The Lure of the Smokies

How’s this for a new angle? For the first time since the 1934 establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, all park streams are now open to fishing. Over the years, various streams have been closed to the public, but the reopening of a 8.5-mile section of the Lynn Camp Prong, near Tremont, Tennessee, officially marked the milestone, following a seven-year brook trout restoration project.

Park Superintendent Cassius Cash credited the turning point to the “commitment and dedication of our biologists and partners in restoring fish populations in the Smokies.” Since 1986, park biologists have restored brook trout—Southern Appalachia’s only native trout species—to 27.1 miles of 11 different streams. 

The national park features 2,900 miles of streams for fishing and remains one of the last wild trout habitats in the eastern United States. Current park fishing regulations can be found at nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fishing.htm.