Uo Fishing Report- 4/16/21

HenryC said it best: “we are in full spring swing!” this week as April’s hot action continues. It’s even better now as big streams and rivers drop and clear further. While we’ll be a bit cooler for a few days, the afternoons should warm up enough to spur some good bug action, and it will improve with each day of rising air temperatures. Be on the lookout for caddis and Cahills.

Don’t forget your PM trinkets. We made a checklist for you in yesterday’s post!

Ponds and lakes are great, too, as are the feeder rivers with spawning stripers and stirring shoalies and spots. If you have some vacation days left, this week will be another great time to spend one or two of them.

Wes’ hot fly list follows.

Dries: Stimulator, parachute adams and light cahill, tan elk hair caddis, 409 yeager .

Nymphs & wets: blue lightning bug, squirmy worm, tungsten hares ear, copper john, soft hackle partridge

Streamers: sparkle minnow, rubberleg bugger

Warmwater bugs: Feather changer, Clouser minnow, Murdich minnow, Boogle bug Amnesia bug, Girdle bug,

Sweet baby cray.

UO guide trip reports and angler tips follow in the extended version on our Facebook page and blog (blog.angler.management). Good luck this week. Grab your gear and go!

Headwaters:

We had just a few reports from small headwaters because everyone was having too much fun with bigger fish on bigger waters, which had finally receded enough to fish well.

Headwaters will be good again. Try a big (#14) buoyant dry to call them up, and add a beaded prince or pheasant tail on a short dropper if they’re hesistant in the morning chill. Young UO buddy Cameron had some decent action on a north GA WMA. More little wild bows were missed than fondled, but it was great hooksetting practice!

RonW: “Kurt and I scouted a few streams in the Blueridge WMA on Sunday. We fished from 8am till noon and had a tough go at it. The water was up a little and off color. We tried everything (dry, dry dropper, nymph and streamers) but in the end the fish won this round. I managed the lone fish of the day, a lil' wild Brown who smashed a Stimi. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the water with a great friend. We fished some cool new water and were home by 2pm, I guess we won after all!”

Wes: “I did a half-day public water trip Wednesday afternoon in town. Plenty of large fish are still left from the Helen trout tournament. We hooked 3 fish that were all 4+ pounds but weren't able to get any landed. We did catch several stockers. Worms, eggs, soft hackles, and buggers were the ticket.”

Delayed Harvest:

Apparently most DH streams, including Smith Creek, got some DNR redoses last week, giving newer flyfishers a good shot at success. Resident fish will still supply challenges for our angling vets. None of us had a recent DH trip, but web reports have been very good. DH streams should fish really well again this week, especially with lower flows in larger streams.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/uv?site_no=02177000

Cool mornings may keep bugs and fish deep, so go down to them if needed before your lunch break. Better yet, come late and stay late. For evening surface activity, remember to match adult bug size, color, and behavior:

http://blog.angler.management/2021/04/river-recon.html

Afar:

UO buddy Aaron: “We are doing well. Recently moved to North Carolina and did Day 2 of this weekend of fishing. Let me tell you, since I switched to nymphing, my numbers have sky rocketed. Just today I’m closer to 50 fish in the net on some small streams.”

Private Waters:

George “Coach Mac” MacMillan: “Fishing on Soque private waters has been really good. Here are a couple of nice ones. Check out this big brown!”

Palmer: “my guests fished Nacoochee Bend on Wednesday. Water was still pushing pretty good. Lots of split shot were the key to our success with a variety of nymphs and soft hackles. The hefty rainbows fought real well in those strong currents and we had a blast.”

Warmwater:

Jake: “Bruce and I had a good morning, with a mixed bag of stripers and bass on River "x" earlier this week. It's that time of year where lake resident stripers begin to make their migration into many of our local rivers, offering excellent angling opportunities. A population of fish can be found feeding on the surface right at daybreak, with heavier dredging flies producing more action once the sun gets up.”

Wes: “I also did a river bass float trip yesterday. If you put in the casts you can find some nice fish. While we caught a couple dredging, baitfish patterns are the ticket right now. Whether you’re throwing fly or gear make sure to add some pauses in your retrieve. That’s when they’re eating your streamer.”

Daytripper Landon: “Here’s a Bartrams bass report. They were there but they were on the bottom and wanted something slow-rolled past them! Action was decent until the swimmers came out and started swimming through the pools.”

