Fly Fishing 101

Leave No Trace Fly Fishing: The Seven Principles on a North Georgia Trout Stream

Daniel Bowman Updated November 4, 2026 10 min read

Most "fly fishing etiquette" advice is about people: who gets the run, how close you can wade to another angler, when to give up a spot. That matters, and we cover it in our guide to fly fishing etiquette on the river. This article is about the river itself, and what an angler leaves behind or takes away from it.

The framework is Leave No Trace, the outdoor ethic built around seven principles. Below, each principle gets its official title and what it means standing in a North Georgia creek, plus the Georgia rule that goes with it where there is one. Where a topic already has its own Bowman article, we keep it short and link to it. And if you'd rather leave the rules to a guide, our rates page lists every trip, with gear included.

What are the seven Leave No Trace principles?

The seven principles, in their official order, are:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Leave No Trace Seven Principles © 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org. The quotes below come from the National Park Service's reproduction of the principles, which carries that credit.

None of the seven were written for anglers specifically, but every one of them applies to a day on a trout stream. The sections below take them in order.

Principle 1: How do you plan ahead for a fishing trip?

Know the rules for the water before you get there. The first principle's first line is: "Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit." On North Georgia trout water, that means three things:

• Licenses. Anglers 16 or older on Georgia trout water need both fishing and trout privileges, and some licenses, like the Sportsman's, include both, per Georgia DNR's license page. Our license guide walks through buying them.
• Special rules. Some streams carry their own regulations. Noontootla Creek on Blue Ridge WMA, for example, allows only artificial lures and requires every trout under 16 inches to go back, as our article on Noontootla's special regulations explains.
• Property lines. Georgia's general fishing regulations say: "It is unlawful to fish on someone else's property without permission." They add, "Always ask permission before entering private land."

Check property access before you fish. Georgia DNR's trout page says it plainly: "respect private property," and get the landowner's okay first. Permission isn't needed on the state's Public Fishing Areas, Wildlife Management Areas and state parks, as long as you follow their rules.

The principle also says to "schedule your trip to avoid times of high use." On a trout stream, that usually means a weekday, or the far end of a popular access instead of the parking lot pool.

Principle 2: What are durable surfaces on a trout stream?

Rock, gravel and established paths. The National Park Service's wording lists "maintained trails and designated campsites, rock, gravel, sand, dry grasses or snow" as durable surfaces. Stream banks are the opposite: soft, easy to break down and slow to recover.

What that means when you're fishing:

• Use the existing path to the water instead of cutting a new one down the bank.
• Step on rock and dry gravel bars above the water, not on the soft bank edge or streamside plants. In October and November, and again in spring, stay off gravel in the stream itself (Principle 6 explains why).
• Enter and leave the river in the same place when you can, so you wear one spot instead of five.
• Camp well back from the water. The principle says to "protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams." That's the Leave No Trace guideline, not a specific forest rule.

On the Chattahoochee National Forest, the Forest Service's camping page says dispersed camping "is allowed in most places within the forest boundary" and is "more primitive than in developed campgrounds, with few or no facilities." Its FAQ page limits dispersed camping to 14 days. Our guide to fly fishing the Chattahoochee National Forest lists the developed campgrounds on trout water.

Principle 3: What should an angler pack out?

Everything you brought, and especially fishing line. The principle starts with "Pack it in, pack it out," and adds "pack out all trash, leftover food and litter." The Forest Service says the same about the national forest: "You will need to Pack-it-in and Pack-it-Out."

Fishing line is the angler's own litter problem. The BoatUS Foundation's fishing line recycling page says line "is not biodegradable and can remain in the marine environment for over 600 years." Georgia's regulations put two duties on anglers:

1. "Recycle used fishing line."
2. "Make every reasonable effort to retrieve lost gear (including hooks, line and lead sinkers)."

How to keep a trout day line-free:

• Pocket every tag end. Tippet you clip off while changing flies is small, so it's easy to drop. Keep a small pouch or an old film canister for scraps.
• Get your snags back when you safely can. A fly and tippet left in a streamside branch stays there.
• Carry out old leaders and spools and recycle them. BoatUS says many boat ramps, marinas and fishing areas have recycling bins, and many local tackle shops keep bins for public use.
• Pack out the packaging. Fly-box inserts, tippet spool wrappers and snack bags blow into the water fast.

Plan to carry line home unless you've confirmed a recycling bin where you're fishing. Near Lake Lanier, Keep Forsyth County Beautiful set up line recycling at two boat ramps in 2022, per a local report; call the group to confirm those bins before you count on them.

