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
Brook Trout
(Wild)
Size
Small
Location
Great Smoky Mountains National
Park
Nearest Towns
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Cherokee, North Carolina
Season
Year – round
Access:
Good
Special Regulations
None
Non-Resident License
Either the State of Tennessee or the
State of North Carolina
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Additional Information:
Fly Fishing Smoky Mountains
Season:
The season is open year-round.
Spring:
Springtime is when most of the aquatic insects hatch and when most anglers prefer to fish.
Summer:
The higher elevations of the Little Pigeon River is one of the better places to fish during the Summer. All but the
very lowest part stays cool throughout the year.
Fall:
Autumn is certainly the most beautiful time to fish the river. Fishing is usually great though out most of the fall
season.
Winter:
Trout can be caught 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
Fly Fishing The West Prong of the Little
Pigeon River Tennessee
The West Prong of the Little Pigeon River is one of the best trout streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs nearby highway #441 that crosses the park from Tennessee into North Carolina from near its beginning near the Chimney Top Trailhead to its exit from the park at Gatlinburg. Fly fishing the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River and its uppermost tributaries is possible from the park boundary to within a few miles of
Newfound Gap.
In comparison to the other streams in the park, is ranges between being a medium to a large size stream. The West Prong of the Little Pigeon River contains mostly rainbow trout and both rainbows and brook trout in its upper portion and headwaters.
The Walkers Camp Prong and Road Prong of the Little Pigeon River flow together at the Chimney Trail crossing to form the main stream of the West Prong of the Little
Pigeon River. The stream has a several tributary streams. Walkers Camp Prong is a small stream that is fairly easy to access from highway #441. It contains mostly brook trout and some rainbow trout.
Road Prong is a small tributary of the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River. It is accessible near the Chimney Tops Trailhead. It contains brook trout and some rainbow trout. You can access the Road Prong from the Road Prong Trail which follows along it for over 3 miles.
When the trail first starts, the stream is not very accessible from it. Access is better upstream.
Alum Cave Creek is a small tributary of Walkers Camp Prong. It enters Walkers Camp at highway #441 and is accessible from the Alum Cave Trail. The stream
contains small brook trout and a few rainbow trout.
Fighting Creek is a small stream that enters the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River near the park headquarters. It has a population of small rainbow trout.
You will find pocket water, usually on a steep declination, all the way from the lowest to the highest elevation found on the stream. Access ranges from extremely difficult to water alongside the highway. The streams are fairly easy to fish. Short, upstream cast usually work as long as you match the most plentiful and available insects or other foods and get a good, drag-free drift.
Fly Fishing Guide to the West Prong of Little
Pigeon River
Fly fishing the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River can be a challenge in some areas. It has boulders as large as automobiles in many areas with deeper plunge pools that make advancing upstream difficult in some areas.
Fishing the stream is its lower section in the Sugarland area of the park is as easy as it gets fishing the West Prong of Little Pigeon River. The stream is moderately declined with a series of riffles, runs and pools. The stream is fairly wide and easy to wade and or progress along its banks in most areas. There are a few pools and runs and a lot of long riffles.
When the highway starts up the mountain from the Sugarland area, the river is separated by a few hundred yards from the highway. It follows a valley up a fairly steep decline until it crosses under the bridge at the Chimney’s Picnic Area a few miles upstream. The stream
can be accessed via several quite walk areas that are marked along the highway that lead
down to the river and some trails that are not marked. Access is easy again from the bridge upstream though the picnic area. The stream is tough to wade and tough to fish from the banks in many areas along its route up the mountain. There are huge boulders and deep pools with short plunges common.
At the upper upper end of the picnic area, the stream becomes difficult to follow along its
banks or in the water. There are even more huge boulders and deep pools of water that
block your progress. Moving upstream is possible, but it’s slow and tough going. The stream can be accessed from the highway as it continues on up the mountain from the
Chimney’s Picnic area but in most areas, the decline from the road down to the stream is
very steep and rugged. Getting down from the highway to the river in some areas could be
dangerous. For one to fish the river from the picnic area up to the chimney top trial, it a
tough and difficult task. Some choose to access it at various points along the highway to fish certain sections of the river but it is difficult going anywhere it can be accessed. The West Prong of the Little Pigeon begins at the Chimney Top Trail where Road Prong and Walkers Camp Prong merge to form it.
Walkers Camp Prong runs along the highway for most of all of its journey up the mountain.
