Tactics For Noontootla Creek
Spring 2025
By Polly Dean
Photos by Jimmy Jacobs
If you live and fish in north Georgia you probably have seen more than your share of rain during the spring season. Being a frequent visitor to Blue Ridge in Fannin County, I am quite used to the Toccoa River being too high to safely wade. I often rely on the smaller streams in the area such as Noontootla Creek if wade-fishing for trout.
On one particular visit I was planning on floating the Toccoa with Chad Bryson, who worked with Bob Borgwat’s Reel Angling Adventures in his drift boat and fishing is still good in higher water, the river was still rising to an unsafe level, even for a boat. Due to high water, we scrapped our plan of fishing the Toccoa and instead opted for wading nearby Noontootla Creek. Even in high water this much smaller stream is easily accessed by driving along the entirety of its public sections and fishing from the banks. Much of Noontootla Creek was still be wadeable, so it made a great option when the bigger waters are just too high.
Chad Bryson fishing on Noontootla Creek.
Chad grew up fishing the Tellico Plains area in Tennessee and is familiar with much of the Southern Appalachia waters. A favorite method of fishing he uses, is high-stick nymphing. When he can’t access or get near enough to the run, he uses a special leader-system to get his fly down in the water column. Especially useful when the water is high, is Chad’s adaptation of the Right Angle Rig to get the fly down quicker and to “dredge” the bottom for trout. This specially tied leader allows the leader and fly to drop at more of a right angle from the butt section of the fly line and more abruptly than if it were just flowing extended behind the fly line. Chad builds his leaders using a selection of spools of Maxima Ultragreen monofilament in weights from 2 to 15 pounds. He adds that we won’t need to fish anything smaller than 3- or 4-pound test with our high-water conditions.
Also in Chad’s arsenal, especially in high murky waters, are large flies tied with jig hooks and tungsten bead heads. When there is a lot of water flowing, Chad says we want the fish to see the fly. His fly box also holds Meat Whistles and other flies too large for Noontootla Creek but favorites when it comes to looking for big browns. Chad’s choice for me this day was a March Brown fly.
About Noontootla Creek
In total about a dozen or so miles of Noontootla Creek tumble along roadside access southeast of the town of Blue Ridge. Much of it is public and runs along Forest Service Road 58. For all practical purposes, Noontootla Creek is a catch-and-release fishery. Regulations on the public portions deem it as artificial-only and one trout 16 inches or larger may be kept. As a result, the majority of anglers wanting to take fish home, are not interested in fishing these waters. But for fly fishermen it is a definite draw. It is not unusual to see large fish in the creek, though catching them may be a bit more challenging. It is an easy drive from Blue Ridge and several miles of its tumbling waters are easily accessible along Forest Service Road 58.
Brown and rainbow trout were introduced decades ago, and have adapted well to the hemlock and mountain laurel shaded waters. Today they thrive and reproduce as self-sustaining populations as do the native brook trout that inhabit the smaller feeder streams of Noontootla.
If one wants some help in hooking into and landing a decent trout – even a trophy is not uncommon – there are two miles of a privately managed section of Noontootla Creek in its lower reaches. This section is owned and managed by Noontootla Creek Farms and even though one is likely to hook into a trophy trout in these waters, it is probably one of the more authentic and challenging “fantasy fishing” locations in the state. These waters are a viable option on occasions when other streams in the area were too high for wading. Visit ncfga.net for rates and information on fishing the private stretches.
Polly Dean is an award-winning writer, photographer, angler and hunter, who makes her home in Athens. She is a member and past president of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. Polly is the Associate Editor of On The Fly South. She can be contacted at pollydean22@gmail.com.