Trout Stocking Trucks are Rolling!

If you have never tried trout fishing, now is the perfect time to start because trout stocking is officially underway! Last week, roughly 45,000 trout were distributed across 52 streams in Northeast Georgia.

This year, anglers can expect to see some larger trout as the target size for the “big” fish program has increased from 12 inches to 14 inches. Weekly trout stocking will continue through August.

The Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division trout webpage will help get you started. You can check out the Trout Stream Interactive Map, get some trout tips and resources, and view the weekly stocking report. You can even sign up to get the weekly trout stocking report emailed to you. 

Special Opportunity: Sign up for the “Trout Fishing with Mom” event coming up on Fri. May 10. There are only 50 spots available, so register soon!

NEWS TO KNOW

  • Ladies No Fooling, Just Fishing Event (April 13, 9am-12pm): Want to work on those fishing skills? Register for the No Fooling, Just Fishing day of fun at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center/Marben PFA. You can bring your own gear or use some of ours. Cost is $10 per person. Limited spots available. Register online HERE. 
  • Getting “birdy” at Georgia Public Fishing Areas: Fins and feathers can go together. Mix up your fishing trip by getting to know which birds can be found at your favorite Georgia PFA in an article in the newest issue of the Georgia Wild e-newsletter.  

  • Need a little shoal bass fishing motivation? This 7 lb shoalie was caught “somewhere” in Monroe Co. GA in March. Might be time to get out there! (Photo Courtesy of Jason Byram)

    New Saltwater State Record: Hayden Mundy of Midway, Ga. is the new state record holder for almaco jack (Seriola rivoliana). His 19 pound plus catch shattered the previous record catch. Congrats to Hayden!

  • Shoal Bass Survey: Want to be involved in decisions about shoal bass regulations? Recent fisheries research, sampling efforts, and angler success have suggested Georgia’s rivers may benefit from updated regulations. To measure public interest and gather input, the WRD Fisheries Management Section developed a Shoal Bass Survey. This survey only takes a few minutes to complete and can help fisheries managers make informed decisions about future shoal bass harvest regulations. 
  • Help Keep Invaders Out of Georgia Waters: Your efforts to help spot and report aquatic nuisance species (ANS) are vital to keeping Georgia waters free of these invaders and helping native species survive. 

This week, we have fishing reports from Southeast and North Georgia. Whether you try trout fishing or just hit up your favorite local pond, we are glad that you Go Fish Georgia!

UPCOMING EVENTS: APRIL 2024

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Capt. Bert Deener, Retired Georgia WRD Region Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

I hope you and your family had a great Easter weekend. The bite has been off and on with the changing weather.

River gages on April 4th were:

  • Clyo on the Savannah River – 10.9 feet and falling
  • Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 8.8 feet and rising
  • Doctortown on the Altamaha – 10.8 feet and falling
  • Waycross on the Satilla – 14.4 feet and falling
  • Atkinson on the Satilla – 14.6 feet and falling
  • Statenville on the Alapaha – 17.2 feet and rising
  • Macclenny on the St Marys – 9.8 feet and rising
  • Fargo on the Suwannee – 10.7 feet and rising

New Moon is April 8th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website HERE. For the latest marine forecast, click HERE.

SATILLA RIVER

The annual Satilla Riverkeeper fishing tournament is coming up and will run from April 12th through April 21st. Get the details on the Satilla River Facebook page.

McCoy Skinner caught the new Savannah River record catfish from the Sylvania area of the river while fishing cut bait on the bottom.

Jonathan fooled this nice bowfin by trolling a Dura-Spin on the east side of the Okefenokee Swamp this week.

SAVANNAH RIVER

McCoy Skinner caught a giant channel catfish on the river and had it certified at the Waycross Fisheries Office. His big channel was 38 1/8 inches long and weighed a whopping 33-lb., 8oz. on certified scales. It is going through the certification process as the Savannah River record channel cat. He caught it on cut bait in the Sylvania area of the river. Congratulations, McCoy!

