Kayaking up stream on Tallapoosa and Etowah??

cophunter308

Senior Member
I've recently heard about the Dub Denman Canoe Trail in Tallapoosa on the Tallapoosa River and the Etowah River around Euharlee and Cartersville. Both locations are less than 40 minutes from my house. I was thinking about trying them out but since I'm usually solo on the water I'll need to paddle up stream and float back down. Do any of you know if the current is slow enough to paddle up stream? I'd love to paddle up and fish as I drift back down stream.
 

PopPop

Gone But Not Forgotten
The Talapoosa is doable when at normal flows, there will be some dragging.
 

jcarleto

Senior Member
Etowah Paddle Upstream

You can. I have, but I can't recommend it. Even when they aren't releasing water, it is a LOT of work on the Etowah.

I recommend doing a short downstream for a trial and using Euharlee Outfitters shuttle. They charge $10.00 to haul you and your boat and gear back to your starting ramp and service most of the ramps along the lower Euharlee.

I'd recommend the new, short 3.5 mile trek from Euharlee Bridge to Hardin Bridge as a trial of the concept.

If you REALLY want to try upstream, put in at Euharlee bridge and paddle upstream the 1/4 mile to Euharlee Creek. If it doesn't ruin you, then perhaps upstream is for you. If it does ruin you, then the join of Euharlee Creek and the Etowah river is a pretty good place to fish anyway...and you can be back at the ramp in a couple of minutes.

Wait for the flow to be low.
 

cophunter308

Senior Member
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm not set on paddling upstream, I'm just new to the area and will mostly fish alone so I was gonna do what I had to do. Knowing there's a shuttle service, I'll pay that $10 for a ride back to the Jeep.

I've been away from fishing for a few years but I grew up fishing creeks and rivers in Alabama. I haven't had the best of luck fishing clear water community lakes so I kinda want to get back to my roots, just in GA. waters.
 

SASS249

Senior Member
Paddling upstream on the Dub Denman Canoe Trail in Tallapoosa
is doable. Tallapoosa river though is highly dependent on rainfall. The river goes up and down quickly. Anything less than 3 feet on the Tallapoosa gauge means you will be dragging a good bit.
 

Josey

Senior Member
You can. I have, but I can't recommend it. Even when they aren't releasing water, it is a LOT of work on the Etowah.

I recommend doing a short downstream for a trial and using Euharlee Outfitters shuttle. They charge $10.00 to haul you and your boat and gear back to your starting ramp and service most of the ramps along the lower Euharlee.

I'd recommend the new, short 3.5 mile trek from Euharlee Bridge to Hardin Bridge as a trial of the concept.

If you REALLY want to try upstream, put in at Euharlee bridge and paddle upstream the 1/4 mile to Euharlee Creek. If it doesn't ruin you, then perhaps upstream is for you. If it does ruin you, then the join of Euharlee Creek and the Etowah river is a pretty good place to fish anyway...and you can be back at the ramp in a couple of minutes.

Wait for the flow to be low.

I tried doing just that on my paddleboard, from Euharlee bridge when they were releasing 2,500 cfs. I made it about 100 yds upstream, then it was all I could do to just stay in one spot, without gaining anything. That was a real short trip for me. :D

OP - you can call 706-334-7213 to get the Allatoona dam release schedule recording.
 

cophunter308

Senior Member
Thanks for the info. I'll get by there real soon and see what I can do. Or I'll use the outfitter service to give me a ride back to my Jeep.
 

bird35

Senior Member
When they are not releasing much water on the Etowah I paddled upstream and fished down often.

I staid within two miles of the Eurharlee boat launch, but caught plenty of fish.

3 years ago when I was 42 I got a boat with a 25 hp engine.

Have not padded since.

But I had lots of fun on the Etowah.
 

jcarleto

Senior Member
I tried it again myself last evening (5-8pm), though this was my first use of the new Hardin Bridge ramp. We paddled upstream against a 1000 cfm current with little effort, except for one shallow area, up to the first fish weir upstream, then fished drifting back. The water is deeper at this point than upstream of Euharlee bridge. That seems to make things easier to manage.

Small-fry bass were hitting very well on top water. No keepers, though. Some hits were also possible on white flukes, but top water was much more active.

A bit about the ramp. Nice site. Easy access. The ramp is good, but a tad steeper than 411. I'd prefer less steep, but then, I'm old. It is much shorter and seems less steep than at Euharlee bridge.

I used the canoe slide beside the ramp to launch. It is ALMOST a really good idea. The angle is good and it works well for a kayak. The stairs are a nice touch, but you can only get to one side of the slide because there are big rocks that are difficult to stand upon on the other side of the slide. This makes putting a heavy kayak on it a bit tricky. At the bottom, once again, ALMOST a good thing. It would have been nice to either continue it to the water or to make a way to stand on the end or other side of the slide. Forcing someone to lift a heavy kayak onto the concrete ramp while just standing on one side of the slide with 6' of distance remaining to the water is just mean.

You can back a car or truck down the ramp, but it is a bit steep at the river end. I wonder how long it will be before someone not quite as skilled with a clutch as they might have imagined or someone with a less-than-factory-fresh automatic transmission launches their vehicle into the river. Bound to happen eventually.
 
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cophunter308

Senior Member
Great info! I plan on giving it a try one day this weekend if the weather cooperates. I'm glad you caught some fish and had a good trip.
 

cophunter308

Senior Member
I guess it's time for an update.

I've put in at Hardin Road and paddled up to where the river splits then I float back down a little ways and paddle back up to the boat ramp. I've gone out 3 times. I've caught several bream and a few bass. Up stream of the boat ramp I've only caught fish on a white beetle spin. Below the boat ramp I've only caught fish on soft plastics Texas rigged. The biggest a 17" 3lb largemouth. That fish was caught on a Yum crawfish.

I've sat on the bank twice and threw out cut bait hoping to catch a striper or catfish. However due to the high amount of turtle activity I didn't catch anything. I also had a few lines get hung up on stumps and lost my rigs. I hope to catch a nice striper out there in the coming weeks.

Anyone else having any luck?
 

spkoli

Senior Member
I haven't evn had the opportunity to get out on the etowah this year :/
 
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