Western North Carolina is a fly fishing haven for the South East.
Jackson County contains 4,600 miles of trout streams and receives an annual stocking of 92,800 trout, which is the most of any county in the state. It also features the state’s longest contiguous stretch of N.C. Mountain Heritage Trout Waters. Jackson County is the home of the state record for the largest rainbow trout ever caught. NC Trout Capital.
Swain County Trout are common in the county’s four rivers — the Nantahala, Oconaluftee, Tuckasegee and Little Tennessee. Two of those, the Tuck and the Little T, offer much more, including bass, crappie, walleye and the fierce muskie. The crown jewel of Swain County fishing is Fontana Lake.
Cherokee Tribal Water – Each year, the EBCI Fish and Wildlife Management division stocks nearly 400,000 trout in the tribal waters, a stream system connecting 30 miles of freestone streams that include secluded forest settings, suburban road side areas as well as the center of the town of Cherokee.
Western NC Fly Fishing Guide
Guided Wade or Float trips – 4 hour or 6 hour
Wadie 4 hours – $250 – 1 angler #350 2 anglers, $375 3 anglers
Wade 6 hours – $325 – 2 anglers $400
Float: 4 hours: $400 – 1 or 2 anglers
Float 6 hours: $525 – 1 or 2 anglers
Tuckaseegee River Fly Fishing Guide
Bryson City, Dillsboro, Webster, Culowhee
The Tuckasegee River (aka “The Tuck”] flows entirely within western North Carolina. It begins its course in Jackson County below Cullowhee at the confluence of Panthertown and Greenland creeks.
Ocanaluftee River Fly Fishing Guide
Cherokee. GSNP, Birdtown – Raven Fork, SoCo Creek, Tribal Trophy Water,
The Oconaluftee River (aka “The Luftee”) drains the south-central Oconaluftee valley of the Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina before emptying into the Tuckasegee River. The river flows through the Qualla Boundary, a federal land trust that serves as a reserve for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, the only federally recognized tribe in North Carolina
GSNP Fly Fishing Guide
Great Smokies National Park – Deep Creek, Bradley’s Fork, Indian Creek, countless more
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has about 2,900 miles of streams within its boundaries, and protects one of the last wild trout habitats in the eastern United States. Approximately 20% of the park’s streams are large enough to support trout populations.The park offers a wide variety of angling experiences from remote, headwater trout streams to large, coolwater smallmouth bass streams. Most streams remain at or near their carrying capacity of fish and offer a great opportunity to catch these species throughout the year.
Western NC Fly Fishing Trail Guide
Sylva, Dillsboro, Barkers Creek, Whittier, – Scotts Creek
The Western NC Fly Fishing Trail takes you to 15 excellent spots for catching brook, brown and rainbow trout. A variety of water habitats can be enjoyed whether you seek quantity or size, open waters or small streams, the WNC Fly Fishing Trail has it all.
Lake Fontana Bass Fishing Guide
Bryson City, Alarka, Robbinsville, GSNP
Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River, and is located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the northern border of part of the Nantahala National Forest. Depending on water levels, the lake is about 17 miles (27 km) long. The eastern end is the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City.[1] It has an average depth of 135 feet (41 m) and reaches a maximum depth of 440 feet (130 m), making it the deepest lake in North Carolina.[2] The lake has many inlets into coves and many islands formed from former mountain peaks, especially near the eastern end. As with most dam-impounded lakes, the steep banks are exposed when water levels are low. Many towns were submerged shortly after the creation of Fontana Lake, such as Proctor and Judson.
Fontana Lake provides the only access into the most remote areas of the National Park, unless visitors undertake a multi-day hike to get there. When the lake is at the normal summer level, a boat may be used to access remote trailheads such as Hazel Creek. From the observation tower on Clingmans Dome, on a clear day the lake can be seen nearly a mile below. While the maximum controlled elevation of the lake (top of dam gates) is 1,710 ft (520 m), the normal Summer surface elevation is 1,703 ft (519 m).[3] NC 28 roughly parallels the southern shore of the lake, and US 19, between Bryson City and Wesser/Lauada, briefly skims an inlet at the extreme southeastern edge.
Back Country Fly Fishing
GSNP.- Hazel Creek, Forney Creek
Hazel Creek is certainly one of, if not the best trout streams in the park. It has a wide diversity of species and large supply of aquatic insects for the trout to eat. This valley and the creek’s drainage was once the home of several families of mountain people. It was also the site of a huge lumber operation at one time. This damaged the stream in many ways but also, at least from a few standpoints, improved the stream insofar as its ability to support non-native species of fish. The National Park Service transports vehicles across the lake to take family members to visit the graves of their people at certain times of the year.