Blue Ridge Trout and Outdoor Festival 2024 -- 27 April 2024

 Good  evening folks!

  I once again hauled the camper up to Blue Ridge, Georgia to attend one of my favorite shows of the year, the Blue Ridge Trout and Outdoor Adventures Festival!  Driving  up  from the World's Most Famous Beach is pretty much an all day drive, so having the camper, and a nice place to put it always makes it easier. My camping preference usually leans more toward state parks, and north Georgia has some that are absolutely fantastic.  But if Blue Ridge is  your destination, it's really hard to beat the Blue Ridge/Toccoa River KOA. Located immediately on the banks of the Toccoa River, the Blue Ridge/Toccoa River KOA is the perfect base for visiting Trout Fest. Very well maintained, lots of  pull through and back in sites, a great little camp store, really good wifi access, and possibly the most attractive thing, trout fishing just steps from any campsite!  

  The Festival itself takes place in the area of downtown Blue Ridge between East and West Main Street in the Downtown Park area near the station and platform for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.  They have tents set up to host lectures and demonstrations, a children's fishing pond, live music, a food midway (with ongoing BBQ contest!), and loads of vendors to visit!  For me, it's a chance to catch up with friends, and learn what they've been up to, so I tend to gravitate to the fly shop and fishing guides' booths.  But, there are also cooking demonstrations from local chefs, arts and crafts that tend to focus on cabin decor and outdoor gear, rodbuilders, canoe and paddle makers, and a very popular beer tent and cigar vendor!  

  I love attending this festival and look forward to attending for years to come.  It gives me a chance to visit one of my favorite areas of the country, an opportunity to fish for some of the species I cut my fly-fishing teeth on, a chance to see dear friends and enjoy the relaxed ambiance that Blue Ridge provides so well.  I encourage you to go, if you get the opportunity, I'd love to meet you there! But, if you can't make it, enjoy the photos below and check out my social media channels for the live posts next year!

  I hope you're all doing well!
   Tight lines and safe travels!
       -Nick   

Today is the day! I've made it back to Blue Ridge for one of my favorite events, the Blue Ridge Trout & Outdoor Adventures Festival! I'll be here all day and bringing you along with me! Any questions, suggestions or requests, just drop them in the comments and I'll do my best to address them. Let's have a great day in Blue Ridge!

In preparation for the day's festivities, I fueled up at das Kaffee Haus on Main St. with a delicious cortado and an almond croissant. On to the show!

Watch out for that gator! The Let's Go Fishing kid's fishing pond is drawing a great crowd right after the Festival opened! I've been told there's some pretty rare trout in the pond, so definitely worth the visit!

Upriver Boatworks are up from Dawsonville and have a couple of 2023 models with clearance prices here at the Festival! Or, you can set up an order for one of their fully custom, small-batch, framed inflatable boats!

The Bowman Outdoors and Bowman Flyfishing are serving up merch, guided fishing trips, and French pastries! Bowman Outdoors in Dahlonega is one of the area's newest fly shops, opened recently by one of the region's most experienced guides. Wish I had time to check out the shop, but be sure to stop by if you're in the area!

If you're in the market for some XtraTuf footwear, Ballard's of Blue Ridge has you covered!

Beautiful Stealthcraft drift boat! Gotta love the graphics!

Troncalli Subaru has several cars on display, but this roof top tent trailer setup is catching a lot of eyes!

It's hard to miss the captivating tent of the Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School! They stayed busy throughout the festival talking classes, guide trips, tips and tricks for fishing the entire Blue Ridge area. If you're just taking up the flyrod or looking to polish your skills, give the Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School a look!

Stopped by the Legacy Fly Fishing booth to check out these stunning, solid hardwood fly rod tubes! Fully sealed and protected, these rod tubes are intended to be used to protect your flyrods, not to be used simply as display pieces! I wouldn't blame you for letting them pull double duty, though, they are gorgeous!

Blue Ridge Tree Trunk Trout!

The Benton MacKaye Trail Association has a saw buck setup giving folks a chance to try their hand with a two-man crosscut saw! They're staying busy, and its so cool to see so many folks, kids and adults, excited to try it out and release their inner sawyer!

Blue Ridge Flies has a pretty cool concept going where they are selling fully loaded boxes of custom tied flies curated for specific situations. From stocked trout to the most remote blue line natives, they've got a box to suit!

Another beautiful boat on display! This one is a hand made, plywood drift boat based on a Montana style design.