Ponds:

Athens Jay said warmer weather has pulled bass and bream shallow and pond banks are a “target-rich environment.” He no longer has to dredge the bottom for them, but they’re not overly eager to eat topwater yet. He’s having best success with “mid-column movement via some Gamechanger abominations” (variants), his buddy’s black-over-purple Puglisi minnows, and a black or brown rubberlegs for the big bream.

Lakes:

Henry’s update: “Striper fishing is in full spring swing. Fish are spread out all over the lake and there is even a little schooling going on. The big schools are clearly up the rivers for the spawn. Both the Hooch and Chestatee rivers are loaded with fish. Bigger offerings like game changers and clousers are the flies of choice as the fish are gorging on blueback herring. “

www.henrycowenflyfishing.com/

Nightowl Landon:

“Stripes were really spooky on the Lanier lights last night. But we caught good number of spots to keep our lines tight!”

Remember to tune into GAWRD’s Friday trout stocking reports and fishing blogs. There is no better source of “shocking and stocking intel” than these stewards of your fish and fishing!

https://georgiawildlife.com/fishing/angler-resources

In closing, I hear an echo from last week’s report: “Go. Now”. Call or stop by our Helen or Clarkesville store if we can enhance your spring success. Send us some pics! Here’s wishing y’all tight lines and wide grins in April.

Vital Spring Trinkets

What are your vital spring trouting trinkets?

If you’re like us, we have a bunch, but always manage to forget one or two as we rush out the door toward Appalachian trout nirvana.  

Heres a checklist to help everyone prepare now for your next trip. You sure don’t want to be a mile back on River X at dusk and realize your flashlight is dead and the trail is steep.

Here are some of our vital spring  trinkets for  Dark30 trouting.  What did we miss on this list? Add your own essentials and help us save a fellow trouter’s epic trip this month.

1. A box of dries (helped by Wes’ Friday hot fly list).
2. A box of dropper nymphs and soft-hackle wets (Wes again). All boxes with your phone number sharpied onto the inside lid.
3. An extra leader and fresh, full spools of 5X and 6X tippet.
4. Tiny tin shot (size 6 or 8) to dunk the dropper fly a few feet under the dry while the sun’s still high.
5. Bottles of floatant and dessicant (or a small chamois cloth) to prep and then rehab those dries  after a salmonid-sliming episode.
6. Sunglasses for spotting pre-dusk risers.
7. An insect sampler to help your hatch-matching: try a $3 Home Depot paint strainer over your dip net.
8. Bug repellent for uninvited hitchhikers.
9. A headlamp with fresh batteries.
10. A small backup flashlight as a Plan B for #9.
11. A good smart phone or camera - with a flash for your late-night trophy fondles.
12. If prospecting alone, then a spouse or friend who knows your whereabouts and your ETA back home.

What did we miss?  Add your vitals to the UO list! 

1. ______
2. ______
3. ______

Hope this UO bulletin helps your preparation for another great evening astream. Holler at either UO store if we can help you stock up on these spring trouting essentials.

Stalk the Seams

Stalk the seams! Here’s another great article by Dominick at Troutbitten.com

https://troutbitten.com/.../trout-line-up-in-productive.../

It sounds like he was following me during my last two trips to Nantahala and Chattooga, where trout pods indeed lined up along prime seams (where slow and fast water meet), which are grocery lanes!

It’s April and the dry fly fishing is hot. Use Dominick’s tips and our Unicoi Outfitters report intel (blog.angler.management) to maximize your fish fondles and Dark30 grins this month.

http://blog.angler.management/2021/04/river-recon.html

Call or stop in either UO store if we can help further. Good luck.

Pics: Nan wild bow doubleheader on my dry/dropper combo.

Unicoi Outfitters Fishing Report - 4/9/21

After “floating” through two monsoons and 9 inches of rain, we’ve finally welcomed Epic April. Big waters are still receding, while small streams have returned to normal springtime flows and are clear. Water temps are prime and trout bugs are popping. It’s hatch-matching time for mountain trouters! Be ready with the right bugs and the techniques that match the naturals, from dead drifts to twitches and even to upstream skitters. Gotta-have dries include parachute adams and cahills, tan caddis, and yellow stimulators.

The only event that can rain on your weekend trout parade is, literally, rain. If we get more than an inch tomorrow, you might have to allow big streams a day or two to drop and clear.  USGS flow gauges and fly shops can tell you when they recover. While you wait, just head uphill to smaller streams and have a blast.  If rainfall’s under an inch, toss worm or rubberleg stonefly patterns in the dingy water.

