(2.1) Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains

GEORGIA

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS

A Beautiful & Rugged Part of the

Southern Appalachian Highlands of Dixie

Ancestral Land of the

Cherokee Indians

American Hillbillies

Including Those Legendary Frontiersmen:

Boone & Crockett

An Information, Opinion, Photos, & Sources Report

Compiled by Ocklawahaman Paul Nosca

With the assistance of

A Cruising Down the River Captain Erika Ritter

Mr. K. Alwine

Created: 28 April 2014

Last Revised: 29 September 2020

A US Army veteran and lifetime outdoors-man, Ocklawahaman Paul Nosca is an accomplished stream angler who has caught nine different varieties of bass plus three different species of cold-water trout along with many other fishes from the flowing fresh-waters of several Southern states. His outdoor interests include river-bass and stream-trout fishing, canoeing, hiking, exploring, ecology research, camping, firearms and hunting. He usually practices those pursuits in or along the Ocklawaha River basin of north-central Florida--but his higher cathedral for worship has always been the Blue Ridge Mountains!

"There are lake fishermen, and there are river fishermen, and seldom do the twain agree!" - Author unknown.

"Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel!" - Ocklawahaman Paul Nosca.

"I ain't seen it all but it's plain to see, I just might be an endangered species!" - Waylon Jennings.

"We used to joke that being in the Army was not a matter of life and death. It's more important than that!" - Alan Caldwell, Lt. Col., MPC, United States Army.

SUGGESTED READING:

Brown, F. and Jones, N. 1991. The Georgia Conservancy's guide to the north Georgia mountains. The Georgia Conservancy, Atlanta, GA. Longstreet Press, Marietta, GA.

NOTE -- IF NEEDED: Right-click-on individual photos then "Open image in new tab" to ENLARGE them!

INTRODUCTION

Northeastern Georgia contains the southernmost end of the beautiful but rugged Blue Ridge Mountains with elevations ranging between 1,500 to almost 4,800 feet above mean sea level. Georgia's segment of the Appalachian Trail closely follows alongside the crest of the Blue Ridge range. This connected ridge top usually also serves the Peach State either as the Eastern Continental Divide or as the Tennessee Valley Divide for surface water resources. Some of the most commonly found metamorphic rocks of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains include gneiss, schist, and quartzite. Camping, coldwater trout fishing in tumbling streams, hiking or mountain climbing, hunting, photography, seeking refuge from the summertime swelter of the Piedmont or Coastal Plain lowlands below, and wildlife viewing can all be enjoyed in this gorgeous region of the Southern Appalachian Mountains which is very closely linked to the similar geography of neighboring eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina. Dixie's moist and splendidly forested highlands are the ancestral home of the proud Cherokees (and also some of the Muscogee Creeks), along with being the home of those legendary frontiersmen Daniel Boone and David Crockett, countless other self-reliant hillbillies, and the first gold rush in any of the United States. Enjoy our photo memory gallery from trips to that ancient natural cathedral known as the Blue Ridge Mountains.

PHOTO FROM APRIL 1984

One of my campsites in April 1984 with my old blue 1976 Toyota pickup truck parked near the stream-bank.

PHOTO FROM APRIL 2014

Photo of same campsite 30 years later (April 2014) taken from a slightly lower angle on the hillside.

It has not been legally possible in more recent years to park a vehicle as close to this same stream-bank.

Obviously, some trees have been removed to open-up what is now a Group Tent-Camping Site.

FROM THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER VALLEY OF NORTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA

TO THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA

It is more than a trip NORTH in latitude--it is a climb UP in elevation!

This combination of factors--latitude north and elevation up--results in a travel to the approximately 700 to 1000-mile more northerly cooler / colder climatic environment of this region of the Southern Appalachians.

One degree of latitude equals about 69 miles north / south. The Blue Ridge Mountains of northeastern Georgia are located at roughly 34 degrees 50 minutes north latitude. North-central Florida's Ocklawaha River near Eureka is positioned more or less at 29 degrees 20 minutes north latitude. 34 degrees 50 minutes N latitude minus 29 degrees 20 minutes N latitude is a difference of 5 degrees 30 minutes (or 5.5 degrees) times 69 miles per degree equals some 380 miles of latitude to the north.

