Bill Oyster shows off a rainbow trout he caught on a bamboo fly rod while fishing Noontootla Creek near Blue Ridge , Ga . Oyster specializes in making custom fly rods out of split bamboo and teaches a class where students can make their own rods .
Better known for hunting , the Chattahoochee National Forest of northern Georgia also offers sportsmen some of the best trout fishing in the South .
The forest spreads across 750,145 acres of northern Georgia and blankets most of Fannin County in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 75 miles north of Atlanta . Touching both Tennessee and North Carolina , Fannin County bills itself as the “ Trout Capital of Georgia .”
In the Chattahoochee National Forest , anglers may fish more than 1,360 miles of trout streams . The Toccoa River flows 93 miles through the southern Appalachians and provides abundant fishing near the town of Blue Ridge , Ga . As the river flows into Tennessee , the name changes to Ocoee River . The river also flows through Lake Blue Ridge , a 3,300-acre reservoir full of largemouth bass , spotted bass and crappie , but most people visit the area to catch rainbow trout .
“ The Toccoa River has a lot of trout ,” remarked Bill Oyster , a master fly fisherman and custom rod maker ( www . oysterbamboo . com ) in the town of Blue Ridge . “ The state shocked up a
15-pound trout in the river . Some people float the river , but it also has large stretches of public access where people can fish .”
At upper elevations in the mountains , anglers catch mostly brook trout , the only trout native to the eastern United States . Throughout the rest of the system , anglers mostly catch rainbows , but also some big browns . One of the best places to find trophy trout , Noontootla Creek begins high in the national forest near the 3,780-foot high Springer Mountain at the beginning of the Appalachian Trail . The stream flows down the north slope of the southern Appalachians into the Toccoa River .
“ The creek probably has about 80 percent rainbows , most of the rest browns and a few brook trout ,” Oyster advised . “ It ’ s a completely wild fishery that hasn ’ t been stocked since the 1940s . For decades , trout have been reproducing naturally . Noontootla Creek has some of the largest browns I ’ ve ever seen . I know about one that measured 34 inches . It was released and never officially weighed , but probably was in the 14- to 16-pound range . I ’ ve heard of some rainbows exceeding 30 inches .”
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