Ponds are heating up for bass and bream, so pull your yaks and canoes out of basement storage. Lake stripers and bass are hungry but challenging, since they are literally scattered throughout the reservoirs and up the tributary rivers for stripers’ annual spawning attempts. Hunt more than cast and your catch will increase.

The next four weeks will be great, so get outside and take advantage of them!

Wes has a lengthy hot fly list that won’t fit on Instagram, so check it and our angler reports out on our Facebook page or our blog:

Blog.angler.management.

Good luck.  PS: BOLO bears, too.  Hope you enjoyed today’s video!

Wes’ hot flies list follows.

Nymphs: Improved yallarhammer, Frenchies

Psycho prince,Sparkle soft hackles, Y2K egg, Squirminators, Mini mop (beige).

Streamers:

Sparkle minnow, Hot cone bugger

Dries:

Stimulators, Parachute Adams, Elk hair caddis (tan in #14-18, gray in #18), Doculator (for wild trout)

Warmwater bugs:

Finesse changers, Jiggy craw

Feather changers, Sparkle minnow, Mini dragon tail

Bully bluegill spider, Clouser minnows

Detailed angler reports and tips follow. 

Headwaters:

Wes: “I did a wild trout guide trip on Tuesday. With the higher water most of our fish were coming on subsurface flies like an “improved yallarhammer” and “psycho prince”. We were able to trick a couple into coming to the surface for an olive Stimulator.”

Hunter had a guided trip to public waters high above Helen. His anglers caught stocked bows and browns and wild bows. They had success nymphing, tossing dries, and streamer chucking. It was a great trip.

Delayed Harvest:

Smith still has some fish in it that survived the floods. It’s slightly off color today, but very fishable. The two successful anglers I spoke with during my “bear trek” caught some fish on a pink San Juan worm and a tan squirmy worm.

Chattooga:

Ole Dredger had a “lost count” Tuesday, with most of the chunk bows and browns caught on top.  It’s chronicled on our Facebook page and blog. Dark30 is here again!

http://blog.angler.management/2021/04/river-recon.html

His timely tips: when the sun is high, dredge deep flood refuges with mops and brown rubberleg stones. Even the river natives like a mop (enjoy the colorful river chub).  

When the sun is low

(dawn and dusk), drift and/or skitter a stimulator/caddis combo through the shallows.  Right before dark, change the dropper from the caddis to a cahill.

Private Waters:

Wes: “I did a half-day trip yesterday at Nacoochee  Bend next to our fly shop.  The water was up, which limited the spots we could fish and required a lot of split shot to slow down our drifts. However, the fish were very active. We landed probably 25 rainbows between 12”-22” that fought long and hard with the high water. We even had a couple make long runs into our backing!  We had good luck on  Sparkle minnows, Squirmy worms, Soft hackles, Frenchies, and mops.”

Ponds:

Jay reported from Athens:

“Last night I fished a local pond. Perfect conditions- native azaleas blooming always means fish are going shallow. Lots of evidence of spawning activity. Cream mopfly landed many large bluegill and redear. Bass went crazy for the Blurple (black and purple baitfish streamer - unweighted) fished slow so it suspends in the water column.”

Lakes:

Henry chimed in: “This week’s striper report is all over the place. Lanier is fishing well if you are in the right place and not so well if you’re not. There’s a big group of fish on the south end that sporadically decide to show themselves and when they do, it’s great. When they don’t, you’d wished you went north. There’s fish making their way upriver for the spawn. Those fish are on points and they are easily catchable “if” you hit the right point. That means playing the onesie-twosie game. Catch one or maybe two and move on. Both rivers have fish in them, as the spawn is on. Also, the lake spots are waking up too. That’s a bonus for flyrodders. Lastly some nice white bass are starting to show themselves (thanks GADNR). That’s about it... by next report we should be seeing lots of fish eating topwater.”

www.henrycowenflyfishing.com/

The GAWRD weekly fishing report is  chock-full of timely intel, too:

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2021/04/09/georgia-fishing-report-april-9-2021/

In summary, “it’s all good” across north Georgia, so take a few days off, watch the flows, and match some hatches.  Bring your bug repellent, dry fly floatant, and headlamps. And dontcha dare leave early. Trust me on that one.  Call either UO store if you need a little more help. Good luck!

