How BFS Fishing for Trout in Georgia Reinvigorates

A brief encounter on a foreign piece of water expanded my enjoyment of fishing yet again

What did stopping at an unknown trout stream teach me? Everything. See the fishing in the video above.

I am but an angler coming full circle with his fishing. We all go through cycles with our passions, and I suppose, life in general. When I started fishing at a young age, it was simply about the experiences and just catching a fish.

Then as I got more into the fishing, it became about the outcome. Catching more fish. Catching fish consistently. Catching bigger fish. That eventually morphed into the competitive side of fishing for a while. And the more I went that direction, the more I went away from the experience fishing once provided me.

As anglers, we tend to be outcome based. I’m as guilty as anyone. When I fish for shellcrackers, I want to stalk the really big ones, and I will keep hunting until I do. Same with crappie. Same with bass. And now even back into trout. But I’m also very self aware of the growing problem with that approach to fishing.

That discovery put me on the path of exploration. In different species, in different gear and in new locations. I am focusing more on the fun of fishing again. And less on the outcome of it. I’m getting back to what sparked my flame as a kid. I was reminded of that standing waist deep in a mountain stream in Georgia a couple weeks ago.

The Trip to Trout in Georgia

I actually went to Lake Hartwell in South Carolina to spend a few days catching up with my friends and colleagues with Megabass. They brought in some of their pro anglers, several creators and their staff from Megabass of America to fellowship and participate in a group think, idea exchange on all manners of things related to fishing.

President of Megabass of America, Yuskei Murayama and I are kindred spirits in a number of ways when it comes to fishing and the approaches around it. I consider Yuskei a friend, and I value his very high level philosophies on design, fishing, and approaches to all things. Formally educated here in the states, he speaks as eloquently and thoughtfully as anyone you will encounter, and I consider him to be one of the smarter people I know in the fishing space.

So I always enjoy our discussions around fishing that generally get way outside of the bounds of simple topics like “how to catch bass on a lure.” I was explaining to him this new path I’m on since leaving Wired2fish to expand the ways people view and think about fishing. I’m expanding my understanding and experiences around different species, new venues and a co-mingling of techniques and tackle to push newer approaches to enjoy the chase more.

I am finding a ton of crossover in my many fishy pursuits as a result, and those efforts have rekindled a spark for my fishing travels.

So I’m traveling from Kentucky to Georgia and think to myself that I need to see what creeks are along my path that I could visit and try to catch a few trout on totally new waters. I chose trout because I was going through a lot of mountains and thought hitting a mountain stream on my travels would be an interesting change of pace for this trip. I packed a couple fly rods, an ultralight rod and my bait finesse Megabass Great Hunting Huntsman rod with a Shimano Calcutta BFS reel for some hard bait exploits.

I scoped out a river on the way down and stopped to check out a couple places where I could access the river. I was not a big fan of either place, mostly because of the amount of people around. So I went on to South Carolina with some more scouting in mind. At night, after we were done on the water and our bellies were full, I would lay in bed on my phone following the winding rivers around on Google Maps and checking out some access points. I settled on one that seemed like it had the most potential and made plans to hit it in the middle of my 8 1/2-hour drive home.

Because I had a lot of traveling that day, I decided to give myself about 90 minutes to explore a decent stretch that had a couple deeper pools and a couple nice runs with some pocket water.

Figuring Out the Bite

I decided to start the way I do on most trout streams, with a Trout Magnet D2 Jig. This hair jig has been my bread and butter for trout fishing this year, so I have a lot of confidence with it. After about 15 minutes, I had seen 3 or 4 trout inspecting the jig but not biting.

I wasn’t sure if it was pressure or maybe just not having my presentation honed in yet. So I decided to move to a bit deeper water and drift a Trout Magnet under a float. That yielded a rainbow trout almost immediately. But then another 15 minutes, and I was not getting any takers. I felt like I was in an area with trout and they were aggressively inspecting my jig, but I did not have something right with my presentation.

This is a natural crossroads in all fishing. You are around fish, you are seeing some reactions to your presentations, but you know it’s not exactly right. You can double down on what you are doing and experiment with color, size and retrieve or presentation. Eventually you will likely land on the right combination that appeals to a wider range of fish. That’s basically what fishing is. Matching the right tool (your lure) to the current conditions and mood of the fish.

This is also where I often will go completely off script and go against the grain. I was getting fish to react to hopping the D2 Jig. I might could have done something simple like went up a size in weight and worked it faster. That fast fall can often be a trigger in itself. But because I had a mix of shallow and deep water all around me. I decided to be more aggressive horizontally instead of more aggressive vertically.

A D2 Jig is fished with a lot of rod pumps. So it’s very much an up-and-down presentation. You are being aggressive vertically so to speak. So when you want to be aggressive horizontally, you need a lure designed to move more horizontally like a jerkbait or a crankbait.

So I tucked my ultralight into my pack and got my BFS Hunting Huntsman combo out. I fish the 48UL Megabass Great Hunting Huntsman Rod with a Shimano Calcutta BFS reel with 5-pound Varivas Twitch Master Nylon line. This setup lets me work the GH Humpback very well. I can cast the smallest version a long ways, be very accurate with it from a distance and work it fast and aggressively.

I really wanted to catch a brown trout … I know … too outcome focused again.

So I started working up to the run, hitting a few of the pocket water spots below it as I approached. On the third or fourth cast, I hooked up with a decent little brown.

I was over the moon. The fish was special. Not because of it’s size. Not because of it’s weight. Not because of it’s impressive colors. Simply because if filled me with life standing waist deep in a river I had never seen before. I felt connected on many levels to what this place has to offer us for the brief time we are here.

That river. This life.

May be a bit sappy. I can’t help it. I’m a romantic when it comes to outdoor pursuits.

I let the fish go after a quick picture. I considered the day a wonderful success in the first 30 minutes. I decided to see if that was a fluke or not and worked up to where I could reach the pool above the run. I found a nice big boulder in the middle of the river to take my pack off and set up for a few casts.

My X-rays this week informed me that I am suffering from “severe degenerative and catastrophic changes at multiple levels of my thoracic spine.” A nice way of saying my back is damaged worse than before.

I started making some long casts and was immediately rewarded with another nice brown trout. At this point everything is gravy to me. I’m in a river whipping casts to every little seam, obstacle and bubble run I spy. I’m snapping and thrashing my rod tip quickly and sporadically to mimic something trying to get the hell away from an angry trout in current. Trout after trout, they fell victim to my ruse.

I think I ended up with 4 rainbows and 3 browns in about 75 minutes. With most falling victim to my more antagonistic actions with the BFS gear.

Stoking That Flame

We are only on this planet for a short while. We don’t know how long that is. I have had my fair share of health issues the last several years. And it’s put me on a path to to pursue the places I see in my dreams now before I’m unable to do them like I want. My mind wanders to places off the beaten path away from where others tread and stalk their passions. I enjoy sharing these moments with kindred spirits, but I find as I age, those become harder to find.

We walk varying paths in this life. The path I pursue does not always end up being the one I walk. We are all burdened with ills in life. We all obligate ourselves to our loved ones and their pursuits. We all want to make the best with what we are given. For me, I have found a desire to stoke my flames with new adventures on unknown paths. What lights me up is not what will light up the next person.

That explorative nature keeps my restless spirit anticipating new experiences. It’s what captures my curiosity better than most things I find on a television or online. And if I can implement crossover thinking that enhances and expands me beyond the conventional norms in my exploits, then I’m more completely immersed in my pursuits.

I encourage anglers to seek the paths that stoke their fire. Their path will not be my path. What gives me gratitude and fulfillment likely finds itself in a dissimilar form for others. For some, the outcomes will always drive their gratification in fishing. But I feel if you focus more on the experiences, then the outcomes become whatever they are. Yet you still feel satisfied regardless of the conclusion. Your enjoyment of your pursuit should be what drives your actions.