The first crisp fall mornings bring excitement to Georgia’s outdoor sports enthusiasts. The deer hunting seasons are now open, calling the state’s hunters into the woodlands.
Anglers are not left out of the equation either. The delayed-harvest trout season begins in Georgia on Nov. 9.
Delayed-harvest (DH) streams are heavily stocked with trout just prior to opening day on Nov. 1 each year. The waters then are open to catch-and-release fishing until the following May 14. Anglers may only use artificial lures with single hooks.
Delayed-harvest regulations provide for fast fishing action during the fall and winter months. Anglers often catch 15 to 25 trout per day on these waters. Those trout often are larger because they have several months to grow.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources stocks 8- to 10-inch trout in most general regulation creeks. Those fish usually are caught within a few days of release. In contrast, trout of 12 to 15 inches are common on DH waters.
Streams chosen for DH regulations are marginal trout water. The creeks and rivers have water cold enough to support trout in the cooler months, but get too hot in the summer.
The streams revert to general statewide trout regulations after May 14. Natural baits are then allowed and anglers may harvest eight fish per day.
DH regulations maximize the recreational value of the waters and the fish. But the trout eventually can end up on anglers’ dinner tables as well.
Amicalola Creek in Dawson County, the Chattooga River in Rabun County, Smith Creek in White County and the Toccoa River in Fannin County all have stretches managed as DH waters.
Locally the Chattahoochee River between Cobb and Fulton counties is open using DH regulations from the mouth of Sope Creek downstream to the U.S. Highway 41 bridge on Cobb Parkway.
Complete delayed-harvest regulations are available at georgiawildlife/fishing/trout.
Jimmy Jacobs is the editor of Georgia Sportsman magazine. He can be contacted at jimmyjacobs@mindspring.com.
By the numbers
5
Number of delayed-harvest trout streams in Georgia
12.2
Estimated number of miles of DH trout water in the state
50,000
Approximate number of trout stocked in the Chattahoochee River DH section annually
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