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Great Smoky Mountains
National Park has about 2,115 miles of streams within its
boundaries, and protects one of the last wild trout habitats in the
eastern United States. The park offers a wide variety of angling
experiences from remote, headwater trout streams to large, coolwater
smallmouth bass streams. Most streams remain at or near their
carrying capacity of fish and offer a great opportunity to catch
these species throughout the year.
Fishing is permitted
year-round in the park, from 30 minutes before official sunrise to
30 minutes after official sunset. The park allows fishing in most
streams. Certain posted streams are closed to fishing, to protect
threatened fishes. Detailed information, including a complete list
of regulations and a map of fishable park waters, is available at
any visitor center or ranger station.
You must possess a
valid fishing license or permit from either Tennessee or North
Carolina. Either state license is valid throughout the park and no
trout stamp is required. Fishing licenses and permits are not
available in the park, but may be purchased in nearby towns. Special
permits are required for fishing in Gatlinburg and Cherokee.
Tennessee License
Requirements
Residents and nonresidents age 13 and older must have a valid
license. Residents age 65 and older may obtain a special license
from the state.
North Carolina
License Requirements
Residents and nonresidents age 16 and older need a license.
Residents age 70 and older may obtain a special license from the
state.
Persons under 16
in North Carolina and under 13 in Tennessee are entitled to the
adult daily bag and possession limits and are subject to all other
regulations.
Daily possession
limits:
- Any
combination of rainbow trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass
totaling 5
- 20 rockbass
- A person must stop
fishing once reaching the limit
Size limits
- Rainbow and
brown trout: 7in. minimum
- Smallmouth
bass: 7in. minimum
- Rockbass: no
minimum
- Trout or
smallmouth bass caught less than the legal length shall be
immediately returned to the water from which it was taken.
Lures, bait, and
equipment
- Fishing is
permitted only by the use of one hand-held rod.
- Only
artificial flies or lures with a single hook may be used.
Dropper flies may be used. Up to two flies on a leader.
- Use or possession
of any form of fish bait or liquid scent other than artificial
flies or lures on or along any park stream while in possession
of fishing tackle is prohibited.
Prohibited baits include, but are not limited to, minnows (live
or preserved), worms, corn, cheese, bread, salmon eggs, pork
rinds, liquid scents and natural baits found along streams.
- Use or
possession of double, treble, or gang hooks is prohibited.
- Fishing
tackle and equipment, including creels and fish in possession,
are subject to inspection by authorized personnel.
Please report
violators to nearest ranger or to (865) 436-1294.
Safety
Standing and wading in
streams can drain body heat and lead to hypothermia. Rising water
levels resulting from sudden mountain storms occur quite frequently,
so monitor water level. Water currents are swifter than they appear
and footing is treacherous on wet and moss covered rocks. Additional
information about
water safety.
Be a clean
fisherman
If there's a tangle of line, or an empty can at your feet, clean up
after your fellow angler.
Experimental Brook
Trout Fishery
Brook trout are the only native salmonid in the park. Since the turn
of the century, the brook trout has lost about 75% of its range in
the park due to logging and the introduction of the non-native
rainbow trout.
The park has had an
active brook trout restoration program since 1987. The primary
objective of this program is to restore native brook trout
populations to streams with natural barriers such as waterfalls that
prevent invasion of non-native trout species. To date, this program
has restored nine streams, and the restoration of eight additional
streams at mid-to-low elevations is planned. The park's brook trout
restoration efforts have restored 11.1 miles of stream or 11% of the
97.5 miles of stream exclusively occupied by brook trout.
Stream acidity has
increased 5-fold in high elevation streams in the last 20 years due
to pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels. These data add
urgency to the need to restore brook trout to streams at lower
elevations with more stable water chemistry.
Because of the results of recent fisheries research and the success
of the park's brook trout restoration effort, park management has
opened sections of eight streams to brook trout fishing and harvest
on an experimental basis. Four of the stream segments are in North
Carolina and four are in Tennessee. The same possession and minimum
size restrictions apply to brook trout in these streams that apply
to trout fishing in other open park waters (maximum possession five
total fish, minimum length seven inches). The eight streams open to
brook trout fishing are shown on the map side of this folder in
yellow. The three-year experimental opening begins July 1, 2002.
The eight open streams
will be monitored annually and anglers catch and harvest success
will be periodically checked. At the conclusion of the experiment,
biologists will evaluate the data and make recommendations for the
future of brook trout fishing in the park. |