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

The bite was cranking up just in time for this latest rain. I think it will be a short blip that the bite slows, but it will probably slow some as fish spread out a little more into the prairies. Melba and Risa fished with me on the east side on Friday, and we had a blast trolling Dura-Spins. We had a total of 34 fish trolling the canals. Our biggest bowfin was 6-lb., 12-oz. and biggest pickerel was 18 inches. The best colors were crawfish-brass blade, lemon-lime, and black/chartreuse-chartreuse blade. Before they got there, I cast a crawfish-brass blade to see if I could get fish to respond (I was concerned that the fish would not cooperate with the rising water) and I caught a 10-lb., 4-oz. bowfin on about my 5th cast right around the boat basin. The fish didn’t miss a beat after that rain. On Monday, Bryan and Jonathan fished with me before their camping trip on one of the platforms on the east side. We pitched sallies (pink and chartreuse) for a little bit and caught some fliers. One was big enough to earn Jonathan a youth angler award from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. We then switched to trolling Dura-Spins and caught a total of 20 fish. We had pickerel to 17 inches and bowfin to 6 pounds. One of Jonathan’s bowfin earned him a youth angler award for his second species of the trip. The best colors of Dura-Spins that day were crawfish-brass blade and lemon-lime. I fished by myself on the east side Tuesday and pitched crawfish Warmouth Whacker Jigs under a float for about an hour and caught a handful of fliers and pickerel, a nice warmouth, and a giant spotted sunfish (stumpknocker – my first ever stumpknocker on the east side). I cast and trolled Dura-Spins the rest of the day and ended up catching a total of 34 fish – mostly bowfin (up to 6-lb., 0-oz.) and pickerel (up to 18 inches). Lemon-lime and jackfish Dura-Spins were tops. Matt Rouse took his friend Travis to the east side Tuesday and caught bowfin, pickerel, and warmouth. They pitched a bluegill flash Keitech swimbait suspended under a float for a few warmouth. A few pickerel and a bowfin ate crawfish-brass blade and jackfish Dura-Spins. Their biggest surprise was that they caught a big bluegill on the Dura-Spin. Cole and Ethan Crawford fished a little while on Thursday afternoon and had a monster bowfin by flinging a red/white-silver blade Dura-Spin. The giant was 30 1/2 inches long and really fat. Cole didn’t bring a scale, but I’m guessing it was between 10 and 11 pounds based on the length and photo. An angler pitching around the island caught just 1 warmouth on Thursday morning. I didn’t hear of any good warmouth reports this week. The folks I talked with caught only a couple per trip. The most recent water level (Folkston side) was 121.32 feet Thursday after the hard Wednesday rains.

Ellie caught this big bluegill while fishing in her family pond near Brunswick.

LOCAL PONDS

The biggest bass I heard of being caught this week was an 8 1/2-pounder (24 inches) caught by one of my Blackshear fishing buddies. He caught it in a Tifton area pond. Jimmy Zinker said that the night-time topwater bite is slowly picking up. His biggest two bass this week were a 6-lb., 14-oz. and 8-lb., 2-oz. He caught some fish during the daylight on glide baits. Most of the night-time fish ate his customized Jitterbugs, but he also caught one on a Trophy Bass Buzzbait (designed by Pat Cullen). He lost a monster that buried him in the vegetation and pulled off. I got a report from a Brunswick pond where an angler flung spinnerbaits to shoreline trees to catch 46 bass up to 6 pounds. Another angler at the same pond caught a 6-pounder then next day. That’s the best report I’ve gotten from that pond so far this year, so the bass bite is probably on in Brunswick area ponds. Brentz McGhin caught some good bass from his pond this week on a weedless popping frog. Charlotte fished her family’s pond in the Guyton area. A green pumpkin ZOOM 4-inch plastic worm fooled a few bass for her.

