Mountaintown Creek Fly Fishing - Ellijay, Georgia

The morning began at 5am. Driving through the dark Georgia mountains with fog in the valleys, the fishermen stayed alert with the help of strong coffee and the promise of a day spent wading the waters of a prime trout stream. For some, it was a rematch to redeem themselves from the prior trip's skunking. For others, it was a competition to prove their fishing prowess.

The sun was bright and the setting was stunning. Mountaintown Creek ran cold and clear through pasture and wood, with deep pools offering perfect habitat for the trout to stalk the currents and grow big and fat. And fat they were!

The most startling moment of the day came when a decent sized rainbow was on the hook, and was being brought in from a deep pool. As it neared the surface, a true giant came up from the dark creek bed and inhaled the already hooked fish. Realizing it's mistake, it spit the first fish out and retreated, but the "almost meal" came in with the marks to prove it's close call.

At the end, none were skunked and with the exception of a couple of hornyhead chubs, all the fish were put back into the creek to grow ever larger, or maybe feed one of the monster trout that live here.

Thanks to Mountaintown Trout for the terrific fishing and relaxed time on the property and to Ben Smith for stirring up my interest in giving fly fishing another try!