The Smokey Bear Cigars tent always proves popular at this Festival! They've got a great selection of some fantastic cigars and a pretty decent array of accessories. If they don't have what you need in the tent, I'm sure their shop up the street can accomodate! Think I'll be grabbing a stick or two to enjoy campfireside tonight!

When no one was looking, I snuck around behind the Bowman Outdoors booth to get a better shot of this sweet old survivor of a Bronco!

I snagged a sample from the Georgia Grown booth of Bramlett Trout Farm grilled trout prepared by the chef from Community Brew & Tap in Cornelia. Absolutely fantastic!!

The folks from Toccoa Riverside Restaurant were here with coolers full of their house smoked trout samples! So, so good! Next trip to Blue Ridge I know where I'm going for dinner!

TOPPER is up on the Trout Fest Sound Stage right now rocking out with the Voices of Rock & Soul!

Finally had the opportunity to meet the great folks of the Caddis Shack! From their literature: "The Caddis Shack is a hidden gem nestled along the picturesque Toccoa River near the towns of McCaysville and Blue Ridge, GA." Imagine stepping off the porch of your rented cabin and taking a few steps into a very wadable section of the Toccoa River! Or, if guided float trips or flyfishing lessons are more what your after, they've got a full compliment of packages and guide partners to make your stay the best it can possibly be!

In the rv communities you'll often hear the line " Home is where you park it". Well, if that's the case, whenever I come to Blue Ridge home for me tends to be at the Blue Ridge/ Toccoa River KOA! Clean, friendly, lots of ammenities, level sites and, most notably, walk-in fishing access to the Toccoa River along one entire side of the campground! I've enjoyed it every time I've stayed with them, including this trip!

I got so caught up with visiting Mr. and Mrs. Alpharetta Outfitters that I neglected to post the booth picture! Always great to catch up with Jeff and Avery and if you're looking for a local fly shop in the Alpharetta area I can't recommend them enough! Tons of local knowledge, all the gear and supplies you could need, guides, instruction, events, you name it!

Beautiful day for Blue Ridge Trout Fest!!

Could not have asked for a more beautiful day for the Blue Ridge Trout Fest!! It was a great time to catch up with old friends, make some new friends and hand out some Suburban Angler stickers!! Oddly enough, no one wanted an autograph!! Mark your calendar for next year, Trout Fest really is an excellent time!

via Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BiIQKpanbWS/

Blue Ridge Trout Fest!

We're heading to north Georgia the end of this week for the 3rd annual Blue Ridge Trout Fest! We'll be posting pictures, giving away stickers and signing autographs, so make sure you say Hi!! We look forward to seeing everyone there!!

via Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh6YTZenDOB/

A Midday Train Through Georgia.

Evenin' Folks,

Aboard the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway Car 2929.

  You know, summertime is typically a time for vacations and relaxation. My Little Girl and I (uh, significant other, not offspring) usually try to take a small beach vacation each year when we can, anything from a long weekend to a full week. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Ponce Inlet, Florida are two of the most memorable.
  This year, due to a health scare, all of my vacation money went toward paying hospital bills so, no beach vacation. It would've been a great one, too, we found an awesome deal on a package to Aruba AND I found a fly fishing guide on the island!  But, Aruba will just have to wait until next year.
  As so often happens, the summer flew by and without even realizing it, school was about to start back.  We ran out of time for our beach trip, so instead, we decided at the last minute to do a quick over-nighter in Blue Ridge, Georgia.  We got online and started checking out things to do and see and places to stay.  This was on a Friday afternoon, we wanted to head up the next morning and spend Saturday night.  While online we found a great looking little hotel, Serenity in the Mountains, with all suites and very reasonable prices.  Unfortunately, it was too late in the evening to get a reservation.  I tried to call when they opened the next morning, but, unfortunately again for us, they were booked solid for the whole weekend.  Our quick over-nighter turned into a quick day trip.  We will be going back to stay at Serenity, I just have to make the reservations quite a bit further in advance!

A gorgeous little homestead with views of the river, when the train isn't passing.

The Suburban Angler himself.

It was tough to get a good shot of the river from the moving train.

