Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Rainbow Trout (wild)
Brown Trout (wild)
Brook Trout (native)
Size
Medium to Large (relative to other
park streams)
Location
Great Smoky Mountains National
Park
Nearest Towns
Bryson City, NC
Season
Year-round
Access:
Easy to Moderate
Special Regulations
None
Non-Resident License
State of North Carolina or
Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The season is open year-round and trout can be taken
year-round.
Spring:
Spring is the time the aquatic insects hatch and the dry
fly fishing is at its best.
Summer:
The stream generally fishes very well during the summer
months. The lower end can get on the warm side but the
upper parts of the stream stay cool throughout the year.
Fall:
Fall is big brown trout time. They spawn in the fall and
become aggressive and easier to catch.
Winter:
Trout can be caught all winter long as long as it isn’t
terribly cold. Warm day in the fifties and higher are
common and good days to fish.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Fly Fishing Deep Creek North Carolina
(GSMNP)
Deep Creek is one of the better brown trout streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It also has its share of rainbows and brook trout inhibit its headwaters. It is a fairly large stream relative to other streams in the national park. The stream flows out of the park through the little town of Bryson City and into the Tuckaseegee River. Fly fishing Deep Creek throughly can take days and that’s just to cover just the major areas of the stream.
Deep Creek Campground occupies the lower section of the stream which is accessible from the road for the first couple of miles. Tubing is popular in the area of the campground during the summer and tourist frequently visit the first few miles of the lower section of the stream. Beyond that, access isn’t so easy and if anyone is there,
they are probably chasing trout.
There are several tributary streams that also have trout including Indian Creek, Pole Road Creek, Sahlee Creek, and Rocky Fork. The Left Fork of Deep Creek provides most of Deep Creek’s water. There are eight backcountry campsites along Deep Creek making it a great for the backpacker to fish.
Fly Fishing Guide to Deep Creek
Fly fishing Deep Creek requires a variety of methods and techniques depending on the species you pursue and the area of the stream you are fishing.
There are three basic way to fish Deep Creek as well as other large streams in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park that hold brown trout. I probably should say
three species of trout to pursue. One is the brook trout that are in the headwaters as
well as most of the tributary streams. Another is the normal dry fly fishing for rainbows
and small brown trout. I say small not because it is impossible to catch a large one on
a dry fly, but because it is unlikely. The third pursuit would be the large browns. That
should be done on nymphs and other subsurface flies like wet flies, soft hackles and
streamers. Those three types of fishing require different techniques although you may
very well catch one of the other species if you happen to be fishing where others are
present.
For the big brown trout, it is best to stick with nymphs and streamers most of the time
and far better to fish low light conditions. By that I mean early and late in the day and
during cloudy or overcast days. The large browns tend to hide during bright days and
venture out only when it is difficult for you and their predators to see them. They
become most visible during the spawn period of time. Even during low light conditions,
it is still usually best to fish the undercut banks, crevices under large rocks and other
type places they can hide.
The brook trout can be caught on either a dry fly or a nymph but it becomes a matter
of fishing very small headwater or tributary streams in the higher elevations. Fishing a
creek that is ten feet wide and covered with tree limbs is greatly different in many
respects from casting streamers in the lower end of Deep Creek, for example.
Choosing to fish for brook trout is a matter of selecting the right locations.
The other way, fishing dry flies for rainbows and browns (as large as you can get to
eat a fly on the surface) can be done in most any of the water in Deep Creek except
the high elevations, although the rainbow seem to go as high as the lack of waterfalls
allow them to go. The thing is, when you are fishing a dry fly, you are just about
eliminating your chances of catching a very large brown trout. If you are in the middle
to lower sections of Deep Creek, you are eliminating your odds of catching a brook
trout.
I have yet to provide any details of how you go about either of the three types of
fishing. What you should do is decide which type of fishing you prefer to undertake
and pursue it instead of trying to do a little of it all.
Although we have mentioned the heavy recreational use of the lower section of the
stream in the Campground area, it is a very good place to fish during the winter and
other times the park isn’t crowded with tourist. The lower section is a sizeable stream
that holds some very large brown trout.
Additional Information:
Fly Fishing Smoky Mountains