The one that got away? Not this month. Not in this area. The official start to the 2014 trout fishing season is almost here. Which means the state Wildlife Resources Division and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are stocking nearby streams with rainbow, brown and brook trout. Here in the southern Appalachian Mountains, there are roughly 4000 miles of creeks, inlets, rivers and waterways the state has designated as trout streams. Some are on private properties. Others, with public access, host a strong population of stocked, holdover and stream-bred trout. Put it all together and you’ll find some of the best trout fishing in the entire southeast.
Locals all have their favorite honey holes. You’ll find several streams described below with some helpful information for anglers. One vacation site that comes highly recommended by guests at Ellijay Cabin Rentals is our property called Trout Retreat. It’s a three-bedroom cabin located in a gated mountain development, with the back door nestled just 10 feet from Turniptown Creek. You can literally walk out the door and catch dinner!! With so many remarkable trout fishing streams criss-crossing our northwest Georgia community, there’s no reason to limit your adventure to just one. Here are several worth visiting:
Rock Creek
The Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery is located on one of Rock Creek’s tributaries, making it perhaps the most heavily-stocked trout stream in all of Georgia. In fact, it is the 9-inch stocked trout that make Rock Creek such a popular fishing destination for families with aspiring young anglers. Most of the fish caught are rainbows and the success rates are fairly high. Most of the fishing on Rock Creek is done off of the bank and wading. Rock Creek flows through the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Blue Ridge WMA, but it’s easily accessible off Highway 60 in Fannin County.
The Jacks River
The Jacks offers a completely different trout fishing experience than Rock Creek. It is the largest stream inside the vast Cohutta Federal Wilderness Area and WMA. Because it is not easily accessible and requires a short hike along a mountain trail, the Jacks is a perfect destination for the angler who hates crowds. There are other rewards as well. The Jack’s is not stocked and is home to wild rainbow, brown and brook trout. Several brown more than 20 inches in length have been pulled from the area around the Jack’s 60-foot waterfall. Jimmy Jacobs, a Georgia native who has written several guidebooks on fishing, including Trout Fishing In North Georgia, ranks the Jacks as one of the premier back-country fishing destinations in the East. “The best fishing is from the falls upstream, so you could try going in at Beech Bottom,” suggests Jacobs.
Joe DiPietro, an outdoor writer and guide based in Fannin County, offers this tip when fishing on the Jacks; “When fly-fishing the Jacks, always try to match the hatch, no matter what time of year it is. If you’re tossing plugs or spinners, try gold, chartreuse and black as primary colors of your lures.” To book a trip with DiPietro, call (706) 633-0890.
The Conasauga River
The Conasauga is considered by many respected fishing guides to be among the top 100 trout streams in the nation. You can fish the Conasauga year-round for more than just trout. The river is actually 93 miles in length, but a 15-mile pristine stretch of the Conasauga within the Cohutta Wilderness Area is known for its rainbow and brown trout, and Georgia’s only truly native trout species, the diminutive brook trout. The Conasauga is not stocked and while rainbow trout are dominate, the larger trout are brown. The DNR says the best trout fishing here is generally upstream where the Conasauga converges with Little Rough Creek. In the upper river, anglers can find rainbows and browns from about 6-14 inches, with the occasional brown trout topping 20 inches. Brook trout are in the headwaters and smaller tributaries at elevations typically above 2,500 feet.
Noontootla Creek
Noontootla Creek may not offer the best trout experience for the beginner. It’s not been stocked since the 1960s and has a sustainable population of wild rainbow and brown trout. It’s primarily a catch-and-release freestone stream. No live bait is permitted and anglers can only harvest one fish larger than 16 inches per day.
Noontootla is the biggest tributary of the Toccoa River. Most of the Noontootla’s public access is off of U.S. Forest Road 58, and it includes everything from small stream fishing in its headwaters to bigger areas capable of being fished with 9-foot fly-rods. The creek has three small tributaries in its headwaters which start at about the 3000 feet level. The tributaries are Chester Creek, Stover Creek and Long Creek. They join at an area called Three Forks. These streams are said to contain native brook trout. The property outside the Blue Ridge Wildlife Area is private. Contact Unicoi Outfitters to arrange a guide service to fish in private waters.
The Toccoa River
From its headwaters in Union County to where it becomes the Ocoee River at the Georgia/Tennessee line, the Toccoa is regarded by many as the best trout river in the state. The upper end of the river is a great place to fish as it is heavily stocked in the springtime and is home to a delayed-harvest (DH) section, which opens to harvest May 15. The tailwater, beneath Lake Blue Ridge, holds a wonderful population of stocked, holdover and stream-bred trout.
This could be a pivotal season for the Toccoa. As we all known trout are a cold-water species. The trout population in the Toccoa was dramatically reduced in 2010, when warm water was released into the river as some necessary repair work was taking place on the Blue Ridge Dam. Wildlife experts have worked diligently to restock the Toccoa and their efforts are paying off. But most of the trout still remain on the small side.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources publishes a comprehensive trout fishing guide to Georgia, available at the Welcome Center. Also, click here for more information on lake levels and releases.
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