Ga Angling: Cooper Creek near Blairsville, Ga - May 23

I have been fishing my entire life. However there is a a species and a fishing style I have never tried. I have always admired fly fishermen for the elegance that comes with fly fishing so this year I decided I would learn the trade and pursue one of the most beautiful fish species in North America...Trout.

I started by buying gear...a lot of gear...My wife was a little hesitant for all the cash I was throwing down on this new hobby, but she has supported me through thick and thin, sane and insane. I really lucked out on landing this one. I practiced for a couple months all with this trip in my mind as my first trout fishing excursion of many. The destination is Cooper Creek near Blairsville, Ga. This creek is heavily stocked throughout the summer to help appease the growing numbers of trout fishermen in Ga. Everything I read and all the good people at North Ga Trout Online said that Cooper would be a great first experience. They told me the casting might be a little tough for a newbie but I wanted to embrace the challenge and put all my practice to the test.

I left out of work early Thursday at noon and stopped by the house to grab the wife and daughter and get on the road. After a quick stop at Wally World and a 3 hour drive we were at the beautiful Cooper Creek Campground.

Just before Cooper Creek

The view from Woody Gap

Me and the girl

We went up Thursday at lunch in hopes of getting a good site, but alas, all the sites were full already. No fear though...Mulky Campground is about 1 mile away and just as nice, so we kept driving and reached the campground. As we drove through we noticed a problem. All the sites here were full as well. At least point we are a little nervous because the next closet campground is Deep Hole and that is quite a drive. We drove a little bit further an noticed what looked like a previously established campsite just off the road up on a little hill. This was not in a campground, but was level, secluded from other sites, and most importantly right across the road from the creek. This was to be our home for the next 4 days.

Right across the road from the water!

My view

I had the opportunity to fish the creek late in the evening on Thursday and having NO CLUE about the creek I just picked a spot to get wet and waded upstream with the fly rod. I was using a Stimulator with an orange body and had absolutely zero strikes. Not a great first evening. On the way back down the road to the site I came across a couple guys and in casual conversation they mentioned the stocking truck had been right there earlier and released well over 100 trout into the water in my location. That explains why there were no bites. After a traumatic experience like being dumped into a new place with 99 other fish and trying to figure out where the hell you are...I wouldn't be eating either.

The next morning I woke up early and hit the creek again. This time using a Y2K in yellow and white. I got a tug or two but nothing to speak of. I returned to camp for breakfast and a walk with the girls. While we were walking we met a couple fisherman who were annihilating the trout! The told me they were using crickets purchased from the little country store gas station just down the road on HWY 60. As much as I hated to put down the fly rod, my first priority was putting trout in the cooler so we took a drive to the store and picked up a tube of crickets. I was able to fish later that evening and on the first cast...BAM! He nailed it hard! I caught a very nice Rainbow 11.5 inches long. MY FIRST TROUT EVER! And in that moment I knew I was addicted. There was something about standing in the middle of the rushing water, fighting a fish in his element and surrounded by nature and all it's glory. I ended up bringing 5 to hand that first evening. I cleaned them and in the cooler they went.

The first stringer

Saturday morning I decided to go ahead and continue with the crickets to try and fill my limit for the day then I would go back to the fly. I went to the spot I caught the fish the day prior, but that spot was eat up with fishermen. I backtracked the road a little and found what looked like a promising entry point. The fish were holding deep in the pools so I was looking for water too deep to see the bottom. As I waded down stream I came across a downed tree which had a great looking pool with some big rocks in it so I decided to wet the hook. First cast produced a nice 11 incher on the stringer. I was in that one spot for a total of 1 hour and filled my limit of stocker trout. The largest of the bunch being a very nice 13 inch rainbow.

11" Rainbow

I went back to camp to clean the fish and relax for a bit before hitting it again with the fly rod. That evening I caught my first trout on a fly. Granted it was a 6" rainbow that hit a Stimulator that was just about as big as it was, but whatever. Unfortunately though this would turn out to be the only trout on a fly for the weekend. I keep telling myself I am on a learning curve here since I've only been fly fishing for a couple months now. I'm sure it will get better.

Another Good Stringer

Later that evening I ended up hooking a fish I have never seen before. I don't know what this is but it was pretty creepy looking. It had spikes on its head. No really! SPIKES. Don't believe me take a look...

If you know what this thing is please comment below and educate me!

Sunday was pretty much the same as far as the catch. I did have to get a little more adventurous though. I found a nice deep pool, the catch was I had to walk out on a fallen telephone pole over the creek to cast to it. Once I got into position it wasn't long before I had a nice 13" rainbow on the stringer pulled out of that hole. A couple more holes and the limit was full for the day. When I returned to the camp my wife and daughter's allergies were going haywire so we decided to pack up a day early and head back to the homestead that evening.

All in all this was a fantastic trip. My first trout fishing trip and my daughters first camping trip. She had a blast making pet rocks and watching the fire at night. It got a little cold for us at night but still an amazing experience for all of us. I will definitely be heading back to the mulky campground later this year. The Cohutta National Forest is truly a treasure to take care of. More pictures below...

What did you do for the holiday?

Let's go fishing!