The Tuckasegee River is fishing on fire this month. We’re seeing lots of big Brown trout being caught each day with several hovering above that magical 20 inch mark! Both Float Trips and Wade Trips are very productive so far. Mild overall temperatures have the spring hatches of Quill Gordons, Blue Quills and Caddis coming off strong. Dry fly action in the afternoon can be epic! Trout per mile totals are now at 30,000 trout per mile in Bryson City. To say the river is loaded with fish would be an understatement!
Tuckasegee River Brown Trout
The Browns in the Tuckasegee are on the prowl. Near perfect water levels have kept these river sharks feeding aggressively throughout the day. The Tuckasegee is quickly getting known around the country for its incredible population of Browns. There are many contributing factors to this phenomenon. The Tuck has one of the highest biomasses of any river in North Carolina. Hundreds of invertebrate and bait fish live in the river. The lower section of river is home to 72 species of fish! We’re seeing over cast and rainy days the best for landing these monsters. Streamer fishing has produced great results with explosive takes and hard fights. We also have good hatches in the afternoons with many trout looking up to take dry flies.
Float Trips
Float Trips on the Tuckasegee River are producing great results with good numbers of fish being caught. Float Trips in our drift boats and fly fishing rafts are the perfect way to cover water without having to worry about wading on rocky slick river bottoms. In our boats you can float and cast to more fish and cover water people wading simply cannot get to. Those big deep holes in rivers are where the big fish lurk!
For Reservations Call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
Welcome to the south’s newest private trout stream; Brook Haven! Imagine being surrounded by the beauty of the Smoky Mountains with towering waterfalls and deep plunge pools loaded with Trophy Brook and Rainbow Trout. Brook Haven offers breathtaking scenery with an equally fantastic private fly fishing experience. Limited to only 4 anglers per day, Brook Haven offers exclusive, unparalleled scenery and solitude with huge trout! This is the most beautiful private trout stream in Western North Carolina and North Georgia. This is the Private Fly Fishing Experience you deserve!
Opening May 1st
For Reservations Call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
Trophy Brook trout
The private waters at Brook Haven are meticulously managed for optimal health and growth of our beautiful Brook and Rainbow trout. Brook Haven is the south’s only private trophy Brook trout fishery! Great care and time go into maintaining perfect nutrition levels and providing an environment for sustainable growth and epic fighting fish. The fertile highly oxygenated water is rich with aquatic insects and crustaceans which combined with supplemental feeding help to grow some of the prettiest Brookies in the east. Our team of seasoned professionals make sure each trout is handled properly and released unharmed.
Professional Guides
Your time spent with good friends and family is precious. We understand that, and want you to fish some great water for fantastic fish and have that stream all to yourselves. Your time and experience is important to Fly Fishing the Smokies. Our very best guides will accompany you to Brook Haven, and are there to help make your day as enjoyable as possible. Our professionally trained guides are graduates from the most accredited guides schools in America. They have loads of experience in all water types and especially fishing for large trout. They are attuned to your every need on the water and know how to make your day as enjoyable as possible. Your guides provide all the gear and flies that you need for your trip. On Full Day trips they prepare a nice stream side lunch for you as well.
Location
The Brook Haven private water is conveniently located in the mountains between North Georgia and Western North Carolina. Highlands and Cashiers are just minutes away, and we are only a short drive from Atlanta. The nearest mountain town to Brook Haven is Franklin, North Carolina.
Opens May 1st
Rates:
One Person – Half Day $250
Two Person – Half Day $325
One Person – Full Day $350
Two Person – Full Day $475
For Reservations Call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
The fly fishing is getting hot on the Tuckasegee River in North Carolina. Hands down the top destination for fly fishing in the entire southeast this Spring will be the Tuck! More trout per mile than any river in the south right now, and things only get better as time goes. Each month this Spring, the Tuck will receive additional stockings bringing the trout count total per mile to a staggering 34,000 trout per mile!
The Brown trout bite on the Tuckasegee River is incredibly strong this time of year. Over cast days are fishing great, add a little rain and you’ve got yourself the makings of a big fish day! So grab a friend, call in sick, let your kid skip school for the day; do whatever you can to get here. Its going to be a Spring to remember!
