BirdTrout
Open the map
Blue Ridge Parkway fly fishing trip
33 waters in the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, have a page here, the largest of them Henry Fork Catch-and-Release, Wilson Creek Delayed Harvest and Jacob Fork Delayed Harvest. May, June and July carry the most recorded hatches, 21 insects in May, 25 insects in June and 22 insects in July. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own and 8 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
Linville, Wilson Creek and the streams the Parkway crosses between Asheville and Blowing Rock.
The water
Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.
A 3-day plan
Henry Fork Catch-and-Release
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Wilson Creek Delayed Harvest
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Jacob Fork Delayed Harvest
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Assembled, not written: the days are the largest waters in range, longest first, and each one carries the nearest site in North Carolina's own access file — measured from the middle of the water, so it is a place to start looking rather than a landing on that river. Fish them in whatever order the weather gives you.
Hatches to hit
The months with the most recorded hatches in the North Carolina mountains: May (21), June (25), July (22).
| Insect | Months | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Little Black Stonefly | January–April | #16–18 |
| Little Brown Stonefly | February–April | #12–16 |
| Blue-Winged Olive | March–May and September–November | #16–22 |
| Quill Gordon | March–April | #12–14 |
| Blackfly | April–June | #18–22 |
| Blue Quill | April–May | #16–18 |
| Cranefly | April–June and September–October | #6–10 |
| Grannom | April–May | #14–16 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie | April–June and September–October | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
Recorded from the North Carolina mountains, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- Johns River Game Land — 3.8 mi
- Lake James State Park — 9.0 mi
- Linville Gorge Wilderness — 11.8 mi
- South Mountains State Park — 12.9 mi
- South Mountains Game Land — 13.5 mi
- Pisgah Game Land — 13.6 mi
- Gill State Forest — 18.5 mi
- Backbone Ridge State Forest — 20.8 mi
Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as North Carolina publishes it.
Camping and lodging
We have campground records for Michigan and for no other state, so there is nothing to list here rather than a list somebody guessed. The public land above is where the dispersed camping is, where the state allows it.
Fly shops
- Not just Fishin — 10.8 mi, Granite Falls
- Mega Bite Baits — 11.1 mi, Valdese
- R & W Carp Juice — 20.9 mi, Vale
- Footsloggers Outdoor & Travel Outfitters — 23.4 mi
- The Speckled Trout Outfitters — 23.5 mi, Blowing Rock
- Buck Creek Trout Farm — 24.3 mi, Marion
- Appalachian Outfitters — 28.1 mi, Boone
- Waypoint Outfitters — 28.1 mi, Boone
From OpenStreetMap and a curated list, across all five states on this site. Call before you drive — a shop in a file is not a shop that is open.
Before you go
- North Carolina regulations
- North Carolina fishing report
- Blue Ridge Parkway fishing report
- Henry Fork Catch-and-Release
- Wilson Creek Delayed Harvest
- Jacob Fork Delayed Harvest
- Lost Cove Catch-and-Release
- Wilson Creek Catch-and-Release
- North Toe Delayed Harvest