Deep Creek or Grand Central station ??

[fearnofishbob]

My fishing partner and I went to Deep Creek this morning to fish for some browns in the lower section of the creek....from the campground up to the first bridge....... within an hour we were joined by a group (6 guys I think) from Chattanooga who had come to fish the same area.... within another hour we were joind by a threesome........... not long after that we were joined by a single fisherman........ THATS 11-12 people fishing the same small area for wild browns........ we were running over the top of each other......

I'm not sure where one will have to go to find some wild trout water without alot of company....but I keep trying !!

[WRN]

Drive over to Slickrock and take the trail, i can garrantee you some solitude and Browns!! They are eating smaller Buggers!

[joe a]

The distance you are willing to walk is inversely proportional to the number of people you will see on a stream. Take an hour stroll and you will likely be rewarded with solitude.

[duckypaddler]

Originally Posted by joe a

The distance you are willing to walk is inversely proportional to the number of people you will see on a stream. Take an hour stroll and you will likely be rewarded with solitude.

That didn't work on Forney last weekend. 7 miles from the top to 69 with over 3000 of elevation loss. When we got down to 2nd crossing below 69 ran into another fisherman. There were 4 at 70!

While what you said usually is true, I've had several trips this year where the complete opposite seems to be true

[ChemEAngler]

Originally Posted by duckypaddler

That didn't work on Forney last weekend. 7 miles from the top to 69 with over 3000 of elevation loss. When we got down to 2nd crossing below 69 ran into another fisherman. There were 4 at 70!

While what you said usually is true, I've had several trips this year where the complete opposite seems to be true

You also have to consider time of year. I have been told by a hotel owner that more people visit the Smokies in the month of October than any other month of the year. As much as I enjoy the scenery, I generally avoid the park in October for that reason. Last Thursday on my drive to Watauga, I-40 at 407 was already backed way up the interstate at 2:00 in the afternoon. There were a lot of people heading to the mountains last weekend. And sometimes you just have bad luck and another group of fishermen have selected the same area to focus their weekend on.

Since you are a seasoned Smokies angler, I would assume that you have witnessed the same trends that I have. A few simple rules I live by to avoid excessive frustration with crowds and poor etiquette:

1. Never fish the first nice weekend in April
2. Stay away in October
3. Go to Troutfest, but don't even think about fishing

[joe a]

I did that trip down to 69 from Clingaman's with my eight year old son last year. is 68 still closed? We saw three bears on our trip.

Joe

Originally Posted by duckypaddler

That didn't work on Forney last weekend. 7 miles from the top to 69 with over 3000 of elevation loss. When we got down to 2nd crossing below 69 ran into another fisherman. There were 4 at 70!

While what you said usually is true, I've had several trips this year where the complete opposite seems to be true

[fearnofishbob]

I started fishing Deep Creek in 1959 and I have never seen the amount of interest in fly fishing that I have seen in the past few years..... its amazing and I guess this is a "good" thing depending on which way you look at it.... I just turned 70 last week and my days of "walking to a secluded stream" are about over... I always try to do my fishing during the week, pick streams that are not popular and in short do everything I can to avoid others ..... but theres just so much one can do !!!!
We have been making trips to Montana each year for the last several and this has helped satisfy my need to catch trout... we fished out there for 10 days this past July/August and in that time frame we saw 2 other fishermen
I truly love fishing the Park and will continue to do so as long as I'm able....I feel like I'm truly blessed to have been able to enjoy it as long as I have..... Thank you Lord !!

[NDuncan]

Originally Posted by duckypaddler

That didn't work on Forney last weekend. 7 miles from the top to 69 with over 3000 of elevation loss. When we got down to 2nd crossing below 69 ran into another fisherman. There were 4 at 70!

While what you said usually is true, I've had several trips this year where the complete opposite seems to be true

True, but also consider that if we had fished up from 69, we wouldn't have even known anyone else was out fishing and neither would the other group! It's like those old school math word problems: A group of fishermen hikes down from clingmans dome at 2 mph, a group of fishmermen hikes up from Lakeshore Drive at 3 mph, assuming they both try to get to as far down the trail as possible to avoid fishing around other groups, where do their paths collide?

My Rules for avoiding the crowds:

Don't fish along paved roads except during weekends Dec-Feb and weekdays between Nov-Mar

Don't fish along gravel roads on weekends except between Nov-early Mar, weekdays, Late Oct - Mid Apr

Don't fish along the fish 1-2 miles of any trailhead between Apr-Oct (some weekdays maybe ok)

Don't fish within 2-3 miles of any major frontcountry campground during Mid Apr- Mid Oct

Don't work every time, but work well enough

[David Knapp]

My rules: Go fishing when I can and preferably when its nasty weather outside!!! Its amazing how few people want to fish in the rain. Of course, the fishing is definitely NOT always better, but at least the streams, rivers and lakes tend to be uncrowded...

Seriously some good info on this thread for people wanting to avoid the crowds. I remember hiking in to upper Deep Creek one summer and hiking downstream for a few miles to reach "remote" water that was presumably unfished. Well, each campsite had multiple tents and empty fly rods were leaning against trees all over the place it seemed. Lesson learned and included a walk back upstream for 2 miles before we reached unfished water.

There are lots of other good tricks that time on the water will teach you to catch fish even in heavily pressured or travelled areas. Deep nymphing (with the correct flies is one easy solution. Learn all the tricks and you can fish major park streams year round and still do well.

[doghaircaddis]

I fished there Sunday and Monday and only saw a few others. The fishing is MUCH better on up and you will find less of a crowd.