Even the most experienced fly fisherman will tell you that, when you are angling for trophy trout, you need more than just pure luck.  Fly fishing for trophy trout calls for a thorough knowledge of the species your targeting, as well as proper fly choice and presentation that, when combined, can greatly increase your chances of hooking into a trophy trout of a lifetime.  Thankfully, many fishermen have gone on before you and have paved the path for great fishing opportunities. In fact, with the availability of the Internet and the wealth of printed fly fishing books, almost anyone can figure out exactly what is needed to catch the trophy trout they are after.  Yet, despite the amount of information available, sorting through it can be a pain.  With the help of this little guide, however, you will be able to work your way through the information and find the perfect fishing location and equipment. 

Selecting the Location

While there are many people who think they know how to catch trout, a vast majority of them have a difficult time choosing an actual location to target these trophy trout.  This is understandable given the number of great spots for Georgia fly fishing.  If you really want to catch a trophy trout in Georgia, however, location is truly everything.  Most would recommend hiring a professional fly fishing guide to speed up the learning curve.  Every stream has its own secrets and certain streams fish better during certain times of the year.  Bottom-line, a guide will put you on the right water at the right time.

It is important to understand all trophy trout are not created equal.  The size of the trout stream, its fertileness to sustain aquatic insects, and its local fish inhabitants determine how large a trout has to grow to be considered a resident trophy trout.  For example, the higher elevation streams generally are much smaller in size and in turn lack the food and habitat needed to grow the biggest of trophy trout.  Because of this, trout tend to grow much slower and their size is limited to there livable surroundings.  A sixteen inch wild trout can be considered a trophy trout in a stream defined above.  On the other hand, a sixteen inch trout on a much larger river, lets say the Toocoa River would not harbor a trophy trout status.  Here, the size of the trout stream is much larger providing trout more access to quality fish habitat and the available food sources are much higher which allows trout to grow faster and larger here than in a small stream.  Understanding these key differences will allow the fly fisherman to accurately gauge what is considered a trophy trout for a given trout stream. 

With this in mind, there are several rivers and streams to keep in mind when fishing for trophy trout in Georgia.  Among the top on the list is the Toccoa River tail water located in Blue Ridge, Georgia.  The size of this river provides adequate habitat and food to sustain and grow trophy trout year round.   Another large watershed to target trophy trout on is the Chattooga River located in northeast Georgia.  Other smaller streams to target trophy trout in Georgia include Cooper Creek, Noontootla Creek, Dicks Creek, Waters Creek, and Fightingtown Creek.  If your willing to hike in a considerable distance the Jacks and Conasauaga Rivers, which both wind through the Cohutta wilderness area of north central Georgia offer fly fisherman truly wild trophy trout on a smaller scale.  All of these watersheds provide the fly fisherman a good chance to hook into a trophy trout with a well presented fly.

The Right Equipment

Even the most greenhorn of fly fishermen know that fly fishing in Georgia is about more than just fishing location.  You can be smack in the middle of the best fishing grounds in the world, but if you haven’t prepared yourself with the proper fishing skills, gear, and fly choices for your trout fishing, chances are you won’t walk away with a trophy trout to show for your fishing trip. 

In order to know what flies you will need, you need to know what insects are common to the area you are fishing.  By knowing what insects are common, you will also know what the trout are used to eating and will be the most likely to go after.  Local hatch charts and guides can provide you with the proper fly choices to imitate the food sources the trout are keying in on throughout the year.   

Because of the extreme amount of trout water available in Georgia, it would be nearly impossible to list every fly pattern you might need on the water.  Instead, a good rule of thumb is talk to local fisherman to see what type of flies they’ve got stocked in their fly boxes.  We all know that a fly fisherman can talk for hours about his flies.  If you are willing to share a few of your pointers, the local fishermen are sure to share a few of theirs as well.

Some of the flies the local fishermen will likely swear by include:

• Bluewinged Olives (Baetis species) from size 14-26
• Parachute Adams – from sizes 12-20
• Rubberleg Stonefly – from sizes 12-16
• Hare’s Ears and Pheasant Tail nymphs from sizes 14-20
• Griffith’s Gnat from sizes 18-26
• Woolly Buggers in a variety of colors from sizes 2-12

If you don’t feel like chatting with the local fisherman or if you want to feel out the area for yourself, however, you might want to simply bring along a wide assortment of flies, ranging from dry flies to nymphs.  Another good idea would be to bring along and assortment of streamer patterns which generally increases the size of the trout caught.  If you’re an advanced fly tier you may want to pack along your vise and tying materials to match a hatch on stream.  While this may eat a bit into the fishing time, there is no better way than to mimic the native insect population than to be on location when you tie your flies.

Check out the Trophy Trout Water we guide on!