When it comes to fly fishing for trout, the fist thing you have to understand is what qualifies as a good trout habitat.  This may seem like a rudimentary bit of knowledge to have, but some people believe trout can be found in almost any river, lake or stream.  The reality is that this simply isn’t true.  In fact, anyone that is experienced in Georgia fly fishing knows that trout are actually quite picky about their habitat.  Yet, despite their picky choices of habitat, combining a well presented cast with an appropriate fly pattern can prove trout are far from being picky eaters. 

While trout can be found in the over 4,000 miles of streams and rivers located in Georgia, they are relatively unfertile when compared to other areas of the country.  According the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, this is due to the calcium deficient soils found in North Georgia.  In response to this problem the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has instituted a rather aggressive trout stocking program.  This has resulted in well-stocked rivers and streams that are just waiting for the right angler to catch a trophy trout. 

Understanding the Ideal Trout Habitat

If you are planning on doing some Georgia fly fishing, the main thing you want to keep in mind is that every variety of trout prefers high, cool, and clean water to live in.  This means that the best trout fishing is likely to be in the northern and mountainous areas of the state.  Furthermore, all trout are going to choose there holding areas according to food concentration levels, cover availability, and where feeding lanes out weigh current water flows.  Another thing to think about when trout fishing in Georgia is that, while they all have similar habitat preferences, the different breeds of trout tend to prefer different living areas.  The brook trout, for example, is often considered the easiest of the trout to catch and prefers higher elevations streams above 2,000 feet where water temperatures remain well below seventy year round.  When looking for brook trout, you want to keep an eye out for gravely bottoms, dense foliage, and good water flow.  The best places to target this species of trout is going to be in the tributaries of the major headwater streams in Georgia.  These conditions are home sweet home for brook trout.

When fishing for rainbow trout in Georgia, on the other hand, you want to find high waters that have a turbulent current.  While not the extreme of white water, you want to look for fast moving water running over shoals and gravely or sandy river bottoms when trying to target rainbow trout.  Rainbow trout prefer moving water such as the riffles and runs.  On the other side of the spectrum is the lazy brown trout.  These guys prefer cool water with minimal current over sandy and rocky bottoms.  They also tend to camp out in areas with a lot of cover, making fly fishing for brown trout an exercise in avoiding snags and other hazards.  Although you will often find brown trout in close proximity to rainbow trout usually brown trout prefer slower moving water.  Look for brown trout to hold below the rainbows were the water transitions into deeper water.  They also love to utilize undercut banks, deep pools, and submerged snags. 

One thing to keep in mind if you are planning to tie your own flies for trout fishing in Georgia is that you want to copy the native insect population prevalent during the period you’ll be fishing the stream.  So, take some time to observe the insects in the area and the trout so you can tie on a pattern the trout are keying in on.  The right fly pattern can make or break a day out on the water.

Where to Find Trout in Georgia

While many rivers and streams in Georgia fit the bill for fly fishing, there are a few that are better known for their trout than others.  Toccoa River, Chattahoochee River, and the Chattooga River are some of the best known rivers in Georgia because of their large and healthy trout populations. 

Of course, if you feel like combining a nice hike with your fly fishing excursion, you may also be tempted to visit the various streams located in the major wildlife management areas located throughout the Smokey Mountains of North Georgia.  Here, the fish may not be as big, but they are plentiful to a degree and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.  Below you will find a list and description of the major trout streams in Georgia.

Chattahoochee River Tailwater

The Chattahoochee River tailwater fishery starts out at the foot of Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam and flows down through Atlanta, Georgia.  Without the cold water discharges of Lake Lanier the Chattahoochee River tailwater would not sustain trout.  In all there are over forty miles of year round trout fishing available to the trout fisherman.  With over 250,000 trout stocked each year this river offers fly fishermen an exceptional trout fishery for rainbow and brown trout.  Despite criticism the Chattahoochee River tailwater does have a natural reproducing population and a significant amount of holdover trout.  While rainbow trout are the most dominant species in terms of population density in the river, there are good numbers of brown trout as well as trophy brown trout ready to stretch your line.  The largest brown trout are especially found in the lower stretches of the tailwater.  Here the habitat is more preferable for the brown trout.  Most fly fisherman prefer to fish the Chattahoochee River when the dam is not generating.  This allows easy wading and anglers can avoid the dirty high water during generation.  If you find yourself in Atlanta and you don’t have the time to drive up to North Georgia you won’t find a better place to go trout fishing.  From GA 20 Bridge to GA 141 Medlock Bridge the Chattahoochee River is regulated by artificial lures only.  In all this section offers around sixteen miles of special regulation trout fishing.  However, it is heavily fished so don’t expect the fishing to be a cake walk.

