Even though Rainbow Trout size and quantity limits are lifted on an 8 mile section of the Tremont area of the Great Smoky Mountains national park, less than 10 anglers are taking advantage of this special opportunity to help the national park and fish in one of the most beautiful areas to fish in Tennessee.
Yesterday the park recorded that 115 Rainbow Trout were caught as well as one legal sized Brook Trout in the special fishing zone that was set up where the native Brook Trout restoration will take place this September.
Park service employees are expecting a much larger crowd this weekend so the best time to come out and enjoy the peace and quiet as well as bring home a good dinner will be during the week. There should be plenty of fish to catch as well as space for fisherman this weekend as well.
In order to take advantage of this limit free Rainbow Trout harvest to help with the Brook Trout restoration program you must register on the temporary fishing registration tent a few hundred feet from the Middle Prong Trailhead in Tremont.
Only the Rainbow Trout in the designated area have size and quantity limits lifted. Brook Trout must be of legal size to be kept and only artificial lures with a single hook are allowed to be used to catch any fish in the GSMNP.
The reason why size and catch limits still apply to Brook Trout in the area is that prior to the national park service biologist to administer the poison to the water which will kill the remaining Rainbow Trout in September, biologists will use electro-fishing to stun and then remove any Brook Trout that they can so that these native fish can be safely held until the water is ready for their reintroduction. This is also the reason why single hooks only can be used when fishing in the area to reduce hooking mortality to the Brook Trout.
To fish anywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park you must have a valid Tennessee or North Carolina fishing license if you are are 13 years old or older. You can read about this and other national park fishing regulations on Your Smokies.
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