In mid-October, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources trucks put 4,759 trout into Upstate water over one week. The drops went into the Big and Little Eastatoee, Little Canebrake, the Chattooga and the East Fork of the Chattooga, among other streams. Over the same year, crews a few miles up the Jocassee Gorges have been taking rainbow trout out of creeks. Why would one agency add trout in one place and remove them in another?
Those creeks are being readied for the eastern brook trout, which SCDNR calls the only member of the trout family native to South Carolina. It has retreated to remote headwaters, and it can't take back a stream while rainbows are still in it. On Friday, Nov. 13, the SCDNR biologist working on that problem will explain it at Jocassee Valley Brewing on Highway 11 in Salem.
Four creeks, three patches, one native fish
The project is listed with the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, and SCDNR's Dan Rankin is the project leader. It covers 14.6 kilometers, about 9.1 miles, of stream in three patches. Non-native fish come out above barriers along 8.7 km, habitat work runs the full 14.6 km, and native brook trout get reintroduced into all of it.
The four creeks are different from each other, and the Chattooga River Chapter of Trout Unlimited describes them this way:
- Wright Creek is 2.9 km of rugged Oconee County terrain. Crews get there from the Bad Creek muster area on UTVs, a trip of about 20 miles.
- Emory Creek is 5.8 km long and flows to the Saluda. Its upper section holds a unique strain of brook trout, and its lower section holds rainbows and chubs that will be completely removed before brook trout are stocked.
- Abner and Dogwood Creeks join into one stream that flows to the Eastatoe. Together they run 5.9 km, and they are likely fishless now.
SCDNR's proposal says two of the three patches are believed to have no brook trout at all right now. It also says the work will strengthen two of the four unique brook trout genotypes found in South Carolina. So the project is meant to protect specific local bloodlines, beyond simply getting more trout into more creeks.
The creeks were logged before they were fished
The streams themselves also need work. The proposal explains that 20th-century logging in the Jocassee Gorges cleared streambanks. That led to sediment, warmer water and a loss of the large fallen wood that creates pools where brook trout hide.
Surveys from 2010 show how far Abner Creek fell short.
| Measure | Abner Creek, 2010 survey | Target range for brook trout |
|---|---|---|
| Pool habitat | 7% | 30% to 50% |
| Large woody debris per km | 78 pieces | 100 to 200 pieces |
The fix has already been tried nearby. On King Creek, felling 60 to 120 trees per mile in 2006 helped raise pool habitat from 10% in 2001 to 36% in 2009, and SCDNR plans to use the same approach on Abner Creek and other Jocassee Gorges streams. The sight of trees cut down across a mountain creek can look like damage, but here it is the repair.
Where the work stands this fall
Chattooga River TU's latest project update puts the effort in its middle stage:
- December 2025: Trimming finished on every stream in the project, opening access and a trail.
- 2026: Stream surveys and removal of non-native rainbow trout, which compete with brook trout for food and space.
- 2027: More surveys, the first woody debris additions and, finally, native brook trout going into the streams.
So the brook trout aren't in these creeks yet. This year's work is clearing out the rainbows. The chapter received a $9,500 Embrace A Stream award from Trout Unlimited in 2025 for the project. The chapter says all three TU chapters and the TU State Council are backing it with money and volunteers. Mountain Bridge TU describes the rainbow removal on Emory and Wright Creeks as working down to natural barriers.
The chapter lists the volunteer tasks as trimming, electroshocking to remove invasive fish, culvert passage surveys and tree cutting to add structure. SCDNR requires a signed volunteer agreement, which the Chattooga River chapter can provide by email.
Friday the 13th at the taproom
Friends of Jocassee is hosting the Nov. 13 Fireside Chat. Visit Oconee's event calendar lists it as a talk on Southern Appalachian brook trout with SCDNR's Hailey Goyette at 5:30 p.m. at Jocassee Valley Brewing. Admission and registration aren't listed on the calendar, so check Friends of Jocassee or the linked Facebook event before you go. Earlier 2026 chats were held at the brewery in February and at Devils Fork State Park later in the year.
Goyette has done this work before. In June 2024 she presented to the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture's steering committee on an SCDNR project in Pig Pen Branch and Lick Log Creek in Oconee County. Its goal was a reproducing brook trout population. The same summary notes that South Carolina's 2024 State Wildlife Action Plan revision, then in progress, was raising eastern brook trout from Moderate to High Priority. The project summary and slides are posted online.
Jocassee Valley Brewing is at 13412 N Hwy 11 in Salem. It's a taproom with plans for an on-site brewery, it's family friendly, and leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome. Its posted hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and it notes that it may close earlier in winter.
Meanwhile, on the water you can fish now
The creeks in the restoration are still a year away from brook trout. The streams most people fish follow a seasonal calendar, and the season changed on Nov. 1. SCDNR's 2026–2027 Hunting & Fishing Guide was published in July 2026 and covers Aug. 14, 2026 through Aug. 14, 2027. Its trout table lists these nearby waters:
| Water, as listed by SCDNR | Nov. 1 to May 14 | May 15 to Oct. 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Devils Fork Creek | Catch and release, single-hook artificial lures only | 5 trout |
| Chauga River, SC Hwy 290 upstream to Bone Camp Creek | Catch and release, single-hook artificial lures only | 5 trout |
| Chattooga River, Hwy 28 to Reed Creek | Catch and release, single-hook artificial lures only | 5 trout |
| Eastatoe Creek, Lake Keowee to Roy Jones Road | Catch and release, single-hook artificial lures only | 5 trout |
| Eastatoe Creek, on Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve | 5 trout, artificial lures only, all year | 5 trout, artificial lures only, all year |
Devils Fork Creek has the same name as the state park on Salem's side of Lake Jocassee, and it's on the seasonal catch-and-release list. The two Eastatoe rows aren't a typo. The stretch on the Heritage Preserve follows a different rule from the stretch below it. This summary is general information and not legal advice, so read the guide itself or call SCDNR to confirm the rules before you fish.
The stocked water and the restored water serve different purposes. Walhalla State Fish Hatchery raises brook, brown and rainbow trout, about 500,000 a year. Those fish supply the recreational fishery, the one in the weekly stocking summary. Rankin is also the Upstate contact listed on that summary. The Jocassee Gorges project aims for something else, wild native brook trout reproducing on their own. The proposal says every creek in it lies within SCDNR's Jocassee Gorges property and is open to public fishing. It adds that the Emory Creek work will extend brook trout downstream into "a larger, more fishable stream."
The rest of November around the gorge
The Fireside Chat isn't the last Friends of Jocassee date this fall. The group's calendar lists "Jocassee Santa & Annual Meeting" on Nov. 21 and an Adopt-A-Highway workday on Dec. 14. The venue for the Santa event is shortened to "DSFP," which most likely means Devils Fork State Park, so confirm with the group before you drive out.
Plan around shorter days if you're headed to the park. Devils Fork State Park runs 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. from late spring to mid-fall and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. from late fall to mid-spring. The park doesn't give an exact date for the switch, so check its page before a late-afternoon trip.
If the Nov. 13 talk makes you curious about the land around these creeks, from Salem lots near the gorge to Lake Keowee property downstream, Thomas & Crain Real Estate works in upper Oconee every day. We're happy to talk over what you're seeing on your own stretch of water, or to start with a free home valuation if you'd like a number to go with it.
