# Soque River Public fishing



## Mozdog

Is the public and private  land on the Soque River marked,  Second can you float the river and just not fish the private area or is the river closed to floating?  And last does the state of Georgia stock the Soque river.  OK one more, where are the best maps to show public fishing and private fishing.


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## Squirrel29

For the most part it is marked well. Far as floating goes I would not try it. The land owners would give you trouble and the dnr will side with them from what I have heard. They do stock it but the only public trout waters on the Soque I know of is up hwy. 197 at Jackson  bridge. You can not miss it you will cross a dip in the road(clearly marked by a road sign that says dip) and it is the next bridge. There is several pull offs and about a mile of stream to fish. Not to sure about maps, but I hope the info above will help.


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## ambush80

jgarrowood said:


> For the most part it is marked well. Far as floating goes I would not try it. The land owners would give you trouble and the dnr will side with them from what I have heard. They do stock it but the only public trout waters on the Soque I know of is up hwy. 197 at Jackson  bridge. You can not miss it you will cross a dip in the road(clearly marked by a road sign that says dip) and it is the next bridge. There is several pull offs and about a mile of stream to fish. Not to sure about maps, but I hope the info above will help.



That's interesting.  I didn't know that floating through could be restricted.  Anybody know about this?


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## 2bbshot

In north ga if a landowner owns both sides of the river then he in essence owns the river. I dont know exactly why its different up there than down south probably has something to do with the rivers up there being non-navigable. I do know that if you float the soque that is owned by blackhawk or brigadoon they will have you arrested for tresspassing and will press charges.


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## Mozdog

First, let me say I am not tying to start an argument. Having said that I have never fished the Soque.  By looks on the maps I have gotten hold of some of the good public trout water can be accessed only by floating to  and out of it.  This is one of the few rivers I have not yet fished here in Georgia in 52 years.  So I am looking to get to it this year.


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## Flaustin1

Dont float it.  Wait till after a big rain and go in above Jackson Bridge and catch them big ones that washed down from the mill.  Use a dark salmon egg pattern.


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## fishndoc

You would draw less attention (and a slower response) from law enforcement by driving thru downtown Clarksville throwing M-80s out the window than you will by trespassing private land on the Soque.  
And, as already mentioned, floating the private sections is trespassing by Ga's definition of a "navigable" river.

Too many other good places to fish that don't involve the hassle.


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## shakey gizzard

The best way to fish that river is at night with IR goggles!lol


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## Fletch_W

The main reason that river so productive is that it's mostly private, not just anyone can go up there and fill up their cooler with trout. If it were legal and easy for the public to fish the river, it wouldn't be worth fishing.


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## fishinbub

ambush80 said:


> That's interesting.  I didn't know that floating through could be restricted.  Anybody know about this?



Yes, you can restrict floating access on any river that is not deemed navigable by a commercial vessel. The Soque is NOT the river where you want to try and push the limits of the law. Rumor is they pay folks to patrol the reever with scatter guns...


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## shakey gizzard

fishinbub said:


> Yes, you can restrict floating access on any river that is not deemed navigable by a commercial vessel. The Soque is NOT the river where you want to try and push the limits of the law. Rumor is they pay folks to patrol the reever with scatter guns...



What exactly is a commercial vessel?


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## fishinbub

shakey gizzard said:


> What exactly is a commercial vessel?



Nobody knows, including the state of Ga...


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## Flaustin1

Lol aint that the truth!


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## FordHunter

a trout isnt worth going to jail or having a gun go off near you to warn you.  I understand people getting alittle ticked off because of the law but those people pay good money to own that property and they pay good money to keep the trout well fed.  They practice catch and release for years to let the trout get to the size they are known for over there on the soque.  Same with the toccoa, there are areas that are private and there are a whole lot more areas that are public including creeks and streams.  I dont understand why people have to push it all the time.  I agree with jgarrowood, thats the area that the state record trout was caught a few miles down from the mark of the potter and it was one of their well fed fish that got washed down with the heavy rains.


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## jigman29

A lot of that area is ridiculous,they even have signs up in places telling you that you can't even stop on the side of the road.I used to love to ride through there with the kids and look at the deer but you can't hardly even do that anymore.As far as the G.W.,I believe that he is kin to the lovell's that own a big part of the soquee so I guess he takes a big interest in keeping people from trespassing.But if they didn't keep people from fishing it at will it would be like every other piece of public trout water in the state,full of people standing shoulder to shoulder griping about how they can't catch a fish lol.


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## Fire Eater

The publicly available National Forest land through which the Soque flows is from just below the Jackson Bridge upstream for about 3/4 of a mile. You have a better chance of catching a Montana-sized fish here than any other public stream in Georgia simply because they get washed out of Blackhawk and Brigadoon in high rains...I have seen some FREAKISHLY large trout caught here...they will grow to deformed dimensions on a generous diet of Trout Chow.