Momma's Love (Bear Triplets)

How about a NatGeo moment for your lunchtime entertainment? Let’s call it “momma’s love.”

I’m on the Smith Creek DH trail right now for a little bit of exercise and a stream recon for today’s Unicoi Outfitters weekly fishing report. Ten minutes ago, I round a bend and freeze! A hundred yards ahead on the trail is a really big, black furball. Next to it are three tiny furballs.

Enjoy the video as Momma crosses the log with a cub in her mouth. She made three trips. This is cub #3, who waited patiently for his turn.

Now that’s some love and dedication from Momma!

I’ve already had a great fishing trip to start my weekend and I didn’t t even need a rod! May you also make memories in the Georgia woods and water during this magical month of April. Sometimes it’s not even about the fish.

Now back to my hike, with a smile!

https://fb.watch/4MyNmsh98d/

River Recon

 

UO Army,

If spring break allows you to beat the week-ending rain, give Chattooga DH a try ASAP. The water’s still a bit high, so wade safely. If you miss this week’s window, try it when it drops and clears once again, next week. The following intel should still hold true.

This Forward Observer went on a recon mission today. Based on extensive intel gathered from 1200-2000hr, arm yourselves as follows.

During the high afternoon sun, use heavy artillery: dredge the flood refuges with tungsten tan mops or weighted brown rubberlegs. If you want a few bonus fish on top, try a short leader to a #12 or 14 yellow stimulator. Then add 4-6 feet of tippet from the stimmy down to your heavy dropper fly.

When the shadows fall on the water, ditch the big bug, cut the tippet back to two feet, and put a tiny (18-20) gray elk hair caddis behind the stimmy. Reposition to heads and tails of pools and cobbled runs (shallow bug factories). Throw quartering downstream 20 feet, hi-stick, and skitter and v-wake the bug duo back upstream to you. Yes, upstream.

An hour before dark, change your dropper to a #16 cahill, so your ammo matches the bug switch that just occurred. Dead drift and skitter the stimmy/ cahill combo. Watch the naturals and make your fakes act like the real things.

Charge your phones and cameras. You’ll need lots of battery life. Good luck with your assault. If you need more ammo, stop in or call either UO supply depot in Helen or Clarkesville.

Sincerely,

Scout

Stickbait!

Mountain old-timers call them “stickbait.” And for good reason! Now you know why. April is a prime caddis month here, so be ready with your dries, larva, and emergers. Match your bugs to the flows, too. In heavy water after storms, try a big, tungsten beaded tan mop or sexy Walts worm. As streamflows drop and clear, scale down to smaller, natural colors and sizes. Also arm yourself with tan elk hair caddis dries from size 14 to 20. Come by or call UO’s Helen (706-878-3083) or Clarkesville (706-754-0203) stores if we can help you prepare for caddis time in north Georgia.

Video here:

                                                                                            https://fb.watch/4GVk6vSd-0/

RECOVERY MODE!

Summary

This week's theme is "Recovery Mode" as north Georgia streams shed their second round of major stormflows.  Cold weather may dampen dry fly action for a few days until the Easter warmup begins.  Right now, be ready with a dropper below your dry on small streams.  On bigger waters that finally drop to safe wading levels, be ready with a double dredging rig and hit the flood refuges; aka slow water.  Behind your split shot, try a small streamer, big Rubber Leg Stone, or Tan Mop as your first fly; the attractor.  Drop a small nymph or soft hackle wet off the back as your "money" fly.  Match your flies to the flows.  On big flows, use bigger and brighter flies.  As streams drop and clear, go back to the smaller natural patterns.  Don't leave home without some size 14, 16, & 18 Hares Ears and Pheasant Tails in both nymph and soft hackle wet patterns.

Bugs will also return with dropping and warming streamflows.  Right now it's transition time as March's gray and brown bugs hang on just a bit longer while April's tan bugs begin to heed the mating call.  Be ready for the restart of hatches next week with some Adams, March Browns, Light Cahills, both gray and tan Elk Hair Caddis, and a few midges.

 

Lake fishing for stripers on the fly has been tough with all the extreme weather we've had.  Things were going very well until the storms hit.  Lots of muddy water in many creeks and, of course, working its way down the Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers.  This should change in the coming days as the stripers begin staging to make their annual spawning run up the rivers.  If you've never tangled with a river striper, be prepared for a wild ride!  You may even lose some of your stuff. 

