Tugaloo River/Toccoa Ga

Can anyone offer any advice on fishing in the vicinity of Stephens County regional park ? I am not familiar with this area but want to catch white and yellow perch, or whatever else is available. Is the ramp open, and is the river near the county park productive at this time of year ? Also, a source for water conditions would be helpful. Thanks for any replies, JG
 

skiff20

Senior Member
The ramp is open but the dock got washed away during the hurricane. The lake is down about 3 to 4 feet. Up stream from the ramp there are a lot of stumps along the river channel. Make sure you have the capability to run the channel. I have caught about as many walleye as i have yellow perch over the years. Which is not many. I caught them by accident. There is a pretty good hybrid/striper run in the spring and a lesser one in the fall. If you are determined to fish for perch I would use small minnows or crappie jigs in the dipper holes on the river.
 
Thank you skiff20 for the reply and info. Even though it is not fishing weather I want to get ready and be prepared for when I can get out.
I mainly enjoy catching panfish. I understand that there is a population of white perch in Hartwell lake. They are of the same family of fish as striper, white bass and yellow bass (shown in photo)
Hartwell is a huge body of water so the more knowledge I can acquire, the better. Such as, launching access close to where there are fish, and current water conditions..
 

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CamoClad

Senior Member
Skiff gave you the rundown for putting in at Stephens County park. That river run past 123 isn't terrible as long as you stay in the channel until you get to the railroad bridge. If it were me, I'd go to the Walker Creek ramp down Prather Bridge road if you want to fish for white bass and yellow perch though neither are necessarily plentiful there are times where you can catch them up in the river. There is no courtesy dock at this ramp and not much of a landing place except the ramp itself or maybe just to the left. If you have a keel guard or don't mind gently puting the boat on the ramp you will be fine. Another option is Yonah a bit further past the Walker Creek ramp. Plenty of yellow perch in there if you can find them. The upper ramp on Yonah from Habersham Co at the campground is no longer open due to construction on the dam.
 
I do not live in your area so I plan a camping/fishing trip over there when the time is right. If U R "camo clad" you have probably been been out hunting. I caught some perch at Lake Seed a few years back, and I know where the lower ramp is at Lake Yonah. I use a hand launched boat so can negotiate the shallow water. What do you mainly catch in the river around the county park between now and when the stripers start biting ?? The weather might be OK this weekend but driving/launching not so good...still too much Ice to suit me !
 

CamoClad

Senior Member
I do not live in your area so I plan a camping/fishing trip over there when the time is right. If U R "camo clad" you have probably been been out hunting. I caught some perch at Lake Seed a few years back, and I know where the lower ramp is at Lake Yonah. I use a hand launched boat so can negotiate the shallow water. What do you mainly catch in the river around the county park between now and when the stripers start biting ?? The weather might be OK this weekend but driving/launching not so good...still too much Ice to suit me !
I fish more than hunt these days, though when I created my account many years ago, I happened to be wearing camoflauge, thus the handle. It is pretty tough fishing now up around the county park unless you get a decently warm and sunny day and the bait starts to school, then you can catch your fill of spotted bass. The usual winter pattern will work up that way if casting, using a jig and craw or similar creature bait, fished slow (really slow). Occasionally in a deeper hole if you find some suspended bait a flex-it or jigging spoon might pick off a couple decent bass. I am sure you could locate some crappie or possibly walleye along the railroad bridge pilings and on up the river but it is pretty cold and desolate this time of the year, you'd probable be fishing all day for a handful of bites. When the temps start to hit the low 50's you can catch walleye around Walker creek. The white bass will run in the early spring too (middle of March) but it hasn't been just lights out in the past several years. April brings the hybrid run, and early may the striper run so it really depends when you come and how the fish are staged as to what you might catch.

If you don't mind trolling cranks, Yonah can be productive this time of the year, something like a reef runner, 100 ft. back on a line counter will get you to 15 ft. and can get you bit pretty regular. Some guys like pulling the worm harnesses and bottom bouncers but it is a low percentage quest and finding decent night crawlers in the area this time of the year can be a challenge. I am a big fan of the smaller deeper mountain lakes in the winter. I think Tugaloo is the prettiest, best place in Georgia in the winter (or until the rafting begins and you get innundated with hippies and church groups! Ha!) Like you mentioned, Seed is pretty wide open this time of the year for the perch bite, and Rabun isnt terrible but there are a lot of houses on Rabun so it doesn't feel like you're "getting away" as much as the river runs and smaller less populated lakes do. I like to make a trip or two to Blue Ridge in the winter as well and jig/troll for walleye/bass.
 
Hey CamoClad : I appreciate all the info. I am close to Blue Ridge Lake and don't know why you would want to come over here with all the water in E GA !! I haven't experienced this kind of winter weather in ten years. It might be awhile before I venture out. However, I like to know as much as I can before I make a trip. Yonah is on my to do list. I got interested in the white perch which seem to be more abundant further down the Savananh river.
I thought there might be some around the county park.
They are small but good to eat and need to be caught !
 

greg_n_clayton

Senior Member
Being here in Rabun.....Tugalo is my favorite lake. And has been all my life. It use to be a secret place before they improved the road on the Ga side ! It has a large population of perch in it. Walleye as well. But it being a deep water lake....it takes different fishing methods than most lakes. When I say deep.....I mean deep right at the banks. There is one area of flats toward the Ga landing. The waters are not so deep up in the gorge arm.
 
I've viewed Tugalo lake from the overlook park around Tallulah gorge SP but that's as close as I've been to it. Kinda hard to get down there, I suppose, in a kia hatchback. I have a plan to launch at the Lake Yonah ramp near the Yonah dam, hoping for some yellow perch. I saw some photos of white perch from below the Yonah dam, so at some point I'd like to catch some of those out of the Stephens County Park. I don't have any problem with bass or walleye, either !
 

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Geffellz18

Senior Member
If your hatchback happens to be AWD, you’re probably ok to get down there and back up. I went once, but it’s been several years. The road itself wasn’t bad at all. It was the grade of the road and the length of the grade that I found to be the potential concern for non AWD/4WD vehicles getting out.
I made it out without engaging 4wd, but lost traction a few times coming back out.
Best of luck on your quest.
 

greg_n_clayton

Senior Member
Those hills on the SC side freaked me out on my first trip there. Lovely place.
Many years ago...that road on the SC was a dirt road. If you were in there after a rain came...you were stuck even with 4x4 until it dried out ! In my younger days...4x4 was needed to get out on both sides !
 
I will pass on the opportunity to tear up my car (and myself) on any mountain roads. That will avoid any subsequent interactions with insurance claims adjusters. I've been to the Yonah lake ramp near the dam, and that oughta be fine. There should be some perch within paddling distance of the put-in. I have not been to the Stephens county park but am looking forward to it.
 
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