In The News
FISHING THE NC SMOKIES
A brief look at a few of the many stories written about Bryson City over the years.
Blue Ridge Outdoors featured 8 favorite trout towns. Of Bryson City, the writer says, "In all of my wanderings throughout Western North Carolina, I've yet to find a community that more genuinely deserves the moniker of 'Trout Town' than Bryson City."
Southern Trout - Article by Don Kirk entitled "Forney Creek" combines a history lesson with a great fishing experience on one of the North Shore creeks that empties into Fontana Lake.
Fly Fish America magazine article by Beau Beasley featured brown and rainbow trout fishing on the Nantahala River – "Noonday Every Day."
Southern Trout"Bryson City - North Carolina's Top Trout Town." Don says, "Long a sleepy mountain hamlet, today Bryson City is ground zero of the fly fishing for trout eqrthquake today that is ripping through the western region of the Tar Heel State."
American Angler Article by Beau Beasley entitled "North Carolina's Trout Trifecta." Beau writes of the Oconaluftee, Tuckasegee & the Nantahala, "Three rivers just outside America's most popular national park are teeming with trout, suited for both wading and floating anglers, and surrounded by some of the best scenery in Southern Appalachia... Native Tar Heelers know what treasures reside in their own backyard. If you haven't fished the quaint and productive rivers of Western North Carolina, you don't know what you're missing."
Southern Trout -Article by Don Kirk entitled "Fontana Lake Brown Trout Rampage." Don says, "Something is going on at Western North Carolina's Fontana Lake that may just send trout fishing in the South into orbit ...It might be a good idea to book you a place to stay in Bryson City so you don't have to sleep in your truck there in November."
Wildlife in North Carolina, the official magazine of the NC Wildlife Resources Commisson, featured a 4-page article "Fishing the Tuckasegee". Written by Beau Beasley, the article follows a fishing trip with guide Eugene Shuler on the Tuck. Beau says, "The key to any successful travel experience lies in the planning. Bryson City makes a perfect home base to explore Western North Carolina's many angling opportunities."
Southern Trout - February/March 2015 article by Beau Beasley entitled "Bryson City: Tar Heel State Fly Fishing Central." Beau says, "The hard part about fishing in Bryson City is narrowing your options. Visiting anglers can easily hit multiple streams in the nearby Park as well as bigger water nearby."
North Carolina Sportsman - blog article by Craig Holt. "Don't forget winter trout fishing in the mountains, where cold means hot."
North Carolina Sportsman - Blog article by Robert Satterwhite. "It's prime time for Trout: Streams are empty of anglers, full of hungry trout."
Southern Trout - "Close Look at Western North Carolina". 4 page article by Ed Rivers, that begins, "As these things go, no community in the Southern Highlands has a trout fishing tradition as that found in Bryson City, North Carolina."
North Carolina Sportsman - Article by Phillip Gentry. He writes, "In a few weeks, the mountains of western North Carolina will be crawling with leaf watchers who will look up at the beauty and most likely miss the action going on down below at Lake Fontana."
Union Sportsmen's Alliance - September 26, 2014 blog article by Beau Beasley. Beasley writes, "Over the course of my visit, in addition to teaching me the tight line technique, (Eugene) Shuler introduced me to hundreds of North Carolina river miles. All the eager angler has to do to take advantage of that bounty is head to Swain County with a state fishing license and a little bit of patience."
Hazel Creek Featured on The Weather Channel – TWC came to Swain County for a travel segment on fishing in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. They followed local fishing guide Steve Claxton up Hazel Creek on a rewarding quest for wild mountain trout.
North Carolina Sportsman – In an article entitled "Fontana Lake offers great escape from the heat for fishermen: Trout, bass, bluegill giving fishermen plenty to write home about," NC Sportsman writer Craig Holt takes a trip to Fontana and visits with Mark Stephenson of Almond Boat Park. Holt writes, "Anglers wishing to escape the early arriving summer heat don’t have many options — except mountain lakes in western North Carolina – and one of the best is Fontana Lake, where the fishing is providing plenty of action."
Southern Trout – Ed Mashburn. A great article about fishing in the area, with some super comments about Bryson City and some of the local businesses.
Native brook trout make a mountain comeback – Asheville Citizen-Times describes the successful efforts to restore the habitats of Western North Carolina's' only native trout. — In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, biologists have restored 11 streams, totaling 28 stream miles, for brook trout since 1993. The park now has 105 miles of stream where brookies are the only trout present and another 95 miles that contain a mix of brook, brown and rainbow trout.