The hot fishing on the lake is for spots and they may certainly be reached with a fly.  Try hitting as many primary and secondary points as you can but beware that you'll likely be sharing many of them with other anglers since everyone knows about it.

Water Conditions as of 4/1

Headwater streams, as we write this, are high and clear if you're a careful wader.  We recommend staying away from the sections of creeks that have dramatic elevation changes.  Now is not the time to be rock hopping.

Mid-size streams like Dukes Creek, the Chattahoochee River in the WMA, and the Tallulah River are high and lightly milky.  They'll be clearing over the next few days but, for now, you may find it best to fish directly from the bank or in calm water adjacent to the bank.

Smith Creek Delayed Harvest is chocolate milk today since Smith Lake (Unicoi Lake) is muddy.  There may be 2 feet of visibility.  One note of caution, the second bridge on Smith Creek (the one at the end of the big field) has washed out.  

The Chattahoochee in Helen is still raging; 1061 cfs.  Nuff said!  

Further North

And don't think you'll be able to drive further north to find fishable water.  Dredger took a ride up to the Park in Cherokee before this last storm blew through and found it unfishable then.  Since they actually got more of the brunt of the storm than Georgia, it'll be a little while before it's worth the drive up there.  He circled back around by the Nantahala and found it high also but fishable from the bank.  He saw a small handful of #18 Gray Caddis and one lone #18 Blue Quill hanging onto a streamside boulder for dear life.  He also watched a few Blue Winged Olives hatch in the afternoon when clouds rolled in.  A few small rainbows were chasing them.  All in all, the high water put a damper on the bugs and, therefore, the risers.  He was content to watch safely from the bank and never wet a line.  As he said, "Better times are just ahead of us."

Until Next Week

Be safe when wading and have a good Easter weekend.  And don't forget these guys will be here soon!

RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN!

 What Do We Do Now?!!!!

Last night's rains have all streams red and ripping; even Smith Creek below the dam.  As of this moment as I'm putting together a "fishing report", a lot of streams are unsafe for wade fishing.  Headwater streams could be fishable by Sunday but the larger rivers will take a few days; particularly if we get more rain over the weekend.  

If you're curious about how much rain we got, the USGS gauge in Helen indicated it reached a level 20

Smith Creek DH

times the normal high water flow when we recommend anglers stay out of the Chattahoocheewhich is around 200 cfs.  So, as you can imagine, it will take some time to drop back.  The good news is that these floods are "stream shapers".  They drop in trees and clean and re-arrange stream cobbles so there may be some new fishing spots to explore when the waters recede.

Some other streamflows across north Georgia as of 8:00 Friday evening:

• Chattooga River at Hwy. 78 is at 4.37'.  It's dropping quickly but we don't recommend fishing it until it's down to 2' or less.
• Toccoa River Delayed Harvest is at 3,162 cfs.  We don't recommend wading it when it's over 375 cfs.  This is a very tricky river to wade at normal levels.  It can be deadly at flood levels.
• Chatthoochee River at Helen is at 1,410 cfs.  See above for safe wading levels.

When they do recede, match your offerings to the flows.  Use bigger flies if the water is still high and cloudy.  And never be afraid to add more split shot!  When flows drop and clear drop down in the size of your flies and choose natural colors for your dries and nymphs. 

Before the storm hit, Georgia DNR ran a heavy stocking schedule on most trout streams.  So, barring them getting washed away, fishing in the coming week could be really good.  For a list of streams that were stocked this week, follow this link.  As you'll see, there are a lot of trout swimming around north Georgia right now. 

Plan "B" may be to hit the ponds and lakes. Vogel, Rock Creek, Winfield Scott, Dockery, and Nancytown lakes have all been stocked this past week.  If you're after bass, stripers, or crappie on our larger lakes, be on the lookout for flood debris that has washed in from upstream rivers.  Muddy water and speed can be an expensive combination if you're boating.  The muddy water areas of lakes will warm quickly so bass and crappie will head toward the shallows.  On large reservoirs, aim for the "mudlines", those transition zones of cloudy waters between blood red and crystal clear.  Those are the prime sites for shad and their predators, spots and stripers, which are hidden in the murky waters.

Wes' Hot Fly List 

This week leans toward some of the high water favorites when finesse takes a back seat to protein.  Squirmy Worm in red, pink, or black.  Girdle Bug in black or dark olive.  Zirdle Bug in black.  Y2K Bug in pink/chartreuse.  Copper John in copper or red.  Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail.  Simi Seal Leech in black/purple.  Sparkle Minnow in sculpin pattern.  Muddy Buddy in black.  And most importantly, a large bag of split shot!