Water levels are near perfect this week and air temperatures are incredible. Day time highs this week have reached mid 70’s which is unheard of in February. This warm weather has triggered fantastic hatches of Stoneflies and Caddis. Trout are feeding aggressively on top and subsurface. Streamers are also working well.
Let our staff of excellent professional guides get you on the Tuckasegee River and into some fantastic Trout this Spring!
We have some great Spring Specials that will put you into the fish during the best times to be here!
For Reservations Call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
Spring fly fishing will be here before you know it! Unofficially Spring starts here in the Great Smoky Mountains around March 1st. With the coming of Spring brings some amazing opportunities for fly fishing not only the Smoky Mountains, but across the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
Tuckasegee River Fly Fishing
Hands down the best Spring time fishing in the region. The Tuckasegee River holds the most trout per mile of any stream in the US. Stocked heavily from October through May, this fantastic river offers both new comers and the experienced fisherman plenty of excitement. Wide open room for fly casting and literally thousands of trout waiting to eat your flies. Spring stocking dates are March 2nd, April 4th, and May 3rd. Plan your trips accordingly, this is the equivalent of Disney World of fly fishing! Trout here range from 12- 25 inches. The Tuckasegee River also has a good population of Smallmouth Bass and a Spring run of Walleye. We offer both Wade Trips and Float Trips on the Tuckasegee River.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Fly Fishing action inside the Great Smoky Mountains really heats up fast in the Spring. Trout start feeding aggressively inside the park starting in March and continues to increase rapidly as Spring goes by. Places such as the famed Hazel Creek and Forney Creek in North Carolina are long time favorites of experienced wild trout anglers. In Tennessee near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge our favorites include the Little River, Middle Prong and West Prong. The most beautiful wild trout in the country live inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With over half a million acres and 2910 miles of water inside the park, there is no shortage of spectacular Streams to catch wild trout. Spring dates fill up quickly so booking early is recommended especially if you are planning on fishing around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Nantahala River
The Nantahala River is an excellent Spring time choice for fly fishing in North Carolina. Known around the world for its super cold water with excellent populations of wild fish. Trout Unlimited named the Nantahala one of the Top 100 rivers in North America. Starting April the lower Nantahala is a dry fly paradise. Excellent hatches of Caddis swarm the air and bring even the biggest fish to the surface to feed.
For Reservations (828)-488-7665, or book securely online
Snow in the Great Smoky Mountains is always a beautiful sight. It might just be the prettiest time of the year! Things just look different covered with snow. The mountains and streams that we see typically each day are transformed into something else entirely once snow covers them.
When inclement weather happens, the main roads inside the park get closed down due to snow and ice. The higher elevation passes get really slick and the park service cannot use salt on the roads because of runoff into nearby streams which could risk of damaging fragile ecosystems. Often times roads stayed closed for days until its safe to travel again. There are however places you can enjoy inside the park without risking life and limb in order to do so.
The Mountain Farm Museum sits in the beautiful Oconaluftee River valley. Here you can see Elk grazing in the fields and get an idea of what life may have been like over 150 years ago. The Mountain Farm Museum is comprised from old structures that were located inside the Smoky Mountains before the park was established. These structures were carefully disassembled and moved here for park visitors to see what a mountain farm once looked like. Visitors can explore a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, corn crib, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get a sense of how families may have lived over 100 years ago.
Mingus Mill sits on the the banks of Mingus Creek which is a tributary of the Oconaluftee River near Cherokee. Built in 1886 and still in operation today, this mill is a water turbine which is vastly different from the typical water wheel style gristmills. Either way, you aint lived until you have ate bread made from fresh ground cornmeal! The old Mingus Mill is an awesome sight covered in snow and ice. Some icicles hang more than 15ft high from the flume to the ground!
Luftee Baptist Church sits off the banks of the Oconaluftee River just about two miles inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is such a peaceful place in the winter. Its a beautiful old church and still has regular services on Sunday morning during the summer months. Sometimes I walk inside this time of year and just take a seat on one of the old pews. I’d would have love to heard those old preachers years ago teach the Gospel. Nothing like the feeling of an old school Baptist preacher getting the congregation fired up!
