Great Time to Catch Georgia Trout

If you don't mind releasing the fish you catch and being restricted to using single-hook artificial lures, some of the best opportunities of the year to catch trout in Georgia begin tomorrow. Nov. 1 is the official opening day for Georgia's five delayed harvest streams, and all five streams are sure to be well stocked with trout (including a few big ones). From tomorrow morning through mid-May, no harvest will be permitted and only single-hook artificial lures may be used or possessed, but the Georgia WRD will continue stocking trout from time to time throughout the season.

All five streams in the program offer excellent trout habitat during the cool season and are therefore perfect for DH designation. Adding interest, they vary dramatically in character and range from Chattahoochee, which is a big urban tailwater, to Smith Creek, which is a fairly small mountain creek. Two of the stream sections, along the Chattooga and Amicalola rivers, offer only walking access to most of their combined 6 miles.

November is prime time to hit DH waters because temperatures tend to be mild, the rivers are beautiful, and the fish are freshly stocked and typically a little less educated than they will be later in the DH season. Don't  expect to have any of these waters to yourself, though. Folks have figured out that they offer very good opportunities to catch trout and they are therefore quite popular.