Georgia Fly Fishing Guides

Like their neighbors to the south, Georgia anglers love to fish including Georgia fly fishing, and with the mild climate, great fishing can be done year round. Unlike Florida, however, Georgia does provide trout fishing. Most of it’s done in the clear, cold mountain streams and lakes in the northern part of the Peach State.

Georgia lakes with healthy trout populations include Lake Burton, Nottely Lake, and Lake Lanier. Smith Lake, also called Unicoi Lake, is located in Unicoi State Park and offers fly fishing for rainbow trout, bluegill, and largemouth bass.

A wide network of North Georgia rivers, streams, and creeks contain healthy populations of trout, just waiting to gobble your flies. I’ll let you in on a secret: some great fly fishing for trout can be done right in downtown Helen, in the Chattahoochee River. To get an idea of the trout in these waters, visit Nora Mill just outside Helen and peek at the trout just below the mill’s rear deck. Tourists feed the fish here, and the fat trout lie in wait in some of the deeper pools. Unfortunately, you can’t fish in this exact spot, but you’re free to cast your flies a little upriver for rainbows, browns, and brookies. What’s always amazing to me is that few anglers take advantage of the great trout fishing in Helen. You’ll seldom see more than two or three fishermen here.

Where To Go Georgia Fly Fishing

Other great spots for trout fly fishing in Georgia are Waters Creek, Holly Creek, Dukes Creek, Dicks Creek, the Toccoa River, and the Chattooga River. To fish rugged areas with little fishing pressure, hire a Georgia fly fishing guide to take you to these remote areas.

If you’re into fly fishing for striped bass, Georgia will not disappoint. Some of the best lakes for stripers are Lake Blackshear, Lake Seminole, Lake Hartwell, J. Strom Thurmond Lake, Carters Lake, and Lake Lanier. You can find Georgia flyfishing guides who specialize in each of these lakes.

Many Georgia anglers also enjoy catching hefty bluegill on flies. Bluegill can be found in practically every body of freshwater in the state, from the smallest farm pond to the largest reservoir. The state record fish weighed 3 pounds, 5 ounces. These fish are scrappy and are really fun to catch on light tackle. They’re also good on the table.

One of the tastiest freshwater fish in the world is also abundant in Georgia, and will readily take flies – the crappie. The Peach State offers both white and black crappie. The state record black weighed 4.25 pounds, and the state record white was just 3 ounces shy of the world record. This Georgia papermouth weighed 5 pounds. If you want to catch a mess of crappie for a fish fry, hire a Georgia flyfishing guide.

Saltwater fly fishing in Georgia

Along the Georgia coast are some great places to fly fish. The bays and sounds are usually calm, plus there are numerous tidal creeks and rivers to fish. Some of the fish species landed on fly rods include redfish, spotted sea trout, bluefish, tripletail, and tarpon. Numerous Georgia fly fishing charters are available for some great saltwater action.