River's Edge Outfitters Fishing Report
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June Fly Fishing Report
Summer officially starts June 21st, here in the south you’d think it starts much earlier than that. Get away from the heat by setting you GPS coordinates to the mountains, and head up for some hot fly fishing action. The summer air temperatures in the high mountains are perfect. Cool mornings and nice afternoons make fly fishing here second to none. Toss your waders as you won’t need them, wet wading is a refreshing way to spend the day.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a fantastic destination. Besides the natural beauty of the most visited National Park in the US, the fly fishing opportunities abound. High mountain streams offer cool clean water which is perfect for trout. The crown jewel of these mountains is the Southern Appalachian strain of Brook Trout. Vividly marked in colors that seem to explode, these wily trout will smash even an ill placed dry fly. Wild Rainbow and Brown trout thrive in these mountain waters too. So don’t be surprised when a rather large Brown trout inhales your offerings. Explore Deep Creek, Oconoluftee River and Bradley Fork for some great early summer fly fishing. Please practice catch and release with these mountain jewels.
Cherokee is home of the monster trout! The new Fly Fishing Only Catch and Release section of Ravens Fork is amazing. Nothing short of the Jurassic Park of fly fishing, you can catch and release the trout of a life time here! Trout are measured in pounds not inches in this special regulation water. Cherokee also offers 30 miles of trout fishing streams which are stocked twice each week. The island park in the middle of town is great place to start. It’s also a great place to bring the family for a day of fun fishing and picnicking on the banks of the Oconoluftee River.
The Nantahala River, one of Trout Unlimited’s Top 100 Rivers in America, is just a stone’s throw from Bryson City. The Nantahala offers the fly angler many opportunities, from big water fishing to a smaller Delayed Harvest Section, the Nantahala has it all. The Nantahala River is a world class white water destination, so keep that in mind if plan on fishing the lower river as you will be sharing the river with rafter and kayakers. The fishing is so good, you probably won’t mind. The current State Record Brown Trout came from the waters of the lower Nantahala, it weighed in at 24lbs 10oz.
The Tuckasegee River which flows from below Cashiers down through Bryson City, offers excellent opportunities for trout and Smallmouth Bass. In the upper sections near Dillsboro to the HWY 107 Bridge is a special Delayed Harvest section that is stocked heavily with trout. This is a fly fisher’s paradise, you can wade fish or float this section from a drift boat or raft. From Dillsboro to Bryson City, you can catch many Smallmouth Bass on a fly. If you have never tried Smallmouth fishing on fly rod you’re missing out. Pound for pound, the smallmouth is one of the hardest fighting freshwater fish there is.
Spruce Pine North Carolina offers some great fly fishing action near this quaint little mountain town. With the North Toe and Cane Creek Delayed Harvest action, to the Smallmouth Bass in the Nolichucky River you’re bound to catch something that gets the heart rate up. Also if wild fish is your favorite quarry, check out the South Toe which offers a Catch and Release only section just off the Blue Ridge Parkway on Hwy 80. Come visit Spruce Pine where the pace is slow and the fishing is fast.
Hatches this time of year are many, but favorite fly patterns include:
Suggested Dry Fly Patterns are:
Sulphers #12-16, Little Yellow Sallies, Tan Caddis #14-16, Quill Gordon #12-16, March Brown #10-16, Blue Quill #12-18, Mahogany Dun #14-18, Blue Winged Olive #16-22, Light Hendrickson #14-18, Dark Hendrickson #14-18, Red Quill #14-16, Light Cahill #16-18, Ginger Quill #14-16, Grey Fox #12-16, Adams #12-20,Royal Wulff #12-18, Thunderhead #12-16, Female Adams #12-16, Adams Variant #12-16, Black Caddis #14-16, Black Midge #16-20, Peeking Caddis #14-18, Stimulator in tan or light yellow in #12-16
Suggested Nymph Patterns are:
Hares Ear #12-18, Pheasant Tail #12-20, Rubber Leg Prince Nymph #12-20, -Orange Sow Scud #14-16, orange and pink Egg patterns #12-16, pink orange and red San Juan Worms #12-14, Lightning Bug #12-18, Rainbow Warrior #12-18, black and red Zebra Midges #16-22, tan Caddis Pupae #12-16, Quill Gordon wet fly #12-16, March Brown wet fly #10-16, Adams Soft Hackle #12-18
Suggested Streamers Patterns are:
Woolly Buggers in olive black brown and white #6-12, Olive Slump buster #6-10, white and olive Zonkers #6-10, olive Mohair Leech #6-10, Clouser minnows, red/white chart/white #8-10
We share a love of the Great Smoky Mountains and the rivers and streams that carve the landscape here in Western NC.
All of our guides are the best in the business and have a wealth of experience in a variety of fly fishing settings.
All of the guides have a simple goal: they want you to have fun and learn how to become a better fly fisher.
We have chosen to spend our lives fly fishing and invite you to come join us on the water.
Favorite Things About Guiding:
Seeing a beginner catch their first trout.
Favorite Water:
Anywhere in the Smokies!
Favorite Floats:
Casting streamers on the Little Tennessee and Tuckaseegee Rivers
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