Fishing in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

In the Park - Fishing Hot Spots

Would any devoted angler ever give up her best fishing spots? In general, fishers are very generous with advice. Additionally, the tailwater of the Chattahoochee below Buford Dam is so large, and the CRNRA offers so many access points, that there is no shortage of good opportunities to catch fish and thus no need to be secretive. 

During the summer, trout like the coldest water they can find. Bowmans Island is an excellent choice. At lower water, most of the river is accessible to wading, and it also offers good opportunities to floatfish. Access is best from the Lower Pool West boat ramp just above Haw Creek. Try to stay on the gravel, not the slippery rocks, and be aware of any potential water release from the dam. The Jones Bridge unit is also a popular part of the river for fly fishing along the shoals.

Another excellent time to enjoy lots of fish and relative solitude on the lowest portions of the tailwater is the Delayed Harvest season which runs from November 1 to May 14. During that time, the Georgia DNR releases 50,000 trout into the river from Sope Creek in the Cochran Shoals unit downstream to the US 41 bridge in the Paces Mill unit. No bait fishing is allowed, and no multi-hook lures. All fishing is catch and release. As a result, there are a lot of fish in this area during the Delayed Harvest, providing excellent fishing.

Always remember that the cold water that trout love comes out of the dam in massive releases of water that can be very, very dangerous, overwhelming anyone downstream. Don’t ever get into the upper reaches of the “lower” Chattahoochee without checking the release schedule at (770) 945-1466 and understanding how long the released water takes to go downstream, and always wear a PFD above the highway 20 bridge. This is fantastic trout water, but it can be fatal to humans who don’t take the time to understand when releases are coming or to take precautions.

Photo by Capt Kodak

Fishing for Brown and Rainbow Trout

The “Lower” Chattahoochee, below Lake Lanier, holds a lot of trout.  Although trout are not indigenous, the river is now a prime habitat with the mighty Buford Dam sitting 160 feet above the riverbed, allowing extremely cold, oxygen-rich water at the bottom of Lake Lanier to flow out from its base year-round.

Three species of well-oxygenated trout have populated the lower Chattahoochee. The first species was the Brook Trout (actually a char, but why quibble). The Brook Trout was stressed by nineteenth century warming of the (un-dammed) river, then pushed out of the river altogether when two more non-native species were introduced. The first of those species is the beautiful and adaptable Rainbow Trout. Voracious and varied eaters, these flashy fish are marked by their red-pink stripe down their sides. Rainbow Trout thrive both in the ultra-cold water near the dam and in the warmer, slower moving water much farther downstream past CRNRA’s Paces Mill unit. The other non-native species is the Brown Trout, which hails from Europe. It prefers the colder, faster water in the upper reaches of the tailwater and will lurk in eddies and pools. The great news is that they are now self-sustaining in that region. Catching a wild, brown trout on a surface fly is a real treat!

For more information on local aquatic species fish found in the Chattahoochee, check out the interpretive panel funded by CNPC partner the Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited on the new overlook at the Jones Bridge unit.

Photo of a Rainbow Trout by JC7001