Guided Trips for Smoky Mountain Brook Trout
New for Summer of 2024, Backcountry Brook Trout guided trips in the Smoky Mountains with the guides at Fly Fishing the Smokies! We offer exclusive backcountry guided trips for the native Southern Appalachian Brook trout in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and various streams outside of the park boundary. This is a specialty Full Day Wade trip for either one or two guests per guide. Join our guides as we take you to some of our most favorite Brook trout streams. All fishing is catch and release!
Call us at (828)-488-7665
Brook Trout
The Southern Appalachian Brook Trout is an ecological gem of the Appalachian region. Throughout the Appalachian Mountains and particularly the Smoky Mountains, Brook trout are commonly referred to as Speckled trout, or “Specs” for short. Southern Appalachian strain Brook trout are a unique subspecies of the Salvelinus Fontinalis that are only found in the southern Appalachian mountains in high elevation streams where water is super clean and well oxygenated. Scientifically speaking, Brook trout are not classified as a trout, rather a Char. These fish are a wild native species to our region and are not stocked. Long ago before the logging industry ravaged our beloved Smoky Mountains, the only trout we had was our “speckled trout”. Years of terrible logging practices by timber barons left our mountains and streams in a mess. Habitat was ruined for the Brook trout, and the only places left that held Brookies were a few high elevation creeks with terrain too difficult to log. The creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934 put a halt to these operations and horrendous ecological practices. The Park Service has restored the region to its natural state and preserved these mountains for generations to come. In 1974, biologist learned that Brook trout found in the Appalachians and Smokies were a special sub species that were only found here. Long story short, massive efforts took place and continue today to restore these native fish to their original range. Concentrated efforts by many organizations and conservation groups particularly the National Park Service and Trout Unlimited, these fish are thriving and the number or stream miles have increased substantially compared to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s studies. Today we have several hundred miles of these high elevation streams which are open to fishing.
Secret Streams of the Smokies
Brook trout streams in the Smokies and Appalachians are held in close secret. Asking someone to name their favorite Brookie stream is sort of like asking to use their toothbrush. The Smokies are long known for miles and miles of great wild trout streams with the best brook trout streams remaining closely guarded secrets among locals and serious fly anglers. Our Backcountry Brook Trout trips are of course only offered with very limited availability. We will be mixing up streams and locations daily as to avoid over fishing and limiting angling pressure on these streams. Calling our shop and asking which creeks we are going will result in vague answers. On the flip side if you have heard or read about some of the Brook trout streams and would like to fish one in particular, we are happy to discuss those with you at the time of booking. Meeting locations will be determined on the phone with our staff prior to the trip date. However we will not release any names of secret streams. Even when posting pictures no stream names will be mentioned. We cannot stress enough that these are fragile ecosystems where fishing is allowed, however publicity from the masses will be avoided. All trips are catch and release and delicate handling of the fish will be required at all times. We will be fishing on some of our favorite secret streams in and around the Smokies with our guests who book these trips, we expect that you will keep these special places a secret too!
Trip Requirements
Fishing for Brookies requires hiking into the back of beyond. These fish live in high elevation backcountry streams that are typically not easy to access. Guests booking this trip must be in good physical condition and able to put in a good hike. We do require a minimum age of 16yrs old to go on these excursions. Having previous fly fishing experience is recommended. We will be fishing in tight quarters and making stealthy presentations to the spookiest fish in the eastern United States.
Rates
One Person is $500 or Two people for $550
Available from April 15th through October 31st
We supply all the gear, equipment, and flies that you need, along with lunch. We fish rain or shine.
2024 Fly Fishing Outfitter of the Year
Fly Fishing the Smokies is the region’s premier guide service and fly shop with a well stocked outfitter store in downtown Bryson City North Carolina and an Outfitter location in Gatlinburg Tennessee. 6 time winner of Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine’s Best of the Blue Ridge for top Fly Fishing Guide Service, and for top Fly Shop and Outfitter (2018-2022, 2024). Fly Fishing the Smokies also won the 2021 Best of the South from Southern Living Magazine.
Two locations to serve you best! Gatlinburg TN, and Bryson City NC
For Reservations call (828)- 488-7665 or book securely from our website!
email guides@flyfishingthesmokies.net
