Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report
The Great Smoky Mountains are fishing incredible this week. Mild temperatures and scattered showers have the creeks and rivers in perfect shape! Big Browns are on the move in several area streams making November an incredible month to come fish the Great Smoky Mountains region.
Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is fishing very well this week. We had a fast moving rain earlier in the week that put some water back in the creeks and did wonders for helping flush some of the leaves out of the streams. Stream levels are looking great today and the leaves aren’t nearly as bad as last weekend. Showers all day forecasted for Friday but most are sporadic and will taper off by early evening. Big Browns are starting to get really aggressive on the Little River between Gatlinburg and Townsend. Hazel Creek and several other north shore streams are seeing the large Browns push in from Fontana Lake. The Oconaluftee river in Cherokee is starting to see increased activity from larger fish as well. Good hatches of Blue Winged Olives are bringing many fish to the surface. We’re also still seeing plenty of October Caddis on many streams inside the park. Terrestrials are still catching their fair share of fish inside the park on many creeks. The scenery is breathtaking inside the park still. Peak leaf season was late last week and into the weekend. Colors are still great in the mid elevations. Low elevations are just now reaching their best. Bryson City and Gatlinburg are absolutely beautiful with the hardwoods such Oaks and Maples all turning.
Cherokee Trophy Section Report
The Cherokee Trophy Section is fishing fantastic this week. Recent stockings for the Rumble in the Rhododendron tournament and this weeks Team USA Youth National Championships have the river loaded with monster trout. The action has been just as you would expect; big fish everywhere and feeding aggressively. Fishing streamers has been very productive for our guides this week. Blue Winged Olives are hatching heavily in the afternoons. Look for risers in the slower sections of water. Ants and Beetles continue to produce good fish along with the occasional hopper. It seems strange to talk about fishing hoppers this tim elf year, however there is long stretches of banks that parallel use fields along the Trophy Section. The Elk are in full swing with the rut. Bugling Elk and the occasional battle for dominance just add to the experience of fishing the Trophy Section.
Tuckasegee River Fishing Report
The Tuckasegee River is hotter than a fire cracker on the 4th of July. Blue Winged Olive hatches have consistently starting coming off around mid morning and continuing strong until dark. Lots of rising Brown trout in the slick water sections. Big streamers are the ticket for catching some bruiser trout in the deeper runs and gnarly holes. Browns from Fontana Lake are starting to move in the lower sections of the Tuck making for some interesting days on the water. October Caddis are still hatching in decent numbers on warmer days when the sun shines. We are seeing plenty of American Grannom Caddis hatching too. These are very dark and in smaller sizes this time of year. Hoppers, Ants, and Beetles continue to produce good trout on the Tuck right now too.
The weekend looks to be a cooler one with morning temps getting down right chilly. A cold front is pushing through today and Saturday will be the coldest day we have had this fall. Sunny and clear with highs reaching the low to mid 50’s by Sunday. No need to start at the crack of dawn, mid morning until late afternoon will be your best times to get on the water. So head to the diners and grab some breakfast and have that extra cup of coffee before heading out.
Good luck to all the young anglers fishing the Fly Fishing Team USA Youth National Championships this weekend. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting several of these fine young men in the shop this week. Seems to be lots of great anglers and fly tyers among you.