In many areas it borders the highway. It is rarely father than a few hundred feet from the it. Some areas are easy to access and some are fairly difficult. There are many areas this little stream can be accessed from parking areas along the road. It has about fifty-fifty brook trout and rainbow trout. The stream hold lots of trout all the way to where it becomes very small and departs the highway a few miles below Newfoundland Gap. Alum Cave Creek joins the Walkers Camp Prong of the Little Pigeon River about half way up its route along the highway at the Alum Cave Trail. It contains a few small rainbow trout and brook trout.
Road Prong also starts at the Chimney Top Trail bridge where it joins the Walkers Camp
Prong. Fishing upstream from that point in the streambed is possible on lower stream flows but difficult. You can access the Road Prong from the Road Prong Trail which leads off the Chimney Top Trail and follows Road Prong for over three miles. When the trail first starts, the stream is not very accessible from it. Access is better upstream. Road Prong is one of the better brook trout streams in the park.
Hatches and Trout Flies for the West Prong of Little Pigeon River
GSMNP Tennessee
The West Prong of the Little Pigeon River doesn’t have as many hatches or aquatic insects
as there are in some of the streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but it has a
large variety. Its steep gradient keeps the mayflies limited to mostly clingers. Beginning in
late February, you can usually find some Blue-winged Olives hatching on a cloudy day. They are not usually very prolific. About the first of March, the Blue Quill mayflies will start to hatch. The exact time can vary a couple of weeks or more if the weather is abnormally warm or cold. They are not very plentiful. The Little Black Caddis will show up about the same time sometimes a little earlier. This hatch can be very good.
Almost at the same time the Blue Quills start hatching, the Quill Gordons start hatching. This hatch is usually very good on the West Prong. The Quill Gordons hatch behind the boulders and in pockets where they quickly get caught up in the current seams and head downstream. These mayflies hatch on or near the bottom and may, or may not, get any attention from the trout on the surface. In late September, hatches of Needleflies, which re little stoneflies come off. These will hatch until about mid-August through November. In August you will find some Great Autumn Brown Sedges. Fishing this hatch is best late in the day using imitations of the pupae.
The March Browns will show up on the West Prong in fairly heavy concentrations. They
hatch from about the third week of April and last until the middle of June. The Light Cahills start hatching about the last week of April and last until the first of July, depending on the elevation. Slate Drakes will hatch from the last week of May off and on until November. There are only a few Sulphurs and Eastern Pale Evening Duns.
Stoneflies are very plentiful in the Little Pigeon River. The first ones to appear are the
Winter Stoneflies that show up in January. In April you will begin to see the Little Yellow
Stoneflies, or Yellow Sallies. They will provide a lot of action late in the afternoons around
sunset. The Little Brown Stoneflies will start hatching in the middle of March and last for a about a month and a half. The Golden Stoneflies start hatching about the last week of May and can last a month and a half depending on the elevations. The Giant Stoneflies hatch from about the middle of April until the first of June at night.
In early to mid-October, the water will cool down and some late season hatches of
Blue-Winged Olives and Mahogany Duns will start. The Mahogany Duns, a sister to the early Blue Quills, usually hatch in large quantities and provide some great action. These are small mayflies, usually a hook size 18-20 but they will get the attention of the trout. One of the best hatches are the Little Yellow Quills. They will start in the middle of August and can last through the month of November. They are found mostly in the high elevations.
During the month of June, grasshoppers, beetles, ants and inch worms, all terrestrial
insects, become important food items for the trout. There’s few hatches occurring, so most anglers start using imitations of these terrestrials. The inch worms, or moth larvae, are especially important due to the large numbers of them in the forest of the park.
In addition to the terrestrial and aquatic insects, there’s a lot of other food for the trout. Small Crawfish are one of those items. Another one is Sculpin. These small fish are abundant in most areas of the stream. Imitations of them can be very effective. The Black Nose Dace is another baitfish that is important. Streamers imitating these and other minnows work great, especially when the water is slightly off color.
Midges are abundant throughout the park. They can be very important when the water is
cold and nothing else is hatching. Imitations of the larva and pupa will catch trout anytime of the year.
Craneflies are everywhere water exist in the park. The larva and adults are important insects to imitate. Hellgrammites, or the larva stage of the Dobsonfly, is another abundant insect that is in many of the park’s streams.
We recommend our “Perfect Fly” imitations. They are the best, most effective flies you can purchase and use anywhere trout exist. If you haven’t already done so, please give them a try. You’ll be glad you did. They not only are the most realistic flies you can buy, they are the most effective.