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
Brown Trout
(Wild)
Brook Trout (Native)
Size
medium
Location
Great Smoky Mountains National
Park
Nearest Towns
Cherokee, North Carolina
Season
Year-round
Access:
Easy to Difficult
Special Regulations
None
Non-Resident License
State of North Carolina or
Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The fishing season in Great Smoky Mountains National
Park is year-round.
Spring:
Spring is probably the best time to fish the Oconaluftee
River. It provides the most aquatic insect hatches.
Summer:
All but the very lowest part of the river stays cool
enough to provide good fishing on the hottest days of
summer.
Fall:
Fall is a great time to fish the river. Some would argue
that it is even better than the spring. It is certainly the
most beautiful time of year.
Winter:
The Oconaluftee provides good trout fishing on all but
the very coldest days of winter.
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 2016 James Marsh
Oconaluftee River GSMNP North Carolina
The Oconaluftee River is one of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s better trout streams. This stream has easy access for most of its length and an excellent aquatic insect population for a Smoky Mountain freestone stream.
The Oconaluftee River is made up from several streams. The stream is formed by the confluence of Beech Flats Prong and Kephart Prong. It is a small stream at this
point. Kanati Branch is a small tributary of Beech Flats Prong.
It has a large tributary stream, Bradley Fork, which is within itself a fine trout stream that offers several miles of fishing. It is easily accessed near its confluence with the Oconaluftee River at the Smokemont campground. The Bradley Fork is about as large as the Oconaluftee at this point. It becomes smaller upstream of the campground but is still a good size stream. It has an excellent population of both brown and rainbow trout
with brook trout in its upper waters. Chasteen Creek is a relatively good sized tributary of Bradley Fork. Taywa is another small tributary of Bradley Fork. Chasm Prong and Gulf Prong form the Brandley Fork.
Collins Creek is Yet another small tributary of the Oconaluftee River. Below the confluence of Bradley Fork, the river is quite large in comparison to other streams in the park. It flows out of the park’s boundaries and through Cherokee, North Carolina where it is stocked by the City.
Fly Fishing Guide to Oconaluftee River:
This stream has an excellent canopy of trees throughout its length that provides cover from the sun during the summer and helps keep the water cool but also makes it
difficult to cast in many places.
The Oconaluftee River is one of the tougher streams to fish in Great Smoky Mountains
National Park for several reasons. It is tightly enclosed as we just mentioned and that makes casting a problem in many places. You rarely have a clear area for a back cast. You must use all types of creative cast. Below the confluence of Bradley Fork, the river is almost double what it is above the Bradley Fork. Casting isn’t so much of a problem. The lower part is bordered by open sage grass fields in some areas. This provides some great hopper fishing in the late Summer and early Fall. There’s lots of cover and a very irregular bottom.
Above the Bradley Fork, the Oconaluftee River isn’t that large of a stream and is very tightly enclosed with tree limbs. It is the typical pool, run and riffle type freestone stream with a medium gradient that is not to steep, yet steep enough to keep a good flow of water. It has an abundant amount of cover. Huge boulders form large pockets. There are deep holes and shallow short sections of riffles. Some runs are long and deep. There is a lot of places for the brown trout to hide. Undercut banks are plentiful in most areas. Tree roots provide additional cover for the trout but also make it difficult to fish a nymph.
As mentioned in the Hatches section, the Oconaluftee River has some excellent hatches and
seems to have more insects than most other streams in the park with the exception of
Abrams Creek. Some hatches are huge. When there is a hatch underway, you are far better
off using an imitation of the insect hatching than generic or attractor flies. Following closely with our hatch chart will provide a big advantage fishing this river.
Short upstream cast are normal as it is with most other park streams. There are several
places where “high stickin” a nymph will pay well. This river has a very good population of
brown trout and some of them are very big. Streamers work good under low light conditions. They also work when the water is slightly stained from heavy rains. I should also mention the brook trout fishing in its many tributary streams is very good. It requires very small stream tactics. The Bradley Fork could very well be treated as an entire stream within itself. It too has a good population of both brown and rainbow trout and is one of the best streams in the park.
Additional Information:
Fly Fishing Smoky Mountains