Greg's Fly Guide
Georgia Trout
Education

Education

Casting · Water · Bugs · Knots · Rigs · Species
Topics
🎣
Rigs
The 4 rigs that cover every Georgia situation.
🌊
Techniques
Dead drift, high sticking, hopper-dropper, streamer strip, reading water.
📅
Seasonal Guide
Month-by-month plan for your local waters.
✅
Before You Go
Call the dam. Licenses. Pack list.
🎯
Casting
Overhead cast, roll cast, reach cast, mend.
Coming soon — tell Claude what you're learning
🦟
Entomology
Midges, mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, terrestrials, baitfish.
Coming soon — will be linked to each fly
🪢
Knots
Clinch, double surgeon, nail, blood, loop-to-loop.
Coming soon
🐟
Species
Rainbow, brown, brook trout, shoal bass.
Coming soon
Category 05
How to Rig
The four rigs that cover every Georgia situation
Rig 1 — Standard Nymph Rig
The rig you'll fish 70% of the time · Both waters · All seasons
Thingamabobber Indicator
Set at 1.5x water depth · Orange 1/2"
Point Fly: Frenchie Jig Brown Size 14
5X fluorocarbon · 24–30" below indicator
Dropper: Flashback PT Tungsten Size 16
5X fluorocarbon · 18" below point fly
Adjust depth until you're ticking bottom occasionally. If indicator doesn't move in 60 seconds you're too shallow or too deep.
Rig 2 — Hopper Dropper
Summer rig · Mountain streams · June–October
Indicator: Chubby Chernobyl Tan Size 10
Foam body floats all day without floatant
Dropper: BH Pheasant Tail Size 14
5X fluoro · 18–24" below dry fly
Two ways to catch fish — the fish can eat the hopper OR the nymph. Watch for the hopper to dip, dart, or disappear sideways.
Rig 3 — Chattahoochee Midge Rig
Hooch specific · Year-round · The key to the tailwater
Small Indicator
Set very shallow · 12–14ft leader
Point: Zebra Midge Black Size 18–20
6X fluorocarbon · Near the bottom
Dropper: RS2 Sparkle Wing Gray Size 20
6X fluorocarbon · 12" below Zebra Midge
Use 6X — fish can see everything on the Hooch. Takes are subtle. Any hesitation or twitch is a strike. Set the hook.
Rig 4 — Streamer Rig
Trophy brown trout · Dawn & dusk · 30 minutes only
Floating line + 9ft leader
No indicator · Direct line to fly
Woolly Bugger Black Size 6
3X or 4X fluorocarbon tippet
Cast across current, let sink, swing down and across. Strip 6-inch strips. Takes feel like sudden heavy weight — strip set immediately. Never lift the rod tip on a streamer take.
Category 06
Techniques
01
The Dead Drift

Your most important skill. Cast upstream, mend immediately to remove drag, let your fly float at the exact speed of the current. Any unnatural movement = no fish. Practice this every single cast.

All dry flies
All nymphs under an indicator
San Juan Worm, Zebra Midge
02
High Sticking

Hold your rod tip high, keep minimal line on the water. Watch indicator or leader for any hesitation or twitch. Set the hook on anything that doesn't look natural. This is how 80% of trout are caught.

Frenchie Jig + Pheasant Tail
Pat's Rubber Legs + Rainbow Warrior
Zebra Midge + RS2
03
Hopper-Dropper

Tie a nymph 18 inches below a buoyant dry fly. Two flies simultaneously — the dry acts as both an attractor and a strike indicator for the nymph. The most fun rig in fly fishing.

Chubby Chernobyl + BH Pheasant Tail
Stimulator + Frenchie Jig
Thunder Thighs Hopper + Hare's Ear
04
Dry Fly Presentation

Find a rising fish. Identify what it's eating. Choose your fly. Cast 3-4 feet upstream of the rise ring, mend, float the fly over the fish drag-free. The single most satisfying moment in fly fishing.

Griffith's Gnat for midge rises
Elk Hair Caddis for caddis hatches
Parachute Adams for mayfly rises
05
Streamer Strip

Cast across current. Let the fly sink 3-5 seconds. Strip back with 6-inch pulls, pausing 1-2 seconds between strips. Most strikes come on the pause. Strip set — never lift your rod tip to set the hook.

Woolly Bugger at dawn/dusk
Sculpzilla in deep pools along bottom
Baby Gonga for trophy browns
06
Reading the Water

Trout hold in feeding lanes — current seams, tail-outs of pools, behind boulders, along undercut banks. Path of least resistance with food coming to them. On Noontootla, fish will be in every one of these spots. Look before you cast.

Nymph rigs in current seams
Streamers in the deepest pools
Dry flies in the pool tail-outs
Spring & Summer 2026

