small brook trout. It is easy to
drive right past this stream.
This one is probably the
average size brook for the park.
have rainbows. You can get
away from the crowds and
enjoy the scenery of the
Smokies fishing the numerous
small streams that are just
small blue lines on a map.
trout. Some headwater steams
have both rainbows and brook
trout. That makes it tough on
the smaller and less
aggressive brook trout. The
these small streams to
populations of brook trout only.
Cooper Creek:
Cooper Creek is a small out of the way stream that normally offers good rainbow trout fishing. It can be accessed from Cooper Creek Road which intersects U. S. Hwy.19 about 5 miles southwest of Cherokee, North Carolina. The Cooper Creek Trail follows the stream for about 2 miles from the dead end of Cooper Creek Road. You can continue upstream on an unimproved trail.
Chambers Creek:
Chambers Creek is another small stream that offers good fishing for rainbow trout in its lower section and brook trout in its headwaters. To access it you would need to cross Fontana Lake. The stream forks into the North and West Forks about three-quarters of a mile upstream.
Bunches Creek:
Bunches Creek is located near Cherokee, North Carolina. It enters the Raven Fork outside of the Park but the uppermost part of the stream can be accessed easier from the Balsam Mountain Road off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It contains a good population of brook trout but like many brook trout streams, it’s not easy to access.
Most people that refer to Bunches Creek are referring to the section outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cherokee North Carolina. It runs into the Raven Fork in Cherokee. There’s places it can be fished outside the park and even places it is stocked but the best brook trout fishing is inside the park.
You can access Bunches Creek from the Heintoogo Ridge Road which starts at the Blue Ridge Parkway about eleven miles from its beginning. After traveling about four miles, you will enter GSMNP.
About half way to Balsam Mountain Campground, approximately two and a half miles from the entrance to the park, you will pass the first access (trailhead) to the Flat Head Trail. A short hike down the trail will take you to Bunches Creek. This is the only point you can reach the creek inside the park via an official trail. You can fish up or down the stream from where the trial crosses the stream.
Flat Creek
Flat Creek is a small tributary of Bunches Creek. It too can be accessed from the Flat Head Trail but it’s best to use the trailhead at the end of the paved section at the Picnic Area just past the Balsam Mountain Campground. This is near the beginning of the one-way, Round Bottoms Road that takes you to the Straight Fork.
By the way, the Balsam Mountain Campground is the highest elevation campground in the park. Flat Creek also starts at a very high elevation and that, along with it’s slightly difficult access and remote location is one reason for it and Bunches Creek’s good brook trout population.
Most people that use this trail, use it to access Flat Creek Falls. It’s about a half mile to Flat Creek. The stream can be fished all the way to Bunches Creek but mostly from within the stream. It’s small and tight. The trial does follow the creek but access isn’t always easy. Although it’s at a high elevation, the stream isn’t on a extremely steep decline. From a climbing standpoint, It’s easier to fish than most other high elevation streams.
Copyright 2011 James Marsh
