Upcoming Trip to Blue Ridge Lake Area

[Zasmith002]

Hi All,

I’ve never fished the Toccoa or any of its tributaries. Some friends and I are scheduled to spend this weekend (3/8 - 3/10) at a rental cabin on the Upper Toccoa, very near the DH section. We were hoping to fish that section of river, but from what I’ve read on here and elsewhere, it will be too blown out to wade safely. Is that correct?

I’m not asking for anyone’s honeyholes...just wondering if, in general, we’d be better off targeting smaller tributaries of the Toccoa, the lower Toccoa, or driving somewhere else like Smith Creek, etc. Especially with all the rain lately, any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

I had a group of fly fishing buddies come down last weekend. I think you and your friends will discover the same thing we already knew but went anyway. There ain't much fishable water around here. Even the tailwaters are wide open right now. Some of the guys hit Smith creek and did ok, but they had a lot of company. The ground is saturated and every drop of rain adds to the creek levels. We've had over 20" this year, 10" of it in the last 2 weeks.

As far as the Toccoa goes, check this out.

That's current. 1730 cubic feet per second flowing on the upper Toccoa. Safe wading for most people is around 500 or less. I've waded it at 650 and a little higher, but it's dangerous and exhausting.

 

[Jimmy Harris]

We don't recommend anyone try to wade the Toccoa DH at anything over 400 cfs. It's the most difficult wading I've found in north Georgia. Plus, the watershed takes a long time to come down so it'll be a few days with no rain before it comes down enough. If you're going, you may want to consider going further up in the drainage. Try Coopers Creek or even Noontootla Creek. Other than that, drive another hour and fish the Nantahala DH.

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

[QUOTE="Jimmy Harris, post: 11619542, member: 18723"Try Coopers Creek or even Noontootla Creek. Other than that, drive another hour and fish the Nantahala DH.[/QUOTE]

Though wadeable, fishing Noontootla this high would prove pretty frustrating. It's hard to fish pocket water when it's flowing this fast. And the Nant was still unwadeable last Friday. There's supposed to be a few days without rain this week, so creeks should be coming down. But more rain is forecasted for this weekend.

I fished Fires Saturday and though it was running clear, it was very high and wading was sketchy.

I'm not complaining about the rain. Lord knows we've needed it the last few years, but I wouldn't mind a dry spell for a few weeks this spring.

 

[Zasmith002]

Thanks to you both for the quick replies. We are locked into the cabin at this point so I guess we’ll make the most of it.

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

If it doesn't rain a ton Friday and Saturday, Noontootla or some of its smaller tribs will probably be your best bet.

 

[gobbleinwoods]

Considered places like the lake at Vogel SP?

 

[rnfarley]

Was up there last week with the rain and we couldn’t find much to fish other than Noontoola, however, it really paid off. We landed 4 rainbows over 20”, one was just shy of 26” (*on tape). I know a great guide up that way too if you wanted to hit noontoola with a plug and play advantage to find the fish one day. Just let me know. I’d share pics but can’t figure this out on my phone...