From the Exit of the park to Metcalf Bottoms
Fly Fishing The East Prong Of Little River (Exit from the Park to Metcalf Bottoms)The East Prong of the Little River is commonly referred to as “Little River”. It’s one of the largest streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National park. It’s by far the most fished stream in the park. There are two reasons for this. One is easy to guess. It’s one of the best streams in the park. The other is also pretty obvious to those that have fished there before. Much of the stream is the most accessible water in the park. A paved road follows it all the way from its exit from the part to past the Elkmont Campground.Brown and rainbow trout are present in the lower, middle and upper sections of thestream and brook trout can be found in its uppermost part. Little River has some of the best brown trout fishing in the park and due to its size, it has some of the largest brown trout in the park. By lower part, I am referring to the section this article covers. I’m calling the middle section the part from Metcalf Bottoms to Elkmont Campground and the upper section, the part above Elkmont Campground including its tributaries.Fishing Little River ranges from easy to difficult depending on when and where you are fishing it. Most of the stream is fairly easy to negotiate. Some of it isn’t. Some of it is tightly enclosed with trees and overhanging tree limbs and other parts are two deep to wade.Little River is the most popular fly-fishing destination in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for even more than the two reasons I stated above. It’s also convenient to some larger metro areas such as Maryville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Knoxville. It can easily be accessed from the Townsend area, Wears Valley (the closest), and Gatlinburg.The main part of Little River runs from what is called the “Y” downstream to the park boundary at Townsend. The stream is rather wide in this area and frequented mostly by tourist on float tubes or swimming and playing in the water during the warm months. The only trout present would be the ones stocked by the state of Tennessee that swam upstream from just outside the park in Townsend. In the summer, the water stays too warm for wild trout and the stocked trout too for that matter. Smallmouth bass exist in most of the entire lower section of the stream. There’s only a short section of the main river (after the confluence of the water from the Middle and West Prongs) that’s within the park’s boundaries.Trout found in the lower part of this section of Little River are usually difficult to catch during the warmer times of the year because the warm water temperatures can deplete the oxygen content of the water to a level below that needed by trout. They begin to exist farther upstream at a point that’s far below that generally thought by most anglers. The browns are present much farther downstream than the rainbows. Even so, much of the lower section becomes too warm during the hot summer. The trout that do remain there, become lethargic and difficult to catch. Even if you could, it’s very unhealthy for the trout which can die due to over exertion in the oxygen depleted water. The section below the confluence of Meggs Creek at Meggs Falls, is generally too warm to fish during the hot summer, except the upper part near Meggs Falls and then only during the early mornings and late afternoons. This part of Little River is best fished during the cooler seasons. This section of the river, especially the upper parts near Meggs Creek, does have some trout and some very large brown trout at that. There are lots of deep pools, too deep to wade in many places. It also has some very rough and difficult to wade water. The banks are generally very high and steep and it is easy to slip off the rocks if you are not very careful, especially when you are wearing wet wading boots. One area called the Little River Gorge, can even be a little dangerous to fish at times. If the water is high, you should be very careful or just avoid wading it altogether.This area is fished by two kinds of anglers. The ones that don’t know what they are doing and are not aware it can be too warm to fish there, and those that know exactly what they are doing and are pursuing large brown trout. These anglers are mostly locals that are very familiar with the stream and the trout in that area.From Meigs Creek upstream past a low to medium gradient area known as“Metcalf Bottoms”, it’s still possible for the water to get above seventy degreesduring the hottest parts of the summer. Most of the time it isn’t too warm and the fishing can be good for both rainbows and browns. If the water is above 65 or 66 degrees F, my suggestion would be to move upstream of Metcalf Bottoms.Water temperatures above the waterfall at an area known locally as the “Sinks”, are agreeable to the trout most of the time. The portion of the stream from the “Sinks” upstream to “Metcalf Bottoms” usually holds far more trout than it is thought to hold by most anglers.The stream gradient is rather low through Metcalf Bottoms and you will find some longer than normal riffles and runs and some longer, shallower pools. The area around the Metcalf