I would not recommend trespassing here. By the time you paid your fine and medical bill for the removal of birdshot you could have RENTED A MILE OF THE STREAM FOR YOURSELF.

The Soque is a rare jewel in this part of the world and would be must better if fish-hiding structures were placed in that section open to the public.

Any TU'ers listening?


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## Twenty five ought six

fishndoc said:


> You would draw less attention (and a slower response) from law enforcement by driving thru downtown Clarksville throwing M-80s out the window than you will by trespassing private land on the Soque.
> And, as already mentioned, floating the private sections is trespassing by Ga's definition of a "navigable" river.
> 
> Too many other good places to fish that don't involve the hassle.



That's funny, right there.

good one.


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## hoochfisher

The public section of the soque is clearly marked. As said take 197 to the first bridge past the big dip in the road. Park and fish. Both up and down stream is marked with a cable crossing the water with no trespassing signs on it. Don't even think of letting your line float past them cables. 

All that private land is family owned and that family happens to include the local GWs which patrol it very often and they will have a field day with you if they catch you.



Wait till a heavy rain and go fish. All them nice pellet feed footballs will get washed down to the public waters. It is stocked by Dnr also.  

A night crawler chunk produces well here.


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## Tightliner

shakey gizzard said:


> What exactly is a commercial vessel?



Like stated, Not even the State of Ga. knows.
I am part owner of an outfitter, where we do guided trips in canoes and kayaks. We ran into this issue many years back. A developer bought both sides of a section of our river (we had been outfitting on it for years prior to the sale) and tried to use the "tresspass" ticket on us (even though we try to be good stewards and even sponsor river clean up days several times a year). They contended that the river was not "commercially navigatable". Bottom line, the river is navigable and we own a buisness that uses the river commercially. Go figure....... what geniuses! Waste of taxpayer dollars . Nuff said! 

Later................................


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## Tom W.

My Manager and I are planning a quick trip up there in March. Never fished the area before, and heard the warnings of the limited access area and the clearly marked cables.  Is there a few shops where we can get flies and such?


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## Jimmy Harris

Stop in to see us and we'll give you a trout stream map along with current fishing information. 

Jimmy Harris
Unicoi Outfitters
Helen, GA


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## tree cutter 08

Like said above all lines are marked well. If you get caught across a line you've had a bad day.


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## Nicodemus

I guess I`m lucky that I got to fish the Soque and stay upstairs in the Mark of the Potter, back in the day.


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## GLS

I've been fortunate to have a friend who had access to private water.  Quite an experience to fish that stream with the size of its fish.


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## ambush80

FordHunter said:


> a trout isnt worth going to jail or having a gun go off near you to warn you.  I understand people getting alittle ticked off because of the law but those people pay good money to own that property and they pay good money to keep the trout well fed.  They practice catch and release for years to let the trout get to the size they are known for over there on the soque.  Same with the toccoa, there are areas that are private and there are a whole lot more areas that are public including creeks and streams.  I dont understand why people have to push it all the time.  I agree with jgarrowood, thats the area that the state record trout was caught a few miles down from the mark of the potter and it was one of their well fed fish that got washed down with the heavy rains.





Tightliner said:


> Like stated, Not even the State of Ga. knows.
> I am part owner of an outfitter, where we do guided trips in canoes and kayaks. We ran into this issue many years back. A developer bought both sides of a section of our river (we had been outfitting on it for years prior to the sale) and tried to use the "tresspass" ticket on us (even though we try to be good stewards and even sponsor river clean up days several times a year). They contended that the river was not "commercially navigatable". Bottom line, the river is navigable and we own a buisness that uses the river commercially. Go figure....... what geniuses! Waste of taxpayer dollars . Nuff said!
> 
> Later................................



I remember when Ted Turner bought a bunch of land in Montana, closing access to previously public waters.  The locals became outraged.  He said "Tell them to go buy their own trout stream."


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## injun joe

Times have changed in Montana. Now, even ol' Ted can't keep folks off the streams.


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## NC Scout

Tightliner said:


> Like stated, Not even the State of Ga. knows.
> I am part owner of an outfitter, where we do guided trips in canoes and kayaks. We ran into this issue many years back. A developer bought both sides of a section of our river (we had been outfitting on it for years prior to the sale) and tried to use the "tresspass" ticket on us (even though we try to be good stewards and even sponsor river clean up days several times a year). They contended that the river was not "commercially navigatable". Bottom line, the river is navigable and we own a buisness that uses the river commercially. Go figure....... what geniuses! Waste of taxpayer dollars . Nuff said!
> 
> Later................................