Mt. LeConte Lodge sits high on top Mt Leconte at 6593 ft in elevation. Weather here can be very drastic and change rapidly. Some of the highest recorded snowfall totals inside the park have been on Mt LeConte. Its a great hike to the top best enjoyed in winter with thoughtful planning and the right gear. The lodge is closed in winter however there is a caretaker at the lodge who is really cool to visit with. Views of the Smokies here are breathe taking. Although when it snows the roads that lead to the trail heads often close, there are several routes to the top.
Get out this winter when it snows and explore the Smoky Mountains. Trails typically remain open although some of the roads may close. Good planning can lead to some great pictures and new experiences.
Each Winter the Fly Fishing industry is typically busy trying to get ready for their upcoming seasons. Be that tying flies, repairs to gear and boats, or hatching out new game plans to one up their competition. Lots of guides and shops also travel to trade shows in far flung reaches of the country in hopes of attracting new customers. While we have our fair share in all of those activities, we are still pretty busy guiding too. Winter is the perfect time to catch big fish in our region. But when it gets brutally cold and the rivers run too high for safely fishing, we find other things to do. So what are we up to this Winter?
Best of the Blue Ridge
So far 2018 has started out awesome for us! Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine awarded us as the Best Fly Fishing Outfitter in the Blue Ridge Mountains for 2018! And our Lead Guide Eugene Shuler was awarded as the Best Fly Fishing Guide in the Blue Ridge Mountains for 2018. We were very surprised and humbled being given this distinction, especially considering just how big the Blue Ridge Mountains are, which extend from Maryland all the way to Georgia. We would like express our most sincere Thank You to everyone who nominated and voted for us! You can read the article and check out all the Winners of the Best of the Blue Ridge here at http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/best-of-the-blue-ridge-4/
Classic Wood Drift Boats
This Winter the Fly Fishing the Smokies staff are hard at work crafting classic wooden McKenzie drift boats! We are nearing the half way point on one of several wooden drifters built to classic specs from plans by legendary master boat builder Don Hill from Oregon. These old world styled boats were the catalyst for modern drift boats and fly fishing from drift boats on big water. Originally designed to run the mighty McKenzie River in the 1930’s and 40’s these classicaly styled boats offer a ride like no other. Fly Fishing the Smokies will be bringing a fleet of these fine boats to the water starting in March 2018. You can follow along with our builds on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We’ll be posting lots of photos to come of these beautiful hand crafted boats.
2018 Fly Fishing Trips
Of course we are continuing with the fantastic trips we currently offer and adding a few more new ones to the mix! For 2018 we have added the following rivers and areas to our roster.
Nanatahala River: Trout Unlimited’s Top 100 Trout Streams in America. Record Brown Trout and an amazing habitat full of wild fish! Big river fishing, and small back country tributaries full of wild Brook trout!
Cullasaja RIver: One of the most scenic rivers in all of the south. Massive waterfalls, over 11 named falls to be exact, and gorgeous Brown and Rainbow trout set in a beautiful national forest. Fantastic dry fly fishing during the warmer months.
Panthertown Valley: Apptly named the Yosemite of the East, Panthertown Valley offers miles of breathe taking scenery, solitude and impeccable fly fishing for wild trout. Dry Fly Fishing here is hard to beat!
Carp Fly Fishing: Now before you do the whole “say what” to yourself, think about this for a second. No these hillbillies haven’t gone crazy. Big fish, easily weighing over 15-30 pounds, brutally hard fights with battles lasting well over 15 minutes, spooky fish, stalking them on grass flats and fishing from drift boats… Yeah now you get the picture. Carp aren’t called the fresh water Bonefish for nothing!
We also have a few more awesome trips yet to be unveiled. We’ll keep you posted on those! Its going to be a great 2018, and a season we are really looking forward to it. We hope you are a part of 2018 with us!
Highlands Fly Fishing offers an awesome experience for North Carolina Trout. The mountains here offer some of the most incredible views and waterfalls of anywhere in the Southern Appalachians. As such, Highlands has equally impressive and unique Fly Fishing opportunities for mountain trout! Fly Fishing the Smokies offers guided fly fishing in Highlands North Carolina as both Wade Trips and Float Trips. Many of the trips we offer are unique just to the Highlands and Cashiers area.
