Fish and Game

For untold centuries the streams and rivers of the Great Smokies have provided the Cherokee people with a bountiful source of food. Today, the 30 miles of streams on the Cherokee Indian Reservation provide both food and fun for serious and amateur anglers. Regular stocking of the streams is the responsibility of Cherokee Fish and Game Management that each year adds nearly 400,000 trout to an existing population of fish swimming in the crystal clear mountain waters.

These supplemental stockings include rainbow, brook and brown trout of various sizes ranging up to trophy size. A $7.00 tribal permit for each person 12 years of age and over is required to fish in Cherokee streams and ponds. Children under twelve are allowed to fish with a permitted adult. Two, three, and five-day permits are available at a reduced rate and a season's permit costs $150.00. No other type of fishing license is required nor accepted on the reservation.

Nearly two dozen businesses in Cherokee are authorized outlets for fishing permits. Most of March is closed to fishing with the annual season opening the last Saturday of March, continuing for eleven months and ending the last day of February the following year.

Throughout the season, fishing is allowed from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Creek limit is ten trout per day per permit holder. For those interested in experiencing fishing on the reservation but wish to avoid the streams, three well-stocked ponds are located on Big Cove Road in front of the KOA Campground.

A tribal permit is required to fish in the ponds and the same hours apply as for the streams. Tribal Council recently rescinded the rule that some sections of the rivers are closed for stocking on Tuesday and Wednesday. As of March 27, 2007 all rivers and ponds are open every day for regular fishing.