Fly Fishing Report
Winter 2021
The fly fishing report is updated as I get time to work on the site. The 2020 pandemic created a surplus of demand, hence the delay. The trend still for winter of 2021 has been fruitful with high & low-pressure fronts! Compound hatches in the region have been EPIC. Late winter expects to see quills, blue wings, black caddis, little winter stones, and the first sightings of Hendricksons. Fish gorge themselves all afternoon. The number of trout netted can be one of the highest action days this year.
If you are fortunate to be here during the high water periods, you can have great success throwing streamers in the park. We have had plenty of water all through 2020 and that trend continues. Usually though, the reality of living here for 34 years people tend to fish when the weather is perfect outside. I rarely ever see folks on the park waters when fishing for large browns is at its best! Catch the water increases flow with slight color for best results on the streamer bite. fly fishing report
Great Smoky Mountain National Park Streams (Deep Creek)
Rain events have been plentiful throughout the park and the water tables are full. The good news is that the rain causes the park streams to rise and fall rather quickly. The park streams rarely run off dirty water like the DH streams near more man-made development areas. Nymph fishing has been very good early in the morning or all day long if the temps remain cool. Check out the hatch report for typical bugs during your visit. fly fishing report
Lower Nantahala River Fly Fishing Report
The lower Nanty rarely disappoints with some great fishing! The main trick is that trout numbers will increase when there is no generation by fishing smaller size flies. It is common to stay on #18 and smaller when it is low water. Probably the most common mistake is to fish in a hurry on low water. The trout are heavily pressured and remain wary more than normal as a result. Flies that are too large tend to send more fish to cover than produce results in low water conditions.
One of the main benefits of the lower is that it usually runs clearer than most of the other larger rivers in the area. It tends to fish great year-round! It is recovering from the fish kill from 2019. The month of March is closed on the lower Nanty like all of the other trout designated waters managed by the NCWRC (except the Delayed Harvest Streams). Plan your trips near the best lunar phases throughout the year. Here is a moon chart if you get curious.
Tuckasegee River Delayed Harvest Fly Fishing Report
The Delayed Harvest program runs between the first Saturday of October and closes on the first Saturday of June. There still plenty of nice trout, however, remaining on the streams that still have water temps near 45 degrees. You may check the stocking schedules for all of the Delayed Harvest Streams at the NC Wildlife site. fly fishing report
The river usually fishes better with attractor patterns over matching hatches. However, small flies deep can produce better when fishing pressure remains high. Small stretch tubing flies such as the BWO nymphs are excellent choices.
Small #20 BWO Nymphs common for the Wild Streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Fly Fishing Report for Upper Nantahala River
The upper Nanty has trout dispersed all over likely holding locations! The upper usually produces some of the best hatches to be found in all of western NC! The same bugs you find coming off in the National Park can be found on the Upper-just more prolific!
Use the hatch report to find out what may be happening during February & March. The activity of bugs popping off really depends on the air temps as well. Close to 80% of the trout’s growth occurs in the spring. It really starts to taper off by the end of May for all over this region of NC.