Trout Unlimited Hosts Panel on Toccoa Tailwater

The Toccoa River Tailwater (below Blue Ridge Dam) is a premier trout fishery with enormous importance to the economic, social, and recreational well-being of Fannin County. *Trout fishing and the quality of water in the Toccoa is at risk of collapse as a result of a drawdown of Lake Blue Ridge so the TVA can make essential repairs to the dam and penstock. *Water temperatures and clarity are suffering, and the weather thus far is not cooperating. *The reason the river is in extremis is the timing of the protracted drawdown, which coincided with an unusually hot and dry summer and start to the fall season. * The full extent of damage to the fishery, if any, has yet to be determined. *However, it is not too soon to develop a plan for recovery of the river post-drawdown in order to minimize damage or improve the fishery.*​

No one doubts that the dam repairs were needed, and that the TVA carefully considered many factors in timing the drawdown, including weather patterns, safety, environmental impact, and the like, with input from the public and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. * The question is, however, where do we go from here if trout die and the fishery collapses? *This question and more will be answered in a public forum hosted by Blue Ridge Mountain Trout Unlimited at the Fannin Chamber of Commerce, 9 am, October 9, 2010. *Representatives of the TVA, DNR, Trout Unlimited, and the Chamber of Commerce will comprise a panel to discuss the immediate future of the Toccoa Tailwater and to answer questions from the audience. The purpose of this discussion is not to probe how, why, or when the drawdown was done or to criticize anyone in the process. *This meeting focuses on what can be done from this point forward to protect and restore the fishery.*​

Trout Unlimited is an organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and protection of coldwater (trout) fisheries like the Toccoa.

Update on the Toccoa River Tailwater

Recently, Chad and I floated the river to see if we could still find fish in our favorite honey holes after the recent drawdown of Lake Blue Ridge. Unfortunately, I do not have a good report. It was strange not to see one fisherman on the river when a couple months ago you could see 20+ fly fishermen casting flies to feeding trout. At times, there was a unbearable smell. Large and vocal blue herons flew around us protecting their territories. I counted 6 herons in the small stretch we floated. Two dead trout were seen during the trip. I watched a few very lethargic trout which did not respond appropriately to me approaching them. It has been said most of the fish are probably being pushed down the river by generation or being eaten by predators are a couple reasons why we are not seeing large numbers of dead fish.

Temperatures of the Toccoa tailwater seem to remain around 76 degrees. Several reports of occassional dead fish. One customer stated he was able to pick a trout up by his hand at Tammen Park. The water continues to be muddy and have a stained appearance. A positive note is the decline of temperatures in the tributaries of the river so maybe some trout are seeking refuge there.

Since the rise of temperatures on the tailwater, David has decided not to book trips on the tailwater in hopes of preserving what fish are able to survive the lethal temperatures. So, we are not on the water. David and I appreciate folks coming into the shop giving us reports of the Toccoa tailwater. Please keep them coming! We are the only voice for our beloved Toccoa.

Not so long ago, David and I were casting to what seemed like hundreds of rising trout on our float down the river...looking to the future, Georgia DNR transformed the Toccoa tailwater into a tremendous fishery just in the past 5 or 6 years, and we're confident they can do it again once this is all said and done.  In the meantime, let's look forward to this fall's DH season on the upper Toccoa and to the tremendous fishing we expect on our private trophy streams in the coming year (and we have some new surprises in store for you!).

Lake Blue Ridge Drawdown Threatens Toccoa River Trout

The online edition of The News Observer in Blue Ridge recently published this article.  Hopefully this publicity will help focus the attention of the TVA on the problem before it is too late.  

Water temperatures threaten trout

BY DUB JOINER, STAFF WRITERThursday, August 12, 2010 1:56 PM CDT

John Damer warns of the dangers to Toccoa trout.

Trout fishing on the Toccoa River and its tributaries could be significantly impacted because of the drawdown of Lake Blue Ridge by the Tennessee Valley Authority to do repair work on the dam and its penstock.