Elevation influences climate in this manner: Reportedly, a 1500-foot rise in altitude is about like being 250 miles further north in latitude (a 1000-foot increase in elevation would be about equal to a 167-mile more northern latitude). For example, the air temperature at the summit of a 3000-foot elevation mountaintop would possibly feel as if 500 miles further north (cooler) than a sea level coastal location--even if both spots were at the same degrees N latitude. Also, it has been reported by various online sources that air temperature decreases by 3.5 degrees F (humid air) to 5.5 degrees F (dry air) for every 1000 feet of increased elevation.

My usual trout-fishing camping sites in the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains are some 1700 to 2000 feet higher in elevation above sea level than my usual river-bass-fishing "haunts" in the Ocklawaha River Basin of Florida. This results in an environment, because of altitude alone, that is more like being 283 to 333 miles to the north of my home "zone" along the Ocklawaha. And keep in mind that the mountain peaks that loom above my camps range from 3000 to over 4000 feet above mean sea level.

In summation, this combination of two factors--degrees of N latitude plus additional altitude--seems to result, much of the time, that being NORTH and UP in the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains feels like being 700 to 1000 miles N of north-central Florida--instead of only actually about 380 miles north in latitude on a map.

ALL-TIME (MODERN) RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES OF NORTH FLORIDA CITIES VS NORTH GEORGIA CITIES:

The all-time modern record low temperatures recorded for north Florida cities such as Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Palatka, Gainesville, and Ocala range from 6 to 12 degrees F (above zero readings).

The all-time modern record low temperatures recorded for north Georgia cities such as Blairsville, Dahlonega, Cleveland, and Clayton range from -12 to -16 degrees F (below zero readings).

On the coldest days of winter, north Georgia may possibly be some 18 to 28 degrees F colder than north Florida. These north Georgia cities vs. north Florida cities all-time low temperature records do seem to show that every 167 miles of more northerly latitude and/or every 1000 feet of higher altitude (during cold, dry weather conditions) does seem to result in a 5.5 degrees F lower temperature.

SOME OF MY OWN OBSERVATIONS:

The average summertime water temperatures of groundwater springs in north-central Florida run about 73 to 74 degrees F while the groundwater springs that I have checked in the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains displayed water temperatures of approximately 59 to 60 degrees F in the summer months--a difference of 14 degrees F.

The summertime water temperature of Florida's free-flowing Ocklawaha River about 20-24 miles downstream from its 73 degree F Silver Springs supreme headwaters usually runs between 76 and 79 degrees F while the trout streams (with groundwater springs as cold as 59-60 degrees F [in the summer]) that I regularly fish in the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains normally run between 66 and 69 degrees F during the summer months--a difference of 10 degrees F.

MANY MORE PHOTOS FROM THE YEAR 2014

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

The grave-site of CHEROKEE PRINCESS TRAHLYTA

at Stonepile Gap

http://www.cherokeegold.net/stonepilegap.html

The grave-site of CHEROKEE PRINCESS TRAHLYTA

at Stonepile Gap

http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/stonepile.html

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Habitat for Humanity?

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss are mighty good in the pan!

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Not exactly Habitat for Humanity

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Eastern White Pine with a girth of 11 feet 4 inches at 4 feet 6 inches above the ground (DBH = 3 feet 7inches)

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss are mighty good in the pan!

West side of the stream is private property while the east side is Chattahoochee National Forest

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (stream-bred, so-called "native")

Creek Chub Semotilus atromaculatus

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (stream-bred, so-called "native")

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Creek Chub Semotilus atromaculatus

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Waters Creek Check Station

Trillium species

Black Bear

Mountain-side trout feeding pipe!

Common Blue Violet Viola sororia

One of the Bridges of Lumpkin County

Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, GA

Chattahoochee River just downstream of Buford Dam

Cell phones receive a signal A-OK here

Wheat growing in Wildlife Opening planted by Georgia DNR

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Recently tilled Wildlife Opening

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

My 1984 T-shirt is still extant and fits!

