North Georgia Trout and Striper Fishing Report for April
Capt. Tad Murdock
April 3, 2022
Chattahoochee River - Freshwater Fishing Report
North Georgia Trout Streams
The trout activity has continued to pick up as waters across the state warm. Recent rains have brought the levels of rivers and creeks up causing the trout to spread out. Streamers are an excellent way to probe large areas for trout. Hatches have begun to pick up around mid-morning along with trout activity. The best hatches have been happening on the windy days following a passing front. Yellow sally's and black caddis have been the most prevalent bugs I have seen on the water. Size sixteen to eighteen dry flies have been the best imitations when you begin to see the trout rising. When things are slow, large nymph patterns (stonefly and caddis) have worked well. Many other local fish in streams and rivers will begin their annual spawning ritual so don't overlook egg patterns if suckers and chubs are around. The end of the month should see all of these patterns pick up as well as the fishing. Not everyday has been best for dry flies. Though hatches may be in full swing, the trout are still swinging and missing a fair amount. In these situations, adding a dropper or emerger pattern will lead to more hook ups.
Georgia Stocked Trout Streams
Trout have been stocked in nearly all of North Georgia's seasonally stocked streams. The crowds in these areas have been heavy no matter where you're fishing in North Georgia. You can take a look at what streams have been stocked in our Blue Ridge Trout Fishing Guide, Helen Trout Fishing Guide, Ellijay Trout Fishing Guide, or Dahlonega Trout Fishing Guide. After visiting several popular waters following the initial late March stockings, these heavily trafficked streams have already been mostly cleaned out.
Tailwater Trout Fishing
The tailwaters of the Chattahoochee and Toccoa and both seeing heavier generation schedules. Generation on the Chattahoochee below Lanier has been occurring just about every day. Rather than playing the guessing game on when the core will pull water, know that water is typically not pulled on days when rain is in the forecast. If they do pull on these rainy days, it is typically for shorter periods. Rainbows have been stocked in the river so expect heavier visitors on the days the river is fishable. And as always we highly recommend releasing any of the wild brown trout caught in the river.
Lake Lanier Striper Run
The Striper will begin their heavy run up the lake any day now. At the moment they remain very scattered throughout the mid and upper end of the lake. Look for the rains over the next week to push these striped bass upstream on the Chestatee River and Chattahoochee River. Striper will moving upstream will stage along the deeper outside bends of the main channel and just below creek confluences. Look for white bass to be mixed in whether your fishing the Chattahoochee, Chestatee, or Etowah River. Clousers and other small baitfish imitations will see more action from all species on the river while the larger fly patterns, such as a drunk and disorderly or hollow point, will catch the eye and entice the larger striper.
Target Species:
Rainbow, Brown, Brook Trout, and Striped Bass
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