SALTWATER (GA COAST)

The wind and rains kept most folks away from the salt this week, but a few hardy anglers braved the weather. Capt. Greg Hildreth (georgiacharterfishing.com) has been doing well on the offshore sheepshead on days he can get out. He fished inside on Thursday with Marty from New York, and they had a really big trout at about 10am when I was talking to Captain Greg. Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) said that he worked for them this week, but they cooperated in the iffy weather. On Monday they had 12 trout and a redfish on Zombie Eye Jigheads and Assassin Sea Shads. He took his crew whiting fishing Tuesday, and they caught a couple dozen before the sharks moved in and aggravated them. On the way in they stopped at a redfish hole and caught 15 spottails plus a couple nice trout. All of the reds and trout came on live shrimp fished under Harper Super Striker Floats. On Thursday his crew caught whiting again and kept a dozen, threw back a dozen, and caught 6 redfish in the howling wind. Seth Carter fished the Brunswick area creeks this week and caught a bunch of oversized redfish. He fooled them with a Gulp shrimp rigged on a jighead and bounced along the bottom. Cason Kinstle took families on spring break whiting fishing this week, and they caught a bunch on dead shrimp in the Savannah area. They even landed a bull redfish on whiting tackle. That’s a spring break catch that the young boys will remember a long time. He took his own boys redfishing in the Brunswick area this week and caught 20 reds (kept enough for supper) on live shrimp fished under a popping cork. Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle in Brunswick is open Friday through Sunday from 6am to 4pm each week. They have plenty of lively shrimp and fiddler crabs and also have live worms and crickets for freshwater. They’re on Hwy 303 just north of Hwy 82. For the latest information, contact them at 912-223-1379.

Blog Contributer Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in southeast Georgia and makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check his lures out at Bert’s Jigs and Things on Facebook. For a copy of his latest catalog, call or text him at 912-288-3022 or e-mail him (bertdeener@yahoo.com).

NORTH GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of John Damer, Fisheries Biologist with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts) 

RESERVOIR REPORT 

Lunker Alert! 12 lb largemouth caught on Allatoona.

12-Pound Bass from Allatoona: (This report from Georgia Outdoor News at GON.com) — Have you seen the monster largemouth caught recently at Allatoona?  This fish may very well have been stocked as a fingerling by Georgia DNR staff several years ago.  While it is not a lake record, it is one of the largest bass we’ve seen from ‘Toona in years.  Georgia Outdoor News has the full story HERE.

Lake Allatoona Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, southernfishing.com) — Lake Allatoona is 1.1 feet over full. Bass fishing is good, and the big fish are biting but the bites are few and far between. The shallow bite is where it’s at for big fish. The plastic swim baits, chatter bait, square bill, and the weightless soft plastic Big Bite cane stick fished in 1 to 8 feet of water on routes to spawning areas. Use a 6-foot medium cranking rod and a Lew’s speed spool reel on 15 pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon. Fishing these baits slow in stained water, in areas where sun hits the banks and warms the water (north shore side). Be ready as the bite is ever so slight and the rod just loads up. The front and rain may change things for the next few days, but this is nothing drastic. The soft plastic jerk bait will start up soon.

Lake Allatoona Lineside Report: (This report courtesy of Joseph Martinelli, Heron Outdoor Adventures) — The Spring spawn is upon us! As water temperatures reach that magic 60 degree plus mark, most species are prepared for spawning. While the white bass get it started and run when temperatures reach the 50–55-degree mark, the hybrids and striped bass are right behind them. While some fish are running up the river as early as February, there should still be some activity in the upper Etowah and Little River pools throughout April and May. Our down-lining is typically ¾ oz. -1.5 oz. weight with a 4-6′ leader of 8-10lb. fluorocarbon. While most fish are being found lake-wide, it should be noted that these line sides do move around a lot, and greater concentrations may shift from south to mid to north regions of the lake often. Larger baits may prevail when targeting the larger fish this month so consider pulling a larger 8-10″ gizzard shad on a freeline or planer board anytime you are committing to an area for better success in hooking up with a drag screamer. Bigger fish preparing to spawn are often looking for a single larger meal, reserving their energy for spawning.

