By James Marsh
The Oconaluftee River is one of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s better trout streams. This stream has easy access for most of its length and an excellent aquatic insect population for a Smoky Mountain freestone stream. The Oconaluftee River is made up from several streams. The stream is formed by the confluence of Beech Flats Prong and Kephart Prong. It is a small stream at this point. Kanati Branch is a small tributary of Beech Flats Prong.
It has a large tributary stream, Bradley Fork, which is, within itself, a fine trout stream that offers several miles of fishing. It is easily accessed near its confluence with the Oconaluftee River at the Smokemont campground. The Bradley Fork is about as large as the Oconaluftee at this point. It becomes smaller upstream of the campground but is still a good size stream. It has an excellent population of both brown and rainbow trout with brook trout in its upper waters. Chasteen Creek is a relatively good sized tributary of Bradley Fork. Taywa is another small tributary of Bradley Fork. Chasm Prong and Gulf Prong form the Brandley Fork.
Collins Creek is yet another small tributary of the Oconaluftee River. Below the confluence of Bradley Fork, the river is quite large in comparison to other streams in the park. It flows out of the park’s boundaries and through Cherokee, North Carolina where it is stocked by the City.
Seasons:
The fishing season in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is year-round.
Spring:
Spring is probably the best time to fish the Oconaluftee River. It provides the most aquatic insect hatches.
Summer:
All but the very lowest part of the river stays cool enough to provide good fishing on the hottest days of summer.
Fall:
Fall is a great time to fish the river. Some would argue that it is even better than the spring. It is certainly the most beautiful time of year.
Winter:
The Oconaluftee provides good trout fishing on all but the very coldest days of winter.
Fly Fishing Guide to Oconaluftee River:
This stream has an excellent canopy of trees throughout its length that provides cover from the sun during the summer and helps keep the water cool but also makes it difficult to cast in many places.
The Oconaluftee River is one of the tougher streams to fish in Great Smoky Mountains National Park for several reasons. It is tightly enclosed as we just mentioned and that makes casting a problem. You rarely have a clear area for a back cast. You must use all types of creative casts. Below the confluence of Bradley Fork, the river is almost double what it is above the Bradley Fork. Casting isn’t so much of a problem there. The lower part is bordered by open sage grass fields in some areas. This provides some great hopper fishing in the late summer and early fall. There’s lots of cover and a very irregular bottom.
Above the Bradley Fork, the Oconaluftee River isn’t that large of a stream and is very tightly enclosed with tree limbs. It is the typical pool, run and riffle type freestone stream with a medium gradient that is not too steep, yet steep enough to keep a good flow of water. It has an abundant amount of cover. Huge boulders form large pockets. There are deep holes and shallow, short sections of riffles. Some runs are long and deep. There are a lot of places for the brown trout to hide. Undercut banks are plentiful in most areas. Tree roots provide additional cover for the trout but also make it difficult to fish a nymph.
The Oconaluftee River has some excellent hatches and seems to have more insects than most other streams in the park with the exception of Abrams Creek. Some hatches are huge. When there is a hatch underway, you are far better off using an imitation of the insect hatching than generic or attractor flies. Following closely with a hatch chart will provide a big advantage fishing this river.
Short upstream casts are normal as it is with most other park streams. There are several places where “high stickin” a nymph will pay well. This river has a very good population of brown trout and some of them are very big. Streamers work well under low light conditions. They also work when the water is slightly stained from heavy rains. I should also mention the brook trout fishing in its many tributary streams is very good. It requires very small stream tactics. The Bradley Fork could very well be treated as an entire stream within itself. It too, has a good population of both brown and rainbow trout and is one of the best streams in the park.
James Marsh is the Owner of The Perfect Fly online and catalog mail-order store. www.perfectflystore.com.