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       Acknowledgments

      Before I acknowledge all of the amazing people who offered their expertise to make this book a great resource, I think I’d be remiss to be able to spend so much time in Creation without at least acknowledging the Creator. We are blessed to live in an area rich with natural beauty and life. It’s difficult for me to witness all of this and not see a loving Creator behind it all.

      It would not be possible to write a book on fly fishing Georgia without the help of many people, especially Jimmy Harris of Unicoi Outfitters; renowned fly designer, writer, guide, and friend to everyone, Henry Cowen; and of course, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

      Covering our cold-water fisheries, I owe a big thank you to Chris Scalley and Kyle Burrell at River Through Atlanta guide service, as well as Don Pfitzer for their help on the incredible Chattahoochee tailwater. Chris’s knowledge of the river is staggering and I’d put Kyle with fly-rod-in-hand up against the tag-team duo of an electro-fishing Department of Natural Resources biologist and a blue heron any day of the week. It was also great having access to the knowledge of David Hulsey and Julian Byrd on the streams surrounding the town of Blue Ridge, as well as great fishing author and Georgia Sportsman editor Jimmy Jacobs. Also thanks to Jimmy Harris and Jeff Durniak on the Chattooga River and Richie Santiago and Carter Morris on Waters Creek. And I would also like to acknowledge Rex Gudgel for helping out with many of the private waters, for helping me become a better fly-caster, and for being insanely quick with a net!

      Across Georgia’s warm waters, thanks to Kent Edmonds for his assistance at Callaway Gardens and for sharing his knowledge of the Flint, perhaps Georgia’s most unique river. I also appreciate Cody Jones for his help at Barnsley Gardens and on the Savannah River, the knowledge of Mike Floyd and Jeremy Altman, owner of Buckeye Lures. Thanks to Jeff Gillespie and Mark Ellis for pointing me to Bull Sluice Lake and sharing their expertise on the most challenging of freshwater fish, the carp. A special thanks goes to Bill Howle on Clarks Hill Reservoir, Buddy Lail on Lake Varner, Nathan Lewis on Blue Ridge Reservoir, and Mike Sloan on Lake Seminole.

      On the coast, I really appreciate the help of Greg Hildreth, Larry Kennedy, and Scott Owens. Also, thanks to Thornton Morris and Paul Puckett for putting us up while on the surreal Cumberland Island.

      I am grateful to four great sporting artists—Paul Puckett, Bucky Bowles, Patsy Lewis-Gentry, and the late Tom Landreth (a special thanks to June Landreth)—for allowing their beautiful artwork to appear in this work.

      Paul Puckett is to be recognized for specially creating his wonderful pencil sketches of the flies featured for each water.

      I would also like to recognize Steve Walburn, editor of American Angler and general manager of the Morris Sporting Group, and O. Victor Miller who have both inspired me through their incredible writing. To Daryl Kirby, who gave me my first column in Georgia Outdoor News, Russ Lumpkin, Nick Carter, and Brad Gill, thanks for teaching me about good story writing. Thanks to Chad McClure, Brian O’Keefe, and Lefty Kreh for being patient in answering each of my thousands of photography questions. And I wouldn’t have had the privilege of working in this great industry if not for the graces of Steve Burch, Mike Rhodes, and one of the greatest outdoor writers in Georgia’s history, Brad Bailey, all of Georgia Outdoor News.

      Of course, what would fishing be without the company of good fishing buddies? To Andy Spencer, Matt Anderson, Mark Musselwhite, Ryan Whitelaw, Daniel Brown, and Bear Keeling, thanks for those times on the water and for consistently asking me questions like,

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