BirdTrout
Open the map
Nantahala fly fishing trip
15 waters in the Nantahala, North Carolina, have a page here, the largest of them Nantahala Delayed Harvest, Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest and Snowbird 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.
The Nantahala, Tuckasegee headwaters and the Standing Indian country in the far southwest.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Nantahala Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Snowbird Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Fires Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Flat Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch | — | — |
| West Fork Pigeon Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Tuckasegee Catch-and-Release — named stretch | — | — |
| Davidson Catch-and-Release Water — named stretch | — | — |
| East Fork Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Spring Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| North Mills Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Big Laurel Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Shelton Laurel Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Little River Delayed Harvest — named stretch | — | — |
| Carter Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch | — | — |
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
Nantahala 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.
Tuckasegee 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.
Snowbird 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
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park — 14.3 mi
- Nantahala National Forest — 15.6 mi
- Needmore Game Land — 18.3 mi
- Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness — 19.1 mi
- William H Silver Game Land — 28.6 mi
- Southern Nantahala Wilderness — 29.6 mi
- Nantahala Purchase Unit — 31.7 mi
- Nantahala Game Land — 38.2 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
- NOC Outfitter's Store — 8.6 mi, Bryson City
- Carolina Outfitters — 9.0 mi
- GSM Outfitters — 18.9 mi, Sevierville
- Casters Fly Shop — 23.4 mi, Franklin
- Tuckaseegee Fly Shop — 23.9 mi, Sylva
- Hurshel's Outfitters — 25.1 mi
- Uncle Lem's Outfitters — 25.1 mi, Pigeon Forge
- Maggie Valley Fly Shop — 31.6 mi, Maggie Valley
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
- Nantahala fishing report
- Nantahala Delayed Harvest
- Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest
- Snowbird Delayed Harvest
- Fires Creek Delayed Harvest
- Flat Creek Catch-and-Release
- West Fork Pigeon Delayed Harvest