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Pisgah fly fishing trip

Davidson, Mills River, the North Mills and the Pisgah National Forest water above Brevard.

The water

Water	Miles	July mean
North Mills Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
West Fork Pigeon Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Davidson Catch-and-Release Water — named stretch	—	—
Carter Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Little River Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Spring Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Big Laurel Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Shelton Laurel Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
East Fork Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Flat Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Green River Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
South Toe Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Tuckasegee Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Upper Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Newberry Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Mill Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Curtis Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Cane River Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Catawba Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
North Toe Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Cane Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Nantahala Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Henry Fork Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Lost Cove Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Wilson Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Jacob Fork Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Elk River Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Wilson Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Pond Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Watauga Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Snowbird Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—
Fires Creek Delayed Harvest — 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

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

• Pisgah View State Park — 5.1 mi
• Sandy Mush Game Land — 12.6 mi
• Shining Rock Wilderness — 13.3 mi
• Cold Mountain Game Land — 14.2 mi
• Middle Prong Wilderness — 18.9 mi
• Holmes State Forest — 22.5 mi
• Pisgah National Forest — 23.4 mi
• William H Silver Game Land — 23.6 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

• Hunter Banks Fly Fishing — 10.0 mi, Asheville
• Curtis Wright Outfitters — 14.1 mi, Weaverville
• Davidson River Outfitters — 20.0 mi, Pisgah Forest
• Maggie Valley Fly Shop — 20.4 mi, Maggie Valley
• Take A Hike Outfitters — 23.0 mi, Black Mountain
• Bluff Mountain Outfitters — 25.3 mi, Hot Springs
• Tuckaseegee Fly Shop — 30.5 mi, Sylva
• Buck Creek Trout Farm — 35.0 mi, Marion

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
• Pisgah fishing report
• North Mills Delayed Harvest
• West Fork Pigeon Delayed Harvest
• Davidson Catch-and-Release Water
• Carter Creek Catch-and-Release
• Little River Delayed Harvest
• Spring Creek Delayed Harvest

Open the map around here →Every trout stream in reach, coloured by today's water temperature.