Picnic area is usually busy, and at times, even crowded. Fishing can be very good there provided the water hasn’t been disturbed. I should also mention that due to the lower gradient and softer bottom in some areas, this section of the stream has some crawler nymph mayflies and net spinning caddisflies that are not that plentiful in many other areas of Little River. The smoother flows can also demand some difference in the normal pocket water presentations.One tributary stream in the lower section of Little River that’s of importance to anglers is Meggs Creek. This little stream has some brook trout in its upper headwaters. You can access it from the Meggs Creek trailhead located near the Sinks. You have to do some hiking to get to the best water. Its confluence with Little River is easy to find. Meggs Creek Falls are visible from the Little River road.Don’t completely rule out this section of the Little River. It does have its good times. Both species of trout can be caught in the upper part of this section above Meggs Creek at certain times of the year and in the Metcalf Bottom area most of the time. There’s a lot of water (several miles) between Little River’s exit at Townsend and the Meggs Creek area. The closest and by far the fastest way to get to the area of Little River between Meggs Creek and Metcalf Bottoms is through the entrance to the park from Wears Valley.Don’t forget one very important thing. Brown trout can tolerate warmer (lower dissolved oxygen content) water than rainbows. In any stream where both species exit in areas where the water temperature starts to become marginal for trout, you will always find that the brown trout exist farther downstream in warmer water than the rainbows. The upper area of Little River, even some areas below the sinks, hold some very large brown trout. Now don’t go running there to make a few cast expecting to catch one. They want pounce on every fly you toss at them. They didn’t get big being stupid.
From Metcalf Bottoms To Elkmont: The middle section of the East Prong of the Little River from Metcalf Bottoms to Elkmont is a prime part of the best Little River has to offer. It contains a variety of water but most of it is fast pocket water. There are some long, deep pools; some long riffles and a few long, deep runs but it is mostly pocket water. All in all, it is a very beautiful stretch of water that looks like it has a trout in every square yard of it and it isn’t all that far from being true. Some sections are difficult to wade but you can manage to get around in it just fine most everywhere.Just above Metcalf Bottoms the stream’s gradient increases and becomes typical of what occurs for the next few miles upstream. There are sections ideal for dry fly fishing and others perfect for high stickin with nymphs. There are areas where the trees make it a little tough and you have to watch your backcast and others where it is fairly clear of obstructions. There is one thing it isn’t short on and that’s boulders and rocks. My guess is this section holds about as many trout per mile as any section of water in the park, although I don’t know that for a fact. I do know it has plenty of them and a good mixture of browns and rainbows although it’s mostly rainbows. The very large browns in this section make up for any numbers of browns in all respects. If there were many of the huge ones, there wouldn’t be a living creature in the stream. It has about all a stream of its size is able to sustain.Just about all of the stream is visible from the road that follows closely along it. There are many pull offs along the road to park and some designated parking lots. Some areas have very steep banks and ledges to crawl down and in some places you can easily walk down to the water. You are tempted to try to spot trout from every high point of observation and if you are not very careful, you will do more damage than good. A little movement or motion on high points above the stream gets the trout’s attention very quickly. Unless you learn what to look for, you probably want see them when they are right before your eyes.There is a major problem with this section at times. You may run into tubers and kayaks along the way and if you are not careful, you may find yourself fishing right behind someone. It can get crowded at the so called “peak fishing” times. In April and May the Little River usually has about all the anglers it can support in this section. It isn’t a secrete that it holds lots of trout. The only thing I think is comical about it is that often during other times of the year, such as the month of October and November, I have caught just as many trout as I have caught any other time. I have even caught them on cold winter days when no one else was fishing. I have caught them every month of the year on a dry fly. There are few places in the United States where that can be done.From Metcalf Bottoms upstream to Long Arm Bridge, the stream will change from flowing fairly smoothly to fast, turbulent rapids along with everything in between these two extremes. During the warmer months of the year, you can count on a lot of recreational activity in this section of the river. During those times, you may consider fishing very early or