| Floating the Flint River for Shoal Bass | |
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Source: sportfishingmag |
6/9/2022 |
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The busiest airport in the country: Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson. But beneath the oil-stained tarmac and those cavernous, carpeted terminals lies a natural wellspring: the headwaters of Georgia’s Flint River.
One of only 40 rivers in the nation that flows more than 200 miles unimpeded by dams or other man-made obstacles, the Flint homes the largest population of shoal bass.
A feisty, whitewater-loving scrapper, the shoal bass earned unique species status in 1999, thus expanding Georgia’s black bass pantheon to 10 species—the greatest diversity in North America. |
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Quint Rogers is addicted to shoal bass—quite an affliction for one so young. But at 26, Rogers delivers an elite fishing pedigree. After guiding fly-fishers in Montana post-college and experiencing the effectiveness of oar-powered rafts, he returned to his native Georgia with a plan. He bought a Smith Fly Big Shoal Raft for his Peach State Fly Fishing charter business, knowing he could offer clients a unique (and mostly dry) opportunity to fish the most productive but difficult-to-access waters of the upper Flint. |
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