This week near Pigeon Forge, Smallmouth & Natives

[muttersjd]

Hello all,

I will be arriving this Saturday, Aug. 22, to visit the Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg area. I am hoping to try and get out early a few mornings to find some smallmouth and native brookies. Will be in a cabin on Eagle Cloud Way, Sevierville, so anything close to there would be great. I have been reading everything that I can and it looks like I will be trying to catch some smallmouth between Pigeon Forge and Sevierville on the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River. Any exact recommendations on where to start that have not been covered in other posts are welcome. If possible, I would also like to find a somewhat secluded area to "get away from it all" and fish for some natives. I will have both fly gear and spinning gear and prefer to stay on the Pigeon Forge and Sevierville side of things if at all possible but I am open to all info. Looking for access locations but will also take any fishing advice available. More than anything, I am just looking forward to not working and enjoying a little free time. Thanks!

[brewer88]

Hey mutters, the wife and I went there for the first time last weekend, so i am no expert but I will tell you what I saw. The water seemed to be low everywhere, I fished Sevierville in front of the apple barn restuarant (saw that spot on a couple posts here) and didnt get a bite/see anything. Saw some very small trout in gatlinberg near the aquarium, but never fished there ,was very busy. I fished some of the stream around laurel falls in the great smokey mountains park, caught one small chub and no other bites really. Never saw anyone else fishing while I was there.
http://littleriveroutfitters.com/pag...ing/report.htm is a good report TN Creek Master posted for me, hope that helps.
All in all it was a great weekend, just not great fishing, enjoy your time off!

[muttersjd]

Thanks for the info brewer. I really appreciate it. I realize it isn't a great time of year to be there, hoping for a little action though.

[brax0789]

The Little River from Townsend downstream is good for smallmouth and trout (brown and rainbow) but any streams this time of the year are usually low and clear so fish early and late. I've fished at night through the middle of Gatlinburg and done quite well using wooly buggers. This time of the year you can move along the edge of the river and not wade a lot. On the Pigeon from Sevierville to the French Broad I would probably start as close to the French Broad as I could and work upstream for smallies and again, early and late. For "Native trout" this means Brook and you have to go up in elevation. They are hard to find. One place that is easily accessible is the Roaring Fork off the Roaring Fork motor trail. Good luck!

[riverhawkluke]

Be aware of fishing at night in Gatlinburg as it is now not permitted, and is controlled well. You do need a daily permit to fish Gatlinburg, and the river is stocked every thursday in season. There are a lot of trout to be caught i Gatlinburg, the tend to hang around in deeper pools. Around the Best Western/ No way Jose's hold good fish.

[muttersjd]

Thanks for the info guys, I will likely be fishing a few early mornings and doing family stuff in the evenings. I thought that fishing some of the small brook trout streams would be fun, though I haven't done it in quite some time. I like it because it usually means getting away from civilization a little bit. Thanks again, and anyone else keep the info coming.

[brax0789]

I was not aware that fishing at night in Gburg had been outlawed. Haven't fished there in a number of years. Thanks Luke!!!

[muttersjd]

So I had a couple hours to spend fishing this morning and I decided to fish the Little Pigeon near the Memorial Greenway in Sevierville. I caught 10 smallmouth in 2 hours, the biggest being about 12 inches. When I went to get out of the water I noticed a sign that said something along the lines that the water was of poor condition and that it may contain high bacteria content and to avoid contact. I of course was wet-wading so I was in the water for a couple hours. Just curious if anyone knows anything about this and if I return should I wear waders. I would much rather wet-wade if possible since it is warm. Thanks!

[SAMBOLIE]

Originally Posted by muttersjd

So I had a couple hours to spend fishing this morning and I decided to fish the Little Pigeon near the Memorial Greenway in Sevierville. I caught 10 smallmouth in 2 hours, the biggest being about 12 inches. When I went to get out of the water I noticed a sign that said something along the lines that the water was of poor condition and that it may contain high bacteria content and to avoid contact. I of course was wet-wading so I was in the water for a couple hours. Just curious if anyone knows anything about this and if I return should I wear waders. I would much rather wet-wade if possible since it is warm. Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKmtV5RPolw