late in the day. After all, that’s not a bad strategy to utilize during the summertime for other reasons. From the Long Arm Bridge to the Elkmont Campground you will find some of the best water that exist in Little River. It certainly isn’t a secret. It is fished as heavily orheavier than any section of water in the park but it’s for very good reasons -primarily easy access and lots of trout. Some of this area contains the classic pool,riffle, run stream makeup that allows the trout the opportunity to select prime liesthroughout the changing seasons. You may occasionally become frustrated withtubers in this area, but much less frequent than downstream. Most likely it will be other anglers that frustrate you. We just avoid it when it is crowded, or even close to being crowded, and fish other places in the park. Most of the time we fish Little River, few others are fishing. Often we are the only ones in a few miles of the river. We prefer to fish it when the fishing is considered “quote”, bad or not good. We seem to always catch plenty of trout. What’s almost comical about the quote “good and bad” fishing days is that often anglers catch very few trout on the “good” days. You will see this happen often in April and May, two of the quote “best” months of the year. There will never be any shortage of excuses though. There’s always plenty of things anglers can blame.My advice is to completely ignore what others have to say about their success, or lack of success, and go whenever you can go. I’ll put it this way. If the water in this area of Little River isn’t completely out of its banks and it’s above freezing air temperatures, you should be able to catch trout. You probably won’t be able to do it fishing the same Jake’s bead-head fly or green weenie you may normally fish when anyone that can cast can catch trout. Jake (a name I just threw in, not any particular person) may be the one that’s the bead head. You may not be able to fish the same Purple Trude or whatever it is you were told was the “hot fly”. Most likely you may not be able to fish the same fast water you fish 100% of the time and do well. Don’t you think it would probably help to know something about what your trying to imitate, where the trout are holding, and a few things many anglers don’t have a clue about? If you focus on what is going on in the water and not on what anyone else has to say about the fishing, you will eventually start catching trout most every time you go. The trout don’t pay any attention to what anyone has to say and neither should you. They aren’t going to starve in spite of what Joe Blow has to say about it. They feed every day and as long as they feed you can catch them.I’m not about to try to count the times we have fished this section of the Little River during the last ten years. Our video logs are full of trips to this area. Some of our best days in the park have been on this section of Little River as well as the section above Elkmont that hasn’t yet been posted. We have had a few tough days on this section of Little River, but only a very few and they really were not all that bad. At times, we enjoy fishing on the worst possible days just to prove to ourselves that we can catch trout under adverse conditions. It’s amazing what you can catch when you simply make the effort. I get very frustrated when I have a difficult time catching trout. It just drives me that much harder towards trying to succeed. To me, that’s one of the most enjoyable aspects of fly fishing for trout or any type of fishing for that matter. Overcoming the difficulties, or maybe you could call it outsmarting the trout, is the thing that should give you the greatest amount of pleasure. I don’t like the later phase very much because when you think about the fact their brain is about the size of a pea, it doesn’t make you feel very successful to say you outsmarted them. Anyway, just being able to catch trout when it’s easy to do so, doesn’t quite cut it for me.Most of the time when anglers have a tough day of fishing, it’s because they are set in their ways of fishing, using the same flies, the same methods of presentation, and doing the same basic things over and over. They may change from a dry fly to a nymph or vise versa, and change flies several times, but that’s about the extent of their versatility. The traditional methods of presentation and the generic and attractor flies work okay when conditions are favorable but not otherwise. It’s easy to summarize most of the problem. When the trout are feeding anywhere other than the fast water where they are easily to fool, most anglers can’t catch them. They think the fishing is lousy and pass it off as if it has nothing to do with their fishing skills or their knowledge about the trout and the food the trout survive on.There are many very productive hatches and just as important, periods of time leading into a hatch, that are completely ignored by most anglers. Actually it isn’t so much that they are ignored as it is they are passed over by anglers not familiar with the stream’s aquatic insects. Some of the insects are never mentioned mainly because little to nothing is known about them. There are many days anglers are complaining about lousy fishing conditions