Angler reports on public waters have been slim this past week.  We have the following:

Dukes Creek

We can almost always count on our buddy Ron Wilson to get out on the water and, more importantly, 

give us a report.  "It was a tough day on Dukes Creek last Saturday.  We walked over the hill and fished all of Section 2 after lunch.  Totals amounted to 10 fish between the four of us with a 14-incher being the big fish of the day."  Editor's note:  Friday afternoon there were standing waves on Dukes Creek near the parking lot.

Private Waters

Fishing has been great at Nacoochee Bend this week.  According to Unicoi guide Palmer Loggins, "Soft hackles on the swing were the ticket.  It didn't matter what color.  Some fish were caught on egg patterns but nothing like the soft hackles."

We Give You A Reason to Head to Helen & Clarkesville

Okay, so the fishing may not be good enough for you to come our way but maybe the things Jake, Wes, and Hunter have for you are worth getting out of the house.

• 40% off all winter clothing; Simms, Patagonia, and Orvis
• A big shipment of the "Project Cicada" fly just arrived.  Cicada patterns are mostly on backorder from most suppliers but we've got the hottest pattern out there.
  
    
• Our fly bins are all full to the gills with spring selections for trout and bass.
• We have a large selection of new fly boxes on hand for warm water, dry flies, and nymphs.
• For our fly tyers we have the largest selection of materials we've ever had.
• Some rods that have been hard to get are now in stock:  The Orvis Clearwater 7'6" 3 wts. are in as are the Echo small steam rods and Euro Nymphing rods.
• All the new Orvis packs; slings, waist, and chest.

That's it for this week.  Stream fishing will be touch and go for the next few days in our area.  Use good judgment if you decide to go.  And remember, if you get in trouble, no one can go upstream and turn the water off so you can get out.  It just keeps on coming.  Please be safe out there! 

 

  

Freebies!

How about some free fly fishing lessons from the comfort of your own home? Check out the Orvis Fly Fishing 101 series of five online videos. Subscribe soon and give the sport a shot this spring. Try it and you'll like it. We sure do!

https://subscribe.orvis.com/FF101/?src=F101MPR

GAWRD's 2021 Trout Fishing Outlook

 

2021 Trout Fishing Outlook

SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA

Tuesday, March 23, 2021 - 09:00

If you are looking for an opportunity to wet a line, how does the thought of 700,000 trout hitting the water entice you?

Thanks to the long-standing partnership between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resource Division and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, anglers can look forward to another great year of trout fishing.

“The Georgia trout stocking program is typically supported by four trout hatcheries. With the Lake Burton Hatchery renovation wrapping up, we will be stocking primarily from the other three hatcheries,” explained WRD Trout Stocking Coordinator John Lee Thomson. “Good rainfall and a mild winter have allowed for great growth at these locations. Our regular distribution effort will begin the last full week of March, and all waterbodies scheduled to be stocked will have received trout by the end of the month.”

Some early trout stocking efforts have begun, with regular stockings scheduled to begin the last week of March. Popular waterbodies that receive regular trout stockings include Cooper Creek in Union County, Little Amicalola Creek at Amicalola State Park, Holly Creek in Murray County, and Johns Creek in Floyd County and the Tallulah River in Rabun County.

The daily limit is eight trout on general regulation trout waters. Anglers are reminded to respect private property rights along streams flowing through private lands, and to obtain permission before fishing on private property.

Get info online! Information on trout fishing and stocking is readily available online. You can even sign up for a weekly trout stocking email at https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout.

If you need more fresh statewide fishing news, check out our blog report every Friday at https://georgiawildlife.blog/category/fishing/.

How to Support Trout Management in Georgia

Georgia anglers can support fisheries conservation and trout management several ways:

• Buy a Fishing License: Did you know that your license purchase allows the Georgia WRD to continue to do important research, maintain and operate public fishing areas and more? Purchase a Georgia license online at https://gooutdoorsgeorgia.com/.
• Buy a License Plate: Purchasing a Trout license plate supports Georgia’s trout conservation and management programs. These efforts positively impact trout production, stocking and stream restoration throughout north Georgia.  More info at https://georgiawildlife.com/licenseplates.

For more information, visit https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout or call (770) 535-5498.