Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing Report

Posted by on October 9, 2021
Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing Report, Fly Fishing the Smokies, Gatlinburg Fly Fishing Guides, Bryon City Fly Fishing the Smokies, Bryson City Fly Shop, Gatlinburg Fly Shop,

Fly Fishing Report October 9, 2021

Finally the rain has moved out of the region and the Smoky Mountains start to dry out! Its been a soggy start to Fall so far. Overnight lows dropped into the mid 50’s in the backcountry, and low 60’s in Bryson City and Gatlinburg. Clearing skies gave way to the thinnest sliver of a moon which always makes for some good fishing. Trout didnt spend all night feeding on bugs hatching in the moonlight. Today’s highs are forecasted to hit mid 70’s. Should be a nice sunny Fall day, great for some fly fishing and college football.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park streams will be the best bet today for clear fishable water. Stream levels are dropping fast and many of the mid to high elevation streams are wadeable. The lower stretches on the Little River and Oconaluftee will still be pretty high and tough to wade for the most experienced. Hazel Creek and Forney are dropping out quick and should be manageable especially by the afternoon. Abrams Creek in Cades Cove will be fishable today aswell, the lower section of Abrams above Chilhowee lake will be still be pretty high and fast. Deep Creek and Noland Creek are both fishable today with water levels continuing to drop over the weekend.

Tuckasegee River Fishing Report

The Tuckasegee River Delayed Harvest section was stocked on Friday in Dillsboro. Although water levels remain high on the upper stretch for wading, fishing from drift boats will be the best option for today. The Tuckasegee has a 24/7 generation schedule on both the East and West fork over the next three days. Water levels will start to clear up by the start of the week and fishing will improve immensely.

Cherokee Fy Fishing Report

The Oconaluftee River in Cherokee is still running over 1000cfs and will be tough to wade. Although once you get above the confluence of the Raven Fork and the Luftee things should get better and much easier to wade in places such as the Trophy Section and the upper reaches of the general public water.

Nantahala River Fly Fishing Report

The Nantahala River remains on a 24/7 generation schedule on the lower tailwater section. Wading here will be treacherous at best. The delayed harvest section on Wayah Road is clearing up nicely and water levels are coming down fast. This section has already seen folks fishing in on Friday with good success. Expect to see lots of anglers here today and on Sunday.

Fires Creek Fishing Report

Fires Creek is fishable today and should provide some great action. Water here drains fast and doesn’t seem to blow out nearly as bad as other streams in the region. We’re seeing good hatches of October Caddis and fish are responding well to terrestrials. The usual suspects of Ants, Beetles, Hoppers and Inch worms are still doing the trick. Toss some streamers into the deep runs and get your string pulled hard. The bite is on out there pretty good.

Cullasaja River Fishing Report

The Cullasaja River coming out of Highlands NC is down right scary still. Water levels raged this week and were absolutely terrifying. It was beautiful to watch and photograph because of the sheer volume of water being pushed over the many cascades and massive waterfalls. The Cullasaja will be best enjoyed with a nice drive and sight seeing tour rather that risking it all to try and fish.

As always be safe out there especially after big rains. The streams are all moving quicker than they normally would be. Test out slower moving shallow sections of water familiar to you before diving in fully.

Comments are closed.