Popular Chattahoochee River Access Points:

• Park below Buford Dam and at GA 20
• Settles Bridge, McGinnis Ferry Bridge, Abbotts Bridge, McClure Bridge, Medlock Bridge
• Jones Bridge Park, Holcomb Bridge, Island Ford, Vickery Creek
• Many access points along Azalea Drive and Willeo Road located on the northwest side of Bull Sluice Lake
• Morgan Falls Dam (Roswell Road), Cochran Shoals

Chattahoochee River Headwaters

The Chattahoochee River headwaters is a small to medium stream located in the Chattahoochee wildlife management area off of forest service road 52 northwest of Helen, Georgia.  This trout stream supports wild brook, rainbow, and brown trout and is stocked with over 50,000 trout each year.  The average size trout will run between 7-12 inches.  Low Gap Creek and Jasus Creek are the two main feeder tributaries for the stream and are both stocked with trout.  Primitive camping is available above the hunting check-in station around Low Gap crossing and at the Chattahoochee Recreation Area.  Many fly fishermen choose to fish the Chattahoochee headwaters for its shear beauty and to get away from the crowds in town.  However, most would agree to avoid this stream during opening day for the trout season and shortly after.  During this time it can become very crowded. 

Chattooga River

The Chattooga River was designated as a Wild and Scenic River in 1974 for its pristine scenery, fishing, wildlife, and geology.  It is well known for its quality trout fishing and recreation boating.  Located in the northeast corner of Georgia fly fishermen will find stocked rainbow trout and stocked and wild brown trout.  From the upper stretches of the river in North Carolina, the Chattooga River flows fifty miles before entering Lake Tugalo. During this stretch the river forms much of the border for Georgia and South Carolina.  Be aware of the fishing regulations since they may call for a valid South Carolina fishing license as well.  Much of the area is protected from motorized equipment especially below Burrells Ford on forest service road 646 and is limited to foot travel only.  This section is stocked by helicopter with upwards of 50,000 fingerlings each fall.  Some of the best access on the Chattooga River is located on the Bartram/Chattooga River trail system.  Here you will find it much easier to access different stretches of water.  The river is defined into different sections, with the upper section from Ellicott Rock to Georgia Highway 28 being the most popular among fly fishermen. This remote area is named after Andrew Ellicott, the surveyor who was commissioned to map out the borders of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.  Below Ellicott Rock offers some of the best trout water on the river. Below GA 28 the water begins to warm and the dominant species moves from trout to redeye bass.  Where ever you choose to fish on this remarkable river, is sure to bring a smile to your face.  The trout are plentiful and you have a good chance of landing a fish over sixteen inches.  After all there have been brown trout landed as large as ten pounds.  While early season stockers can be easy to fool later season trout fishing calls for more technical fishing.  Don’t forget to check out the delayed harvest section.

Conasauga River

The fifteen mile stretch of the Conasauga River is located in the 37,000 acre Cohutta Wilderness Management Area.  Here you will find wild rainbow and brown trout open year round for fly fishermen.  The valley of the Conasauga River is considered to be one of the most pristine areas in Georgia.  The mountains surrounding the area reach as high as 4,000 feet and have protected this area from development.   Most of the rugged terrain is limited to non-mechanical methods of transportation and calls for hiking-in considerable distances to access the river.  The Conasauga River is not stocked and is a popular destination for fly fishermen targeting truly wild rainbow and brown trout.  From Betty Gap the river flows north until it joins Jacks River in the Alaculsy Valley.  Fishing pressure on the river is considered to be light due to the difficulty of accessing the river.  However, don’t think the trout are dumb.  The trout hear are very wary of predators and call for fly fishermen to wear appropriate colored clothing and wade quietly.  This is a place where fisherman want to think through there strategy before making a cast.  The trout are smart and need to be tricked on the first or second cast to be fooled.  Although there are trout inhabiting the river beyond the wilderness area it is considered to be only marginal.  Rainbow trout dominate the numbers but there are considerable numbers of brown trout in the river as well.  As in most headwater streams the biggest trout you’ll find will be the brown trout.  Most trout will range in size of 6-12 inches but fish have been landed well over 20 inches.  The trophies are there just not in huge numbers.  The very upper stretches of the watersheds do offer a small possibility of getting into some brook trout, but most anglers choose to target the other species.  Since there has not been any development throughout the watershed it takes a huge amount of rain to dirty the water.  Knowing this can save the day when other streams are unfishable.  If you’re interested in hiking in and fishing in complete solitude the Conasauga River is the perfect choice for the fly fishermen.

