First Annual Smoky Mountains Fly Fishing Festival

The 1st Annual Smoky Mountains Fly Fishing Festival will be held in Bryson City, NC. The event will take place October 10^th, 2015 and will feature fly tying demonstrations and guided trips.

Read more in the press release below.

Fly Fishing Festival in Bryson City, N.C.

Don Kirk, Southern Trout Magazine

Fly fishermen, mark your calendar, as October 10th is a “red letter” day; the day of the 1st Annual Smoky Mountains Fly Fishing Festival. Fry Street in heart of Bryson City is the setting for what is billed as a celebration of the Swain County seat of government’s recent designation as a “Trout City.” The event’s sponsors, Tuckaseegee Fly Shop and Bryson City have combined efforts to bring in some of the area’s top fly tiers who will demonstrate their skills. The event is free to attend. Also on hand between 9:00am and 5:00pm will be representatives from Simms, Sage, Scott, Umpqua and Southern Trout Magazine.

For the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is offering two 4½ hour trips that day up the Nantahala River Gorge, plus shorter 1-hour trips to the Pumpkin Patch. The long ride is alongside the beautiful Nantahala River departing Bryson City to carry passengers 44 miles to the Nantahala Gorge and back again. Enjoy Bluegrass music and Appalachian stories while traveling along the Tennessee and Nantahala Rivers. The historic Trellis Bridge takes you across Fontana Lake and into the beautiful Nantahala Gorge. Arrive at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) for a one-hour layover where you can relax by the river or enjoy sight-seeing.

Long overlooked by people going to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in recently years Bryson City has quietly emerged as the “Eastern Gateway” to the country’s most popular national park. Swain County has received national attention as the new epicenter of fly fishing in the eastern US. Unlike the clutter of Gatlinburg and Cherokee, Bryson City retains its quaintness and is not overrun with “street hawkers.” If you are a fly fisherman looking for the best in what Western North Carolina has to offer, then Bryson City is the place from which to base a trip there.

I, Blackwing Olive, will be there at the Southern Trout Magazine booth giving paw-print autographs, toting the train whistle, telling tales about Daddyboy (his current probation status include travel restrictions), and of course accepting bites of anything you might wish to eat at the moment.

For more info on the 1st Annual Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing Festival, visit www.tuckflyshop.com; or give them a call at 828-488-3333.