On the Oconoluftee, With a Fly Rod
By: John Kumiski
Gentle rain fell. The brook murmured gently in some places, fairly roared in others. Tammy Wilson and Jim Tedesco waded carefully, casting flies in an attempt to fool a wary trout. We were fishing the Oconoluftee River, on the reservation of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, in western North Carolina.
The Oconoluftee, framed by rhododendrons.
Jim and Tammy both live in NC. I'd driven up to visit with my old friends and do some trout fishing, hard to do where I live. And if the fishing was a tad less than spectacular, the scenery and my friends more than made up for it.
A fly selection for North Carolina trout streams, not meant to be exhaustive!
Our original plan was to fish the Tuckaseegee. When we got there, it was running high and colored. I took a look at it and said, "I'm not wading there. I'll get swept away." Time to punt.
We ended up in Cherokee, at Rivers Edge Outfitters. A discussion with Matt resulted. I liked him. He knew his stuff and there was no condescension or BS. The shop offers guided trips for those who prefer more guidance than "do-it-yourself." In addition to our fishing licenses, we needed a catch and release permit and a day's fishing permit to fish the 'luftee. We ponied up our $35 bucks each, and made our way to the river.
The fish, well, they were certainly not suicidal. Jim, tossing an Adams, had a nice fish rise to his fly. He missed it. I took a small brown on one of Jim's Perdigon nymphs. The fish squirted out of my hand while I fumbled with my camera. Tammy hooked an elm branch. No one fell in. There may have been a lot of good-natured ribbing and laughing, but the fishing was quite serious.
Jim Tedesco, in the rain, on the Oconoluftee.
Historically, the Cherokee lived in the valley of the Oconoluftee. They considered the river sacred. It's a shame that we don't- it's a beautiful stream! Other than Cherokee, the nearest town is Bryson City. Between the two towns, a visitor can find food, lodging, fishing gear, anything they might need to fish the creek. Before the river enters Cherokee land, it flows through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the tribal permits aren't needed. And, there are plenty of other trout streams in the area, thousands of miles of them according to my research.
There may be some wild fish in the Oconoluftee, but it's stocked weekly. In principle I'm not a fan of hatchery fish, but on the river I just want a bite!
Small rainbow trout, Perdigon nymph.
While we were there the mountain laurel was blooming, certainly a spectacular sight. Mayflies and caddisflies rose sporadically, but we saw nothing you could call a major hatch. We raised several fish on dry flies, but missed every one. The fish we caught, and there were not many, all took some type of nymph. That Perdigon seemed to work best, although Tammy got one on a little chartreuse inchworm-looking fly with a bead head. I'm almost embarrassed to admit I got a small rainbow trout on a gummy worm.
I used an eight-foot three-weight, my friends used four-weights. Flies were small, #16 and 18, both dries and nymphs. My tippet was 5x, but Jim used 6x and even went to 7x in an attempt to rustle up more bites. I don't know what Tammy was using, but suspect it was also in that 5x area. We all wore waders- that water is cold!
Tammy drifted her fly by an undercut bank. The line came tight, and the best fish of the trip was on. It turned out to be a brook trout, maybe a foot long. I got a picture, and the fish was gently released.
Small rainbow trout caught on a gummy worm.
The sacred waters of the Oconoluftee are worth casting a line into. Head to western North Carolina with your fishing gear. Trophy fish or not, I'm sure you'll consider your time well spent.
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