GA Fish Finder - Coosawattee River Discussion

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User:	vinny60
Comment:	Catfish are extremely abundant in the waters of the lower Coosawattee River. Channel and blue cats dominate, with flatheads being far less common, and generally found in the extreme lower portion of the river near Calhoun. Channels and blues are found throughout the river, however blue cat numbers tend to increase going downstream. Anglers tossing chicken liver and cut bait below shoals, undercut banks, and log-jams will produce fish, but most bragging cats will hold out for live offerings such as bream or shad. The average channel cat will run about ½ lb., while the average blue will be near 1¼ lbs. These deep fryers are numerous and anglers are encouraged to harvest fish in this size range. Harvesting average size fish will help improve growth rates of those remaining, resulting in larger cats for the future.A number of bream species call the Coosawattee home, but bluegill and redbreast by far have a lease on most of it. Both are found in good numbers throughout the river, but they are most abundant in the three-mile river stretch below Carters dam. The average fish will be 5-6 inches, but plenty of 7-9 inch fish are swimming these waters. Crickets, worms and small artificial baits fished in areas of deep slack water behind river obstacles, root wads, and tree-falls are all potential hangouts for these species. Most striper fishing is done in the river below Carters dam, however fish can be found in deep holes or in the mouths of feeder creeks throughout the river. Since striped bass feed heavily on shad, live or cut shad is key, though artificials have their place on the river. The Coosawattee is once again home to a sportfish species that disappeared from the river nearly 40 years ago. Since 2002, 54,000 plus lake sturgeon have been re-introduced to the Coosawattee and surrounding rivers in the greater Coosa River basin. Pollution and overfishing are believed to have eliminated most of these archaic fishes from the river system in the 1960s. Water conditions have improved in the river and WRD has begun to re-stock lake sturgeon in an effort to reestablish this native fish. Through long-term annual stocking it is hoped the species will reclaim much of its historic inhabitance within the river. The species grows slowly and does not mature for 12-15 years so it is important to protect them from harvest until they can reproduce and once again support some angler harvest. Anglers accidentally catching a lake sturgeon should immediately release the fish unharmed. These silver hump-backed fish range in size from just a few inches to over 20 inches in length, though the average drum will run 11 inches. While abundant throughout the river, the few hundred-yard stretch below Carters dam is a hot bed for drum. The species prefers moderately deep flowing river sections in which to feed. Small jigs bumped along these areas, live crawfish, cut mussels, worms and shrimp fished on the bottom are an anglers best approach to drumming up one of these unique fishes.
Date:	09/08/09 01:59 PM

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