At a Fannin County Chamber of Commerce meeting Wednesday, Aug. 11, Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologist John Damer expressed concerns about the possibility of a large fish kill as water temperatures rise in the river, especially the lower tailwaters.

After the meeting, Damer said the draw down is causing the temperature in the river to rise significantly and trout cannot survive at higher temperatures.

While uncertainty exists over how many trout could be killed, Damer said the worst case is that the fish kill could be significant.

“A water temperature of 22 degrees Celsius is stressful to trout,” Damer said. “When the temperature reaches 25 degrees Celsius and above, there will be a significant loss of trout.”

Wednesday, the temperature in the water temperature had reached 20.4 degrees Celsius coming out of the dam and 20.9 degrees Celsius in McCaysville, according to Damer.

Dan Forester warned TVA in a July 10, 2009, letter that starting the lake drawdown in mid-July could cause a fish kill because of rising temperatures. That letter was included in TVA’s Environmental Assessment of the project.

Forester wrote that starting the drawdown later, in early August, would lessen the stress factor on the trout in the river tailwaters and, while there would be a rise in water temperature, it would not be as much as it would be with a start for the drawdown in July.

Damer said TVA has to repair the dam, and it will stop any further need to do deep drawdowns, however with the water temperature rising, significant loss of trout is likely in the next few weeks due to the swiftness of the drawdown.

In a message to a Blue Ridge Trout Unlimited official, posted on the Internet, Damer said the only option readily apparent to DNR is to slow or halt the drawdown until cooler temperatures resume.

Fannin County Chamber of Commerce President Jan Hackett requested in a letter to TVA officials Thursday that, while the work on the dam is absolutely necessary, TVA do everything in its power to help avoid a terrible loss of trout.

“While the hot weather is beyond TVA’s control, a large-scale fish kill would be a tragedy beyond imagination,” Hackett wrote.

She said tourism is maintaining the Fannin community in the midst of the great recession. However, “we cannot afford to lose both our lake and the trout population in the tailwaters, which are fished year-round.”

TVA spokesman Travis Brickey said Thursday that TVA monitors the temperature in the Toccoa River daily and so far there have not been any reports of loss of fish.

“We understand the local concerns, however, water temperatures all across the TVA reservoir system are very hot,” Brickey said.

A meeting between TVA officials and biologists with the Georgia DNR was scheduled for late Thursday about the water temperature concerns in relation to the drawdown, Brickey said.

Lake Blue Ridge Drawdown Begins

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the gates of the dam at Lake Blue Ridge were raised and the drawdown has officially begun. The flow as seen here is a little higher than a normal generation and is up in the trees along the bank in some places. It might be a little while before we get to fish the river. Looking on the bright side though, when the drawdown stops, any fish left should be ready to take a big fat streamer. We will keep a keen eye out for any breaks in the generation so keep checking our blog for updates.

Luckily, the Blue Ridge area has a tremendous amount of trout water available to the angler. Time to dust off the short 3 weight and hit the smaller streams at the higher elevations. Noontootla, Rock, Coopers, and their tributaries hold lots of beautiful wild fish that are eager to strike a easy to see attractor pattern. The upper Toccoa has been producing some nice smallmouth and redeyes in the past couple of weeks.

For more information about the BR lake drawdown, click on this TVA link.

Drawdown schedule given to us from Mike Holloway, President of the Blue Ridge Trout Unlimited Chapter:

Blue Ridge Reservoir Predicted Elevations
Elevation Date
1686 7/15 – start drawdown
1672 7/29
1658 8/12
1652 8/26
1647 9/9
1641 9/23
1635 10/07
1629 10/21
1620 to 1625* 10/30/10 to 4/01/11
1620 to 1625* 4/1/11 – Start Refill
1631 4/15
1642 4/29
1651 5/13
1658 5/27
1663 6/10
1668 6/24
1671 7/8
1675 7/22
1677 8/5
1678 8/19
*Low water boat ramp(s) are unavailable below elevation 1,627