Cell phones receive a signal A-OK up this road on the side of the mountain

One big MACHETE!

National Forest Wilderness

Another recently tilled Wildlife Opening

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

Looking for the WILD RAINBOW (no stockers here)

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

One of the Bridges of Lumpkin County

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

5-leaflet Cinquefoil species Potentilla sp.

It is NOT wild strawberry!

Wildlife Opening

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

A daily limit of 8 trout

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

In-stream cooler

Princess Trahlyta's treasure?

http://appalachianwoman.com/trahlytas-grave/446/

Chestnut tree Castanea sp.

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

"When it's hot you can't get wet enough, and when it's wet you can't get dry enough!" - Author unknown.

Cooling-off in the 68-degree F falling waters

http://vimeo.com/100074022

Please visit these other Ocklawahaman Paul Nosca web-pages for more Georgia Blue Ridge Mountain information:

https://sites.google.com/site/paulnoscasbassfishingphotos/southern-fried-coldwater-trout

https://sites.google.com/site/paulnoscasbassfishingphotos/the-blue-ridge-mountains-of-north-georgia

"BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN BLUES AND NORTH GEORGIA PINES"

The Song

By Ocklawahaman Paul Nosca

19 April 2014

I've got the Blue Ridge Mountain blues

And North Georgia pines

Up from Dahlonega hillbilly time

A head-full of Chattahoochee forest dreams

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

On that ridge-top hiking the Appalachian Trail

At the end of my line a golden Rooster-Tail

In the riffles, runs, pools, and falling flows

Chasing speckled browns and tasty rainbows

I've got the Blue Ridge Mountain blues

And North Georgia pines

Up from Dahlonega hillbilly time

A head-full of Chattahoochee forest dreams

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Broiled on a campfire wrapped in foil

Or browned in a frying pan of peanut oil

Fork that meat off the bone sizzling hot

Beans, greens, and taters waiting in that pot

I've got the Blue Ridge Mountain blues

And North Georgia pines

Up from Dahlonega hillbilly time

A head-full of Chattahoochee forest dreams

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Cohutta, Conasauga, Chattooga, Chestatee

Breakfast spam and eggs, mountain coffee

Another day for fishing, grab the the rod and reel

Walking up a falling creek, adding trout to the creel

I've got the Blue Ridge Mountain blues

And North Georgia pines

Up from Dahlonega hillbilly time

A head-full of Chattahoochee forest dreams

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Yea, I've got those Blue Ridge Mountain blues

And North Georgia pines

https://sites.google.com/site/blueridgemountainsandpaulnosca/blue-ridge-mountain-blues-and-north-georgia-pines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2py6MyyFVf4&feature=youtu.be

http://vimeo.com/101102884

The APPALACHIAN TRAIL in GEORGIA

According to: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about-the-trail

There are about 76 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.

COLD-WATER TROUT FISHING IN THE NORTH GEORGIA BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS

RECENT GEORGIA TROUT FISHING NEWS ITEM:

On 27 July 2014, a new Georgia state record brown trout (20 pounds - 14 ounces) was caught from the Chattahoochee River. Visit the following links:

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/3682

http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103722

http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/forum/showthread.php?p=795913

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Ocklawahaman has many fond memories of ultra-light spinning tackle fishing with in-line spinner (Rooster Tail or Mepps type) 1/8th ounce treble-hooked lures in coldwater streams for the trout of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. These delicious fish would include stocked and/or naturally reproducing stream-bred (but still exotic) rainbow and brown trout--plus the true native brook a.k.a. speckled trout (actually a char) usually only found in the coldest and purest freestone headwater rivulets of the Southern highlands above the canned-corn line (perhaps 2,200 to 3,000 feet elevation), high-barrier waterfalls, and the waters where the hatchery trout are stocked. Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett could only have caught these mountain specks--the exotic rainbows and browns were not yet in Southern Appalachian waters during the lifetimes of those legendary frontiersmen.

