Late Summer Fishing Holes

[Mike Maples]

As a young boy I remember coming to the mountain fishing before school started again in the fall. Farm work was about done and still a little to hot to cut firewood on Saturday's and before football. So, off for a trip to the mountains or Douglas Lake / Melton Hill Lake for fishing.

One of those mountain fishing trips was up past the Ramsay Cascades loop trail (main river) fishing those low water holes. Not a place to be if there's any chance of rain. You can hike up through (use to be called Left Prong: main river at the loop) and make your way over to the other side about quarter mile up. A old trail that use to come across Bald Tops comes down a gap and went to a couple of old places back in what was once called Lost Cove. On a good topo map you can see this gap at about 3200 feet coming over from Laurel Branch.
Hard to find that trail today, but if you got out of the water into this trail then you could make your way to the upper ends of the river to Eagle Rocks Prong and Lost Prong. In the old days we camp up in this area and also fish Buck Fork. But, today if you just make it up the river half mile....it will take you all day to fish back out.
Also, hike to the loop and then fish down the river to the parking areas was done as well one weekend. This is the only time of year that you can now hike and fish up those waters before they reach high water levels again. What's some of your summer fishing holes?

[Adam Beal]

Ok I will bite ;). Mike my favorite by far is up Tremont. Once a week usually on Thursday nights my friend Matt and I go up and park at the Middle prong trail head then take the right fork and travel up Thunderhead prong fishing various holes on the way up. My favorite is to cross Thunderhead and follow the manway up to Sams Creek which comes in on the left. This is a very wild mostly overgrown trail and can be spooky. Then you get to Sams Creek and see the big falls there blocking access by the rainbows up to the newly restored spec waters above. I caught my first brook trout up there and it was awesome. I love the big plunge pools and climbing ever higher up over the huge moss covered boulders. This area is very pristine and I never see signs of others being there and have yet to run across anyone up there ever. It is beautiful and magical.

[Mike Maples]

That's a good one Adam. Most fish folks can't handle that bushwhacking in those upper areas. I also catch spec's on Indian Camp Creek (the one in Cosby) above the foot bridge on Old Settlers Trail. Just opened to fishing a few years back. But, only a few good holes mostly near Albright Grove. Best way is to hike up to the loop and then fish back down to the footbridge makes for a long nice day. Of course, it can be done anytime of year.

[ashe]

i've been wondering... do you guys use fly rods to fish the smokies? i just inheirited a nice fly rod, but the thing's so dam* long, i can't imagine where in the backcountry i'd have enough room to cast it. or do you just use a regular spinner rod?

[Adam Beal]

I use a 4wt fly rod and it is over 8 feet long. I take it way back up streams where there is no trail and I have to climb a lot. It really doesn't get in the way that much if you are traveling in the stream. Now off trail next to the stream it gets hung in branches/trees a lot if the underbrush is thick but I bet a 6 ft. rod would get hung some too. Still not as bad as you might imagine. As far as casting its no real problem if you stand in the pool and cast up to the pool above you (my common tactic). Also you can roll cast too which is kinda like flicking the line where you want it to go ahead of you. No big (a river runs thru it) false casting up in the tight streams there unless you want to catch mostly trees hehe.

Many people just use a spinner rod like Johnny Malloy in his book did. Would work just as good and you don't have to worry about the backcast getting caught in the rhodo. There are lots of good spots to use a fly rod though like the middle prong of the little river where there is lots of clearance.

[ashe]

awesome! thanks for tips, Adam. i'm gonna have to teach myself how to use it, now.

[Adam Beal]

I am pretty new at it myself and I don’t catch much fish but after all that’s not what I am after as they say. I often think being down in the creek is more breathtaking and beautiful than seeing it from the trail and its a lot of fun. I would say that like anything it can be as easy or as complicated as you would like it to be. On the easy side you could just get some flies and tie one on and fling it out there. You have a pretty good chance of catching something if you do that enough. On the complicated side you will hear endless stories on fly patterns and matching the hatch, a thousand different types of casts, strategies and tactics, and lots about “presentation” of the fly to the fish, etc. All that stuff is valid and fun to learn but you don’t have to know about it to start fishing. In the smokies being stealthy is good since the wild trout are more easily spooked. I find just wearing dark shirt (not white) and approaching from downstream (since trout face into the current usually) is more than enough stealth. Many take it much more extreme. My friend Matt and I were driving up the gravel road in Tremont a few weeks ago and we saw a guy dressed in camo, holding a fly rod, and doing the army crawl on all fours on the ground over the bank towards the middle prong right next to the road. I couldn’t believe it and we both still laugh about that one. Of course maybe he did catch more than us after he lobbed one of his grenades in there.

[Mike Maples]

I take a four foot rod and just swing fish or pitch and jig it when I'm hiking in Laurel. The one mentioned at the beginning is find for those big rods in Left Prong. Nothing worst than climbing and having those lines tied up in limbs with bees in the blooms. lol.

[Tony Phillips]

"...we saw a guy dressed in camo, holding a fly rod, and doing the army crawl on all fours on the ground over the bank towards the middle prong right next to the road."

That's hilarious! You talking about a guy taking his fishing seriously.

[Sammy Joe]

"...a guy dressed in camo, holding a fly rod, and doing the army crawl..."

That was you guys that drove by laughing? Sometimes my old Army training comes in handy.

Seriously...the roll cast. Learn it...know it...love it.

[William]

I have always been interested in fly-fishing in the smokies, but did not know where to start. So a few years ago I booked one of those half a day guided trips for my wife and I. It was just us two and the guide. We went in the greenbrier area and had a blast. We caught several specs, not very big but man what a good time.
So the next time I visited the mountains, I said I will save the $250 dollars we gave the guide and just buy some fly fishing equipment of our own. Well about $500 dollars later we were ready if you count in my wifes waders (i already had some) Off we went when we made it to the smokies, between the two of us we caught three small specks and one fish still unidentified. We fished the Elkmont area that day. We still had a blast just being together and in nature.
That was a few years ago, I am still by no means a great fly fisherman and depend on the guys at "The Little River Outfitters" in Townsend on telling me what flies are hatching, but we fish at least one day on every trip and do manage to catch a few trout. As far as the rod getting caught up in the brush, if the rod breaks down they are canvas bags you can purchase $20-25 dollars that work great in areas with low limbs and such..

[Adam Beal]

William that sounds awesome! I fished Cataloochee Creek and Palmer Creek this weekend and struck out completely. Still had a good time and saw lots of Elk. You know I strike out a lot like that. I used everything from yellow caddis, greenie weenies, ants, prince nymps, you name it they didn't want it haha. It really ain't as easy as it looks.

[gsmnp]

Abrams Ranger Station, and I've said to much.