November in the North Georgia Mountains is the beginning of the trout fishing season for many anglers. The wonderful delayed harvest streams in the peach state are well stocked and ready to welcome fly flingers of all skill levels. Eager fish are usually ready to munch on almost anything that resembles food. Now is the time to get a beginning fly fisher hooked on the sport. Yeah, it is cool to be out and about in the fall in waist deep in a mountain stream but it is a heck of a lot better when a trout eats your fly every now and then!
Common fly patterns are more than adequate to accomplish the task. Dry flies such as the Parachute Adams, Black Elk Winged Caddis, and a Royal or Yellow Stimulator will usually get the job done if the water temperatures are not too cold. Dropping a Pheasant Tail, Prince Nymph, or Hare’s Ear Nymph off the back on some 5x fluorocarbon is deadly in the shallow areas that hold fish. Fly sizes will vary depending on fishing pressure. The more fishermen that have pounded the water the smaller you may need to go to get consistent strikes.
Trout will always eat. You just have to be willing to adjust fly patterns. And, present the fly closer the trout’s face to get a strike. Some days trout are willing to chase a swung streamer. If you experience multiple trout chasing your flies on the pick-up of your presentation to make another cast. This usually means trout will greedily respond to a stripped streamer such as a wooly bugger, feather winged streamer, or a couple of soft hackle pheasant tails seductively swung a few inches in front of their pointy little noses. It is great fun to see a big old brown buzz in behind a streamer and engulf it in one big swoop! For me it is almost as fun as the excitement of dry fly fishing especially if the trout is in the double digits!
My favorite North Georgia delayed harvest stream is the Upper Toccoa River Section near Blue Ridge, Georgia. It is big water that lends itself well to all the disciplines of fly fishing including even Trout Spey. Someone with a three weight spey rod can have a wonderful day on the water slowly wading down this section of beautiful freestone. The tailwater of the Toccoa River is also a great place to give the old two hander a try. There are good grabs to be had at Tammen Park, Curtis Switch, and Horseshoe Bend Access points. The longer casts that are made possible by the longer Trout Spey rod help the fly fisher to avoid the ledge rock and deep pools that can make a fellow float their hat if they are not careful. I love to take beginner Trout Spey anglers to these locations for the simple fact they are probably going to hook up with a feisty fish or two! Give us a call this fall for fly fishing in North Georgia and we will go teach a fly how to swim!