Photo by Ron Sinfelt

The alarm clock beeps a half-hour before first light. You reach over quickly to turn it off and slip out of bed. The rest of your family will sleep longer than normal this morning, so you move about the cabin making as little noise as possible. You are up before the sun despite it being the first day of your vacation because you are eager to do a little fishing. The truth is that while everyone in your family will find plenty of things to enjoy doing on this trip, you picked the spot with its angling opportunities in mind.

Georgia anglers do not have to choose between going fishing and taking a traditional family vacation when it comes time to set summer plans. Numerous destinations in all parts of the Peach State offer outstanding fishing prospects, including fine opportunities for youngsters to get in on the angling action, plus an abundance of other fun things to do.

We've selected three spots -- one for each month of the summer -- that offer prospects for a family vacation that includes plenty of good fishing. The areas are widespread and represent the mountains, the central part of the state and the coast. From trout streams to small lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, all types of waters are also included.

JUNE
Blue Ridge
For a fisherman, the train ride is almost unbearable. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway line from Blue Ridge to McCaysville provides a beautiful ride and a fun family outing, but the Toccoa River, which the route runs beside, contains endless awesome-looking runs and riffles that are tough to ride past and only watch.

The key to enjoying the train ride may be to first spend a day wading or drifting the Toccoa, which is every bit as good as it looks as a fishing destination. From Blue Ridge Dam to the Tennessee border, the Toccoa offers 15 miles of trout-filled waters. Public access for wading and for beginning and ending float trips is available below the dam, at the Curtis Switch Access Area and at two parks in McCaysville. Guide services also offer wade trips at private access points and float trips in rafts or drift boats.

Fishing the Toccoa tailwater is basically a low-water proposition, so anglers have to set vacation plans around power generation schedules at Blue Ridge Dam.

The town of Blue Ridge, located in the heart of the northwest Georgia mountains, offers everything a family could want for a fishing-centered family vacation. The Toccoa River tailwater runs right beside town, and Blue Ridge Lake offers Georgia's only viable smallmouth bass fishery, plus what many anglers consider to be the best bluegill fishing in the mountains. Bream grow big in Blue Ridge Lake, and June is a favored time for Bob Borgwat of Reel Angling Adventures, who has been chasing Blue Ridge's big bluegills for the past 15 years.

Upstream of Blue Ridge Lake, the Toccoa River and several of its major tributaries offer an abundance of additional angling opportunities, mostly for trout. The last few miles of the river upstream of the lake actually offer very good smallmouth fishing, and federal Forest Service lands offer some access. However, that access is spotty, and the lower river has whitewater that is a little feistier than what most families would want to take on with a canoe full of fishing gear.