Our time in North Georgia was filled with fishing, good food & drink, music, camping and more.  We fished 2 of the rivers on the Trout Unlimited (TU) Top 100 Trout Streams list, the Chattahoochee and the Toccoa.  We actually fished two different parts of the Chattahoochee River.  We fished the tailwater section near Atlanta with Chris Scalley of River Through Atlanta and then fished the Upper Chattahoochee with Chuck Head of Unicoi Outfitters in Helen.  We fished the Toccoa tailwater with Hunter Morris of Unicoi Outfitters and Fly Fishing North Georgia.  We also fished the Toccoa above the dam and had great fun catching these beautiful rainbows.  Their color was amazing.  I know getting to the mountains in North Georgia may be hard for some, but for all of you that fly in, out or through Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport…. you have no excuse not to call Chris Scalley and go fishing.  Just do it!   And take a few extra days to go see Unicoi Outfitters in Helen.  For now, click on “Read More” for highlights about this incredible special part of the world and watch the video highlighting our time in North Georgia.

While our adventure plan is to fish all the TU Top 100 Trout Streams, we have enjoyed fishing other area streams along the way.  Huge thanks to Jimmy Harris, the co-owner of Unicoi Outfitters, who recommended I “walk on” at Dukes Creek in Smithgall Woods.  Barb didn’t want to get up at 7:30 on a 38 degree morning to check in and hope to get a slot to fish.  They only allow 15 people per day to fish Dukes Creek and only on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday during this time.  I got lucky and one person cancelled which got me onto the creek.  It was gorgeous along the creek and the fishing was a blast.

We also fished Smith Creek which flows through the Unicoi State Park.  If you are ever in North Georgia, we highly recommend Unicoi State Park.  Its just outside Helen GA up the mountain.  There is a lodge, cabins and camping.  Great restaurant.  Tons of outdoor activities.  And yes, fishing.

Helen Georgia is another trip altogether.  Its decked out entirely as an Alpine Village.  The street names are in english and german.  Plenty of good german food and music.   We did sample an apple strudel and bavarian torte at Hofer’s Bakery.  Flowers were blooming everywhere as well.

Another great town was Blue Ridge, GA.  The downtown area has a bunch of very cool shops… and yes, a great fly shop of course, Blue Ridge Fly Fishing.   The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is here as well.  We were fishing most of the time but we heard great reviews on taking the train.  Its already booked for October during the fall foliage timeframe in the area.

Oh… and not to be forgotten, good local beers.  Down on the tailwater section of the Chattahoochee, the Sweetwater Brewing Company out of Atlanta is the choice…. at least it was for me.  You have to love a brewery that has a trout on its logo.  Up in Helen, according to Chuck, his go to brew was from Terrapin Beer Company out of Athens.  For hops fans, try the Hopsecutioner.  For Hunter, his choice was yet another Athens brewery, Creature Comforts.  His fav, the Tropicalia, an American IPA.

We really want to thank Unicoi Outfitters and in particular, Jimmy Harris.  The team at this shop really took care of us.  They put us on some great water with some great guides.  More importantly was the sense of community they fostered.   They are involved in the community and are avid supporters of TU.  Jimmy even invited us to attend their local TU chapter’s annual fundraiser, “Hoot on the Hooch” at the Helendorf Inn in Helen.   Jimmy, his wife Kathy, and Ron Thomas (read more below) made us feel so welcome and a part of the local fly fishing community.

At the TU fundraiser, there was live music, raffles for great prizes and dinner catered by the North Georgia BBQ Company.  For all our Missouri and Texas friends, BBQ here means pulled pork.  And it was great!  Everything was yummy but to top it all off was the best Banana Pudding you will ever find.  Ever!

Also want to give a big shout out to Ron Thomas, who guides for Unicoi Outfitters but also is an avid and accomplished fly tyer.  We got to listen in at an event at Smithgall Woods where Ron was sharing tips and techniques on tying.  Barb is the fly tyer in our family.  I was able to twist Ron and Jimmy’s arms into sitting down with us and doing a North Georgia Ramble which was awesome.

Finally, if you haven’t already, please watch the video that accompanies this blog post.  Hunter Morris, our guide on the Toccoa, is also a very accomplished musician.  He has a band, Blue Blood, that has recently released their newest album.  Hunter was kind enough to let us use the title track of the album as the “narration” for our North Georgia recap… This is the Life.

Ramble On!