Fly-fishing tactics for small, high-gradient streams are similar to those noted for medium-size, high-gradient streams. Like many other fly-fishermen, I like to downsize my tackle for these waters, usually opting to use a 6.5-foot Orvis Flea designed to cast a 2-weight fly line. A trick for catching trout from these waters during times of low flow, which was taught to me by a friend from Waynesville, North Carolina, is to use boulders along and in the stream to aid in fly presentation. Picture a run of water emptying into a pool as quietly as if you were pouring tea from a pitcher. Dropping a fly delicately enough to avoid spooking trout located near the entering water is tough. However, if you cast so your fly line never enters the water (that is, it lands on streamside gravel and rocks), you will draw a strike. The same principle can be used on other slow flows, where midstream boulders and rocks can be used for temporarily “parking” fly line, while upstream only the leader, or even just the tippet, comes down on the pool.
The brush streams, while abundant in the park, actually are a relatively diminutive group of streams few users of this guidebook are ever likely to fly-fish or find interesting. On the other hand, insofar as I have always been a “small creek freak,” I am compelled to include them. These are the smallest fishable (and in some instances semifishable) flows in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At high elevations, many of these waters were closed to fishing during the brook trout moratorium of 1975. Since 2000 many of these waters have been reopened. These often are so-called branches, which, during very dry periods, all but dry up.
Size and canopy are the biggest differences separating brush creeks from most other streams. In most instances, brush creeks are slightly to significantly smaller than any of the other waters found in the park. Examples of brush creeks include the upper reaches of Little Cataloochee Creek, Beetree Creek (a tributary of Deep Creek), and Bee Gum Branch (a tributary of Forney Creek). Average widths are 2 to 10 feet. As the name implies, brush creeks are usually heavily overgrown on at least enough of their courses to make travel along the streambed a taxing adventure even to the stoutest souls.
This is not to imply that portions, often even large reaches, are not brushed over with steel-tough tangles of rhododendron and laurel. Plunge pools, and occasionally large trout, are the secrets these trickles can reveal to those willing to fight the streamside greenery.
Rainbow and brook trout are the primary quarries on these waters. Early spring and during the summer after or during rain are the only truly good times to make trips to any of these waters. Fly-fishing is tough on all but the most open sections of a brush creek. Tactics are largely the same as outlined for medium-size waters. One interesting variation is dabbling, which is often more effective when done downstream. The trick is to allow just enough tippet to extend from the tip of your rod to permit you to negotiate getting a fly into a pool, which many times has only a few inches of clearance between the surface and the top of the overhead bushes. Sure, you will get a strike doing this. That is the easy part. What takes practice is setting the hook and, once you have accomplished that, working your catch out of the hole without getting everything tangled in the brush. That is a skill one must master.
chapter 4
Where to Find Fish and Why
ANGLING FOR TROUT IN THE SMOKIES is not limited to expert fishermen. Trout can be caught on a $2 cane pole, or on a $2,000 fly rod. Fine fishing tackle is a joy to use, but by no means is it a prerequisite for success. The name of the game is having fun.
Several important bits of information will aid in catching trout. Anglers increase their chances if they know where their quarry prefers to “hang out” and what morsels are most tempting to its palate. Other important keys to success include mastering a stealthy approach to the stream and being able to place your offering in a spot where it will not alarm the fish.
Each of the three trout of the Smokies tends to occupy slightly different water when feeding, although any one species may occasionally be in any given spot. Trout in the wild have established feeding spots, or stations, where they position themselves to await food coming down with the current. Size and aggressiveness determine how good a feeding spot a trout is able to defend and keep.
Understanding where trout position themselves in the stream is one of the most important bits of knowledge an angler can possess. When surveying a pool or stretch of pocket water for likely fish-holding spots, remember a trout must have cover that shields it from the current, and offers at least limited shelter during times of danger. A typical pool starts with a noisy waterfall. The water rushes over smooth, gray boulders, falling into a carved-out plunge pool. Current-loving rainbow trout are right at home in the swift waters of the plunge pool. Large rainbow trout often station themselves at the base of the falls, while smaller members of the clan will gather around the perimeter of the pool or in the pool’s main channel. From the depths of the plunge pool, the flow of the stream moves on to the tail of the pool, where the average depth becomes more shallow. It is here you will often find the secretive brown trout. Its favorite lairs are near solitary rocks or submerged tree roots alongside the bank. These fish, particularly the large fellows, often shun feeding during the day, preferring to chase minnows at night. Brook trout favor much the same sort of habitat as the brown trout, though the brookie does not shy away from a sunlit meal. Pocket water, so common to the park, can be treated like a miniature pool.
Where fish are located is important, but knowing their feeding habits is of equal importance. The trout of the park are best termed “opportunistic feeders.” The streams of the Smokies and the surrounding mountains are poor producers of food; they are acidic and carry only a limited amount of nutrients (Abrams Creek is the only notable exception). While by no means devoid of aquatic insects, local streams do not support the massive concentrations of the spring-run limestone creeks of Pennsylvania, or Hampshire, England. A typical trout will, in the course of a few hours, consume a combination of mayflies, caddis flies, stone flies, midges, and a terrestrial or two. Close examination of their stomach contents will reveal dominant feeding on the most abundant food, but along with that particular food, a few other tidbits will usually be present. During the late winter and very early spring, Smokies trout feed primarily on the nymphs, but can be caught on dry flies then too.
Spring is a time of brisk activity in and on the streams. As the season progresses, the weather becomes milder, warming the water. Insect emergence becomes more common, along with surface feeding by trout. Such activity peaks by late spring, about the only time local trout can afford to be selective, so fly selection should be considered. Terrestrials quickly become important to the diet of the trout, even in spring.
Summer fishing action is often slow. The remaining insect hatches are small and sporadic. Streams suffer from the seasonal dry weather, often running at little more than a trickle, compared to a couple of months earlier. Water temperatures rise, causing many trout to seek deep, cool havens and to feed at night. Successful anglers often use terrestrial insect imitations, such as grasshoppers, ants, jassids (or leafhoppers), beetles, caterpillars, and bees.
Fall is an exciting time. The scenery surrounding the streams is at its best. Trees and shrubs are decked out in their brightest yellows, flame reds, spectacular oranges, and regal golds. Trout seem to sense the coming winter and feed with uncharacteristic abandon. Terrestrials are still the cornerstone of their diets, although often overlooked are some interesting hatches of caddis flies. During late fall, growing nymphs and larvae take on increasing dietary importance.
The cold winter months cause trout to become torpid and stay close to the bottom. The cold water slows down a fish’s metabolism, reducing the amount of food needed to survive. Anglers feeling the urge to fish during the winter will be pleased to learn that on the mild days, trout move into the sunny areas and do a modest amount of feeding.
Armed with an understanding of where the trout are and what their food preferences are, anglers can use their knowledge on the stream. The importance of a quiet approach and accurate presentation of the chosen lure or fly cannot be overemphasized. Try not to hurry. Stand back for a minute