Lake Allatoona Crappie Report: (This report courtesy of Joseph Martinelli, Heron Outdoor Adventures) — The crappie bite has already been phenomenal through March. One does not need forward facing sonar to get in on the action here. These fish are already staging up in the mouths of creeks as well as the channel edges and pulling some 1/16 oz. jigs flat-lined behind the boat should produce on any day. If you are held to shore fishing, these same fish are already pushing up on the banks where the males are fanning in preparation of the spawning females to lay their eggs. These males can be quite aggressive and as they will defend their bed at all costs, any little ‘rubber bug,’ live minnow and the like will get eaten when presented in active areas in this 1 – 6 foot of water range.

Lake Hartwell Lineside Report: (From Fisheries Biologist Kyle Rempe) — We’ve been out on Lake Hartwell monitoring Hybrid Striped Bass and Striped Bass activity these last few weeks, with things beginning to pick up more now that water temperatures have hit ~60 degrees and continue to warm. The good news is that the hybrids haven’t quite made their annual run up feeder streams yet (at least on the Georgia side), so these next few weeks should provide even better opportunities for anglers fishing around those creeks. Most of our sampling success has come from targeting points and shoals in coves, although we did get lucky finding a few large Striped Bass in Eastanollee Creek one day this week as well.

Hartwell Hybrid and Striper activity should ramp up soon.

Hybrid bass from Hartwell.

Striped Bass from Hartwell.

Lake Hartwell Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com) — Lake Hartwell is 1.0 feet over full, in the 60s. Bass fishing is fair. Spinner baits and crank baits are working as the as the water temperature cools down. Quality bass are started to show up using the spinner bait. Blow downs shallow brush stumps and grass have been the cover holding these fish. Try a 3/8-ounce model in chartreuse white with double Colorado blades one nickel and the other gold. Try to bump the cover with each retrieve and use multiple casts from various angles. Also try a ½ to ¾ ounce bait with a large #7 Colorado rear blade. This bait should be bulged just below the surface and retrieved over or very near likely looking cover. Jigs and soft plastics continue to draw a few bites around docks and shallow brush. The jig bite has been the most consistent bait on the humps points and flats. Carolina rigs and crank baits are the primary baits here.

Lake Lanier Striper Report: (This report courtesy of Buck Cannon, Buck Tails Guide Service 404-510-1778 via www.southernfishing.com) — Stripers can be found using your electronics on most flats that connect with the river channels. Water depth can be 35 to 90 feet deep and once you locate the fish use the thumping method to get them fired up. The downlines using blue backs are working well however the fish will not be picky so a variety of bait could be helpful. Down lines should be adjusted once they start biting. This technique along with others will be catching the spring action. Don’t forget to be prepared if they pop up near you. Don’t stay longer than twenty minutes if they don’t cooperate move on to another location. The bird action will be helpful for locating them also loons and gulls from Vann’s to laurel park and up the Chestatee from River Fork north. Remember to wear your life jacket.

Lake Lanier Record Carp: (This report from Georgia Outdoor News at GON.com) — Congrats to high school angler Charlie White on setting a new record for common carp at Lake Lanier! Charlie’s carp weighed close to 20 lb on certified scales. Read the full story from Georgia Outdoor News HERE.

Monster Walleye caught in Northeast Georgia.

Monster Northeast Georgia Walleye: (From Fisheries Region Supervisor Anthony Rabern) — While fishing the headwaters of one of the smaller Tallulah River lakes in Northeast Georgia, Bart Foster landed a 30+ inch walleye last Saturday.  This was a certifiable trophy walleye by anyone’s standards.  Although he did not get a weight, the heavy female walleye certainly tipped the scales at more than 11 lb.  After measuring its length and snapping a picture, Bart released the fish back to where it was caught in hopes that it would successfully spawn. Walleye are still lingering in the headwaters of many Northeast Georgia lakes, but their numbers are dwindling fast as they begin to retreat back down into the lake to recover from the spawning season.

