Only Wild Trout

[Backwoodsman]

Hello.
I'm looking for a resource or information on Georgia "wild" trout streams, not streams that are stocked with hatchery pellet fed trout. Are there some good non-stocked wild trout streams located in north Georgia?

 

[pupnsuds]

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=af50967627004b178ccd7264124fe5fd

 

[Big7]

Those are stocked. ?

Brook are the only trout native to Georgia.
All the rest were either stocked or descendants of stocked.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Those are stocked. ?

Brook are the only trout native to Georgia.
All the rest were either stocked or descendants of stocked.

He's talking about wild trout, not necessarily native trout. The wild stream-bred rainbows and browns in the streams here in the Smokies sure are a different critter from a stocker, even though their ancestors were stocked here over 100 years ago.

 

[gobbleinwoods]

And the map link pupsnsuds posted does not include all the streams and creeks that have trout stocked or otherwise in them.

 

[longrangedog]

How long in terms of time or generations is required for a stocked trout to become a "wild" trout? Some folks look down on stocked trout but without them not many people would have opportunities to catch trout.

 

[Pig Predator]

How long in terms of time or generations is required for a stocked trout to become a "wild" trout? Some folks look down on stocked trout but without them not many people would have opportunities to catch trout.

A couple weeks or whenever they realize they ain't getting fed pellets anymore.

 

[Pig Predator]

Eventually, if they can keep from getting caught, they'll grow their fins back and get a lot more color to em.

 

[flyrod444]

A wild trout to me is any trout that emerged out of its egg in the stream. In doing this they are raised in the wild which justifies calling them wild.

 

[NCHillbilly]

How long in terms of time or generations is required for a stocked trout to become a "wild" trout? Some folks look down on stocked trout but without them not many people would have opportunities to catch trout.

A stocked trout will never become a wild trout. If it spawns successfully, then its offspring that were born in the stream instead of a hatchery will be wild trout. A wild trout is simply one that was born in the body of water it's swimming in.

And there are a lot more miles of water with wild trout than stocked trout. For example, there are no trout stocked in the GSMNP, and haven't been since the early-mid 1900s. But there are over 800 miles of streams in the park that have fishable populations of wild and native trout. Same with most of the national forest land. If you read my "Fading" thread below this one, that is an example of wild trout caught from waters where they were stocked a hundred years ago, and not since.

I do like the delayed harvest waters, they keep a lot of folks out of the real trout streams.

 

[Killer Kyle]

There are plenty of wild trout streams in north Georgia. There is much more wild water than stocked water in the state. I fish almost exclusively for wild trout. Small creeks, and usually small fish. The going is tougher on most small streams and wild trout, but to me the solitude and scenery is worth it. I'll be climbing waterfalls and crawling over log jams as long as my knees and back will let me.