Freestone · Acidic Metamorphic · South Carolina / Georgia, US

Chattooga River (headwaters)

The Chattooga River flowing calmly between wooded banks, with a bridge visible in the distance.
Prime · Brook Trout
Blue Winged Olive · 16-20
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.25 mLast reading 14 min ago
  • Water temp14.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive16-20
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.25 m
Last reading 14 min ago
Water temp14.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather11°C
WindN 29 km/h
Pressure1023 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brook Trout
Ideal
14.1°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brook Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is working for you, but insect activity is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 21:00

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sculpin (North America)Hatch
2
3
2
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Early Black StoneflyHatch
2
3
2
Eastern Golden StoneHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brook Trout
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 2
Tuckasegee River
39 km
82
Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Brook trout
Davidson River
45 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Brook trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The Chattooga River flowing calmly between wooded banks, with a bridge visible in the distance.
    20171114-FS-CHF-SMB-00
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Conservation note

Native brookies in the cold upper forks; wild rainbow/brown lower. brook_trout (char comfort-overlay), rainbow_trout and brown_trout all score post-seed; native brookies handled conservation-first.

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Chattooga River' (GAR030601020222), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Metals Other Than Mercury, Mercury. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · GAR030601020222

The full read · show the working · for Brook Trout · confidence 75%
How the 82 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity44 × 12%5.3
Conditions total= 82
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts