By Taylor Klarman
4. Tennessee Fly Fishing: Abrams Creek (GSMNP)
Another GSMNP gem is Abrams Creek. Situated at the halfway point, between the Tellico River and Gatlinburg, lies this true, blue ribbon stream. With the largest population of wild trout in the park (5,000 per mile) it’s not one to miss! If you’re looking for a beautiful destination with great fishing, this is it! Many anglers would even go as far as saying it’s one of the best trout streams in the entire park! It has an abundance of insect life and the fishing here and plenty of access points from Cades Cove or through various campgrounds along the way. Although most fisherman here are day trippers, there is an opportunity to extend your chances of success and make a weekend out of it as well.
Lower Section
This section is found near the intersection of Abrams Falls trail, Hannah Mountain trail and Hatcher Mountain Trail. Hiking in is the only way to access it. With access both from the North Side (Cades Cove) and the Southern Side (Abrams Creek Campground), it makes the most sense to drive to the campground and hike up. Most of the stream below the campground is unwadable because of the depth of the water here. You’ll find from the campground to the intersection of the trails mentioned above characterized by much slower moving water and deeper pools. Still a great place for trout to hide!
Middle Section
Just above Abrams Falls, from the 2nd horseshoe like curve in the stream, to 2 miles below Abrams falls makes up this section. This section receives much less pressure because the trail gets a bit more demanding after Abrams Falls. For about 2 miles after the falls, you’ll find a pretty amazing section of river to fish. Most of this is accessible trailside, with a few spots that may require some off trail exploration in order to reach the creek. It should be noted that the further downstream you go, the more the creek loses its mountain stream characteristics and starts to open up more.
Headwaters
You’ll find the headwaters, or at least the section of it that appears above ground, near Cades Cove. This section contains what some anglers call the best section of Abrams Creek, The Horseshoe. With most of this section trailside to Abrams Falls Trail, the stream leaves the trail and follows a circular like pattern and ultimately returns back to the trail where it left. There is about 1.3 miles of stream in this section that don’t receive a lot of pressure and house some pretty spectacular fish. From Cades Cove to right above Abrams Falls makes up this section and it’s creek like characteristics begin to diminish the more you go downstream. With the exception of the Horseshoe, most of the upper reaches receive more pressure due to the easy access, appearing in March and make for some great options on dry fly fishing coming out of the winter months.
5. Tennessee Fly Fishing: Watauga River
The Watauga River is another great tailwater fishery in East Tennessee. Located in Elizabethton, just outside of Johnson City, the Watauga starts at WIlbur dam and flows to Boone Lake. It’s preceded by 2 reservoirs, Wilbur and Watauga Lake, that prove to keep the Watauga’s water cold and productive year round. With it being a short 25 minute drive from Bristol, Virginia, this blue ribbon fishery is a must fish when visiting this region. It holds some truly spectacular fish and what you don’t catch in numbers, you’re sure to make up for in size. It has 2 primary tributaries in the Doe and Little Stony Creek, both of which are excellent fisheries in themselves. You’ll find rainbows and browns to average around 10-12”, with the trophy section boasting the area’s best shot at some truly large fish.
Trophy Section
This section can only be fished when the river is generating. The put in is at Blevins Boat ramp, but the true trophy section doesn’t start until you get to the bridge at Smalling Rd. There are tons of runouts and pools through here and are best fished dead drifting streamers near the eddy lines. We’ve caught some monster rainbows out of here, but browns are present too. If you’re nymphing, be sure to adjust your line length for proper depth frequently as it does change throughout here as well. In addition to its being great for fishing, it’s just a beautiful area to enjoy the scenery as well.
Siam Bridge
With good roadside access, the Siam Bridge offers a great section for wade fishermen. Although this river is best fished from a drift boat, you’ll find a few good spots to wade in along the way. We generally park right before the bridge and walk down to the right to get in the river. There is an old bridge foundation that trout like to hang around. There is a ton of grass beds throughout this section as well, giving the trout the perfect place to hide and chase after some food.
Moose Lodge
Another great spot to wade fish is the Moose Lodge. Situated right next to the confluence of the Doe River, there is a large parking lot anglers can use. Walk across the grass lot to the river and you have a good chance for good fish. Do try to park toward the back of the lot, especially if they have a function going. Although the land is private property, they are pretty generous to fishermen. Normally during the day, you should be fine parking here. The best spots for fishing are upstream of the confluence. There are several ledges and runs through here which have produced good fish for us in the past.
6. Tennessee Fly Fishing: Doe River Headwaters
Located in the far Northeast corner of Tennessee amid the Cherokee National Forest is the Doe River. This is another truly wonderful mountain stream fly fishing experience. Located at the base of Roan Mountain, this part of the Doe is a wild and wonderful experience. Running from here it twists and turns down the mountain where it will ultimately join the Watauga River. There are 2 primary sections to fish here because a lot of the river runs through private property. Don’t let that deter you though. The public access portions are definitely worth the trip. You’ll find native brooks, browns and rainbows here, with a healthy population of stockers as well.
Roan Mountain State Park
As you enter the park, you’ll find the road parallels the stream. A lot these sections have pull-offs that you can access the river from. There is also a lot of private property here as well. The national forest starts about 100 yards downstream of the visitors center. You can fish anywhere through here up to where the campground is. We generally start out at the campground and hike up the trail that parallels the creek. You’ll find various sizes of fish here, but they average around 6-10 inches. As you can see, there are some big trout here as well.
Doe River Fishing Trail (DRiFT)
The Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited established this trail in 2018. It has public access points in 6 different areas that span around 8 miles. There are also several single car pull-ins along Old Railroad Gauge road that provides access as well. This section primarily has stocked trout, but there are some wild trout to be found here too. The advantage of this section is that everything is accessible near the road way. This is also a disadvantage as well because you may have some traffic noise to deal with. The portion that runs through town is mostly private property. Most of the trail is highly marked though to leave out room for confusion.
7. Tennessee Fly Fishing: Citico Creek
About 13 miles due East of Tellico Plains, TN (at least as the crow flies) lies Citico Creek. It’s tucked away in the Cherokee National Forest in Monroe County, Tn! You’ll find wild and stocked rainbow, with wild brown trout here and the native brook trout as well. Towards the lower stretches, where it runs into the Little Tennessee River, you’ll run into other types of fish like catfish and smallmouth bass. It’s headwaters lie in the Citico Creek Wilderness area near Brush Mountain. The north fork and south fork are your best bet for going after some wild trout. You should take note that there some regulations you need to adhere by during certain times of the year. You can find more out about that here.
Double Camp Recreation Area
This is a wonderful area if you’re looking to get away from the crowds. There are several campsites back here and the fishing is pretty good too. Even during the busier months, this area doesn’t see as much action as a lot of other primitive campgrounds. During the warmer months you can wet wade here, but I would definitely want waders starting around September and October.
Citico Creek Road
This road parallels the stream up until the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork. There are several places to park along the way and enjoy the fly-fishing there. Some days, you can be content to stand in one section all day long because the scenery is just that good.
Taylor Klarman is a retired United States Marine. The long road of completing a master’s degree in business and working various jobs was just not enough to fill the vessel of life. Fishing has always been a pillar of Taylor’s life as he is a native of Mobile Bay, Alabama. He grew up competing in the thriving fisheries from Florida across to Venice, LA as the crow flew. Fortunately, The Marine Corps took him to many places in this life and freshwater fly-fishing became his addictive pastime while in the service. View all posts by Taylor Klarman at riverrunangling.com/blog author/anglingrocks