Upper Little River

[tennswede]

Went to above Cucumber gap and fished up to the mouth of Fish Camp Prong. I'm pretty wore out right now. It's a 7.5 mile roundtrip. I saw a yearling about half a mile below Huskey Branch.

Fishing was not bad at all. I caught and released 13 bow's and 1 brown. I lost a couple of good strikes and I had one big brown on for about a second before he went straight down under a rock. I estimated that fish to be about 14 inches. There's always next time I guess. The temp wasn't bad but I sure hope cooler nights will soon set in. I got a reading of 64 above Huskey Branch. I guess that is not too bad considering the elevation which is just above 2000ft. I passed one well known fishing guide in the area with a client. They didn't see me as I passed by. I only saw two spin fishermen on the trail and one fly fisherman besides the guide and his client. The lone fly fisherman was down at Elkmont on my way back down. I stopped and picked up a couple of bow's right at the cabins before dark. I took em' all on yellow sallies. It was a very muggy day and I can't wait until we get some colder weather.

[nvr2L8]

Hans,

Sounds like you had a great day. Is all of the territory that you covered off the Little River Trail or do you have to venture off that to get to Fish Camp Prong?

Thanks for sharing your trip with us - sounds like a full day's work along with the fishing. Sleep well tonight.:p

[tennswede]

The trail follows Little River all the way to the first bridge, just below the Huskey Gap trailhead, here the river leaves the trail for about half a mile. At the end of this stretch you will find the mouth of Fish Camp Prong. Goshen Prong trail begins here and follows Fish Camp Prong all the way up to campsite 23, and then up the ridge to Clingmans Dome. To hike to where I was today is about an hour in.

[nvr2L8]

I would have figured you would be into brookies that high up.?

Also, what size yellow sallies were you using? Did the browns take the sallies?

[ijsouth]

Speaking of cooler weather...I realize that this year might be a bit off due to the drought, but if one had to pick a week in October to fish, which one would it be? I'm trying to figure out when I can swing a fall trip - it will probably be the last one before next Spring.

[pineman19]

Hey Hans,

I think you should take up watching football on the weekends so the trout of the Smokies will get a break, and give me chance at them when I get settled in East TN, LOL. Seriously, glad you had a good day on the upper Little River. Nice to hear the water temps are getting better at a lower elevation.

[tennswede]

If you walk up Little River trail and when you get to the mouth of Fish Camp Prong you are at an elevation of approximately 2700 ft. You might see a brokkie or two here but my experience in this area shows that you really need to be another three miles up on Fish Camp Prong to catch them with any kind of regularity. I think it is due to the somewhat low elevation and higher water temps on this stream.

[tennswede]

Pineman!

Keep me posted on your progress heading this way.