Tribal waters and GSMNP

[Akflyguy]

We spent the weekend in Bryson city/Cherokee starting out Fri evening fishing above the trophy section. It started raining but the water was clear and not very high. 3 hours later it got dark and we still hadn't seen anything or had any luck after working a few very promising looking stretches of water.

Sat morning we didn't get to the water until almost 11. Went further upriver past the campgrounds up big cove road to try to get away from other fishermen/tubers. Apparently we didn't go far enough. Tubers floating through every 5 minutes, sometimes 20 at a time.

During a big wave of them we both got out of the water, set our rods down and took a break....one of the tubers got out of the water and walked right through us nearly stepping on our rods and my slingpack until I yelled to watch where he was walking. We moved 3 more miles upriver.

Thinking we had finally made it away from the tubers and into some fish, we found a pulloff with difficult access to the water and finally found a nice bend with some deep holes above a small waterfall. FINALLY got into some small browns but into fish nonetheless....for about 30 min...MORE TUBERS!

We packed up, headed back to our cabin in Bryson city and changed up our gameplan. GSMNP was about 3 miles from our cabin so we had dinner and headed that way about an hour before dark. Managed to get a few small ones on caddis dries and a nice brown on a stonefly that made a beautiful jump and promptly spit out my barbless hook and made an awesome splash.

Overall it was an awesome trip and it was nice to be able to spend some quality time on new water with my better half. Not sure if the fishing pressure, warm water, unfamiliar waters or the tubers were to blame but the fish weren't cooperating in Cherokee.

Although disappointed, getting on the water late may have had something to do with it but I feel like we would have done much better just staying in GSMNP instead of fighting for a spot the whole day.

I'll add some pictures once I get them off my camera, it really is beautiful country up there. Time to start planning a trip to some tailwaters!


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[jayr]

Your experience in the Tribal waters is typical this time of the year. The tubers aren’t too bad in the park except on Little River on the TN and over towards Greenbriar just outside of Gatlinburg.

You were near some good water in the park, very close to where you were fishing on both days.

 

[Akflyguy]

Your experience in the Tribal waters is typical this time of the year. The tubers aren’t too bad in the park except on Little River on the TN and over towards Greenbriar just outside of Gatlinburg.

You were near some good water in the park, very close to where you were fishing on both days.

I couldn't believe how far upriver they were, figured if we went far enough we could be above them! In hindsight, we should've probably called it quits in that area as soon as we realized the situation wasnt going to change but it was a tough decision to make when on seemingly perfect water. Already excited to go back and explore some of the other area rivers and streams.

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[mtnjefro]

Big Cove is frustrating so many tubers its hard to even go that way. I know Bryson city can be about the same as there are so many tube rental places its hard to get away from it all. If you go deep into GSMNP that is really the only safe spot right now in that area. WNC is covered with tubers right now even a little south towards Asheville and Brevard it is the same thing. Tourism is great but it can make fishing the good spots difficult at times.

 

[Akflyguy]

Big Cove is frustrating so many tubers its hard to even go that way. I know Bryson city can be about the same as there are so many tube rental places its hard to get away from it all. If you go deep into GSMNP that is really the only safe spot right now in that area. WNC is covered with tubers right now even a little south towards Asheville and Brevard it is the same thing. Tourism is great but it can make fishing the good spots difficult at times.

Is there a specific time of year when the tubing stops or is it just whenever it gets chilly and people stop showing up? It was pretty disheartening that such wonderful water was essentially ruined for most of the day until it was too dark to fish but I guess I should've expected it.
We stopped at the bridge in the trophy section and saw some guys leaving, they had no luck and said the tubers were just killing them all day. One guy said he lost a 20"+ fish due to a tuber running through his line and that was the only one he managed to hook up with all day.

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[jayr]

Is there a specific time of year when the tubing stops or is it just whenever it gets chilly and people stop showing up? It was pretty disheartening that such wonderful water was essentially ruined for most of the day until it was too dark to fish but I guess I should've expected it.
We stopped at the bridge in the trophy section and saw some guys leaving, they had no luck and said the tubers were just killing them all day. One guy said he lost a 20"+ fish due to a tuber running through his line and that was the only one he managed to hook up with all day.

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Three things curtail the tubers. Low water, cold water and school going back in session. Right now the water is at good levels, warmer and school is out.

You should be able to figure it out from there. The other thing to remember is the tubers hit the lower elevation waters. Keep that in mind.

I fish the GSMNP and WNC pretty much all summer long and I haven’t had tuber issues in years.

 

[fredaevans]

Here we call them "The Plastic Hatch." Sun up to about 10 AM you've got the river (pretty much) to yourself ... after that time to go home and play with the Dog and watch the Food Channel on cable.

fae

 

[mtnjefro]

Is there a specific time of year when the tubing stops or is it just whenever it gets chilly and people stop showing up? It was pretty disheartening that such wonderful water was essentially ruined for most of the day until it was too dark to fish but I guess I should've expected it.
We stopped at the bridge in the trophy section and saw some guys leaving, they had no luck and said the tubers were just killing them all day. One guy said he lost a 20"+ fish due to a tuber running through his line and that was the only one he managed to hook up with all day.

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The waters are cooler late September through April. Generally when the kids are out of school. Fall is a big deal in tbe mountains for tourists so housing can be expensive but generally the rivers are quieter. The begining of spring is nice too with less people around.

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[c web]

This time of year it is time to hit the trails. You were within striking distance of some blue lines that chances are you would not have seen a soul on. Also the dense canopy, rhodo and laurel means tougher casting but cooler water and more active fish.

 

[jayr]

This time of year it is time to hit the trails. You were within striking distance of some blue lines that chances are you would not have seen a soul on. Also the dense canopy, rhodo and laurel means tougher casting but cooler water and more active fish.

Very true.

Fact of the matter is, fishing where the tubers congregate tends to be the warmer waters where it is not advised to fish due to stressing the fish is much easier due to the warmer water.

 

[flytie09]

The tuber hatch in Cherokee is off the charts this time of year. I'm w/ c web......Find a blueliner and start hiking would be a good suggestion.

Or fish in early AM and late PM maybe.

 

[Akflyguy]

Yeah I think I've seen enough of the tuber hatch, I'd rather deal with a swarm of stoneflys and mosquitoes than an onslaught of rude tourists. I haven't done much bluelining in NC but will surely give it a shot and enjoy some hiking in the process. This was the first time that I had really high hopes for a specific body of water and nearly walked away skunked. Lesson learned I guess haha, still better than a workday!

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