when there really isn’t a good excuse for not catching trout. I rambled off the main subject, but that’s what was on my mind.This section of Little River has several tributary streams. Laurel Creek is a very small tributary stream that has some small rainbows and brook trout in its upper reaches. It passes under both Little River Road and Elkmont Campground Road near the turn to Elkmont. It’s so enclosed by rhodendrum bushes that it’s hardly noticeable.Jakes Creek is a very small but a very good little tributary stream that comes into the Little River in the Elkmont Campground. Small rainbows make up the bulk of its trout but it also has some brown trout. The size of some of the brown trout may fool you. High water in the Little River would be about the only justifiable reason to fish either of these two little tributary streams considering the fact you have to pass miles of Little River to get there. They also provide some seclusion from other anglers.In a recent article on Hazel Creek, I made the statement that I didn’t think any stream in the park was any better than Hazel Creek and I will make the same statement about this segment of Little River as well as the segment above Elkmont I haven’t posted that’s coming up in a couple of days. Simply put, “the streams in the park don’t get any better than these two sections of the Little River”.
Elkmont to the Headwaters: The East Prong of Little River from Elkmont to its headwaters is another very good section of water that’s as good as any in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Most anglers want to travel upstream a good ways to get away from everyone and there is certainly nothing wrong with that but you certainly do not have to in order to catch plenty of trout. Just upstream of the campground at the Bridge over Little River at the Little River Trailhead you will find some excellent water. For some reason (I think it’s because it appears to be to easy to access to be any good) anglers don’t tend to fish the first half mile or so of the area above the bridge. Angie and I have fished this area many times when there was not anyone fishing the area yet the parking area was full of vehicle that obviously belonged to anglers. Most hikers and tourist don’t have their vehicles covered with fishing decals and logos.It’s one of Angie’s favorites spots on Little River and for good reasons. She always catches several nice trout before we get from the bridge to the first old house on the stream bank headed upstream. The large pool near end of that stretch always produces for her. I video taped her catching five trout out of that one pool one cold December day and three of them were good size brown trout. Yes, I did say out of the pool, not the fast water. There have been plenty of days we have caught a lot of trout (it would surprise you if I listed the numbers) within the first mile or so upstream from the bridge.You may think I am revealing a hot spot, but trust me, it’s no better than the next few miles of the stream. All I am saying is that we usually don’t strike out on a long hike upstream because we don’t have to. I should also say we have watched several other anglers fish that area and most of the time, not even cast in the pool I’m referring to. We have yet to see anyone catch the first trout out of it even though i have seen Angie catch several dozen out of it over the last few years. She refuses to let me fish it. I usually start fishing just past there and catch plenty of trout heading on upstream. We have walked two or three miles before we have started to fish and it seems to not make any difference. The entire upper millage of Little River is just a good stretch of water obviously with a high population of trout although I have no way of really knowing if it actually has more than other areas of Little River or not. I haven’t seen any shock test results from the park and fishing only allows you to speculate on the population.The trail, which is an old road, is easy to hike. Its gradient is continuously, slightly uphill and not steep at all. For some reason, the size of Little River changes very little as you go upstream. It stays near the same size for a long way. Something else noticeable is that the brown trout continue to appear as if there were not any change in the upstream population of trout.There are numerous tiny branches that feed into Little River as you head up stream. The first one of any size is Huskey Branch and it’s very small. The first major tributary stream you will reach is Fish Camp Prong. Its a major tributary of the Little River with several tributaries of its own. It’s located about four miles upstream from the Little River Trailhead. That would be a tough one day trip for many anglers and for that reason, most anglers prefer to stay at one of the campsites on the upper Little River to fish it. Of course, I know some younger guys that hike there to fish on a one day trip as if that wasn’t a problem at all.The trout in Fish Camp Prong are mostly rainbows with a few browns in the lower sections. Brook trout begin to show up farther upstream. It has lots of small branches that flow into it. The larger tributaries of Fish Camp Prong are Ash Camp Branch, Buckeye Gap Prong, Silers