As I am typing this fishing report, we’re receiving flash flood notifications on our phones for nearly every county from Blue Ridge to Cartersville. Exercise caution if you plan on fishing today and later this week – some of our streams are going to be utterly unfishable and dangerous, especially smaller bodies of water initially. Be mindful of road conditions on some of the forest service roads especially, as heavy rain can turn some of the more un-maintained roads into mud puddles.
The Toccoa Tailwater was fishing fantastically before the rain started yesterday. Black Caddis were hatching in droves, so if we do get the opportunity to fish again, I would keep a number of different caddis patterns, both subsurface and surface, on hand. Little Black Stones have also been coming off, so small black stimulators and purple pheasant tails should also be on hand. Blue Winged Olive Nymphs, Midge patterns, and other standard tailwater fare will produce. Keep in mind, Tammen Park is usually the only clear water below the dam after a hard rain due to tributary streams blowing out. Watch the generation schedule before you head out to fish, the TVA is subject to changing the schedule at any time.
The Upper Toccoa Delayed Harvest is going to be blown out, likely through to next week. Go somewhere else.
Small Streams in the mountains will likely be blown out today and potentially tomorrow as well. These streams are very high in gradient, so they flush out quickly – that’s a good thing, but only if the rain doesn’t continue to hammer us. These streams are small in width and size, so a good bit of rain can make these streams flood quickly. You do not want to be on a creek when this happens, and you really don’t want to be on an unmaintained forest service road if the water rises outside of the banks of a stream. I would probably wait a couple of days before heading to the mountain streams.
Come by the shop and tie some flies. That’s probably a better option than fishing this week, we even have a tying class this Saturday in Blue Ridge with 3 slots open. Or go by the Cartersville shop and hang out at the Last Cast Bar.
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
Cartersville Shop: (770) 606-1100
Blue Ridge Shop: (706) 946-3044