In North Carolina
° Beech Flats Creek — upstream of Kanati Fork
° Bunches Creek — entire stream in GSMNP
° Hazel Creek — upstream of Proctor Creek
° Lost Bottom Creek — upstream of Palmer Creek

In Tennessee
° Cosby Creek — upstream of Rock Creek
° Indian Camp Prong — entire stream in GSMNP
° Walker Prong — upstream of Alum Cave Creek
° Fish Camp Prong — upstream of Goshen Prong confluence, excluding Silers Creek

For the first time in a quarter of a century, anglers will be able to legally take wild brook trout in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Fisheries biologist Steve Moore said that in July, the park will open four streams in North Carolina and four streams in Tennessee for brookies. The openings will be the beginning of a three-year study to determine the impact of recreational fishing on wild brook trout populations in the park. The results will be used to determine the feasibility of opening all streams in the park presently closed for brook trout.

“We felt it was time to put this out there. Our studies have shown that angling has no effect on the population dynamics of wild brook trout,” Moore said.

The eight streams opened will provide varying accessibility. They will be compared to eight, closed, control streams. Most streams selected have at least two years of monitoring data. Fourteen of the 16 streams selected are a part of the park’s annual inventory and monitoring program. Anglers will be required to adhere to GSMNP fishing regulations: creel limit five fish per day, seven-inch size limit and single-hook artificial lures only. Creel surveys will be conducted by rangers, fisheries staff and park volunteers.

Moore and his associate, Matt Kulp, said that local anglers they have talked to about the project are excited.

“They’re like a kid with a new toy — brookies are the forbidden fruit in the park,” Moore said.

Roger Lowe of Lowe Fly Shop & Outfitters in Waynesville is not expecting a groundswell of new business due to the openings.

“I’ve been here 20 years, and people looking for guides are generally hung up on size,” Lowe said.

Support for the project will likely be stronger among local fishermen who know the history of the diminutive wild Southern Appalachian brookie. This flashy denizen of cool, highly oxygenated waters is the only native salmonid in the Southern Appalachians. The southern brook trout is not a trout at all but a char. It is descended from Arctic char, landlocked by ancient glaciers. It has evolved over the last three million years in the higher streams of the Southern Appalachians.

During the early 1900s, the range of the native brook trout in the Smokies was reduced by nearly half due to loss of habitat associated with logging practices and the introduction of nonnative rainbow and brown trout. Surveys showed that by the 1970s native brook trout had been reduced to 25 percent of its historic range. In 1976, park officials closed all streams in the park to brook trout harvest. Once found in nearly every watershed in the park, brookies today are generally restricted to isolated headwater streams generally 3,000 feet or more in elevation.

According to a report prepared by park fisheries’ biologists, research and restoration efforts from 1976 to 2001 show that brook trout have not lost any additional range and continue to thrive in many areas of the park. Surveys from 1992 to 2001 documented more than 162 miles of streams in the GSMNP containing brook trout. Eleven miles of that total are due to recent restoration projects. Ninety-seven miles of these streams are occupied exclusively by brookies.

Studies show that mortality for native brook trout populations range between 60 and 80 percent annually and that population dynamics for streams open to fishing outside the park are identical to streams closed to fishing in the park. Moore said that the population studies and successful restoration efforts led to the proposed three-year study.

“This program does not diminish the need to continue the restoration project. We still have eight more streams to restore,” Moore said.

John Richardson, president of Land O’ Sky Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said the TU has been a staunch supporter of brookie restoration in the park. He said TU has the utmost respect and confidence in Moore and his staff and feels the park’s fisheries program has always been based on the best available science.

“There will always be those people interested in catching big ole’ browns. But there is also a lot of interest in fishing for natives,” Richardson said.

Willie Cope of Smoky Mountain On The Fly Outfitters in Sylva said he was excited about the stream openings.

“Fishing for natives appeals to certain clients. It’s a different kind of adventure, more of a total wilderness experience,” Copes said.

“We see this as fulfilling the park’s mission to preserve native species and provide for use and enjoyment by present and future generations,” Moore said.