There's so many good places to trout fish in N GA its tough to complain but it is ironic the way some N GA property owners try to use the "private property" angle to keep everyone else off the river while they in turn "commercially" exploit the river.


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## totterypolebranch

*Firearms on the Soque*

Am I hearing it correctly that you can be shot at for trespassing?  I agree that private property is just that, Private property. However, something is wrong when someone can use deadly force for trespassing. Open land is very different from your living room.  What would happen if someone dies?:


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## mdgreco191

totterypolebranch said:


> Am I hearing it correctly that you can be shot at for trespassing?  I agree that private property is just that, Private property. However, something is wrong when someone can use deadly force for trespassing. Open land is very different from your living room.  What would happen if someone dies?:



Yeah that would not end well for the shooter. No defense for that unless they can prove they were in serious and reasonable fear for their life.


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## The mtn man

mdgreco191 said:


> Yeah that would not end well for the shooter. No defense for that unless they can prove they were in serious and reasonable fear for their life.



Yep, and I would not be able to live with myself for shooting another human being over a fish, no problem with shooting otters, but I have more respect for human life, I would suspect that if someone were shot for simply trespassing to catch a big ole fish pellet fed trout, they would regret it while they were sitting in their prison cell.


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## tree cutter 08

Don't think there's to many left around that would take a crack at ya. Always heard stories about it though, along with bear traps in the river, nail boards, and other boooby traps.


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## FordHunter

Can't forget about all those otter traps...


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## The mtn man

tree cutter 08 said:


> Don't think there's to many left around that would take a crack at ya. Always heard stories about it though, along with bear traps in the river, nail boards, and other boooby traps.



If heard those stories too about fishing in soque, heard you will get shot for trespassing there, when I was young it was scary, but as I got older I realized it was probably like those boogey man stories just to keep youngsters out of trouble, I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to shoot a man for fishing.


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## northgeorgiasportsman

cklem said:


> I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to shoot a man for fishing.



I don't know man.  Some of these transplants get pretty irrational when you start catching "their" fish or killing "their" deer.


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## The mtn man

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> I don't know man.  Some of these transplants get pretty irrational when you start catching "their" fish or killing "their" deer.



Yea, that maybe true, but they should know I'm usually packing too, lol, I don't believe I'd be much on just letting a man shoot at me , the problem with some of those your talking about is that just because they own an acre, don't mean they should be shooting at you down the road.


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## Tom W.

Anyone remember "Paddle faster, I hear banjos!!"?


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## bucky

ambush80 said:


> I remember when Ted Turner bought a bunch of land in Montana, closing access to previously public waters.  The locals became outraged.  He said "Tell them to go buy their own trout stream."



Ted Turner bought all the land the Lovells owned. People have been shot and shot at over the years up there. I would not try it.


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## The mtn man

bucky said:


> Ted Turner bought all the land the Lovells owned. People have been shot and shot at over the years up there. I would not try it.



Earl let me hunt the land Jane Fonda bought, couldn't hunt cause one of the nephews thought it necessary to check license in stand every morning at 730 am.


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## bucky

Not sure what Jane bought but Ted owns it all on the Soque. Fred Lovell owned it all before. Must have been years ago cause Earl has been dead for years. Good fishing in the winter before it gets crowed..


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## The mtn man

bucky said:


> Not sure what Jane bought but Ted owns it all on the Soque. Fred Lovell owned it all before. Must have been years ago cause Earl has been dead for years. Good fishing in the winter before it gets crowed..



Yep, been about 20 years I guess, we were told Jane Fonda bought it, wasn't she turners wife? And yea I knew earl pretty well and remember well when he passed,


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## dave21182

Just food for thought, but wouldn't it be cheaper to pay and fish the private areas, than getting a trespassing ticket, and/or arrested and appearing in court( fines, lawyers, etc...)???

I will agree that trespassing is not an excuse for deadly force, and if anybody pops a shot at me can expect return fire...


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## Silver Bullet

Here is the question that I have.  So, if there is roughly about a mile of legally fishable water, why are WE paying for the state to stock it?
I never have and probably never will fish trout up there.  I am lucky enough to have plenty of trout and PUBLIC water near my parents' place which has spoiled me rotten.


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## j_seph

I was told not long after Ted purchased it that he sold like 10 permits a year for 1K a piece


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## tree cutter 08

When they stock that section, most will get caught out before they make it up or down. It gets fished hard. Lines are marked good. You'd know if you crossed one. You'd start seeing yellow signs like billboards in Atlanta.


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## fishinbub

cklem said:


> Yea, that maybe true, but they should know I'm usually packing too, lol, I don't believe I'd be much on just letting a man shoot at me , the problem with some of those your talking about is that just because they own an acre, don't mean they should be shooting at you down the road.



