Make the most of your fly-fishing time in the Great Smoky Mountains Brook, rainbow, and brown trout, as well as smallmouth bass, thrive in the crystal-clear streams, rivers, and lakes of the Great Smoky Mountains. But just because you know they’re there doesn’t mean they’ll be easy to find. If you want to land these hard-to-catch fish, as well as enjoy a fantastic experience in one of the most picturesque spots in the United States, you need this guide. To fish like a pro, it’s best to go with the pros...and The Ultimate Fly-Fishing Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains lets you fish with two of the best. Don Kirk has been wading in these waters since he was a young man, and no one knows them better. Greg Ward, a native of Pigeon Forge, grew up angling the waters around Gatlinburg and has become an expert on fly-fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains. From these two experienced fisherman you’ll learn: Where to find fish and why - Casting tactics and gear tips - Fly patterns - Details about trail access, fishing pressure and quality, species, and campsite availability for each of the 13 watersheds found within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park - How the weather, seasons, and other factors will affect your angling success - How and where to fish the Great Smoky Mountains year-round The Ultimate Fly-Fishing Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains will help you catch more fish― and have more fun. Don Kirk has written about fishing and the outdoors for over four decades. Currently he is editor of “IS Outdoors,” a digital magazine. He has hosted weekly outdoors talk radio shows on Sirius/XM and Voice America. Kirk currently resides in Montevallo, Alabama. Greg Ward is a lifelong resident of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. A hunting and fishing guide in the Smoky Mountains since his teens, he owns and operates Rocky Top Outfitters in the Forge. Ward is a well-known expert on Smoky Mountains fly-fishing. 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 sto