River

Along a noisy Blue Ridge creek or atop a clear-flowing river thick with native Rainbow, Brown or Brook Trout, the living is easy in this fabled “land of many waters.” And, the value of owning a second home or vacation retreat along this highly desirable waterfront has never been greater.

Popular North Georgia river and creek homesites include: Conasauga River, Toccoa River, Talking Rock Creek, Ellijay River, Cartecay River, Ocoee River, Nottely River, Hiawassee River, Noontootla Creek, Turniptown Creek, Fightingtown Creek, Little Fightingtown Creek.

TOCCOA RIVER CANOE TRAIL

The Toccoa River Canoe Trail is perfect for beginners who are looking for a few rapids and some beautiful scenery along the way. The trail is also popular with float fishermen looking for cold-water mountain trout.

FLY FISHING ON THE TOCCOA

Steve Lamb has been fly fishing for 25 years; he heads the American Fly fishing and Fly tying school. Here, "The Lambster" shares his thoughts on fishing on the Toccoa River. What makes the Toccoa River different from other tail-water fisheries? I would have to say that the river has a lot of things going for it, including:

Terrain - The river has great vegetation, with a hard gravel limestone bottom.
Aquatic life - The Toccoa has a lot of great pocket water and raging riffles, which contain lots of nymphs as well as good amounts of aquatic life to sustain great trout habitat.
Limited access - The river has few true access points. This keeps a lot of traffic off the river, saving the banks from erosion.
Hatchery releases - The hatchery releases fingerlings of Rainbows and Browns that become more of a wilder trout, thus making it more of a challenge for the trout fisherman! Each year the hatchery also releases catch able trout that are seven to 10 inches.
Hungry fish - Your fly box should contain a healthy assortment of Dave's foam hoppers, parachute hoppers, wooly worms, beetles, crickets and parachute ants. Terrestrials are best fished off the banks about 10 feet. Trout will gorge themselves on these bugs!

TROUT FISHING IN FANNIN COUNTY
According to Georgia Outdoor News, the Toccoa River is one of the region's rivers that hold the characteristics required for anglers to find big trout. Serious trout fishermen know that there is serious trout fishing in Fannin County not only in the Toccoa, but in Rock Creek, Cooper Creek and Noontootla Creek. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources publishes a comprehensive trout fishing guide to Georgia, available at the Welcome Center. Below are some suggestions for simple access to great trout fishing in Fannin County.

TOCCOA RIVER: (State Highways 2, 5 and 60E)

The Toccoa is stocked above Blue Ridge Dam about every other week during trout season. Most of it is on private land, but much of the section along Rt. 60, near the town of Margaret, flows through National Forest. The river below the dam is very broad in most areas, making it a good choice for fly fishermen. Trout are also stocked regularly in this section. A popular way to fish this area is to float-fish from the dam downstream approximately 15 miles to McCaysville. Use caution. Water levels can rise suddenly. Check dates and times for water releases from Blue Ridge dam at 800-238-2264

NOONTOOTLA CREEK: (Forest Service Rd. 58) Southeast of Blue Ridge in the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area. The creek and its tributaries are managed to imitate a natural stream with an un-harvested trout population, to provide a unique experience that emphasizes catching wild trout for fun, rather than harvest. If you're lucky and catch a very rare trophy trout that is 16 inches or longer, you may keep it. All smaller trout must be released immediately. Artificial lures only.

JACKS & CONASAUGA RIVERS: Forest Service Roads 22, 64 and 73 off State Route 2 west of Blue Ridge. Inside the Cohutta Wilderness there are 45 miles of fishing opportunities on the Jacks (March - October) and Conasauga Rivers (open year round). The Jacks is not stocked, but it contains reproducing trout populations. If you want real wilderness, this is the place. The Forest Service has a detailed map of the wilderness. It is wise to have this map if you plan a fishing or hiking trip to this wild area.

WHITE WATER RAFTING

From March to October the Ocoee River comes alive with whitewater enthusiasts from around the world who journey to shoot the world-class rapids in rafts, canoes, and kayaks. Outdoor adventure writer Kim Urquhart calls it "a paddler's paradise ...loved for its size and power, constant flow rate and continuous waves and holes".
The Class III and IV rapids that highlight this river begin just west of Ducktown, TN. The Ocoee Whitewater Center is a federally operated put-in that is used by both commercial companies and individuals. In 2002 nearly 300,000 people made the journey from this site to the take-out more than 5 miles further down the river.

Ocoee River Whitewater
Olympic Events were held on the upper Ocoee River. They ended near the Ocoee Whitewater Center, and this section is generally not open to the public. After the center is the Middle Ocoee, a five mile section of the river from the center just west of Ducktown to a remote take-out point in the Ocoee Gorge. In this five miles the river falls some 250 feet across some Class IV+ rapids. The Middle Ocoee River is significantly calmer than the Upper Ocoee, although there are some good drops. Under normal conditions there are no Class V rapids on the river, however, at times when water flow is greater than normal, some of the Class IV rapids become Class V.

Harry Norman, Realtors of Blue Ridge

River