I would not suggest taking a shot at someone on their land. Best case scenario you probably end up in jail for the rest of your life...worst case scenario you have a land owner claiming he feared for his life and a dead body on private property that is holding a gun that has been discharged...


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## MattKelley

Just a curious thought, if you were to sneak on the private land while carrying and were caught with a trout in possession would that be armed robbery? I sold boots to the guy that owned Rainbow Ranch (I think) on the Hooch and he said the kids caught fishing in his ponds at night would be charged with armed robbery if they had a knife on them. He may have just been talking like grown men sometimes do, but again just curious.


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## fishinbub

MattKelley said:


> Just a curious thought, if you were to sneak on the private land while carrying and were caught with a trout in possession would that be armed robbery? I sold boots to the guy that owned Rainbow Ranch (I think) on the Hooch and he said the kids caught fishing in his ponds at night would be charged with armed robbery if they had a knife on them. He may have just been talking like grown men sometimes do, but again just curious.



Doubtful. I'm not lawyer but I believe the possession of a weapon is all it takes to bump a robbery to an armed robbery. That being said, I don't think you could get a conviction (or charges, even) of robbery for catching someone's fish. Usually robbery (as opposed to petty theft) means you used force or at least intimidation.


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## The mtn man

fishinbub said:


> I would not suggest taking a shot at someone on their land. Best case scenario you probably end up in jail for the rest of your life...worst case scenario you have a land owner claiming he feared for his life and a dead body on private property that is holding a gun that has been discharged...



My quote you responded to was in reference to my response to north ga sportsman regarding move ins that come to the mountain and think they own everything, just so you know I've never trespassed on the soque, nor would I ever, there's too much good public land fishing around here to go catching someone's heavyweight fed fish. Some good trout on public streams , that is if you can catch them.


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## tree cutter 08

Some monster trout on public water!


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## The mtn man

tree cutter 08 said:


> Some monster trout on public water!



Yea buddy!! I have a buddy from Robinsville that catches some huge browns from public water on a regular basis, he speaks brown trout aparently, some of the pics he shows me, I just have to shake my head, he strictly fishes nymphs and streamers, I just don't have the touch like some do. He has proved over and over there their, if you know how to catch them.


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## NC Scout

cklem said:


> Yea buddy!! I have a buddy from Robinsville that catches some huge browns from public water on a regular basis, he speaks brown trout aparently, some of the pics he shows me, I just have to shake my head, he strictly fishes nymphs and streamers, I just don't have the touch like some do. He has proved over and over there their, if you know how to catch them.



There's brown trout as big as your leg in some of the streams in Graham Co. and rainbows that ain't too shabby either. There's a reason they get that big, you have to crawl over boulders the size of houses to get at them.  The further you crawl, the better the fishing gets and you don't have to deal with ornery rulers of one acre fishing patches.


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## The mtn man

NC Scout said:


> There's brown trout as big as your leg in some of the streams in Graham Co. and rainbows that ain't too shabby either. There's a reason they get that big, you have to crawl over boulders the size of houses to get at them.  The further you crawl, the better the fishing gets and you don't have to deal with ornery rulers of one acre fishing patches.



I hear ya!!! There's an average sized creek here in Clay county that a guy showed me some huge browns he caught from, I  fished that creek all my life and had no idea trout like that lived in there, I did catch a brown below the mouth once that was 28 1/2 inches. Caught it nymphing, I had no idea what I was doing, just got lucky I guess.


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## jbaird

Just stick to the public land. They're more than enough big trout, besides fish don't know boundries. I usually fish it from the cable to the bridge. I have had one person tell me that I could not fish at the cable. I kindly told him as long as I was on my side there was nothing he could say. He moaned and groaned then proceeded to tell me that if I caught a big one I would have to throw it back. Needless to say I just laughed at him and continued fishing. Just so happened a Federal Game Warden over heard every word and proceeded to tell the gentleman the law. He basically told the man that fish have no boundries. I figure if they want to feed em and fat em up and they float down and I just happen to catch one I say good for me and thanks.


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## ripplerider

Graham co. is high on my list of places to fish. Only got to fish it one weekend while hog hunting with my ex-wifes kinfolk but I managed to roll a good one while spinner-fishing. Couldnt close the deal however. North Carolina is definitely blessed with good trout water.


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## shakey gizzard

ripplerider said:


> Graham co. is high on my list of places to fish. Only got to fish it one weekend while hog hunting with my ex-wifes kinfolk but I managed to roll a good one while spinner-fishing. Couldnt close the deal however. North Carolina is definitely blessed with good trout water.



My next road trip will be for a NC trout!


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