Tailwater · Acidic Metamorphic · Georgia, US

Chattahoochee River — Buford Dam Tailwater (Buford Dam to GA 20)

Chattahoochee River — Buford Dam Tailwater (Buford Dam to GA 20) terrain map

The coldest water near Atlanta comes out of the bottom of Lake Lanier at Buford Dam, and for the first few miles below it the Chattahoochee is a true Southern tailwater: clear, cold all summer, and home to a self-sustaining population of wild brown trout, which is why Georgia stopped stocking browns here in the mid-2000s.

Prime · Brown 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.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Flow17.2 m³/sLast reading 12 min ago
  • Water temp11.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive16–20
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Flow
Steady
17.2 m³/s
Last reading 12 min ago
Water temp11.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather21°C
WindE 14 km/h
Pressure1024 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
11.0°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°

A dam sets this river's temperature, not the weather, so it can shift several degrees within hours when the release changes. Measured at the gauge. It also warms as it runs away from the dam.

How to fish it · for Brown 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 — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Blackflies
  • Blackfly larvae/pupaeMost likelyLower confidence
    #16–18–20 · Pupa
    Small dark soft-hackle drifted through riffle seams.
Chironomids
Aquatic beetles
Gammarids
Molluscs
  • Pond snailsMost likelyLower confidence
    #10–12–14 · Adult
    Dead-drift or twitch a snail pattern near weed beds.
Oligochaetes
  • Aquatic wormsMost likelyLower confidence
    #12–14–16 · Adult
    Dead-drift a worm pattern deep - a year-round staple.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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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
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • General Georgia trout regulations, open all year, 8 trout a day
  • Life jacket must be worn on this reach (NPS)
  • Artificial lures only from GA 20 downstream.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Chattahoochee River — Artificial-Lure Reach (GA 20 to Medlock Bridge)
7.0 km
87
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Amicalola Creek — Delayed Harvest (Dawson Forest)
33 km
Rainbow trout
Chattahoochee River — Delayed Harvest (Sope Creek to US 41)
44 km
84
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
About this water

The coldest water near Atlanta comes out of the bottom of Lake Lanier at Buford Dam, and for the first few miles below it the Chattahoochee is a true Southern tailwater: clear, cold all summer, and home to a self-sustaining population of wild brown trout, which is why Georgia stopped stocking browns here in the mid-2000s. Rainbows are stocked from the Buford hatchery. The catch is the dam. Generation can lift the river several feet in minutes, life jackets are required on this reach, and wading is a low-water game only. Learn the release schedule and the river is yours the rest of the time.

  • Acidic metamorphic
Conservation note

Brown trout here are wild: Georgia DNR stopped stocking browns below Buford Dam in 2004–05 and made it permanent in 2011 after documenting natural reproduction. Rainbows are stocked.

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 87 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity68 × 12%8.2
Conditions total= 87
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts