WINTER FISHING ON THE TOCCOA RIVER

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Rebecca Little
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1 WINTER FISHING ON THE TOCCOA RIVER

2 Lower Toccoa This section lies below Lake Blue Ridge and the TVA hydro-electric dam. Access to the dam can be found at Tammen park located about 400 yards below the dam. Lush aquatic vegetation provides a fertile habitat for various species of insects. More common hatches include midges, blue wing olives, and small caddis.

4 Wading Access on the Lower Toccoa

5 Wading: Public Access on the Lower Toccoa Wading: Blue Ridge dam canoe access Tammen Park Curtis Switch park in Mineral Bluff, GA Horseshoe Bend park in Mccayesville, GA.

6 Floating Access on the Lower Toccoa

7 Floating: Access on the Lower Toccoa Tammen park canoe launch Curtis Switch boat ramp Horseshoe Bend park boat ramp Mccayesville city park boat ramp

8 Hatches near the dam. The most common hatch will generally be various types of midges. The best hatch occurs after a full generation as the water recedes to normal levels. Feeding will typically occur sub-surface or near the film. Other insects to consider are Baetis (BWOs), Caddis and Cranefly.

9 A few fish from the dam

12 Fly selection and rigging

13 Dries Parachute Adams Parachute BWO Elk hair Caddis (Tan or Olive) 16-18

14 Nymphs Pheasant tail Olive Hare s Ear Zebra Midge (Black, Olive, and Gray) Soft Hackle (Purple, Olive, Red) Rainbow Warrior (Pearl or Black) 1820

15 Emergers Caddis emergers BWO emergers Midge emergers 18-24

16 Leaders and tippets 5-6x flourocarbon tippet x monofilament leader

17 Rod and line weight wt. rods 3-5 WFF (Weight Forward Floating)

18 Guide s choice rigging techniques

19 Guide s choice rigging techniques Dry Dropper Indicator with two droppers Drop-shot Swing rig

20 Dry Dropper Caddis dry with Zebra Midge and soft hackle Para-Adams with Zebra Midge Para-BWO with soft hackle Caddis dry with caddis emerger

21 Indicator with two droppers My personal go-to rig for fishing the Toccoa. I like to deploy small dries and midges when floating with clients because it s as close to a sure thing as anything else. Aim small, miss small Pheasant tail with Zebra Midge or Rainbow Warrior. Olive Hare s Ear with Soft Hackle.

22 Drop-Shot The point of drop-shotting is to get weightless flies close to the bottom without actually touching it. Utilizing split-shot on an elongated tag to present flies vertically in the water column. Any unweighted fly pattern.

23 Swing-rig Swinging Flies can produce some of the most exciting fishing and is a very useful tactic even when fish are rising. It is also a smart way for beginners to speed up the learning curve because less casting is needed. Tandem soft hackle rigs. Small buggers and leeches.

24 A note on junk food

25 A note on junk food Misconceptions: Used for those who struggle to match the hatch or generally don t know what to do. Used by rednecks who have recently taken up fly fishing. Used to catch pellet heads and fresh stockers.

26 A note on junk food Misconceptions: Used for those who struggle to match the hatch or generally don t know what to do. Wrong.. This is the dumbest assessment. Like any category of flies, junk has its place and time when needed.

27 A note on junk food Misconceptions: Used by rednecks who have recently taken up fly fishing. So what? At least its not corn.

28 A note on junk food Misconceptions: Used to catch pellet heads and fresh stockers. While often true, many stocked fish will begin to hone in on naturally drifting insects and forget about junk food. Although I often utilize junk food to draw attention to another natural fly in my rig. Call it an attractor rig.

29 A note on junk food a second helping. Using junk food as sub-surface indicators. Useful as attractors for other flies. Tactically placed in fly boxes to throw off the attention of anyone sneaking a peek at your secret flies. Gets em everytime.

30 More fish from the Toccoa

39 Photo credits to Daniel Peeples and Beau Beasley.

40 A special thanks to Tailwater TU for all you do to support Georgia s freshwater resources.

41 Contact information for guide services and casting lessons. Chase Pritchett (706)

Module 8 River and Stream Fishing

Module 8 River and Stream Fishing What is River and Stream Fishing? It is trying to catch fish in a river or stream with a fly rod and flies. Why do you Fish Rivers and Streams. 1. Fish will give a better