We guide anglers on Wade Trips in the Cullasaja River Gorge and it’s tributaries. The Cullasaja River Gorge is chocked full of spectacular waterfalls and plunges creating breathe taking backdrops. Here you will find mostly wild Rainbow and Brown Trout, and the occasional Brook trout in the small feeder streams. The resident Brown trout are long known for their unique deep colors and bright yellow bellies. Their wary nature make them incredible targets with a fly rod. Rainbow trout are plentiful and will grab any well placed flies that drift past. Dry fly fishing is great in the Spring through Fall season. Early Winter can be very rewarding when Brown trout get ready for spawning season. Aggressive large fish come up from the deep holes and move out into shallow to fatten up. Many a fine day can be had along the Cullasaja’s paths. The Cullasaja River offers a great place to challenge even the most skilled anglers. If your looking for some refreshing fun while vacationing near Highlands and Cashiers, give us a call. A Wade Trip on the Cullasaja River will fit the bill nicely.
Drift Boat Fishing
We offer special Float Trips tailored just for the water in Highlands. Lake Sequoyah is a beautiful small lake that is full of fish. Lake Sequoyah is home to Rainbow, and Brown Trout, plus Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Perch, Crappie, many varieties of sunfish and the occasional catfish. We catch them all, and we do it fly fishing! The peacefulness on Lake Sequoyah is protected by a motor size limit with a no wake zone for most of the lake. What you don’t see is jet skis and the annoying pontoons cruising the lake. What you will see is eager fish on the end of you flies!
Highlands Trout Fishing
Highlands and Cashiers North Carolina both sit in close proximity to the mighty Tuckasegee River. The Tuckasegee River is home to the highest trout count per mile of river in the US. With 34,500 trout per mile in the Spring, the Tuck is a must fish when you are in the area! Fly Fishing the Smokies specializes in the guiding anglers on the Tuckasegee River offering both Wade Trips and Float Trips. Trout here range from 12-25 inches with the average fish being between 16-18 inches. The river is loaded up with Rainbow, Brown, and Brook trout along with Smallmouth Bass and Walleye among many other species. The North Carolina biologists say the Tuckasegee has more biomass than any river in the state. With 72 species of fish and a smorgasbord of good hatches there is plenty for fish to eat, and grow happy fat lives!
For Reservations call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
Winter Float Trips on the Tuckasegee River near the Great Smoky Mountains is a fantastic way to fish for trout. The Tuckasegee River is loaded with fish in the winter months. 17,000 trout per mile to be exact! Literally tons of Rainbow, Brown, and Brook trout just waiting for take your flies. Float Trips are the perfect way to cover lots of water without ever having to wade in the cold rivers and streams. You can choose between Fly Fishing or Light Tackle fishing
Float Trips starting at $225 per boat!
Winter Float Trips for Big Trout
Winter is your best chance to catch big Brook Trout and Brown trout on the Tuckasegee River. Big Fish love cold weather! On Float Trips we can get our drift boats into areas where the big boys live and to places where fisherman who are wading simply cannot reach. Fishing from our drift boats allows you to cover more water and ultimately cast to more fish. Who doesn’t love more fish right?
Tuckasegee River Trout Fishing
The cold clean waters of the Tuckasegee River are perfectly suited for Trout. The river starts as high elevation streams and flows into a system of several deep water lakes. These deep cold lakes combined with streams from the Great Smoky Mountains further downstream help create one of the greatest trout rivers in the East. Biologists from the NC Wildlife Commission have said the Tuckasegee River was the healthiest river system in all of North Carolina. The river certainly supports one of the largest and healthiest populations of trout per mile in the United States!
Come on out and enjoy one of our Winter Float Trips and let the resident bad boys show you a thing or two!
For Reservations call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
Winter Fly Fishing around the Great Smoky Mountains region is your best shot all year at large trout! A widely known fact is that big trout love cold weather. We are already seeing some very large Brown, Brook and Rainbow being caught by our guests, and at the time of writing this, Winter has not officially even started yet!
Tuckasegee River Brown Trout
The Tuckasegee River is a great bet for consistent Winter fly fishing action. The Tuckasegee holds more trout per mile than any other southern trout river during the cold months. The stretch near Bryson City currently has 17,000 trout per mile! Water temperatures have dropped down to perfect levels and we’re really starting to see the big trout come out and feed. Action has been consistent from early morning until late afternoon. Steady hatches of Blue Winged Olives, Caddis, Midges, and Winter Stoneflies have kept the trout active. We’re seeing good dry fly action from mid morning until late afternoon with small blue winged olives being the fly of choice. There’s nothing like watching pods of rising Brown trout take dry flies off the surface! The streamer bite has been solid too this season. Lots of good trout have fell sucker to a well worked baitfish patterns fished off the banks.
