Toccoa River-Delayed Harvest

Stream Location: Fannin County

Wild Trout: Rainbow and Brown

Stocked: Rainbow, Brook, and Brown

Other Species of Note: Smallmouth, Largemouth, Rock, and Spotted Bass

Gear:

Dry Flies: Adams, Caddis, Royal Wulff, Terrestrials

Nymphs: Caddis Puppa, Pheasant Tail, Prince, Hares, Stone, Squirmy Wormy, Mop, and Perdigon

Streamers: Minnows, and Wooly Buggers

Waders: Yes

Net: Yes

Wading Stick: Yes

Casting: Overhead, Tuck, Bow and Arrow, Spey, and Roll

About:

Realistically there is very little chance of me going through and telling you about the entire Toccoa River and all of the places to fish on it. It would be like giving a stream post that covers the Chattahoochee River, the South Holston River, the New River, and the James River. It would be an impossible feat unless I spent years doing the research, neglecting the other streams in the state of Georgia. I am not that bold to do that.

What I can say about the Toccoa River is that it is a beautiful freestone stream in Northern Georgia that makes you almost feel like you are out west fishing. It is remarkably cold, with large runs, deep holes, nice rapids, and a few riffles. Caution must always be used when fishing in a river such as the Toccoa, rain fall and snow melt can make this river a very dangerous spot for anglers that are wading and people who are floating it. Also during the fall, leaves can often mask how deep a hole is, be careful not to get into a situation where you could fall into one of these holes, always carry a wading stick with you to make sure this does not happen. Also you might want to bring a change of clothing just in case.

My main focus of this stream write up is stream post will cover the Delayed Harvest section of the Toccoa River, since it is one of only five DH streams in the state of Georgia. Located in Fannin County, near the town of Blue Ridge, Ga the Toccoa DH section is an amazing piece of water that can an be accessed by angler that are wading or ones that wish to float through. Realistically you should always check the water levels of this section of water before coming here. The day I took all of these photos for this post the Toccoa was very high, but I couldn’t resist the fall foliage. In most sections it would have been almost impossible to wade that day, but a person with a boat or raft could easily float through this section. As I have said before, please be careful out on the Toccoa while fishing, watch the depth of the water, watch for people in boats, and if you are floating this section watch for those that are wading.

As far as fishing this section one should use any type of hot spot nymphs, Pat’s stoneflies, squirmy wormies, and mop flies during the early months of the DH season. Once true winter sets in switch up to the more traditional styles of nymphs as fish get accustomed to the water (do not forget about midges). Streamers and dry flies are also a very good choice to use here. Another option, especially in high water, is to use a spey or switch rod to get further out in the stream, thus covering more water. The main thing to remember is to make sure that if you are using nymphs and streamers that you are getting down deep enough in the water column to the fish. Look for structure in the river that fish could easily hide behind, and don’t forget that fish sometimes like to be at the very end of a long run where water is not flowing so roughly.

Once again please be careful out on the Toccoa, take the appropriate precautions, park in the designated areas. Also try not blocking boating ramps that guides and boat owners like to use to pull their boats/rafts out of ( there is at least one that I know of, you will know it once you see it).