Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout
Size
Small to Medium
Location
North Central Georgia
Nearest Towns
Helen
Atlanta
Season
Year-round
Access:
Fair
USGS Stream Flow Data:
At Helen Ga
Seasons:
The Season runs year-round
Spring:
Spring is the best time because of its hatches.
Summer:
Summer is a good time to fish the river but it can get a little too warm at times.
Fall:
Fall season is a great time to catch the large brown trout and is overlooked by many anglers.
Winter:
Trout can be taken on all but the coldest days of winter on imitations of midge larvae, pupae and sometimes, the adults.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Upper Chattahoochee River – Fly Fishing Report -March 03, 2024
The stream is still flowing at a normal level with clear water. There are some good hatches taking place.
Stream Conditions: Afternoon Water Temperature: 46 (lower section)
Release Schedule: USGS Flow Data at Helen
Discharge rate: 183 cfs
Level: 1.19 ft
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Quill Gordons: 12/14, nymphs, emerging duns, duns, spinners
Blue Quills: 18nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa, adults
Little Brown Stoneflies: 12, nymphs, adults
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed weather information)
Fly Fishing The Chattahoochee River Georgia: The Chattahoochee River begins from tiny streams in the high Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia and flows down through the little resort town of Helena, Georgia. It is a typical, beautiful Southern Appalachian freestone mountain stream that flows around many large boulders. The uppermost part of the stream, or Upper Cattahoochee River, and its headwater tributaries, contain small brook trout. They are protected from the rainbows and brown trout by a natural waterfall just above the confluence of Henson Creek. Most of the lower section of this river is just off of state highway #75. The middle section of the river is located along road #44 in the Wildlife Management Area.You will find both stocked and wild trout in the river. The lower area near Helen has plenty of public water but the fish are mostly stocked trout. There’s not much natural reproduction of trout in the lower section of the river. The section of the river that is in the Chattahoochee Wildlife Management Area is probably the best section of the stream to fish. Both hatchery and wild trout exist in this part of the river. The area above Henson Creek is strictly brook trout fishing. This freestone river has a good population of aquatic insects. The wild trout rely on them from birth and it is usually necessary to pay attention to what the trout are eating at any given time. They can become selective, especially when substantial numbers of insects are available in the larval or adult stages of life for them to eat.
Chattahoochee River Fly Fishing Guide: Fly fishing the Cattahoochee River is strictly small stream fishing. It is a pure freestone stream that depends entirely on rain and melting snow for its water. Rainfall can drastically affect its levels and directly affect the fly fishing opportunities. Most of the stream consist of pocket water. There are some pools connected by short riffles and runs but most of the fishing should be done in the pocket water, runs and riffles. Fish are found in the pools but always much harder to catch. The water flows smoother and the trout can get a much better look at your fly than they can in the faster moving pocket water, runs and riffles. It is always better to make short, upstream cast. It helps to get a drag-free drift. The more fly line you have laying on the surface of the water, the higher the chances of drag. Keep as much fly line out of the water as you can by making relatively short, upstream cast. High sticking the runs is an effective nymph fishing method. Much of the time, nymph fishing will outproduce dry fly fishing. We suggest you stick with the nymph until you see something hatch, and then fish dry flies.Fly pattern is far more important when you fishing for wild trout than newly stocked trout. Fly pattern is important for catching the larger holdover trout. The stream has some large browns that aren’t easily fooled and presentation and fly selection is very important for them.
Cattahoochee River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Upper Cattahoochee River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726 The river has a lot of different insects but most of them are relatively moderate to low in quantities. The first insects to hatch at the start of a new year in January are the little Winter Stoneflies. Imitations of the nymph work good during the cold winter. About the time these stop hatching you will see the Little Brown Stoneflies start to hatch. They will last until the end of April.Blue-winged Olive are the most consistent hatch throughout the year. You will start to see some hatches about the middle of February and they will continue off and on throughout the entire year. These include the baetis species along with the Eastern BWOs, Little BWOs and Small BWOs consisting of about 10 different species, some of which are bi-brooded. The little Blue Quills will start to hatch about the middle of February and last into the first of April. They are usually very large hatches that are very consistent. About the same time you will begin to see the Quill Gordons. They hatch until as late as the first week of April in the higher elevations.Mid February will also bring about one of the largest caddisfly hatches of the year – the Little Black Caddis or Brachcentrus species. The Hendricksons start hatching near the last week of March. They are short lived, hatching for only about a month to six weeks at the most. It is moderate and only occurs in certain locations.Around the middle of April, March Browns will begin to hatch. These mayflies are just about everywhere you fish but they hatch inconsistently until around the first week of June. Much more consistent are the Light Cahills. They start about a week or two after the March Browns and last as long as three weeks, depending on the elevation.The middle of April will bring about a hatch of the Short-horned Sedges. These are very small black caddisflies that are quite abundant. About the same time you should notice the first hatches of the Green Sedges. They hatch everywhere there is fast water for over two months but never in large quantities. At the same time the first hatches of Cinnamon Caddis show up. Around the second week of May, Eastern Pale Evening Duns will start hatching. Most anglers call these Sulphurs but the true Sulphurs will not start to hatch for another couple of weeks. The first of May the Giant Black Stoneflies will start hatching. These hatch at night and deposit their eggs at night. Nymphs work well in the late afternoons. The Little Yellow Stoneflies, called Yellow Sallies and one of the best hatches, will start around the first of May and last until mid July.From the middle of May until the middle of November, a long period of time, you will find hatches of Slate Drakes occurring. These mayflies hatch out of the water but never in large quantities. Imitations of the nymphs and spinners can be important.The Great Autumn Brown Sedges, start hatching at night by the first of October and last into the first of December. During the month of June, grasshoppers, beetles, ants and inch worms, all terrestrial insects, become important food items for the trout. There are few hatches occurring, so most anglers start using imitations of these terrestrials. The inch worms, or moth larvae, are especially important due to the large numbers of them in the forest of the park. In addition to the terrestrial and aquatic insects, there is a lot of other food for the trout. Small Crawfish is one of those items. The brown trout are especially fond of them. Another one is Sculpin. These small fish are abundant in most of the stream. Imitations of them can be very effective. The Black Nose Dace is another baitfish that is important. Streamers imitating these and other minnows work great especially when the water is slightly off color.Craneflies are everywhere water exist in the park. The larva and adults are important insects to imitate. Hellgrammites, or the larva stage of the Dobsonfly, is another abundant insect. We recommend our own “Perfect Fly” imitations. They are the best, most effective flies you can purchase and use anywhere trout exist. Please give them a try. You’ll be glad you did.The last week of June through the month of August you will find some Cream Cahills. These are sparse but important at that time of year. By the middle of August hatches of Little Yellow Quills will start to occur mostly in the higher elevations. This is a very good hatch that last until the end of October. By the middle of August, hatches of Mahogany Duns will begin to occur. This hatch last for as long as two months depending on the elevation.Also by the middle of August you should start seeing some Needle Stoneflies. These hatch in fairly large numbers until as late as November, especially in the higher elevations. Many anglers take them for caddisflies which they resemble in flight.Another hatch also called Yellow Sallies, but different species, starts again about September and last for about six weeks. The Golden Stoneflies start hatching around the first of June and last about five weeks. The Little Green Stoneflies start about the last week of May and last until July.