Jacks River

The Jacks River is the largest of all the streams found in the Cohutta Wildlife Management Area.  There are approximately fifteen miles of wild rainbow and brown trout water available to the fly fisherman.  Just like the Conasauga River the Jacks River can really only be accessed by hiking in a considerable distance.  This difficult access however, keeps the fishing pressure to a minimum.  Most trout caught will range between 6-12 inches and consist mostly of rainbows.  However, there have been brown trout as large as nine pounds landed.  Dally Gap parking area is the starting point for most anglers hiking into the Jacks River.  You’ll hike in about two miles before you hit the Jacks River.   From there the trails turns north parallels the river past Jacks River Falls.  Another choice for accessing the Jacks River is the Penitentiary Branch Trail.  Be prepared with maps, proper gear, and water.  The hike can be demanding with a heavy pack on.  Another important fact to know beforehand is that you will be crossing the river quite a bit during your hiking.  Make sure you have good quality wool socks to help prevent blisters.  Eventually, the Jacks River flows into the Conasauga River on the Tennessee line.  If your willing to hike in this is a great fly fishing destination.

Dukes Creek – Smithgall Woods

The section of Dukes Creek that runs through Smithgall Woods Conservation area is a manged trophy trout stream.  There is more than seven miles of trophy trout water available for the fly fisherman.  Rainbow and brown trout are found in the stream and supplemental feeding is used to maintain a healthy population of trophy trout.  Special regulations and catch and release practices are used to maintain large numbers of trophy trout.  The stream has not been stocked in many years and replenishes its trout population through natural reproduction.  The trout have become very smart over the years and are not easy to catch.  However, fish over twenty inches are landed on a regular basis.  If you’re a competent fly angler and you are willing to put in the time you can expect to hook and a land one of these beauties.  Reservations are needed with a WMA stamp to fish this stream.  Because there is a limited amount of fisherman aloud daily on Dukes Creek you will have water to yourself.  Wading is considered fairly easy and open enough for manageable fly casting.

Cooper Creek

Cooper Creek and its tributaries are located in the 30,000 acre Coopers Creek Wildlife Management Area.  Here fly fisherman will find stocked and wild rainbow and brown trout throughout the watershed.  Brook trout can be found in Cooper Creek tributaries.  Trout stockings in excess of 40,000 are conducted annually.  Forest service road 33 parallels Cooper Creek for much of its length and is utilized by most fly fishermen.  The stream receives quite a bit of pressure much of which is by bait fisherman.  However, if you know the river well you can find areas that get pressured far less.  Dry fly fishing can be spectacular from spring through fall and it is not uncommon to land fish sixteen inches are larger.  Cooper Creek is a seasonal stream.  It opens towards the end of March and closes in October.  This really helps the wild population recover from all the fishing pressure.  Check this stream out it has miles of trout water to explore. After flowing beyond the WMA Cooper Creek eventually flows into the upper Toccoa River. Primitive camping is available at Mulky and Cooper Creek forest service campgrounds.

Rock Creek

Another tributary of the upper Toccoa River, Rock Creek is a small to medium sized trout stream located in the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area.  With over 50, 000 trout stocked each year this river is one of the most popular year round trout streams in North Georgia.  However, access to the river is very easy and bait fishing is legal throughout the stream.  Rock Creek is a great place to introduce a child to trout fishing but is not considered by fly fisherman to be a prime fly fishing destination.  Most trout caught will measure under twelve inches long.  Rainbow and brown trout are available to fishermen.  Camping is allowed but is sometimes hard to find a place open.  Visitors can also try there luck fishing on Rock Creek Lake a thirteen acre impoundment stocked with Bass, Bream, and Trout.