  We were able to get tickets for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway before leaving home, so we headed up into the mountains bright and early.  For me, there is something about being in the mountains on a cool, drizzly morning that is just instantly refreshing.  We've had an unusually cool summer here in Georgia this year (I'm not complaining) and with the rain and the smells of the mountains, it was like fall had come early.  We got to Blue Ridge with a bit of time before the train departed so we went to the L&L Beanery for a cup of coffee and some pastries.  The location the we visited (they have three) was directly across from the train station in a historic bank building.  Inside you're greeted with the smell of coffee, a very large bank-vault door and pressed tin ceilings.  There were plenty of cafe tables, but we opted for the leather couches by the fireplace.  The coffee was good, the pastries were ok, but the chai tea managed to elude them.  It was a great, comfortable place to wait for the train, though.  With my fondness for L.L. Bean pipes and outdoor sporting equipment, I was, honestly, drawn to L&L Beanery by the name!

The only bend large enough for a full train shot.

 

After killing a little time with our coffee, we lined up and boarded the train.  The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is a 4 hour, 26 mile round trip train ride following along the Toccoa River north (but, oddly enough, downstream) to the twin border towns of McCaysville, GA and Copperhill, TN.  We were in one of the open cars, the rain was light enough that we didn't get wet, so we were really able to take in the scenery.  As is typically the case for me, we chose the wrong side of the train.  There are views to be seen on both sides, but one side has the river, so there is a better side.  Luckily the porters ensure that everyone changes sides for the return trip.  There wasn't a whole lot to see and do in McCaysville and Copperhill.  There are a few hometown restaurants and junk/"antique" stores, but, aside from the street preachers, that was about it for entertainment during the layover.  I was able to pick up a walnut pipe rack for way cheaper than ebay, so I happy about that.  I was hoping to find a fly shop to check out and possibly pick up a patch with the town's name or the river's name change.    Which, I guess, is the other attraction in McCaysville/Copperhill, the north-flowing Toccoa River changes its name to the Ocoee River when it crosses the state line.  My normally good sense of direction was way out of whack while here, I think the river running the wrong way was throwing off my internal compass.

A beautiful river.

Lots of kayakers on the water.

More kayakers and a 100 year old bridge.

I love vintage signs.

  When we got back to Blue Ridge we took a stroll around the sidewalks and checked out some of the little shops in town.  Mostly junk/"antique" stores, there is a vintage book store (E. Quinn Book Seller, I think) in which the proprietor is a pipe smoker and fly fisherman, a stand-up guy in my book.  Being a fly fishing town, there were no vintage fly fishing books to be had.  Blue Ridge does have two fly shops in town.  Sorta.  The first I stopped into was Blue Ridge Fly Fishing.  This was a full service fly shop with everything from fly tying supplies to waders and full rod outfits.  They really seemed to have a fantastic selection for such a small shop, they carried all the best brands like Sage, Orvis, R. L. Winston, Patagonia, Simms and others.  It's probably a good thing that I didn't have much spending money, because I could have easily signed over a few paychecks to them!!  The next shop, literally next door, I liked even more.  Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods is a rod shop.  The store is quite small, but there are picture windows in the rear of the store looking into the workshop classroom.  Not only does Oyster Rods build and sell rods, they also teach rod building in the store!  My bucket list has just gotten one item longer!  When you walk in the store you are greeted, not only by the gentleman behind the cash register, but by the smells of a woodworking shop, leather and gun oil.  In addition to the displays of bamboo flyrods that scream to be picked up against better judgement, are traditional clothes that would make Orvis take notice, a glass case of Hardy reels easily worth more than my car, and half a wall-full rack of some of the finest double guns going.  Oyster Bamboo Rods didn't look like a fly shop, it looked like the man cave of my dreams!  As soon as I win the lottery I'm signing up for one of their rod building classes and buying two of everything in the store!  I wanted to take pictures while I was there, and kick myself for not asking permission, but it was the kind of place that I felt taking pictures would just be impolite.  So just take my word for it, and go yourself if you get the chance. 
  Believe it or not, we were able to cover just about all of Blue Ridge in just the one day, but we certainly plan on going back soon.  The Toccoa River was busy with fisherman, but I think I'd like to take a stab at it myself.  It looks like the perfect river to flyfish out of the kayak while the Little Girl is getting spa treatment and I wouldn't mind drooling in Oyster Bamboo Rods a bit more.
  I'll put links below for the businesses we checked out, but leave me a comment if you've been to Blue Ridge and know of something we missed that we need to see next time.  Thanks for reading.
  Tight Lines and Happy Fishing,
        -Nick

Links:

Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods
Blue Ridge Fly Fishing
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
E. Quinn Booksellers
L&L Beanery
Serenity in the Mountains Spa and Suites
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