Creek, and Goshen Prong. Goshen Prong trail follows Fish Camp Prong from its confluence with Little River for about three miles and then upstream on Goshen Prong itself. These streams in the upper end and headwaters of Fish Camp Prong all have populations of brook trout.Not far upstream above Fish Camp Prong on the main stem of Little River is Rough Creek. Rough Creek Trail follows it for about two miles. Farther upstream on the main stem you will find Meigs Post Prong and Grouse Creek. There are several tiny prongs all the way up to near the Appalachian Trail near Clingmans Dome that feed these uppermost creeks. Most of these little streams above and including Meigs Post Prong hold brook trout.Campsite #24 is probably the most popular campsite for anglers. It’s located just below the Rough Creek confluence. Campsite #23 is about another three miles upstream on Goshen Prong Trail from the confluence of Fish Camp Prong and the main stem of LIttle River. This one is also a popular site for anglers. You can also reach it on the Goshen Prong Trail from the Clingmans Dome Road. It is shown to be 4.4 miles from the road to the campsite. If I used this approach, I think I may want to just head on downstream from #23 to Elkmont and leave my vehicle at the trailhead to pick up later. I’m only kidding but it is a steep decline according to the elevation profile on my GPS. There’s also a remote site #30 near the end of the main prong of Little River. It must be accessed from downstream.I opened this article with the statement that this section of Little River and the section from Metcalf Bottoms up to Elkmont Campground is as good as any section of stream in the park. Remember, I didn’t say better than any – I said as good as.It isn’t the stream that’s going to make a substantial difference in what you catch in quantity or quality. It’s your fishing skills but even more important, its your understanding the trout, their habitat, behavior, and the food they eat.I received so much email from comments I made in yesterday’s article along the lines of fishing success, I will elaborate some more on the subject. The streams in the park are all small, fast pocket water streams. Catching fish when conditions are great usually isn’t that much of a problem for anyone that can cast twenty feet and follows a few basic procedures – staying hidden, getting a good drift, etc. Its all the other times when fishing isn’t that easy – the two months of very hot summer weather, the two to three months of cold weather, the hundred days of low water, the few days of high water, and the many days it’s raining, snowing, the wind is blowing, it’s storming, someone’s fishing in front of you, tube floaters are running over you, etc, etc. In other words, seventy-five percent or more of the time. It’s during those times, which is the majority of the days anglers could fish that most anglers have a difficult time catching very many trout. It’s easy and self satisfying to just pretend it’s the “poor” fishing conditions that’s the problem. Some anglers are completely satisfied on waiting on conditions to change to where its easy to catch trout. Many are not even aware that it’s really their way of fishing and not the fishing conditions that’s the problem. They think they are doing everything right and its because the fish are not feeding. They think that’s just a part of fishing and for them, it is.There isn’t anything wrong with going fishing only when it’s very easy to catch trout. It should be fun first and foremost. But for those anglers that realize lack of success usually isn’t because the fish won’t eat, it’s their knowledge and skills that’s lacking, such a causal approach isn’t good enough. Many anglers enjoy getting out in the outdoors whenever they can and they want to be able to catch trout wherever and whenever they go. Some anglers take their fishing rather seriously and some don’t. Some are satisfied with mediocre results and some aren’t.I’ve always been the type that wanted to keep improving and keep learning more and more about the sport, never being completely satisfied with everything. It’s successfully meeting the challenge of being able to consistently catch fish that gives me the most satisfaction. It’s competition but not with other anglers. It’s competition with the fish and the elements Mother Nature hands us.Most of what I write about is oriented towards helping someone become a better angler. I learned many years ago that being consistently successful required learning a lot about the fish and the food they eat, irrespective of the species of fish you were after. I know for certain that if I had not of used that approach, I wouldn’t have been able to learn a living for the last thirty years from TV shows, instructional videos on fishing and a few other closely related outdoor activities such as boating.One reason I mention this is because I often fail to put the fun and enjoyment element into what I write about fishing. That’s not only because I take it seriously. It’s also because I am not a very good writer, especially when it comes to adding the entertainment aspects of it. Well, on second thought, maybe some of you get a kick out of seeing how I can abuse the English language.