Noontootla Creek

Noontootla Creek is a considered by many to be North Georgia’s premier small water wild trout stream in North Georgia.  It’s located in the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area which is comprised of 38,900 acres.  Noontootla Creek has not been stocked since the sixties and has a sustainable wild rainbow and brown trout population.  Anglers are restricted to artificial lures only and one fish is allowed to be harvested over sixteen inches a day.  Noontootla Creek is open year round and offers quality trout fishing even during the colder months.  Rainbow trout range in size from 6-13 inches while brown trout usually caught measure over twelve inches.  Despite the average size trout in Noontootla Creek there are substantially larger fish inhabiting the stream.  Many first timers find themselves humbled by the stream.  However, it usually is because the fishermen doesn’t realize how smart the fish are especially the larger trout.  You have to move extremely slow and quiet when wading the stream and you also need to make good fly presentations in the productive water.  Lastly, the fish can be very selective during certain hatches and which calls for more than the traditional fly patterns.  Bottom-line, you need to bring your best fishing to really excel on this stream.  With several miles of water to fish Noontootla Creek is a crown jewel for the fly fishermen.   Don’t forget your nymphs which tend to fish better in the deep pools and runs.

Waters Creek

For fly fishermen looking to hook into a trophy trout from a small stream, Waters Creek is one special regulation trout stream worth looking into.  It’s very similar to Dukes Creek at Smithgall Woods in the fact that the fish are supplemented a few times a week.  All three species of trout inhabit Waters Creek.  In the last decade the stream has gone down hill when compared to its glory days in the eighties.  Fallen trees have made it very difficult for the fly fishermen to present a fly properly in many sections of the stream and River Otters have also been linked to feeding on the trout and forage food in the stream.  Although Waters Creek is not what it once was in fishing terms, it still is one of the best places to land a trout of eighteen inches or more in North Georgia.  Waters Creek is in the Chestatee Wildlife Management Area and is jointly managed as a trophy trout stream by the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and USDA Forest Service with the Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited cooperating. The creek is relatively small and can be tight for fly fisherman lacking advanced casting skills.  The state record brook trout was landed on Waters Creek and its one of the few places where you can catch all three species of trout.

Upper Toccoa River

The upper Toccoa River is the section of the river that lies above Lake Blue Ridge.  This is the river that feeds the lake and should not be confused with the lower Toccoa River that’s fed from the lake and designated as a tailwater.  The upper Toccoa River flows more than forty miles from its starting point in Suches, Georgia.  The WRD stocks around 30,000 trout each year in the upper Toccoa River.  Most of the fish are stocked fish but there is a small population of stream bred trout.  Recently a delayed harvest section has been implemented on the river which starts at the cunoe put-in off of Old Dial Road and ends at the Shallowford Bridge.  The management effort has been a success and this section of the river has become a great place for fly fishermen to catch hungry stockers.  Most trout stocked in this section have been of nice size averaging twelve inches or more.  The river flows through public and private land throughout its flow so it’s important to know where the public access points are.   Because most of the water above the deep hole campground is located on private water most fisherman concentrate there fishing on the lower stretches of the river.  Most fly fishermen consider the upper Toccoa River an average trout fishery and prefer to spend most of there fishing time on the tailwater.  The upper Toccoa River does have an abundance of food for trout and there are considerable hatches throughout the year which can provide the fly fisherman with some great dry fly fishing.  The closer you get to Blue Ridge Lake, the more likely that you’ll run into some smallmouth bass.  

Toccoa River Tailwater

The Toccoa River tailwater has become well known in recent years as being one of the best tailwaters east of the Mississippi.  It flows from the Blue Ridge dam for sixteen miles to McCaysville, Georgia where it crosses into Tennessee and becomes the Occoee River.  The Toccoa River is stocked heavily with brown trout, rainbow, and some brook trout annually.  There also is a healthy reproducing population of rainbow and brown trout in the Toccoa River.  Rainbows over twenty inches and brown trout weighing in pounds are landed each season.  Fly fishermen travel from all over the southeast to enjoy fly fishing on the Toccoa River.  The three main public access points include Tammen Park, Curtis Switch Bridge, and Horseshoe Bend Park.   Since most people consider floating the Toccoa River to offer an angler the best fishing most fly fishermen choose to hire a professional guide to float them in a drift boat.  Trout fishing on the Toccoa River is good year round with the peak season being spring and late fall.  Dry fly fishing is what made the Toccoa River famous in the south, but nymph fishing and streamer fishing catch the above average fish more often than not.  The best time to fish the Toccoa River is when the dam is generating between 120-140 cubic feet per second.  However, if you’re lucky to have one of the best guides in the area they’ll be glad to put you on trophy fish when water levels are above this.  Almost the entire stream is wadable despite a few stretches of deep water.  Some of the great hatches throughout the year include:  Blue Wing Olives, Black Caddis, Tan Caddis, Grey Caddis, March Browns, Sulphur, Cahill, Midges, and Hendricksons.  If you haven’t fished the Toccoa River you need to treat youself to a few days on this amazing tailwater.