The Magnificent Chattooga River

I spent a recent day fishing the Chattooga River with a friend. We chose a fairly remote section that required modest hikes in and out and a couple of miles of trekking through the riverbed.

Occasionally, I need to pause to ponder what a blessing it is to have the Chattooga National Wild & Scenic River so close to home. The Chattooga rises high on Whiteside Mountain in Western North Carolina and runs nearly its entire course through forested public land on the Nantahala, Chattahoochee, and Sumter national forests. Wild and Scenic River designation protects the river corridor from development or road encroachment.

I’ve spent dozens of day — maybe more than 100 — fishing, hiking and rafting along the Chattooga. I’ve camped by the river, explored wild and unforgiving areas like Rock Gorge and the Canyon of the Five Falls, but most days have been spent fishing for trout and/or Bartrams bass.

Part of the appeal of the Chattooga from an angling perspective is the diversity of opportunities. 

The far upper section is pure wild trout waters, with wild native brook trout if you go far enough up.

The sections around Burrells Ford is heavily stocked. Below the bridge is a long section that contains a mix of helicopter stocked rainbows, wild rainbows and brown and “semi-wild” brown that are helicopter stocked as subadults during late fall and grow up in the river like wild fish. 

The three miles above the Highway 28 bridge are managed with delayed harvest regulations. Below 28, some trout get stocked in a couple of areas, but Bartrams bass are more prevalent.

The Chattooga also offers tremendous variety in its character, although changes are throughout the river as opposed to differing by major section. From high in the mountains to the lower reaches, where the Chattooga is large for an Appalachian mountain river, it continuously shifts from broad, shallow runs to long, deep pools to crashing rapids, a few of which are better described as waterfalls.

The common denominator is that the river is stunning, with a backcountry feel and water that stays clear even after most rains. It also has a backcountry feel nearly throughout, and several areas are only accessible via significant walking or skilled paddling.

The Chattooga also has an extraordinary network of tributaries that include some of my favorite places in Georgia, but that’s probably another story for another time!

Happy Jacks

Afew jack crevalle were among the fish that cooperated a couple of weeks ago when I spent a day in Jacksonville fishing with Chris Holleman of Blue Cyclone Inland Fishing Adventures. I was glad. Jacks are hard hitting, fast and a lot of fun to catch.

Interestingly, jacks are among the most maligned fish in inland waters. I’ve often heard anglers grumbling when they hook up with jacks and even wanting to move away for them to search for the day’s targeted species.

I’ve watched anglers completely change their perspective upon getting a good look at a fish and realizing it is a huge jack. One minute enjoying the fast runs and brutal strength and the next minute irritated by the same qualities and time taken away from the pursuit of other species.

Fishing is meant to be fun, and preferences are personal, so folks have the right to like or dislike catching any species. I’ve just never understood how the fun factor can change so dramatically based on the shape of the fish.

I get a bit of disappointment if your hope for the day was to catch a trophy redfish, and you thought that was what you were fighting. It seems to go way past disappointed, though, and turn into a despise for the fish at the end of the line.

I’ve also always wondered when or why jack crevalle became perceived as “trash fish” in the eyes of so many anglers. Their shape, iridescent colors and fighting qualities are somewhat similar to permit, which are highly prized sport fish. 

I guess I don’t need to worry about other anglers’ preference. I know I like catching jacks and always welcome them to the party!

Bonus Backcountry Bartrams Bass

Rainbow and brown trout were the target species during a recent wade-fishing trip, and we caught plenty of them. Bartrams bass were a bonus — an excellent bonus from my standpoint.

I wasn’t shocked to catch Bartrams bass. I’d caught them from the same section of the Chattooga River before — while fishing with the same friend, in fact. And I’ve caught many Bartrams farther downstream on the same river. I did not expect to catch enough bass to lose count, but that’s exactly what happened.

Interestingly, I think I could have caught far more. The Bartrams mostly came late in the day. We were fishing through a section of remote river and needed to keep moving to ever get to where we could reasonably get out and connect with a trail. I was casting while walking and in places getting at least one hit on almost every cast.

I’m a huge fan of Bartrams bass. While they don’t grow very large, they are feisty and fun to catch and ways have fabulous markings.

Bartrams bass, by the way, are upland black bass — one of the redeye species — and they are only found in the upper Savannah River watershed. Hybridization with non-native Alabama bass and spotted bass has substantially reduced their range over the years. Select water still have strong populations, though.

The trout also served up big fun, but that’s another story! To see the river and catches of trout and bass, check out “Brown Trout, Rainbows & Bartrams Bass — Walk-in Fishing Adventure” on Fishing on Foot YouTube.

Bull Redfish to Start a Day

Bull redfish weren’t the main objective, but when Capt. Chris Holleman of Blue Cyclone Fishing Charters said there might be an early window for hooking into a few, I surely didn’t argue within the idea of targeting big reds to start our day.

One of my favorite things about fishing with Holleman is that we virtually always hit a big range of spots and fish a variety of ways and usually catch multiple species. He always studies the tide charts and considers things like wind, season and recent days on the water and comes up with a working plan in his head. 

