Fishing Rules in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

To fish in the park you must possess a valid fishing license or permit from Tennessee or North Carolina. Either state license is valid throughout the park, and no trout stamp is required. Youth under 16 don't need a license. Fishing licenses are not available in the park but may be purchased in nearby towns or online. Fishing is permitted year-round within the park; various fishing seasons apply outside it.

Only artificial flies or lures with a single hook can be used—no live bait. Fishing is permitted from a half hour before official sunrise to a half hour after official sunset. The combined total of brook, rainbow, and brown trout or smallmouth bass must not exceed five fish each day. You may not have more than five fish in your possession, regardless of whether they are fresh, stored in an ice chest, or otherwise preserved. Twenty rock bass may be kept in addition to the above limit. You can report violations to a park ranger by calling 865/436–1294.

The minimum size is 7 inches for brook, rainbow, and brown trout and smallmouth bass. For rock bass there is no minimum size.

If you fish in the stocked streams of the Qualla Boundary, you’ll need a tribal fishing license, available at shops in Cherokee and online. Daily trout limit in tribal waters is 10.