Scenic streams of splendor
North Georgia’s lush countryside, pristine fresh waters yield unlimited trout fishing opportunities
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — We arrived at the perfect time.
Everything still seemed pretty green on the way up to North Georgia. But each day was a gradual plunge into fall.
Leaves trickled from their limbs and delicately landed onto the surface of soft streams. The foliage slowly morphed into yellow, orange and red, making the landscape we witnessed almost unrecognizable from the one we first discovered.
For those seeking to embrace autumn, this is a great place. The Chattahoochee National Forest and Blue Ridge Mountains are quiet entryways to Southern Appalachia.
The thick, lush canopy from the hodgepodge of hickory, oak, pine and maple trees kept the rain gentle, wrapping my fiancée Morgan and I in a big, green umbrella.
Quiet walks in the woods are only a couple hours from Atlanta but feel a world away. The old-growth deciduous forests can make a person feel young the same way city skyscrapers can make one feel small.
Quaint mountain towns were also welcoming. Blairsville is serene. Blue Ridge is the “trout fishing capital of Georgia.” Oktoberfest was underway in the Bavarian town of Helen, the Peach State’s Fredericksburg.
Oh, I also went fishing.
North Georgia is home to popular trout fishing spots such as Rock Creek, Dukes Creek, Chattahoochee River, Chattooga River and Jacks River.
Here are three other spots I found to be emblematic of North Georgia’s beauty.
Cooper’s Creek
Cooper’s Creek (or Cooper Creek depending on who you ask or what sign you’re reading) offered an excellent first impression of trout fishing opportunities in North Georgia.
“It’s got the whole gamut,” said Sam Miller, Trout Unlimited’s Blue Ridge Mountain chapter president.
The creek’s anglers benefit from weekly stockings of rainbow trout by the Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery from late March until Labor Day. The creek was also a stocking site for Arthur Woody, aka the “Barefoot Ranger” and an early 20th century conservation legend of North Georgia. His early stocking program consisted of hauling trout in wooden barrels on wagons. Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put about 40,000 to 50,000 rainbows in the creek annually
Adventurous anglers can also make their way up the creek’s headwater streams to find some native brook trout. The endeavor would be quite time-consuming, but well worth it.
The combination of stockings, holdovers and the chance to catch wild trout make the creek one of Georgia’s top trout destinations.
“It’s definitely one of our top 5 mostaccessed streams,” said Sarah Baker, a fisheries biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
That access is easy, too. The creek is friendly for both bank and wade anglers.
The Cooper Creek U.S. Forest Service campground and recreation area is great for families wanting to enjoy for a few days. Anglers can also get to the creek at the 30,000-plus acre Cooper’s Creek Wildlife Management Area.
“I recommend fishing with rooster tails, panther martins, earthworms, or if using a fly rod, squirmy wormy, glo bug egg, Y2K, or woolly bugger with some flash,” said Baker, who also suggested bringing a snorkel to check out some of the other unique fish species that can be found in the creek.
Noontootla Creek
Take a turn down Forest Service Road 58, and you’ll find “the prettiest river in North Georgia,” as Miller puts it.
“It is absolutely gorgeous.”
It truly was. The tiny, north-flowing creek was blanketed by fallen leaves and the water reflected its namesake, a Cherokee word that means “land of the shining water.”
That water can be a little bit harder to fish, though. The trek from the road down to the stream could be rigorous at times. It also was less friendly for bank anglers. Waders are strongly advised.
Like Cooper, it is a tributary to the Toccoa River. The Noontootla originates over 3,000 feet high near Springer Mountain, where the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail begins.
Anglers on the creek and its tributaries in the Blue Ridge WMA, the nation’s first wildlife management area, can only use artificial lures.
A section also runs through Noontootla Creek Farms, which has been showcased on the Outdoor Channel and offers world-class quail hunting and trout fishing.
Coleman River Scenic Area
This area has its own special kind of tranquility.
Although I saw several other anglers, each turn in the road was inviting and held pockets of seclusion. The many bends in the stream and beautiful cascades over rocks and fallen timber seemingly sectioned off individual fishing spots.
In the most northeastern reaches of Georgia, not far from both North and South Carolina borders, the scenic area consists of 330 acres where the Coleman and Tallulah Rivers meet.
The fishing is pretty bank-friendly, with many ways to reach the river from the road, including under a few bridges. Be careful, though, as the rocks that skirt the road are seemingly more slippery than those midstream. Like the Noontootla,. it is artificial lures only.
The Coleman River Scenic Area is representative of how Georgia is somewhat underrated when it comes to trout fisheries. It is a premier outdoors state, with lots to offer from the coast to the mountains. The quiet solitude of trout streams in the northern fringes of the state, however, should not be overlooked.
“I love the interconnectedness of all of these streams,” Baker said.
“It’s a really special place. I think maybe it’s the vegetation, very scenic and very green. You just get this feeling of being completely isolated when you are just a couple hours away from one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the U.S.”