On Labor Day weekend, 2002, Jim Wilcox, J.D., Wesley Belcher and I took a little trip to North Georgia where we discovered a little-known gem of a lake nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is formed by the damming of the Tugaloo River. The Tugaloo River is formed by the Tallulah and Chattooga Rivers. The dam is located just below their confluence. The backed up water is called Tugaloo Lake.
The Tallulah River carved world famous and spectacular Tallulah Gorge. The Chattooga, of course, is Georgia's (and South Carolina's) world famous National Wild and Scenic River. Tugaloo Lake is the take out for those running Section IV of the Chattooga.
The lake is a 575 acre impoundment, just on the edge of Tallulah Falls State Park, about 7 miles south of Clayton on Highway 441. In fact, one of the two ways to get down to the lake is to follow the road through the park until the pavement ends. Then continue on the dirt road, being careful to not let your vehicle get away from you on the steep descent.
We arrived on a Friday, and set up camp in the park. Before we turned in, though, Jim and I rode down the road out of the back of the park that leads down to the lake. We had been adequately warned that you really do need a four wheel drive to take this road -- not so much to get to the lake, but to get back out! Of course, my trusty 2 wheel drive 1992 Chevrolet S-10 with 292,000 miles has taken me to many many places inaccessible to the average vehicle (and has never left me stranded - knock on wood), so I promptly, and with only minor trepitadion, ignored the warnings and drove on down to the lake. There is a boat ramp down there and there were some people standing around a roaring fire.
After scoping the scene, we headed back up the road. Well, we like to have not made it out. I lost count of the tries as, with deepening darkness, I'd gun it up the road only to have our forward progress stop while the tires spun madly. You could hear the gravel dinging against the differential. Sadly I'd press the clutch and gingerly, through my rear view mirror, back the truck down the road to something of a level spot in order to make another running start at the hill. I figured the ranger we'd seen at the boat ramp would soon be coming up behind us and we wouldn't be able to get a running start. Not only that, but he'd want to call a tow truck. Boy would that be embarrassing! But, before that happened, Jim climbed into the back of the truck and laid down over the rear end. His weight managed to give us enough traction to finally make it up the hill -- but just barely.
After we were over that rough spot, we agreed that we'd better go to the South Carolina side, where the road was supposed to be nicer. Indeed, that's where those river outfitters with their old school busses pick up the rafters who've just run the Chattooga. So, Saturday morning, we made the trip to South Carolina. There is no development around the lake, and outboards are limited to 20 hp, so there's not a lot of traffic on the lake. The effect, for the most part, is one of isolation. You feel like you're a long way from anywhere.
Tugaloo Lake is stocked with largemouth bass, trout, bream, crappie, white catfish, and, as of a couple years ago, walleye. But the fish are finicky and hard to catch. All Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday, Jim and I threw everything we had at them. Nary a bite.
It's a good thing we didn't rely on our fishing skills to eat. About dark, though, on Sunday night, I set up on the bank with some nightcrawlers. I soon was catching fish. I caught several white catfish, the first I'd ever seen of that species, a largemouth, and a bream. Wesley joind me at some point and caught a four inch walleye -- the first of those I'd ever seen. They quit biting about 10:30. So it was off to bed.
More on Tugaloo can be found here at Danny Norwood's site.
