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Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery continues to innovate, with the help of volunteers from the Blue Ridge Mountain Trout Unlimited Chapter, we devised a new way to enhance fishing access through the Toccoa River from Blue Ridge Dam to Horseshoe Bend Park. Historically the river has been stocked at three static distribution sites that are accessible to the stocking trucks: Tammen Park, Curtis Switch, and Horseshoe Bend Park. Now additional stretches of the river are able to be stocked using a new stocking mechanism: the Trout Barge.
Deputy Project Leader Joseph Helseth coordinated with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to obtain clearance for the new effort. All interested parties agreed that one stocking per month using the Trout Barge would be sufficient. During the stocking process approximately 1,000 fish are loaded onto a mesh bottom boat and distributed throughout the Toccoa River at additional sites where access would be impossible with a stocking truck. Other fish are still stocked at the traditional stocking sites using the trucks. Paul Carlson, the president of the Blue Ridge Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and Benjamin Bruce, owner of Toccoa River Outfitters, have been instrumental in this process. They have helped to coordinate boat availability and water flows for the stockings. The Tennessee Valley Authority increases water flow from Blue Ridge Dam for one hour during these distributions, helping to ensure that the boat moves swiftly throughout this stretch, and that the fish have plenty of cold water for a quick release.
