My First Kayak Trout

If you’ve seen any of my content before, you know I love chasing bass. With ten different species to chase here in Georgia, it’s pretty much the only fishing I do anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve caught stripers, hybrids, big bream and bigger perch, but they’ve always been an accidental catch – caught while bass fishing. Recently though, I took a “break” from bass fishing for a day to chase big trout with Jackson teammate and friend Justin Powell.

We headed about an hour north of Atlanta to the Buford Dam on Lanier. Our plan was to fish the tailrace from the dam down, Justin in his MayFly and me in my Coosa HD. Leaving the 6-8 conventional rods I usually carry at home, instead I had two fly rods – a 5wt for nymphing and an 8wt for throwing big streamers. Our plan was to nymph fast water and streamer fish slow deep pools.

We fished down for a bit before I had my first take. As quick as I could react, the fish was gone, having spit the nymph. A couple more takes and the same result each time. My hook set on the fly rod clearly wasn’t as sharp as my normal bass hook set. I tried to pay more attention and when I saw the big flash, I set immediately. For what seemed like mere moments, the fish was on the line and then … just slack. Heartbreak. I’d missed not only another fish, but that big fish I’d been chasing.

I refocused and dropped my nymph in the end of a nice riffle and quickly had another take. This time, I got a good hook set. After a quick fight, I managed to bring this beautiful little rainbow trout to the kayak. It’s not big, it’s not necessarily impressive, but as you can tell from my silly grin, I’m happy to have caught it!

I had a really great time chasing trout on the fly. The stretch of the Chattahoochee was beautiful. I’m definitely headed back one day soon.