The Etowah River is fishing well with a mixed bag of Spotted Bass, White Bass, and other assorted smaller game fish. The larger spawning fish have not shown up yet but the run should not be far off now. The lakes and streams are all still high from the recent rain and the main river is stained but fishable (hopefully the rain tonight and tomorrow will not stain it any more than it already is). As the waters clears fishing should only improve. Water temps are already in the mid 60s so topwater flies like Gurglers and Boogle Bugs are not out of the question but the topwater bite should improve if the water warms a bit more. The Streamer bite has been strong, smaller flies are producing both good numbers and quality fish. Try Umpqua’s Lunch Money in Tan or Shad color and Kreelexs in Gold and Copper or Gold and Silver, also a chartreuse and white Clouser is hard to beat. The story of the Etowah seems to be the story of most rivers lately- if its not blow out the fishing is excellent but the windows of having clear fishable water have been few and far between. If you do find the Etowah is clear then you should take advantage, call the shop in Cartersville for the Allatoona Dam Generation Schedule.
The Toccoa Tailwater has been releasing the dam all day and every day. Unless you are floating in high water with streamers, the Tailwater is not a good option for fishing. Looking towards the weekend, it is predicted the TVA will generate 24/7 until further notice; however, you will not know for sure until the day before by 5:00pm. To check generation yourself go to the TVA website and look at the flows for Blue Ridge. Here’s the link: https://www.tva.gov/Environment/Lake-Levels/Blue-Ridge. You can also give Cohutta Fishing Co. a call at (706) 946-3044 for the most recent predictions on what the Tailwater is doing.
The Delayed Harvest section of the Toccoa is still at a high level. As of Wednesday, it was registering at 1172cfs. This week it is dropping at an average rate of 20cfs a day. This is too high to fish. If the water can drop below 800cfs then it might be okay to try a float, but the likelihood of it dropping by the weekend isn’t likely especially since we are supposed to get more rains Thursday night and Friday!
Smaller Mountain Streams would be the best option to get on some fish this week. The smaller creeks are slightly high with a light tinge right now, which means throw on some split shot, squirmy worms, and egg patterns. By the weekend, I would suspect the higher elevation streams will clear up quite a bit. If it is lower, you can fish more natural flies. Rock and Coopers Creek would be the best options for some public stream fishing this weekend.
The Blue Ridge Area Report courtesy of our outfitting partner, Fly Fishing North Georgia.
Check the generation schedule before you plan your trip! We do not recommend that you float the Etowah if Allatoona dam is releasing water. We do not recommend wading the Toccoa if the TVA is releasing water. Check the release schedules and be safe!
Toccoa River Delayed Harvest flows
Allatoona Dam Release Schedule- (706) 334-7213
