Toccoa River fishing restrictions.

[Fisherman70]

For the matter of disclosure and fairness, I would like to inform the public about an effort to impose regulations or restrictions on the Toccoa Tail-water that will directly affect those who catch and keep trout.

The newly formed TRWC (Toccoa River Watershed Coalition) has proposed to the Department of Natural Resources a plan to instill special regulations or restrictions on the Toccoa River below the Lake Blue Ridge Dam that include but are not limited to the following;

Slot limit from the HWY 515 Bridge to the upper boundary of Horseshoe Bend Park.
The slot limit will restrict the harvest of any trout species that fall between 12” and 24”.

Only artificial lures can be used or possessed Between the HWY 515 Bridge to the upper boundary of Horseshoe Bend Park.
This one is self explanatory. For those of you who like to fish with live bait, power bait, corn etc. You will no longer be able to fish the Toccoa River except for at Tammen Park and Horseshoe Bend Park.

Artificial lures will be limited to a single hook and cannot have a hook larger than a #6 hook.
For lures that normally have one or two treble hooks on them, to be legal you will have to either snip two of the barbs off or replace them with a single barb hook.

Legal limit will be reduced to 5 total fish per person per day. 4 of those fish can be under 12” and only one fish can be over 24”.
The current legal limit of 8 fish of any size will no longer be in effect except at Tammen Park and Horseshoe Bend Park.

No longer will anyone be able to fish with live or natural bait or harvest outside of the proposed slot limit at Curtis Switch. The proposal does not explicitly exclude the Curtis Switch Rd Bridge or TVA Park just downstream from the bridge.

Whether you agree or disagree on the matter, the GON community as a whole is a “catch and keep” crowd. Considering that the average length of trout that comes out of the hatcheries is 9”, this proposal will seriously affect those who fish for trout with the intent of catching and keeping a larger trout that is currently legal to catch and keep.

The GA DNR would like to hear comments from all those use the Toccoa River. Listed below are those at the state level who have influence on the matter.

Thanks
An Equal Opportunity Fisherman who believes ALL user groups should have a say.

*Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Mark Williams, Commissioner
Commissioner’s Office
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E., Suite 1252
East Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-3500
Email: dnrboard@dnr.state.ga.us

Fannin County Contacts:

*Fannin County Chamber of Commerce
Jan Hackett, President
152 Orvin Lance Drive
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
1-800-899-6867
Email: jahackett@tds.net

*Fannin County Board of Commissioners
Bill Simonds, Chairman
400 W. Main Street
Suite 100
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706-632-2203
Email: Bsim@fannincountyga.org

State Legislative:

*Representative David Ralston
Post Office Box 188
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706-632-6193
Email: Dralston1@etcmail.com

*Senator Steve Gooch
Post Office Box 600
Dahlonega, GA 30633
404-656-9221
Email: steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov






Congressional:

Senator Saxby Chambliss
585 South Main Street
Post Office Box 3217
Moultrie, GA 31776
229-985-2112
Email: http://chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email

Senator Johnny Isakson
One Overton Park
3625 Cumberland Boulevard
Suite 970
Atlanta, GA 30339
770-661-0999
Email: http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm


Representative Tom Graves
311 Green Street Northwest
Suite 302
Gainesville, GA 30503
770-535-2592
Email: http://tomgraves.house.gov/Contact/

*Governor Nathan Deal
The Office of the Governor, State of Georgia
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-1776
Email: http://www.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,165937316_166563415,00.html

 

[EllijayFalconsFan]

I have no real problem with this. The Toccoa is a tremendous trout fishery and it's shocking it fares as well as it does when you consider how many fish are harvested. Just curious, does this coincide with the rumors of less trout being stocked in the Toccoa by the DNR?

 

[mtr3333]

Good heads up. If regulation continues to increase, fishing will become so restricted we forget the freedom of campfire trout fried or grilled! Freedom to fish should also include freedom to keep. There are already plenty of known "Trophy Waters" available. Maintain the right of fishermen to choose frying on the same level as using a 2 lb tippet without granting more ownership of these waters to a select few. There should be no bias of any type or judgement of one over the other.

 

[shakey gizzard]

I thought the lowering of the lake killed all the trout down stream!Is the TRVA planning on stocking trophy trout?

 

[mtr3333]

I thought the lowering of the lake killed all the trout down stream!Is the TRVA planning on stocking trophy trout?

Maybe they will restock with stripers...

 

[WinMag.300]

these implementations will be aimed at keeping the Toccoa alive. The Fed Hatchery will no longer be stocking this watershed therefore the regulations will be placed to help keep fish "in" the watershed. They are not aiming at destroying the catch and keep mentality, only at increasing the number of reproducing fish so that the toccoa can become a stable trout fishery in years to come, especially with more budget cuts on the horizon. With budget cuts like they are, we are lucky there was enough money to restock that river after the TVA repair, and I for one would love to see this river harbor larger and an amount of fish parralleled to the time before the repair. Sadly without regulations like these, many of our water will be devoid and devastated by the catch and keep mentality. We need to provide a way for fish to make it to reproducing age, and thus help "stock" the river themselves. Keeping 8 9inch trout multiplied by the number of tourists, troutfisherman, and locals, could easily decimate and already unsteady population that will not be replaced by DNR or hatcheries.

 

[fairweatherfisherman]

I appreciate you posting this. I don't have a problem with the size or possession limits or with the live bait restrictions, but I do feel pretty negative about the limitation to a single hook. I've been de-barbing my hooks for a few years now, and I'm even fine with single hooks on spinners, but I really do prefer to use treble hooks on crankbaits.

 

[EllijayFalconsFan]

Ah so it does have to do with the trout stocking being cut back.

 

[Georgia Hard Hunter]

I appreciate you posting this. I don't have a problem with the size or possession limits or with the live bait restrictions, but I do feel pretty negative about the limitation to a single hook. I've been de-barbing my hooks for a few years now, and I'm even fine with single hooks on spinners, but I really do prefer to use treble hooks on crankbaits.

I agree with crankbaits and treble hooks , but this isn't a place where many crankbaits will be fished, there are a few slow deep holes but most of the river is shallow water over rocky bottoms or very fast current pushing thru deeper slots in the rocks. I sure someone has used and caught fish a crankbaits on the Toccoa its just not the most ideal situation to use them.

 

[FordHunter]

I am all for the restrictions on the Toccoa River Tailwater and have already signed petitions in support of these new regulations. The fish hatchery up there is no longer going to stock that area and for that reason, if these regulations are not put forth, then there will be no more trout for even the "catch and keep" fisherman to catch.