Tuckasegee River Float Trips
Float Trips on the Tuckaegee River have been fishing very well. We are seeing good numbers of Trout caught and several big fish each trip. Fishing from the comfort of a drift boat or cataraft is the best way to fish the Tuckasegee River in Winter. Fishing from drift boats and catarafts keep you from wading cold water and slippery stream beds, plus gives you to ability to cover more water and cast to more trout! You can fish water that people wading simply cannot reach. Big fish tend to be reclusive so being able fish water that is less pressured, you have a higher chance of finding the big ones! If Fly Fishing isn’t your thing, we also offer light tackle fishing for trout with artificial lures.
Cherokee Trophy Trout
The Cherokee Fly Fishing Only Trophy Section on the Raven Fork is fishing fantastic right now. Winter weather brings the bite to its peak for the year. These big trophy fish fight hard all year, but in the winter its even more brutal! We are currently seeing good hatches of midges, winter stoneflies, caddies, and blue winged olives. On warm sunny afternoons we are catching rising trout on dry flies! Imagaine a 20inch plus fish taking small dry flies off the surface, its pretty exhilarating to say the least. Another plus to fishing the Trophy Section is the Elk from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These magnificent creatures frequently cross the river and walk out into the water with us nearly every day. Nothing is more cool than be casting flies to monster trout and have an elk come watch you fish! We offer Wade Trips only in Cherokee and have great access to prime water. We have a Winter Trophy Trout Special that puts you fishing the best water at the best time of the day!
For Reservations Call (828)-488-7665 or Book Online!
Winter marks the start of the season for us where we see some of the biggest trout put in our nets all year. Winter Fishing attracts many hardcore anglers and guides alike who look forward each year to seeing big trout become more active during the daylight hours. Fact is its spawning season for Brown and Brook trout. We also have some Rainbow trout here too that will spawn this time of year. Once this happens the water is full of fish either getting ready to spawn and fattening up or they have spawned and are trying to replenish calories lost. These fish are hungry and will eat a well placed fly without much hesitation.
Winter Fishing in the Smoky Mountains
Winter Fly Fishing around the Smoky Mountains include fishing a wide variety of rivers. The best option is Wading or Drift Boat fishing tail-waters such as the Tuckasegee River where fish count numbers soar to 17,000 trout per mile. Fishing from the Drift Boats in winter are a pleasant way to cover miles of water while staying dry and comfortable. You end up casting your flies to literally thousands of trout. we offer a 3/4 Float Trip that is perfect for hitting the best time of day to be Floating the Tuckasegee River.
Wade Fishing the Tuckasegee will have you concentrating your efforts targeting big fish and working over likely runs and riffles with a mixture of dry flies and nymphs. The Tuckasegee river is known for its long riffles and runs which are full of rainbow, Brown and Brook trout. On the lower section of the Tuckasegee we are still seeing good numbers of Smallmouth bass to boot!
Winter Fishing in Cherokee
The Fly Fishing Only Trophy section on the Raven Fork will have you casting to possibly the biggest trout of your life!
The slower moving nutrient rich waters of the Raven Fork are a perfect habitat for big trout. Massive Rainbow trout that measure in pounds lurk these waters. We fish the long pools, riffles and runs, dead drifting both dries and nymphs for these hungry beats. Along with some incredible trout fishing, we also see the Elk from the Great Smoky Mountainous National Park who frequently cross the river and stop to watch us fish!
Winter Fly Fishing the Smoky Mountains National Park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is amazingly beautiful during the Winter. The fishing can be very rewarding on days where we see warming trends in air temperatures which bring on hatches of Caddis, Little Winter Stoneflies and Blue Winged Olives. Most fishing inside the park this time of year is done with nymphs, however most afternoons we see good opportunities to fish with dry flies as well. On most winter days inside the park you rarely see another fisherman, and the peacefulness is well worth throwing on an extra layer for!
