The Road Less Traveled - Rock Creek, Ga June 14 - 16

As a beginner in the world of trout fishing, and not having very many people around me familiar with the sport, I did what any studious individual would do - I Googled it. My first search was for "the best trout fishing in Ga" which led me to an article written several years ago for the Georgia Outdoor News magazine. The article cited several locations including Cooper Creek, the Chattooga River, and several others, but said that none could compare to Rock Creek for beginner trout fishermen. What better place to try my hand at this foreign world?

Rock Creek is nestled in Blue Ridge and feeds into the Toccoa River. There is plenty of primitive camping along Rock Creek Rd as well as the Frank Gross Campground managed by the US Forestry Service, which makes it an ideal location for campers and fishermen. The creek is heavily stocked during the harvest season and provides a home to the Chattahoochee National Forest Fish Hatchery. The water run through the center of the facility and fishing is allowed all the way through it. Supplies can be found nearby on HWY 60 at a little country store across from the road that leads to the Cooper Creek WMA and the friendly staff are more than welcoming.

 

Before I continue I must provide this disclaimer:

The views in my blog are my opinion and my opinion only. My experiences as they are described are mine alone and does not mean that your experiences will be the same. 

We set out early Friday morning, this time accompanied by my dad and mom, Chip and Renee. If you are familiar with my blog at all, you know that my dad was a professional fisherman when I was a young boy, but he had never really pursued trout outside of shooting one episode on them back in the day. I figured this would be a great way for me to spend time as a father and as a son all at once, so I convinced them to come along and camp with us for the weekend. We arrived around 10 am and found a spot to camp fairly easily once we traveled past the campground. We happened upon a great looking site big enough for two tents and right on the creek. This was the perfect home for a great weekend in nature.

After we got camp settled, my dad and I took to the water to try and find some fish. After seeing the width of the creek at our campsite, I decided to break out the fly rod and have a go at fly fishing to start with. As we drove down the road looking for access to the water it became apparent that a 9' fly rod might not be a great choice for this creek. Luckily I had a microlight spinning rig and a jar of Rainbow Powerbait just for such an occasion. We drove for what felt like miles before finding an access point that wasn't already covered with people and the stretches of water that did not have people, could not be accessed from the road. Not without rappelling gear and helicopter to get you back up the hill. We finally found a spot to get in the creek and started wet wading down stream. It wasn't long before I had a bite and after a quick retrieve and a cast back to the run I was hooked up and fighting a nice stocker rainbow. I brought him him and netted him, but while I was looking for my stringer I wasn't paying attention to my net and gave the rainbow just the right angle to flip out of my net and on his way home. Lesson learned... We will call that a catch and quick release. We fished for a couple hours with several more bites and a handful brought to had. Unfortunately, I did not have a waterproof camera or a way to keep mine safe on my so I am lacking in pictures of the fish.

Saturday morning we got up early and had a good breakfast of bacon, eggs and an attempt at blueberry muffins cooked in a cast iron pie pan contraption that you set in the coals of the fire. This was the first time using it so a little trial and error was to be expected. More error than trial but none the less, my dog Aries has a great sweet treat. Dad and I went back to the water to try and have a little more success than the day before, but we were hopeful. We drove further around the area and were greatly disappointed at how little access there was to the creek. This is in no way like Cooper Creek which has access readily available for people to get to the water either right off the road or at least with a fairly easy trek through the woods. Rock Creek is very far down very steep hills from the road and only provides a few easier access points that are heavily fished by early risers. We finally found a new area and took off down stream again targeting deeper holes and runs with cover nearby. Aside from a few strikes, there was not much action in the area we were in. Either that or we were not presenting what the trout wanted to see. Dad ended up catching a beautiful 11 inch brown trout that turned out to be the highlight of the trip. A few hours and we were headed back to camp with our heads hung low.

We talked with some campers just down the way from us and a nice guy names Derek told us of a nearby swinging bridge that would be a great please for the family to hike together and do some sightseeing. We drove around for a while, lost, trying to decipher his directions and being unfamiliar with the area. We did happen upon an example of the poorest human behavior when we found a trash pile on a FS Road topped off with a bra hanging from a tree limb.

We found the FS Road 816 finally across from a hiking sign and drove on. The drive was long and winding and provided some great scenery along the way. We parked at the end of the road in a parking area and headed down the trail for a hike about 1/4 mile to the bridge. When we arrived the view was more spectacular than we could have ever imagined.

 Across the bridge is a great area for camping if you don't mind back packing in and minimalist camping.

 The view is worth it though!

 My daughter Aylen decided to do some adventuring of her own.

 Moriah decided to be a goof...

 This log mad a great natural trough

 There's the family on the bridge from the clearing on the other side.

 I had to get in the picture somehow...

 Time to start the hike back to the car.

Mom was having some trouble, but she made it!

We got back to the campground for a cheeseburger dinner and some rest after a long day in the forest. The swinging bridge is definitely a must see for visitors to the area!

Sunday, dad and I hiked a long trail from the waterfall down the creek and fished some smaller holes catching a few bass minnows, but no trout. We packed up and began the 2.5 hour journey home. not much can be said for the fishing over the weekend, but all in all we had a great time. I would still highly recommend the area to campers and hikers, but in my opinion, it doesn't compare to nearby Cooper Creek when it comes to beginner trout fishing. I'm sure it's a great spot during the off season, but a holiday weekend is NOT the time to visit Rock Creek, unless you are just happy sightseeing!