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

My largest mountain stream trophies were 19-inch long rainbow trout. Stocker trout usually run about 9 to 12 inches in length. Wild, stream-bred (naturally reproducing) rainbow and brown trout (if present)--which are called natives (even though they really are not) by most anglers--usually range from about 6 to 10 inches long. Rarely an even longer hook-jawed (adorned with a kype)--for spawning season purposes--wild male rainbow or brown trout will be encountered. The true native mountain specks will likely measure even shorter at maybe 5 to 8 inches. But whatever any of these stream-caught fish may lack in size, they will more than make-up for with their game struggle after being hooked and their scrumptious taste. If cared-for and dressed properly, just about all coldwater mountain trout are excellent in the frying pan or aluminum foil!

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Excellent for pan-fried mountain trout!

Southern-fried trout from cold-water streams

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Occasionally while fishing in Southern mountain-coldwater streams using in-line spinner lures, I have also caught redeye bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, creek chub, and fallfish. Some of these other fish species may inhabit the lower, warmer portions of the same trout streams.

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (one is GOLDEN)

These are some of the north Georgia trout streams in the Chattahoochee National Forest that I have enjoyed bank-walking/hiking/wade fishing-in (they are not very canoe-friendly)--listed from the northeast to the northwest: West Fork of the Chattooga River, Holcomb Creek, Smith Creek (above Unicoi Lake), Upper Chattahoochee River, Chestatee River, Frogtown Creek, Dicks Creek, Waters Creek, Blood Mountain Creek, Etowah River, Jones Creek, Rock Creek, and the Conasauga River (in the Cohutta Wilderness via Tearbritches Trail). Many of these streams are primary trout waters--meaning that trout (mostly rainbows and browns) can naturally reproduce (successfully spawn) in these flowing streams.

According to the GEORGIA COLD-WATER TROUT FACT SHEET:

http://www.gastateparks.org/content/Georgia/parks/education/Trout_FactSheet.doc

"Georgia has approximately 5,400 miles of designated trout water located in the north Georgia mountains."

"Approximately 2,800 of Georgia’s 5,400 miles of trout streams support wild trout populations where trout reproduce."

"About 142 miles of streams support the native brook trout."

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division:

http://www.georgiawildlife.org/Fishing/Trout

"Georgia's approximately 4,000 miles of trout streams are relatively unproductive when compared to streams found in other parts of the country. This is, in part, due to the calcium deficient soils found in north Georgia. Therefore, to meet the demands of over 100,000 trout anglers, stocking and special regulations are used on some streams to maintain acceptable catch rates."

"Note: trout season is open from the last Saturday in March through October 31 each year"

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division:

http://www.georgiawildlife.org/node/1297

"Freshwater Game Fish Daily Limits"

"Trout (see exception).....8 Brook, Rainbow, and/or Brown trout"

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division:

http://www.georgiawildlife.org/node/1307

"Trout Fishing

"Georgia's trout streams are either open to fishing year-round or during trout season, depending on their designation.

"Trout season (for seasonal streams): opens March 30, 2013 - closes October 31, 2013

"(Note: trout season is open from the last Saturday in March through October 31 each year)"

"Daily Creel and Possession Limit

"Brook, Brown, and/or Rainbow trout statewide - 8

NOTE: There are exceptions to the above statewide limit!

Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Georgia

http://fishesofgeorgia.uga.edu/index.php?page=speciespages/species_page&key=oncomyki

Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) in Georgia

http://fishesofgeorgia.uga.edu/index.php?page=speciespages/species_page&key=salmtrut

Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Georgia

http://fishesofgeorgia.uga.edu/index.php?page=speciespages/species_page&key=salvfont

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/sites/default/files/uploads/wildlife/nongame/images/status_maps/aquatic/fishes/csam_salvelinus_fontinalis.jpg

One of my favorite north Georgia Blue Ridge trout-fishing creeks descends 1440 feet in elevation in the first 5 miles (on a topographic map) from its extreme mountain spring headwaters down to the public Wildlife Management Area boundary line. This is a steep and cascading stream gradient of about 288 feet of drop per linear mile!