Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buford Dam Corps of Engineers, Gwinnett/Forsyth County | Dam / hazard | 34.16014, -84.07425 | The top of the tailwater. A horn and siren mean generation is starting: the river below can rise several feet in under an hour. Never wade below here without checking the schedule. |
| 2 | USGS gauge - Chattahoochee River at Buford Dam Roster gauge coordinate | USGS gauge | 34.15667, -84.07842 | The gauge the whole tailwater is read off. Check it and the Buford generation schedule before wading anywhere between here and Morgan Falls. |
| 3 | Lower Pool Park COE, Forsyth County - paved ramp, fee | Access / boat ramp | 34.15793, -84.07724 | The first access below the dam, on the reregulation pool. Trailer ramp, and the usual put-in for the top float. |
| 4 | Settles Bridge NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Gwinnett County | Access / boat ramp | 34.09822, -84.10912 | Park unit at the old Settles Bridge abutments. Walk-in and car-top access; no trailer ramp on the DNR record. |
| 5 | McGinnis Ferry NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Forsyth County | Access / boat ramp | 34.05158, -84.09872 | Paved launch at the McGinnis Ferry Road crossing, a common take-out for the upper tailwater float. |
| 6 | Abbots Bridge NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Gwinnett County - fee | Access / boat ramp | 34.02461, -84.17207 | Park unit and launch at the GA 120 crossing. |
| 7 | Medlock Bridge NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Gwinnett County - fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.99553, -84.20186 | Launch at the GA 141 crossing. The downstream limit of the artificial-lures-only section that begins at GA 20. |
| 8 | Jones Bridge NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Fulton County - fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.99890, -84.24782 | One of the most-used units on the river, with the ruined Jones Bridge just downstream of the launch. |
| 9 | Garrard Landing Park City of Roswell - paved ramp, fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.97333, -84.26459 | City ramp and park on the Roswell shore, opposite the NRA's Rogers Bridge land. |
| 10 | Island Ford NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Fulton County - fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.98691, -84.32353 | The NRA headquarters unit. Shoals, a long bank-fishing frontage and a car-top launch. |
| 11 | Morgan Falls Dam Georgia Power, Sandy Springs | Dam / hazard | 33.96794, -84.38422 | The reregulating dam that forms Bull Sluice Lake. A hard portage - take out well above it, and expect the release below to change through the day. |
| 12 | Morgan Falls Park DNR-WRD, Fulton County - paved ramp, no fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.96546, -84.38273 | Free state ramp beside Morgan Falls Dam - the launch for the lower tailwater. |
| 13 | Johnson Ferry NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Cobb County - fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.94551, -84.40407 | The first unit below Morgan Falls and the usual put-in for the float down to Powers Island and Paces Mill. |
| 14 | Cochran Shoals NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Fulton County - fee | Park / conservation area | 33.90316, -84.44331 | The NRA's busiest day-use unit, with several miles of riverside trail and bank fishing. No ramp on the DNR record. The delayed-harvest section that starts at the Sope Creek mouth runs through this reach. |
| 15 | East Palisades NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Fulton County - fee | Park / conservation area | 33.87773, -84.44201 | Bluff-and-bamboo unit with steep trails to the water. Bank access only; no ramp on the DNR record. |
| 16 | Paces Mill NPS - Chattahoochee River NRA, Cobb County - fee | Access / boat ramp | 33.87038, -84.45248 | The last unit on the tailwater and the standard take-out. The delayed-harvest section ends at the US 41 bridge just downstream. |
Gauge: USGS 02334430 — CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT BUFORD DAM, NEAR BUFORD, GA. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Shoal Bass, Spotted Bass, Striped Bass
Regulations: georgiawildlife.com/fishing-regulations
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Buford Dam Park: the top of the tailwater, boat ramp and the generation-warning siren.
Bowmans Island Unit: the first National Recreation Area unit below the dam.
Settles Bridge and Abbotts Bridge: upper river units with parking and trails.
Medlock Bridge: popular launch for the upper floats.
Jones Bridge and Holcomb Bridge: mid-river units, shoals and wade access.
Johnson Ferry and Powers Island: lower units close to the city.
Chattahoochee Nature Center and the Palisades: lower river shoal and striper water.
Never wade without checking the Buford Dam generation schedule.
Year-round trout fishery; the tailwater never warms out.
March through May: hatches, stocking and comfortable flows.
June through August: cold water in Georgia heat, plus striped bass in the lower river.
September through February: brown trout in the fall, midge fishing in winter, few anglers.