The tailwaters of Toccoa River below Blue Ridge Lake hosts a vastly improved fishery. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs

Setting the hook with a sharp tug of his fly line, an angler expects to feel jiggling, a bit of extra pressure and maybe a quick sideways run. Instead, the fish yanks his rod tip down, and he has to let the fly line slip through his fingers to avoid having his tippet broken. This trout obviously is a cut above others the angler has caught, and it puts a big grin on his face.

Georgia trout fishermen will have more such reasons to grin beginning this spring. The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division is implementing a shift in their trout-stocking plans this year that will put more "quality trout" in popular mountain streams. Larger trout are to be a regular part of the mix on all the larger trout streams that the WRD regularly stocks throughout the spring and summer.

"Six to 8 percent of the trout stocked on those streams will be larger fish," said Lee Keefer, a WRD fisheries biologist who works out of the Lake Burton Hatchery office. "We believe this will kind of spice things up for fishermen -- anticipating the possibility of catching some larger trout."

Most of the bonus fish will only be 2 or 3 inches larger than typical stockers, but even that much difference makes fish stand out when all the rest are the same size. A few notably large fish also will be included in the mix. The streams that get the larger fish will get slightly smaller total numbers stocked because of hatchery space, but Keefer does not believe the difference will even be noticeable to most fishermen.

The WRD, which stocks more than 1 million trout annually in North Georgia mountain streams, continually evaluates how to provide the most benefit to anglers with the fish that are available. Along with mixing in larger fish, the WRD plans to stock a little heavier at the front of the season on smaller streams where the habitat is not as good during late summer.

"Fishing pressure is heaviest prior to the fourth of July," Keefer said. "Later in the summer, we typically spend a lot of time monitoring marginal streams to make sure they are still cold enough to support trout if we stock them. We'll still stock smaller streams throughout the season, but we'll stock more of the fish earlier in the year, when the habitat is better and more fishermen are using them."

The best place to fish for trout, Keefer pointed out, truly depends on the kind of experience an angler seeks. Some highly popular stream sections are heavily stocked and have easy access with parking nearby. These waters offer likely limits but little solitude. Other streams cut through remote forest sections and offer wilderness-type experiences with the chance to match wits with wild trout. Additionally, some streams are quite large, making for easy and open casting, while others are truly minute and much more intimate.

Location is also an important factor for anglers planning trips. Quality trout waters are spread across North Georgia, and picking the best stream sometimes begins with considering which watersheds are closest to home. Keefer noted that there are dozens of small streams throughout the mountains that offer very good fishing and get little fishing pressure. He suggested that anglers wondering about specific streams in any given area of the mountains call his office at (706) 947-3112 for guidance.

While there's no way to effectively cover all of Georgia's fine trout waters in a single article, we have selected a handful of waterways that promise excellent fishing this year. Collectively, these waters, which even include one reservoir, offer a tremendous variety of opportunities, and some individual streams offer widely varying experiences from one section to another.