Smallmouth in Georgia?

[Zach Matthews]

Hey guys- –

Since I moved to Georgia, for the first time I’m living in a state that wasn’t originally 100% native smallmouth bass territory.

[Adam McDowell]

Zach, get in touch with Drew Gregory, he knows as much as any on the subject.

[John Stanley]

I did a quick check of a few state game and fish web sites, and it told me the answer.   Smallmouth are native to the Ohio River Valley drainage, but not to the Gulf or Atlantic drainage.
To answer you question, there should be smallmouth in the Toccoa River system.  TVA list smallmouth as one of the fish in Blue Ridge Lake, so they should be in the Toccoa, above the lake.

[keith b]

Zach,
Get on NGTO and ask the DNR guys, under the DNR forum, and I am sure you will get the biology answer you are searching for.  I know there was some talk recently about smallmouth inthe hooch, below Morgan Falls dam.  
There are many guys over there that will have an opinion, and some of them have biology backgrounds, too.
Good luck with your research.
Keith

PS – Zach, I just found this after posting the above text.

[Steve K.]

Paging Dr. Grossman.

Zach….I’ve lived (and fished) in Georgia most of my life and have never caught smallmouth here. I’m sure there are some around but I haven’t caught any. Of course I live in the Piedmont region and concentrate my piscatorial pursuits in that area. As a matter of fact….the only smallies I’ve caught were in the Hiwassee River near Reliance, TN.

Now shoal bass….that’s a different story.

[dave nyberg]

I read somewhere that smallmouth are in the hooch.

[Gary Sundin]

I’m no expert on this, but there are smallmouth in GA.  The linked paper, by Warren et al., is a an extremely worthwhile reference to print and keep around.  It is my go-to reference for broad questions of fish distribution and status in the south.

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_warren005.pdf

According to Warren et al. smallmouth are unquestionably native to the upper TN basin.  In Georgia this includes portions of the Toccoa, Nottely, and Hiwassee river drainages.  Though I’ve never caught a GA smallie, I’ve heard plenty of first-hand accounts of them from the Toccoa.  I’ve caught them in the Hiwassee in Tennessee, just scant miles from the Georgia border.  So yes, there are a few little patches of native smallmouth habitat in GA.  Furthermore, according to Warren et al., they have been introduced into the Coosa system, and their origin (native vs. introduced) in Savannah system is uncertain.  That’s news to me; I’ve fished the upper Savannah drainage extensively and never caught one.  Also from this source: they have been introduced into the ACF system (includes the Hooch) and their status there was “uncertain” ten years ago.  The increasing number of anecdotal reports of smallies in the Chattahoochee in Atlanta makes me think that they are there.  

G

[Buzz Bryson]

SMB in Little Tennessee, which is trib to Ohio, and eventually goes to Gulf.  And since Little T begins in GA (barely), there should be a few SMB there.

[Zach Matthews]

Gary –

By ACF I assume you mean Appalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint?

[keith b]

Zach,
Check this out.
http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71728&referrerid=7292

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