A small kit makes this easy. What to bring for a no-trace day on the water:

• A zip bag or small pouch for tippet scraps and old leaders
• A trash bag for anything you find, not just what you brought
• A trowel, if you'll be out long enough to need a cathole
• A brush and a towel for knocking mud off boots before you leave the access
• A way to carry out a snapped rod tip or a broken net, so nothing gets left on the bank

The principle also covers human waste: "deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep, at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails." On a long day on public water, that 200 feet matters.

Principle 4: What does "leave what you find" mean for anglers?

Don't take rocks, plants or living things from one water to another. The principle says "leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them" and "avoid introducing or transporting non-native species." For anglers, the second line is the big one, because wet gear moves things from river to river.

Georgia DNR's aquatic nuisance species page sets out three steps:

Two more lines from the same page apply to anyone who fishes bait or thinks about moving fish: "Never release live bait, aquarium fish, aquatic plants or mussels into Georgia waters," and "Only GA DNR staff is authorized to stock or move live fish or aquatic plants from one body of water to another." Georgia's regulations add that "bait species should never be transferred between water ways."

Wading boots are a common carrier, and the sole you wear changes how long they stay wet. Our guide to felt and rubber wading boots covers the agencies' cleaning steps and where felt is restricted.

Principle 5: Can you have a campfire on the national forest?

Sometimes, and you should check before every trip. Fire rules on the Chattahoochee-Oconee change with the weather and the season, so we won't state today's status. Look at the forest's alerts page before you go.

When fires are allowed, the principle's guidance is:

• "Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires."
• "Keep fires small. Only use down and dead wood from the ground that can be broken by hand."
• "Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes."

The Forest Service's FAQ adds two rules of its own: "Be sure to completely put out any campfire before leaving your site unattended," and "Do not leave campfires unattended." A small stove is the easiest way to skip the question entirely.

Principle 6: How do you respect trout and other wildlife?

Give them space, and take extra care when they're spawning. The principle says to "observe wildlife from a distance" and to "avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter." Fish are wildlife too, and that line is the reason to stay off spawning gravel. That connection is ours; the principle doesn't mention fish.

Georgia DNR's trout fact sheet says "Brown trout and Brook trout spawn in October and November, whereas Rainbow trout spawn in the spring." DNR's trout page adds that "for spawning, trout require streams with gravel bottoms." The nests are called redds, and the eggs stay in that gravel until they hatch. Arkansas Game and Fish puts the risk plainly in its fall spawn advice: "Simply walking through a trout redd can have disastrous results."

We didn't find a Georgia rule against wading through redds, so this is good conduct, not law. Our article on late fall fly fishing in November covers how to spot a redd and fish around one.

Respecting fish also means handling them well when you release them. Trout Unlimited's catch and release basics say to "keep fish in the water as long as possible" and "crimp the barb on hooks," and note that "studies show the survival of certain trout species diminishes rapidly after just 20 to 30 seconds in the air." Our catch-and-release guide walks through the steps.

Principle 7: How do you stay considerate of other anglers?

Give other people room and let the river be quiet. The principle says to "respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience" and to "let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises."

On a trout stream, that looks like:

• Ask before you step into water someone is already fishing.
• Walk well around another angler's run, away from the bank they're casting to.
• Keep music and phone calls for the truck.
• Leave the parking area the way you found it.

Our etiquette guide goes much further on the people side: spacing, right of way, low-holing and passing another angler, on foot or in a boat.

How does catch and release fit Leave No Trace?

It's the most direct way to leave the river as you found it. Releasing a fish well means it can spawn, grow and be caught again. On public water, harvest is legal on many streams, and keeping a legal fish is a fair choice. Catch and release simply keeps more fish in the river.

On our private water, it isn't a choice. Every fish on our Soque and Etowah sections goes back, and we keep the number of anglers low, so the trout there grow bigger than most public-stream fish ever get the chance to. Our trophy trout page describes that water: the trout there see fewer flies, are never harvested, and grow significantly bigger.

What does a Leave No Trace fishing day look like?

A short checklist for a self-guided day on North Georgia trout water:

If you'd rather fish with someone who knows the water and the rules, start a request through our trip finder. Our private water on the Etowah and Soque is beginner friendly, and our Noontootla water suits anglers with some experience.

Daniel Bowman

Owner & Head Guide · Bowman Fly Fishing

Daniel has guided fly fishing trips in North Georgia for more than 10 years. He runs Bowman Fly Fishing with a team of 10 guides on the Toccoa, Soque, Etowah, Noontootla, and Tuckasegee — including private water access most anglers never get to fish.