South Toe River North Carolina Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: 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.
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 and stocked with
holdovers)
Brown Trout (wild and stocked with
holdovers)
Size
Small to medium
Location
Western North Carolina
Nearest Towns
Burnsville
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of North Carolina
Weather
Season:
Year-round
Winter:
It’s possible to catch trout during warm, nice winter days.
Spring:
Fly fishing the South Toe River is best during the Spring
because of the aquatic insect hatches..
Summer:
Summertime is a good in the headwaters.
Fall:
Early Fall is an excellent time to fish this stream.
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.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The South Toe River North Carolina
The South Toe River’s headwaters are near the Blue Ridge Parkway, on the slopes of Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain in the eastern United States. It is formed by the confluence of its Right Prong and Left Prong streams. Hemphill Creek also adds water in its uppermost section. It receives additional water in its headwater area from three other major tributary streams, each of which have their own designated wild trout waters – Rock Creek, Upper Creek and Lower Creek. The South Toe River is joined in its lower section by the North Toe River and the two form the main stem of the Toe River. It only flows for a short distance before converging with the Nolichucky River.
Forest Service Road #472 follows over five miles of the South Toe River. Its access ends at the Blue Ridge Parkway. All of the section of the river flowing on Pisgah Game Lands is a designated wild trout stream. This upper, wild trout section is rugged and difficult to access in many places from the road. The road crosses the stream where access is easy but in many places it is well above the stream and not practical to access. It’s best to park upstream, hike downstream and fish back upstream to your vehicle in parts of this upper section. The stream falls on a steep decline and consist mostly of short plunges and runs into small pools. It contains wild rainbows, some wild browns and native brook trout.
The section of water from a bridge above the Black Mountain Campground downstream to the Pisgah Game Land border is designated as “catch and release – artificial lures/flies only”. Fly fishing the South Toe River is very good in this section. It’s just over a mile long and flows through the campground. In this area, the river is open and about thirty to forty feet wide.
Little Mountain Creek, a small tributary stream, also flows into the campground area. Just below the campground, Big Lost Cove Creek and Neals Creek, both small wild trout streams, add to the flow of the South Toe River. From the Game Lands downstream to
the mouth of Clear Creek, the river is back under wild trout regulations. This section is approximately three miles long.
Below the Clear Creek confluence, downstream for at least ten miles, the South Toe River is stocked, or as the state of North Carolina likes to described it, hatchery supported. The river is stocked with brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout. It also has a few wild trout in this area along with holdovers.
The lower part of the stocked section is accessible from Halls Chapel Road, or state road # 1169. It flows through strips of private property mixed with public access points. Upstream, the river can be accessed from Celo Clinic Road, or in another area by state road #80. The entire stocked section of the South Toe River is a medium to large size stream. Farther on upstream, access is provided from Forest Service Road 472, which as mentioned above, provides access to most of the wild trout waters.
The three main tributaries are regulated as follows: Upper Creek is designated as a “catch and release – artificial lures/flies only” stream. Its headwater tributaries are the South and Middle Forks of Upper Creek and Grassy Knob. It can be accessed from Forest Service
Road #472 at the bridge where it crosses Upper Creek. You can fish upstream on an unmarked trail that looks like an old lumber road. At the point the trail ends, you
can fish upstream in the streambed.
Lower Creek is also designated as a wild trout stream. It’s about the same size as Upper Creek which is just a short ways upstream. Forest Service Road #472 crosses Lower Creek and you can fish from that point upstream on an unmarked trail. Both Upper and Lower
Creeks are small streams plunges and runs that flow into small pools. There’s barely enough room to cast in most places.
Rock Creek is the larger of the upper tributary streams but it’s still a rather small stream. Its designed as a wild trout stream by the state and has a population of wild rainbows in its lower section. Three Creek is a small headwater tributary of Rock Creek. About a mile of Rock Creek can be accessed from Forest Service Road #5521. A trail picks up where the road ends and you can fish on upstream. The stream joins the South Toe River near the Mt. Mitchell Golf Course. Still Fork Creek enters the South Toe just upstream from Rock Creek. It has a small tributary called Roaring Fork that is known for its Roaring Fork Falls.
All things considered, the South Toe River has a lot to offer a fly angler. Like most other areas of western North Carolina, the wild trout water is not heavily fished simply because easier to fish stocked sections of water are nearby. On most days, you can have all of the wild trout water to yourself you want fishing the South Toe River or one of its several tributary streams. The fish are plentiful and usually very eager to take a fly. Although
the rainbows usually average only six inches (up to twelve inches) or so, brown trout up to and over twenty inches can be caught in the wild trout section. In some of the uppermost headwaters you can choose to fish for the native Appalachian Brook Trout. Whatever you preferences, the South Toe River has something to offer.
We have fished this river several times, usually in a different area than the previous trips. Each time we have been able to catch a decent number of wild rainbow and/or brown trout. We have only fished for its brook trout on one occasion and that was okay, but we were not as successful as we expected we would be. I’m sure there are many areas of the tributaries that do have a good brook trout population that we haven’t fished.