Lake Lanier Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Phil Johnson, 770-366-8845 via www.southernfishing.com) — Lake Lanier is .60 feet over full. Bass fishing is good to very good. The lake is currently approximately one foot over full pool, and the water temperature is ranging from the high fifties to the low sixties throughout the lake. The main lake is clear while the backs of the creeks and up the rivers are stained to slightly stained. Where do we start? The bass have moved up to bed and are feeding up for it. A wide variety of techniques are working right now so it is a good time to pick your favorite bait and go after them. Both the numbers and the size being caught right now is what makes Lanier so special. For both numbers and size the shakey head worm is a great producer when worked on secondary points and docks in less than fifteen foot of water. The Trixster five-inch Sweet Candy and the Green Shiner have been great choices for colors this week. There a lot of shad pushed back into pockets now which has made a quarter ounce Spot Choker with a three-inch paddle tail bait a great choice along with a jerk bait. We’ve even been catching the shad on it. A five-inch paddle tail soft plastic is producing fish in the pockets as well along the sides of docks with a lot of the fish caught in the pockets being largemouth. If you are willing to put in the work an umbrella rig worked around the docks will produce some good fish. On the windy days a white spinnerbait with silver willow leaf blades will produce in the blow throughs and reef poles. Be sure to keep something like the Slickstick on the deck as some top water action is beginning to show up It’s a fun time to be on the lake and as you can see multiple lures are working so take your choice, fish up shallow and Go Catch ‘Em!

Lake Lanier Crappie Report: (This report courtesy of Captain Josh Thornton, 770-530-6493 via www.southernfishing.com) — The water temperature is 58 degrees. Crappie are on the banks, spawning, some can still be found suspended at 2 to 15 feet deep under docks. Look for creeks or coves near a main channel for roaming fish they are shallow in 2 to 4 foot of water cast to them or troll for them. Minnows are working well. You may want to try jig colors grey on grey or green and black and green and chartreuse. The gear I recommend for crappie fishing is Acc crappie stix 1 piece rod and reel with a 6-pound test K9 line, along with Garmin Live Scope and Power Pole.

Lake Weiss Multi-Species Report: (This report courtesy of Mark Collins Guide Service 256-996-9035 via www.southernfishing.com) — Weiss Lake is 1 foot 8 inches below full pool and muddy to stained, 54 degrees. Bass fishing is good, and the fish are ready to spawn. Fish the spawning bays on secondary points and roadbeds. Spinner baits, crank baits are catching fish. Crappie fishing is good, and they are showing up in the spawning bays and creeks, they can be caught long line trolling with Jiffy Jigs in colors JJ13, JJ17, JJ20. www.jiffyjigs.com. Shooting docks with jigs is also producing some fish. Catfish are biting in the bays and creeks in 8 to 15 feet of water, cut bait is working best.

West Point Lake Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com) — West Point Lake is down 3.4 feet, 60 degrees. Bass fishing is fair. Now is a good time to hit the lake and learn to use spoons. Several sizes are working up to a one-ounce Flex it and the Nichols spoons on the roadbeds down lake. The upper end of the lake is “silty” right now so go south to fish. The dam area up to the Maple Creek area is the best fishing spot right now for all fish. All of the fish are heading shallow. Bass are starting to move shallow on secondary points and shallow stump flats following the shad movement to the back of the bays and coves. Shallow running crank baits like the Bandit 100 series are working. A 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft Redemption spinner bait in chartreuse and white with double silver willow leaf blades is also a great fall bait. Find the fish on the Lowrance Down Scan technology and if it has Fish Reveal use it on the Down Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar. Use the Chatterbaits in a 1/2 to 3/4 size. With a rising sun increasing the warming influence, expect the action to pick up from about mid-morning through late afternoon. More sun exposure means more heat on the hard stuff and that typically means comfy bass that are more likely to open their mouths. Fish along the edge of tree lines and flats.