Month-by-month guide for your local waters

April — Now
April 2026 · Peak Spring
Primary tactic: Two-nymph indicator rig all day on the Hooch
Hatches starting: BWOs on overcast days, early caddis hatches beginning
Go-to flies: Frenchie Jig #14, Zebra Midge #18-20, Parachute BWO #18
Best spots: Island Ford, Jones Bridge, Powers Island (DH still active)
Delayed harvest C&R section active through May 15 — freshly stocked fish
Tippet: 5X for nymphs, 6X for dries and midges
May
May 2026 · Prime Season
May 11th: Noontootla Creek Farms guided trip — see game plan above
Delayed harvest ends May 15 — general regulations resume
Hatches peak: Caddis hatches exploding, Yellow Sally stoneflies beginning
Go-to flies: EHC Tan #14, Crystal Stimulator Rubberlegs Yellow, Frenchie Jig
Best spots: All Hooch sections, Noontootla on May 11th
Evening fishing becomes productive — fish until 30 min after sunset
June
June 2026 · Early Summer
Terrestrials begin: Beetles and ants fall into streams along wooded banks
Fish early: Before 9am on the Hooch to beat heat-related lethargy
Go-to flies: Tim's Beetle #16, Hippie Stomper #10, Chubby Chernobyl + nymph dropper
Hopper-dropper begins: Chubby Chernobyl with PT dropper on mountain streams
Best times: 6–9am and 6–8pm. Avoid midday on lower Hooch
Best spots: Bowmans Island (coldest), Jones Bridge early morning
July
July 2026 · Peak Summer
Grasshopper season: Thunder Thighs Hopper along grassy streambanks
Fish dawn and dusk only on lower Hooch sections — midday too warm
Go-to flies: Thunder Thighs Hopper #10, Tim's Beetle, Chubby Chernobyl
Streamer fishing: Prime time for trophy browns at dawn at Bowmans Island
Best spots: Bowmans Island all day (coldest water), others dawn/dusk only
Splat cast: Land hoppers hard on the water next to grassy banks
August
August 2026 · Late Summer
Mahogany Duns beginning: Parachute Adams Mahogany on mountain streams
Hoppers still active — best terrestrial month of the year
Go-to flies: Thunder Thighs Hopper, Adams Mahogany #16, Tim's Beetle
Evening only on lower Hooch — water temps peak in August
Best spots: Bowmans Island, upper sections with coldest water
Brown trout start pre-spawn aggression mid-August — streamer time increases
September–October
Fall 2026 · Trophy Season
Best streamer fishing of the year — brown trout pre-spawn aggressive
Go-to flies: Muddler Minnow Tan #6, Woolly Bugger Black #4-6, Sculpzilla
Fall caddis hatches: Elk Hair Caddis Tan and Black in the afternoons
BWO hatches return: Overcast fall days produce excellent dry fly fishing
Best spots: All Hooch sections excellent again as water cools
Big fish alert: Brown trout over 20" being caught regularly October–November
Category 08
Before Every Trip
Never skip these · Especially the dam release call
📞 Always Call First
Buford Dam release: (770) 945-1466 — call before EVERY Hooch trip. Do not fish the upper Hooch without checking. An unexpected release makes the river dangerous and unfishable.
Morgan Falls Dam: (404) 329-1455 — call for the lower sections near home at Powers Island and Cochran Shoals.
Check USGS flow: Search "Chattahoochee River near Atlanta USGS." Ideal wading flow: 600–1,200 cfs. Stay home above 2,000 cfs.
🎫 Licenses & Passes
Georgia Fishing License — purchase at GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com (~$15/yr residents)
Georgia Trout Stamp — required any time you fish for trout (~$10)
CRNRA Annual Pass: $40 — buy at Island Ford visitor center. Covers all 15 CRNRA units all year. You will use it constantly — worth it on your first visit.
America the Beautiful Pass: $80 — covers all national parks and federal lands nationwide. Worth it if you plan to fish Noontootla and travel.
🎒 Pack This Every Time
Waders + wading boots — Simms Tributary waders + Korkers River Ops boots. River is 50°F year-round — never wet wade the Hooch.
PFD — required when wading between Buford Dam and Hwy 20, and between Morgan Falls Dam and boat ramp.
Sling pack — Fishpond sling. Floatant, tippet, forceps, snips, Thingamabobbers, fly boxes, split shot.
Net — Fishpond Nomad. Wet it before landing fish. Keep fish in water at all times.
Extra tippet — 4X, 5X, 6X fluorocarbon. You will go through 5X and 6X constantly.
🎣 Rig Before You Leave Home
Default rig: Thingamabobber + Frenchie Jig #14 (point) + Flashback PT #16 (dropper) on 5X. Set depth at 1.5x estimated water depth.
Post-rain rig: San Juan Worm Red #10 or Squirmy Wormie. Check forecast night before — rain = worm day.
Midge rig (Hooch): Zebra Midge Black #18-20 (point) + RS2 Sparkle Wing Gray #20 (dropper) on 6X. Small indicator set very shallow.
Have a dry fly ready: Parachute Adams #16 or Elk Hair Caddis Tan #14 already on a tippet ring in your pack for quick switches when fish start rising.
🧭 Key Resources
Fish Hawk Atlanta: 764 Miami Circle NE, Suite 126 · (404) 237-3473. Stop in before any trip for current conditions reports. They know exactly what's hatching on the Hooch this week.
Georgia DNR Trout Stocking Map: georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout — check before Hooch trips to see what sections were stocked this week.
Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy: chattahoocheeparks.org — current trail conditions, access updates, event notices.
Noontootla Creek Farms: David (770) 639-4001 · david@ncfga.com. Book at least 2 weeks ahead. Open Oct–May.
⚠️ Safety Rules
Water temperature: The Hooch is 50°F year-round. Never wet wade. Hypothermia is real even in summer. Always wear waders.
Check flow before wading: A sudden Buford Dam release can raise the river 2 feet in minutes. If water starts rising rapidly — get off the river immediately.
Fishing hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset on all Chattahoochee trout sections. Night fishing prohibited.
No live bait: Artificial lures only throughout CRNRA. No corn, worms, or salmon eggs — even in lower sections. Flies and lures only.
C&R handling: Wet hands before touching fish. Keep in water. Barbless hooks preferred for faster releases.
Greg Holden · Georgia Trout Fly Guide · April 2026 🎣