. Come on! We've got to get ready so we can go catch those fish!"


And then there was fishing!

Following the completion of stocking, a number of folks hung around to enjoy some exciting catch-and-release fishing.

Bringing in a nice Hooch delayed harvest trout.

For the first little while the fly of choice was pretty much anything orange or pink, with Y2Ks and egg imitations being the initial hits.

Woollies worked well, too, especially when fished as streamers. Black or dark green seemed to be the favorites of the fish.

As the day wore on, the fish began to show more and more interest in insect imitations. By 2 p.m. they would still take "junk food" flies, but a number of fishermen were beginning to have significant success with small subsurface patterns. Soft-hackle emergers worked well.

Another factor that became more important as morning turned to afternoon was the matter of presentation. The old adage of "if you can see them then they can see you" began to come into play, and some anglers found themselves more or less nose-to-nose with fish that simply moved out of the way as flies drifted by.

But a careful approach and a precise cast would usually elicit at least a strike -- and as the afternoon progressed those strikes were starting to come on emergers and various soft hackle flies as well as on the egg imitations.

"The fish wise up pretty quickly," one angler observed, and those within earshot nodded in agreement.

But the fish still cooperated, and every angler I chatted with said he caught fish.


Thanks to DNR -- and to all the volunteers

Georgia trout fishermen owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Department of Natural Resources for the level of support that's given to trout fishing in Georgia. Programs such as the delayed harvest initiative provide an incredible set of angling opportunities to Georgia fly fishers. We are indeed fortunate to be the beneficiaries of this kind of sportsman-oriented resource management, and Georgia DNR deserves a hearty word of thanks from all of us who enjoy the fine trout fishing that Georgia has to offer.

The partnership between the fisheries and hatchery folks and the volunteer stockers makes such stockings not only possible but also a lot of fun -- and as budget issues continue to be a factor such cooperation may become even more important in the future.

If you haven't had a chance to be part of a volunteer stocking day, then you're missing a great time! Make a note to yourself to be a part of the next one. You'll meet great folks. You'll have a chance to give back to fishing. And you'll be setting the stage for great days on the water for yourself and for others -- and that's one of the best gifts a fly fisher can give.

Next time: A last list of some last-minute gifts for the fly fishers on your list!

Copyright 2010 Steve Hudson. All rights reserved.