The Etowah River is running at 958 cFs from Allatoona Dam. This flow is great! Cartersville did receive a good bit of rain yesterday, so some of the tributary creeks may have a stain, but don’t let that deter you from fishing. If you plan on targeting bass, I would bring a 7 weight with a floating line and try boogle bugs and gurglers under shaded banks, but if that doesn’t work out for you, tie on a baitfish pattern like a Clouser Minnow, Sparkle Minnow, Kreelex, or Lunch $ and fish tight to cover. For Striper, a 9 weight with a sinking line, heavy leader, and bigger baitfish patterns should produce. July is looking like a banner month for the river, so call us if you want to book an Etowah Trip! We’ve got availability in July, and will run striper trips as long as these migratory fish are in the river, but will continue to run bass trips through to October.
The Toccoa Tailwater continues to produce well this summer. We’ve had a fairly mild summer so far, and the river has been fished hard – fish early or late, as mid day temperatures can produce slower results. I would try to stick mostly naturals as far as fly patterns go: stonefly nymphs, both weighted and unweighted pheasant tail and hare’s ear variations, split case PMD’s, WD-40’s, Clear Water Emergers, and small soft hackles work great with a big dry or strike indicator. For attractor patterns, small rainbow warriors/lighting bugs and frenchies are fantastic. Keep an eye on the generation schedule!
Small Streams are a great escape from the heat. The higher elevation streams with heavy canopy can fish well all day long, and any runoff from rain flushes out very quickly! I’ll grab my favorite light-line fly rod, a spool of 6x Trouthunter Nylon, and a cup full of yellow dry flies and head to the mountains. As the water temperatures warm, try targeting the heads of pools and riffles where the water passes over rock and creates “whitewater” – fish will stack up below these riffles due to the extra oxygen content. A few other patterns I take with me this time of year: Purple Hazes, Parachute Adams, Adams Irresistible, any unweighted soft hackle pattern, small chubby cherynobyls, Ant and Beetle Patterns, and unweighted flashback Pheasant Tail Nymphs.
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