Rainbow trout in Lake Blue Ridge

Yes. Georgia DNR says Lake Blue Ridge (TVA’s Blue Ridge Reservoir) is the only large reservoir in Georgia stocked with rainbow trout. The fish go into the main lake from Blue Ridge Dam upstream to Morganton Point, per DNR’s fishing forecast. Anglers 16 and older need a Georgia fishing license and a trout license.

That makes this Fannin County, Georgia, lake an unusual one: a reservoir with Alabama bass and walleye that also holds stocked rainbows. Here is what DNR and TVA say about where the trout are, when they move and what else shares the water. Every fact below comes from those agencies.

Where the trout go in

DNR describes the stocking zone as the main lake from the dam upstream to Morganton Point. TVA says the lake stretches 11 miles southeast from Blue Ridge Dam (TVA), so this is a defined reach, not the whole reservoir. Two public sites sit at either end of it.

• Blue Ridge Dam. DNR’s forecast calls the shore access here the Blue Ridge Dam Recreation Area and suggests it for bank fishing for stocked rainbow trout. TVA lists a scenic overlook above the dam and a shaded picnic area near the powerhouse. Our Blue Ridge Dam page has more.
• Morganton Point. The Forest Service recreation area has a boat ramp and is the only developed campground on the shore. Day use is $5 per person 16 and older and launching a boat trailer is $5, per the USFS, checked October 2026. See our camping page.

Two other public launches are useful for a trout trip. Lake Blue Ridge Recreation Area, a Forest Service site on the west side of the lake, is free, open year-round and has motorized boating access, but no potable water (USFS). Lakewood Landing Boat Launch, on the north side, is open sunrise to sunset and requires a launch pass bought through Recreation.gov. If you don’t bring a boat, the private Lake Blue Ridge Marina rents pontoons, kayaks, canoes and paddleboards (Lake Blue Ridge Marina).

Summer: follow the oxygen

Summer changes where the trout are. When the lake stratifies, from around May to October, DNR expects trout to be holding in the short stretch from the dam upstream 1.5 miles, where TVA’s oxygen diffuser system is active. That is DNR’s own pointer, and it shrinks an 11-mile lake to a small area for the warm months.

We don’t publish depths or water temperatures for this lake, because none of the agency sources we checked give them. Use your electronics, read DNR’s current forecast and check the lake level on TVA’s site before you go. The level varies by about 22 feet between summer and winter in a normal-rainfall year (TVA), which changes how the shoreline and the launches look from month to month. Our lake levels page explains the pattern.

TVA runs an oxygen diffuser system in the 1.5 miles of lake above the dam. When the lake stratifies, from around May to October, DNR expects trout to hold there. (GA DNR, checked Oct 18, 2026)

Licenses and rules

In Georgia, anglers 16 and older need both a fishing license and a trout license to fish for trout, per DNR’s trout page. Both are sold at GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com. We don’t print creel or size limits here; read DNR’s current regulations before you keep fish.

If you fish from a boat, Georgia’s boating rules apply on the lake. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1998, needs a DNR-approved boater education course before operating a motorized vessel (GA DNR). Our boating page covers launches, life jackets and the rest.

What else is in the lake

The trout share the water with a fish community that has changed a great deal since blueback herring arrived around 2004. DNR’s forecast gives the picture:

• Alabama bass are now the dominant black bass and outnumber largemouth about 3 to 1.
• Walleye have been stocked as fingerlings every year since 2017. DNR says the program is working well, with recent catch rates above the historical average. Most run 2 to 4 pounds, and some large females reach 6 to 7 pounds.
• Blueback herring were illegally introduced around 2004. They have hurt white bass and walleye reproduction and now form much of the lake’s forage base, which makes them part of the menu for the lake’s predators.
• Yellow perch are not abundant, but jumbo fish of 12 to 15-plus inches can be caught, mostly in the Toccoa arm.

DNR describes the water as typically clear. TVA rated the reservoir’s ecological health “good” in 2020, its most recent posted rating, and says the lake has consistently been among the highest-rated reservoirs it monitors.

Fish attractors

Since 2006, TVA, DNR and local volunteers have built fish-attractor habitat in Lake Blue Ridge, and DNR publishes maps of the deepwater sites. Check DNR’s fish-attractor maps before you head out. They are a mapped, agency-sourced starting point, which beats guessing on an unfamiliar lake.

Never move fish

Lake Blue Ridge is DNR’s own example of why. Smallmouth bass were once the most abundant black bass in the lake. After illegally introduced Alabama bass took over, DNR now puts smallmouth at less than 1 percent of the black bass community. DNR asks anglers never to move bass or other fish from one lake to another.

Eating your catch

Fish-consumption advisories for Blue Ridge Reservoir are set by the Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division, and TVA points anglers there for the current advisories. Check them before you plan a fish fry.

River trout nearby

The lake is one of three trout waters on this stretch of the Toccoa. Below the dam, the tailwater is a separate stocked trout stream. Upstream of the lake, the Delayed Harvest section has its own season, which begins Nov. 1. Our tailwater vs. Delayed Harvest guide compares the two river waters, and our fishing page covers the lake’s other species and access points. The City of Blue Ridge calls itself the Trout Fishing Capital of Georgia, citing the lake and the Toccoa River (City of Blue Ridge).

Questions people ask

Written by the Visit Lake Blue Ridge Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.