Destinations

 

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing Guides offering guided Fly Fishing trips and tours in both the North Carolina and Tennessee Smoky Mountains.

Our passion is guiding anglers into the far reaches of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smokies are one of the most beautiful National Parks in America, which also makes it the most visited park in the country, easily eclipsing Yellowstone. The Smokies offer over 2,100 miles of streams that are teeming with trout. Anglers fishing with us can expect to cast a fly to Rainbow, Brown and Brook Trout. Brook Trout are commonly referred to around these parts as “Speckled Trout”.  Many of the wild trout inside the Smokie’s boundaries retain their parr markings all their lives, we mountain folk refer to the trout’s parr marks as “God’s Fingerprints”, and once you catch one of the mountain treasures and see how colorful they are you’ll understand why, nothing made by man’s hands can be so beautiful.

One of the great things about the Smokies is how easy you can access many of the streams inside the park boundary. Vast trail systems and roadways left behind by the folks who first settled these mountains make traveling to many destinations virtually a snap. But if getting really deep back in the park is your “thang”, then we can certainly accommodate you. We specialize in guiding anglers deep into the back country, and have led many groups of anglers to some of the most remote places inside the park. Horace Kephart summed it up nicely when he penned one of his most famous quotes about the park, referring to the back country as “the back of beyond”. We couldn’t agree more. Some of our favorite places to guide and fish are Deep Creek, Hazel Creek, Little River, Abrams Creek,  Noland Creek, Walker Camp Prong, Beech Flats, Kephart, and Straight Fork. There are many more streams to fish in the Smokies, the list is quiet extensive, with everything from major watersheds to the tiny tributaries in between, there is plenty of water to fish and many places that one can find solitude.

 

Tuckasegee River

First things first. The Tuckasegee River can be spelled two different ways and both of them are correct, Tuckasegee, and Tuckaseigee. We just refer to it simply as “the Tuck”, easy enough. The river’s name comes from that of a Cherokee village, Tsiksitsi (meaning “Crawling Terrapin,” for the sluggish movement of the waters). The Tuck is roughly 50 miles long and is a beautiful river. With it’s relatively slow moving current, emerald green waters, and many rock ledges, the fish here have a great place to live. Anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish in the Tuck. In the upper stretches of the river near the small  town of Dillsboro, we have a Delayed Harvest Section of river which contains over 9,000 trout per mile. Action here can be nothing short of incredible. As you move downstream towards the settlement of Whittier the river widens a bit and you begin to see Smallmouth Bass and some really big Brown and Rainbow Trout. Further downstream near Bryson City, we catch anything from Rainbow and Brown Trout, to Smallmouth, Walleye, and Muskie. Wading the Tuck is a great option, but the real fun is floating the river from a raft and cataraft.

 

Cherokee North Carolina

Cherokee  is a unique place and offer’s some of the best fly fishing opportunities in the South East. The Cherokee Indians manage over 30 miles of stocked water that are loaded each week with some of the healthiest fish in the south. Cherokee has a special Fly Fishing Only section aptly named the “Cherokee Trophy Section” that is 2.2 miles long and is home to some rather large resident trout. Brown and Rainbow Trout caught here are regularly in the mid to upper 20 inch range with the occasional Brown approaching 30 inches. These “Cherokee River Monsters” fight hard and have been known to break rods. Fly Fishing here is a unique opportunity. Fish here are generally measured in pounds, not inches! Come catch the fish of a lifetime in Cherokee, your next personal best trout is waiting for you!

Little Tennessee River

The Little Tennessee River is a great Small Mouth Bass river, with healthier populations of Smallies, it’s here you will have the best shot at some truly citation sized bass on the fly.

The history of the Little Tennessee sheds some light on how important this river really was to early civilizations. The Little Tennessee River and its immediate watershed comprise one of the richest archaeological areas in the Southeastern United States, containing substantial habitation sites dating back to as early as 7,500 B.C.  Archaeologist,  Cyrus Thomas, conducted a mound survey in the area for the Smithsonian Institution in the 1880s. He wrote that the Little Tennessee River was “undoubtedly the most interesting archaeological section in the entire Appalachian district.” Pretty impressive words considering the expansiveness of the Appalachian Mountains. While we don’t know much about archaeology, although we did watch Indiana Jones once, what we do know is the Little Tennessee River is one heck of a Small Mouth Bass fishery.

The “Little T” as we call it locally offers some great wading opportunities. The river currents are slow and gentle flowing and the bottom layout is medium sized rocks, with shelves and ledges. The waters, when undisturbed by rain, are emerald green to a tannic clear. There are some areas of grasses that grow in the stream bed offering perfect places for smallmouth bass to ambush prey and our flies. Some areas of the river offer old swinging bridges which make getting across the river to far banks a snap. Come join us on a Wade Trip or a Float Trip down the Little Tennessee  River, the Smallies here are sure to send chills down your spine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail

The Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail, situated in Jackson County, and features some of the best trout waters in the Great Smoky Mountains.

The trail takes you to 15 excellent spots for catching Brook, Brown and Rainbow trout. Whether you seek quantity or size, open waters or small streams, the WNC Fly Fishing Trail has it all.

The WNC Fly Fishing Trail includes the following rivers and streams;

  • Tuckasegee River
  • Scotts Creek
  • Small streams, Moses Creek, Mull Creek, Rough Butt Creek, Chastine Creek, and Piney Mountain Creek
  • Tanasee Creek
  • Caney Fork
  • Panther Town Creek
  • Raven Fork
  • Whitewater River
  • Scotsman Creek
  • Fowler Creek
  • Chattooga River
  • Savannah Creek
  • Greens Creek

The “Fly Fishing Trail” has enough diversity for even the most seasoned angler. From brawling tailwaters to small brushy mountain streams, there’s plenty of water to fish in Jackson County.

Fontana Lake

Fontana Lake is the 4th deepest lake in the US, and the deepest lake east of the Rocky Mountains. Fontana Lake is 31 miles long, and has 211 miles of shoreline, average lake depth is 121 feet. Bordered entirely on one side by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Fontana is one of the most gorgeous lakes in the world. With emerald green waters that are met by towering mountains, Fontana Lake is a great place to relax and enjoy the scenery.

The fishing on Fontana Lake can be nothing short of spectacular when conditions are right. Large Mouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Walleye, Muskie, Spotted Bass, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, landlocked Steelhead, Carp, Catfish, and numerous different species of panfish are abundant in the waters here.

We offer guided fly fishing only trips on Fontana Lake.

All our guided trips to Fontana Lake are either 1/2 Day trips and 3/4 day trips.

 

Please give us a call at (828)488-7665 or send us an email to [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help custom tailor a fly fishing trip that is right for you. Let us help make your trip to the Smokies a memorable one!

Fly Fishing the Smokies is fully insured, licensed, and operates under a special Commercial Use Authorization from the National Park Service.