Being new residents to Tennessee has given SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I the opportunity to see and fly fish in a large number of areas new to us. One of the new areas we recently visited and fly-fished was the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. If you have never been to this wonderful national park, put it on your bucket list.
GSMNP is located on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. It was established on June 15, 1934, and consists of 522,427 acres. It is open 24/7 and in 2023 was visited by 13 million people. Within all the acreage are 2,900 miles of streams, of which 1,073 miles are fishable. Needless to say, all that wilderness is home to all kinds of wildlife. I discovered along with all the usual wildlife that my favorite trout, brook, is a native fish. It just doesn’t get much better.
We started our stay in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Gatlinburg is a busy tourist town located at the north boundary of the park. The weather went from cloudy, cold, light rain, some snowflakes and then sunny all in the same day.
I hired a guide, Chad, through Smokey Mountain Anglers for a half day of fly fishing. We met at the shop at nine where I explained to Chad that I didn’t want to fish a bobber and nymphs. We compromised with a dry-dropper rig and headed out to the park. This was going to be a great day.
Once in the park, we booted and suited in a completely empty parking lot. I lit a fresh cigar, grabbed my 3-weight rod, and headed to the small stream. It was appropriately named Little River. As we approached our first fishing location I saw a fish rising to something to eat. I thought this was also going to be a good day of catching. It wasn’t.
Even with a fish rising, the first area was a no-catch area. Since the river was void of people, finding new locations to fish was not a problem. As we moved up and down the river I did manage to catch a couple of small rainbows.
Chad thought an entirely different area might be better so we loaded up in the truck and headed back toward the park entrance. At the new spot, I did manage to land a couple more trout, not brooks.
It was at this location that I made a startling discovery about the trees in the GSMNP: they are magnetic. I have been fly fishing for a long time and I don’t mind saying I am an above-average caster. So, having my flies tangled in trees has never been a problem. However, on several occasions, my flies were magnetically pulled into the overhanging tree branches. It was the darnedest thing I’ve ever experienced.
Even with the low fish count and the mysterious magnetic trees, I was just grateful to be fly fishing in a new area with a new friend. I now have a better understanding of where to go and how to fly fish the GSMNP. Regardless of where you live, get out and explore new areas to fly fish. SWMBO and I are planning on heading back to this new area, finding brook trout and enjoying a really great national treasure.
Now, I will once again leave you with my annual statement. I wish everyone Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, a good Eid al-Adha and a merry Christmas. If none of these fits your beliefs, then may whatever touches your heart with hope be with you for all of 2025.
Reach Don Oliver at durango.fishing@gmail.com.
