Tribal streams, ponds are put-and-take heaven
Cherokee Reservation Enterprise Waters are well known as some of the best catch-and-keep trout fisheries in North Carolina’s mountains, offering generous creel limits and heavily stocked streams.
The 30 miles of streams and three ponds that make up these waters are stocked annually with 360,000 rainbow trout that run between 8 and 10 inches, and a few brown and brook trout in the trophy category, plus some golden trout. Anglers may keep up to 10 trout a day, with no size, lure or bait restrictions.
In addition to its catch-and-keep waters, the tribe has a 2.2-mile section of Raven Fork in the Big Cove area that is restricted to catch-and-release, fly-fishing only. The majority of the fish are at least 20 inches with some in 30 inches or larger.
Streams in the system are the Oconaluftee River, Raven Fork, Bunches Creek and Soco Creek. The three ponds are in Big Cove. With the exception of Soco Creek, the headwaters of Enterprise streams are in the adjoining Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Oconaluftee, the largest section, runs through Cherokee proper, eventually joining the Little Tennessee River upstream of Fontana Lake.
While bait fishermen make up a majority of the anglers who fish Enterprise Waters, Cherokee streams also are excellent fly-fishing streams. Trout quickly adapt to their environment, and once they’ve been in a stream a couple of weeks without their daily allotment of trout food, they learn to eat whatever insects and aquatic life are available. Float a small Blue-Winged Olive over a likely run, and you’ll get a strike even after a bait fisherman has given up, convinced that the stream has been fished out. Despite heavy fishing pressure and frequent stockings, the streams do have limited, natural reproduction. Plus, a number of wild trout are either washed down or migrate from park streams.
Doug Reed, manager of the tribal hatchery at the head of Big Cove, said trout are raised from eggs, and the hatchery keeps between 700,000 to 800,000 trout in its raceways, everything from fry to stocking-size trout, the majority of them rainbows.
Enterprise Waters are stocked once a week during the winter and three times a week during spring, summer and fall. While the majority of the rainbows run between 8 and 10 ounces, weekly stockings also include trophy trout that run 4 to 12 pounds, and a few that top 17 pounds. The larger trout are stocked in the bigger waters of the Oconaluftee and lower Raven Fork.
Prime places for fly fishing are upper Raven Fork and Bunches Creek in the Big Cove section. Bunches Creek, a small stream, is a tributary of Raven Fork, and Raven Fork, a medium-size stream, is a tributary of the Oconaluftee River. Both streams are easy to get to and fairly easy to wade. Bunches Creek is accessible from a gravel road; a paved road runs beside Raven Fork from where it begins as Enterprise Waters to its confluence with the Oconaluftee River.
Spring is an ideal time to use flies. Blue-Winged Olives in Nos. 16 or 18 are deadly almost any time of the year in Cherokee or park waters. Other excellent spring-time patterns are Quill Gordon, Blue Dun, Hendrickson, and March Brown, all in Nos. 14 or 16. Excellent attractor patterns are a male Adams, Royal Wulff, Thunderhead or Gray Hackle in Nos. 12 or 14.
For nymph fishing, recommended patterns are No. 10 March Brown, No. 10 Dark Stone, Nos. 10 or 12 Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear, No. 10 Secret Weapon, or a No. 10 Tellico.
If you’re unsure whether to use a nymph or a dry fly, use both. Tie an 8- to 10-inch section of leader to a dry fly (usually a No. 2 or larger) and attach a nymph as a dropper. It’s a deadly combination.
The tribe sponsors several high-dollar, weekend fishing tournaments. This year’s events include the Memorial Day Trout Tournament, May 27-29, with $10,000 in prizes; the Tim Hill Memorial Trout Tournament, July 16-17, with $10,000 in prizes; and the Qualla Country Trout Tournament, Sept. 2-4, with $20,000 in prizes. Entry fee for the three tournaments is $11, plus the purchase of a tribal permit.
A two-person team tournament, Rumble in the Rhododendron Fly Fishing Tournament, is scheduled Oct. 26-28, with $10,000 in prize money for the top three places. Entry fee is $225 per team.
Enterprise streams close in March but open a week earlier than managed hatchery-supported streams in the rest of North Carolina. To fish Enterprise Waters, all you need is a tribal permit ($10 per day). No other license is required. Permits for Catch-and-Release waters are $25 per day in addition to a $10 tribal fishing permit.
Maps, brochures, and other information are available by calling the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce at 828-788-0034, or visiting www.FishCherokee.com.
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