Weekend Angler: Atlanta

Peach State fun

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"The focal point of Old and Modern Dixie, Atlanta takes second fiddle to none—not even when it comes to fishing fun."

If there's a "happening place," it is Atlanta, Georgia—a growing city that many predict will be the country's largest metro area within two decades.

Centrally located in the Peach State's Piedmont—the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains—this bustling city sits in the middle of a veritable cornucopia of angling opportunities.

Within a two-hour drive of downtown Atlanta, you can be waist deep in a mountain rivulet where stream-bred brown and rainbow trout ply the dashing currents, or floating along a lazy black-water river where lunker bass and plumb redbreast sunfish share their water world with alligators.

The numerous man-made lakes surrounding this rapidly growing metropolis are nationally known for their black and striped bass, catfish, and popular warmwater panfish like crappie and bluegill.

Oceans of Freshwater
Feeling that summer Georgia heat? Head up to the cool waters flowing down the mountains in the northern part of the Peach State. Business travelers can play hooky by fishing the Chattahoochee River and its 45 miles of year-round trout water just north of Atlanta.

Despite the fact Atlanta is such a large, fast growing city, getting away from its fast pace of life remains easy for anglers, many of whom may not realize that nearly 4,000 miles of trout streams flow little more than 50 miles from city limits.

Finding secluded waters free of urban sprawl within 45 minutes of downtown requires only a little time spent poring over maps to decide on a destination.

And if you don't mind a two-hour drive from Atlanta, you can reach many waters—especially streams and rivers—that are as pristine and productive to fish as any in the eastern United States.