RIVER REPORT

Coosa River Alabama Bass.

“Black-Nosed” Crappie from the Coosa.

Coosa River White Bass.

Coosa River White Bass Report: (From Fisheries Biologist John Damer) — White bass fishing on the Coosa River near Rome continues to be hot right now.  Numbers in our electrofishing samples are as high as we’ve ever seen them.  A coworker and I fished the river one day this week from about noon to 6:00pm.  We fished the area near Old River Road Boat Ramp and we were able to boat around 90 fish between the two of us.  Average size was probably over a pound, with plenty of larger pre-spawn females in the 2-pound range.  A few longnose gar, Alabama bass, and crappie (including one of the “black-nosed” variety) also spiced things up along the way.  We were fishing with small, deep-diving, shad imitating crankbaits.  Color did not seem to matter much, as we caught about equal numbers of fish on bright fluorescent and natural colors.  Other anglers on the river who were fishing with crappie minnows and jigs seemed to be doing well also.  We have also seen good numbers of male stripers in the area during sampling, especially up near Mayo Lock and Dam Park.  Targeting that area might produce a few hookups with some true river monsters.

Couple of hybrids caught on Chattahoochee.

Chattahoochee River Hybrids and White Bass: (This report courtesy of Dustin Pate) — We are getting into the heart of the spawning run at West Point. The full moon last week brought a lot of female white bass and hybrids up the river. They aren’t congregated in any one area, so covering water is the key. You can catch fish from above Franklin all the way down to Ringer. Look for your sandy banks along backside bends and any other current breaks upriver. We have been dealing with stained water due to water releases upriver, so lures with flash or vibration are a good choice. Cut bait is also doing well.

White bass from Upper Chattahoochee.

White bass from Upper Chattahoochee.

Linesides on the move on Chestatee River.

Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers Linesides Report: (From Fisheries Biologist Hunter Roop) — The linesides are on the move and making their way into Lake Lanier’s headwaters (Chestatee and Chattahoochee River) as indicated by increasing catch rates for both striped bass and white bass during sampling this week. Water temperatures are in upper 50’s to low 60’s, which is perfectly aligned with the typical timing for spawning runs for these species. You can find schools of striped bass roaming points and flats north of Clarks Bridge. Pulling planar boards or freelining blueback herring are great methods for covering lots of water and hooking up with quality fish. Alternatively, you could try a run-and-gun approach, focusing on river bends and creek mouths drifting herring or casting flukes or jerkbaits. We found that striped bass abundance improved dramatically as we move further upriver into faster flowing water. We have not seen the blueback herring show up in large schools yet, and so you may want to experiment with other natural forage such as large gizzard shad, shiners, or threadfin as the striped bass will readily feed on these species as well. White bass abundance was best upstream of Mud Creek on the Chattahoochee. White bass are easily tempted by a variety of presentations from in-line spinners, curly tail or paddle-tail jigs, flukes, and even topwater poppers. I expect that white bass numbers in the rivers will continue to remain elevated for the next couple of weeks, so strike now while the iron is hot!

Georgia Bass Slam Video: (From Angler Jason McRae) — Angler Jason McRae, who goes by “ShoalBandit” on his YouTube channel, was the Grand Prize winner of the Georgia Bass Slam for 2023.  Jason recently posted this VIDEO, which describes the program and shows all the cool swag he received for his efforts.  He also has lots of other videos documenting his pursuits of native black bass species in Georgia.  Check out the “ShoalBandit” channel HERE.

TROUT REPORT

Chattahoochee and Toccoa River Tailwaters Report: (This report courtesy of Tad Murdoch from Georgia Wild Trout) — The tailwaters of the Chattahoochee and Toccoa have both been fishing well with recent stockings. Generation on the Chattahoochee below Lanier has made wading difficult at times with the more frequent releases of late. This will likely continue for the next month as wet weather keeps lake levels up. Rainbows have been stocked prolifically in the river so expect heavier visitors on the days the river is fishable. And as always, we highly recommend releasing any of the wild brown trout caught in the river. Midge hatches have been excellent following periods of generation. The Toccoa River has been seeing a wide variety of bugs showing up in recent weeks with the best hatches still being ahead of us. While floating the river is still the best way to get in front of more trout, recent stockings have made fish more abundant in the river. Smaller streams will still be more productive for most anglers as the heavier angler traffic and limited access along the river make for tougher conditions on weekend anglers.

Trout Stockings Taking Place Now!

Trout Stockings Taking Place Now!

Stocked Trout Streams Report: (From Trout Stocking Coordinator John Lee Thomson) — Trout stocking is ongoing and stocking trucks are on the road stocking almost every day. The trout hatcheries begin stocking with the largest fish on the hatchery, therefore there are some high-quality stockers hitting the water all across north Georgia. For example, Summerville Hatchery Manager Josh Tannehill reports the fish he stocked this week averaged 11+ inches with some of the biggest weighing in at 2.5 lbs each!  That’s good news if you plan to fish Johns Creek or West Armuchee.  In the last two weeks over 80,000 trout have been stocked across North Georgia. Click on the last bullet HERE for the Weekly Trout Stocking Report. If the Morgan Falls Delayed Harvest section is your favorite, you will be pleased to hear that stocking has resumed and specifically fishing around Paces Ferry should be good this weekend. Please make sure have a valid fishing license and trout stamp. Click to purchase or renew.  Go Trout Fish Georgia!

Trout Streams Report: (This report courtesy of Tad Murdoch from Georgia Wild Trout) — The trout fishing has continued to pick up as waters across the state warm. The recent rains have brought the water levels of rivers and creeks up causing the trout to spread out. Streamers are an excellent way to probe large areas for trout. Hatches have begun to pick up around mid-morning and with it, the trout activity. The best hatches have been happening on the windy days following a passing front. The hatches of blue wing olives, black caddis, and march browns have begun shifting to yellow sallies, grannom caddis, golden stoneflies, and quills already, with sulfurs showing up later into April. Size sixteen to eighteen dry flies have been the best imitations when you begin to see the trout rising but, larger patterns will become more effective in coming weeks. When things are slow, large nymph patterns (stonefly and caddis) have worked well. Many other local fish in streams and rivers will begin their annual spawning ritual so don’t overlook egg patterns if suckers and chubs are around. The end of the month should see all of these patterns pick up as well as the fishing. Not every day has been best for dry flies. Though hatches may be in full swing, the trout are still swinging and missing on a fair amount of their rises. In these situations, adding a dropper or emerger pattern will lead to more hook ups.

North Georgia Trout Fishing Video: (This video courtesy of Hardman Fishing Adventures) — Check out this VIDEO from Hardman Fishing Adventures.  It has some great streamer fishing action along with some awesome North Georgia scenery.  He does not say what streams they fished, but some of you might recognize some spots!

The Dredger’s Weekly Report: (This report courtesy Jeff “Dredger” Durniak at Unicoi Outfitters) — Unicoi Outfitters puts out a full fishing report every Friday… hey kinda like us!  Although this week’s report was not yet posted as of this writing, you should be able to find it HERE later today.

Parting Trout Note: Want to do more to support trout fishing in Georgia?  Consider upgrading to a Trout Unlimited license plate this year. Aside from being a great looking tag, each purchase or renewal of a Trout Unlimited license plate directly supports Georgia’s trout conservation and management programs. Hatcheries and wild trout efforts both benefit from the trout tag.

CENTRAL GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Steve Schleiger, Region Supervisor and fisheries biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

There will be no Central Fishing Report today, but we encourage you to check out SOUTHERN FISHING WITH KEN STURDIVANT for some fishing reports that include this area!