Holleman understands the complex tidal waterways in the Jacksonville area and the fish that inhabit them like few anglers do and knows when to fish will respond best to different presentations. He has spots that are best for incoming tides, outgoing tides, high water, low water, strong tides slack periods… His working plan, which of course gets adapted through the day according to conditions and how the fish respond, puts him in key areas for different kinds of fishing when the tide is right for each.

We started on the bull red spot because that was when the tides were right, and three of them bit right when they were supposed to. From there Holleman had a flow in mind that included casting diving baits, working topwater lures and fishing jig/soft plastic combos, and fishing waters ranging from deep structures well out in the St John’s River to casting for largemouth bass in the backs of channels.

I think we ended up catching five species that day, and it’s not uncommon, fishing with Holleman to end up with twice that many.

I caught two species that day that were new to me for 2026 — redfish and jack crevalle. Earlier on the same trip, I also added bluefish to this year’s list. The bluefish was my first saltwater fish of 2026. The blue, red and jack were species 14, 15 and 16 of the year for me.

Coastal Fishing Plans

Having learned of some coastal fishing photo needs for work and realizing my best travel window is more sooner than later, I went into planning mode today.

Soon I’ll be pointing my car south and heading first to the Georgia coast and then to northeastern Florida. I’ll start out Fishing on Foot and shooting photos from various surf, pier and jetty type settings. 

Lure photos are the primary objective, but of course I hope to catch some fish. Depending on when and where any catches happen, I might keep a few to cook. I’m not camping and don’t want to keep up with fish a couple of days, so I’d probably have to catch them while I’m near a picnic area with a charcoal grill. Far from impossible but the situational need is pretty specific.

The final day I’ll be on the boat with Capt. Chris Holleman of Blue Cyclone Fishing Charters. I always have fun fishing with Chris, and I always feel great about fish-catching prospects. Our hope is to call up some topwater action.

Watch upcoming posts for fishing reports!

Late Bluegill Addition & More

A few taps of my jig and a snap of my wrist connected me with a solid bluegill, which had a bit of a surprise element. Catching a bluegill is seldom a surprise because they inhabit so many types of waterways and are quick to bite. Neither was catching it on a finesse bass bait.

The surprise was that it was April 1, and I was just catching my first bluegill of the year. I’m not consistent enough with keeping annual fish lists to quantify how rare that is, but I can say with confidence that I seldom catch 10 other species before adding bluegill to the list.

It was a pleasant surprise that came courtesy of a Rebel Ultra-Finesse Jig and that bit at the end of a presentation, when I was about to lift the jig out of the water and make another cast. Unfortunately, it was alone — or if it had buddies, they weren’t buying what I was selling.

Other Species Added

A little later the same morning, at a different river, I added two more species to this year’s tally: a shadow bass and a Coosa redeye bass. Both are regional species that are found in some North Georgia rivers.

The shadow bass looks and acts like a rock bass. In fact, when I caught it, I was thinking it was a rock bass. Only later did I remember that shadow bass are native to the Coosa River drainage, where I was fishing, and rock bass don’t actually live there. 

When I went back and looked at shadow bass photos online, I could see dark splotches that match my fish and that aren’t on true rock bass. Maybe they are the namesake. I’m not sure.

The Coosa redeye (also called just Coosa bass or redeye bass) is one of a handful of native upland river black bass species found in North Georgia. It’s one of the species that is part of the Georgia Bass Slam, but mine was tiny — well below then 8-inch minimum for qualifying fish. Hopefully, I’ll catch a bigger one some time this year! For now, those fish were species 12 and 13 on this year’s catch list.

Old School Bassmaster Win for Jason Christie

Last weekend’s Bassmaster Elite Series event on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway had an old-school feel that made it really fun to watch, and Jason Christie epitomized that as he took down the title with a spinnerbait rod in hand.

For this Elite Series season, for about half the events, chosen preseason by random drawing, no forward facing sonar may be used. Tenn-Tom was one of those. Add a dirty, cover-laden river system with volatile conditions, and the situation dictated working trees, stumps and weeds with spinnerbaits, swim jigs, frogs and flipping baits. And old-school fish finding and patterning.

I should note up front that I am not an FFS hater. I’ve done a bit of it, mostly for crappie, and think it’s a lot of fun. And I’m not one who thinks it’s cheating and should be disallowed in every tournament. Success doesn’t require less skill. It’s just a different skill set. And I enjoy watching pros who understand what they are looking at read the fish’s mood and figure out how to catch the biggest ones.

That said, watching top pros make decisions about similar looking backwaters, strategize long runs vs extra fishing time, adjust for changing conditions and meticulously pick apart mostly-visible cover in dirty water was just plain fun.

Jason Christie is one of the most intuitive fish patterners on tour. He quickly figures out which cover to go right past and which to hit and the ideal angle and presentation for every piece of cover. He’s also a master with a spinnerbait and supremely confident when he’s throwing a BOOYAH Covert Spinnerbait (a series he designed).

Winning last weekend took more than cast and retrieve execution, though. Decisions about locations and adjustments were paramount, and Christie made several key decisions that helped him finish on top.

Interestingly, Christie commented some point that the Tenn-Tom felt familiar because it looked just like the Oklahoma section of the Arkansas River, which is about 20 miles from where Christie lives and where he largely honed his spinnerbait skills. Guess where the Elite Series is headed next!