Eagle Creek is located in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP), offering prime fishing in an area that is otherwise overlooked for this offering. Surprisingly, even though it is permitted, a number of people don’t even consider fishing in the waters that are on national parkland. Eagle Creek is home to several types of wild trout and is a medium freestone creek that offers easy access throughout most of the stream.
Eagle Creek offers brown, rainbow, and brook trout and is accessed from Clingman’s Dome. It can also be accessed by boat from Fontana Lake, making it easy for you to get out on the water and cast a line. There isn’t a lot of pressure in this creek since very few out-of-town visitors to the park are actually there to fish.
The wild rainbows are the main draw here, and you’ll find them throughout just about all of the creek except at the higher elevations. There are even some landlocked ‘steelhead’ that run up the the stream from Fontana Lake, which are remnants and ancestors of the 1970s stocking of the lake. Easy wading access makes it enjoyable for people of all skill levels and interests, too.
Like several of the park-based creeks and streams, there is also camping to be found along Eagle Creek. The creek was mostly spared by logging operations of decades past, leaving a well-maintained trail and plenty of prime fishing water that’s just deep enough to let trout hide, but still shallow enough to make wading a breeze.
There are tributaries off of Eagle Creek that are worth a look, as well, so feel free to explore the area at your own pace. You’ll enjoy a wide enough berth to cast some great lines, no matter which part of the creek you choose.
Best Places to Fish Eagle Creek
You can find great fishing on Eagle Creek once you’ve traversed the lake. The access is provided from Eagle Creek Trail, but there are several other creeks along the way that offer easier fishing access so many people overlook or skip this one. To start, you’ll want to head to the area above the dam across from the marina.
You can find walk-in access from the creek once you reach the other side of the lake, and the tributary streams can be accessed via various nearby trails to offer plenty of options for trout fishing.
Once you cross the lake, wading is easy and boats don’t actually fit on this small creek. However, taking a boat across is sometimes easier than making the hike to the creek.
Best Time to Fish Eagle Creek
Like most of the creeks in North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there is really no wrong time to fish for trout in Eagle Creek. The best catches, obviously, are found during the peak hatch season in the spring. You’ll enjoy the easier catches and plentiful fish looking for a bite.
You will also find decent fishing in this creek during the summer months, although the lower water levels can get a bit warm for the trout on hotter days. In the fall, as the water and the weather shift again, you have more opportunities to find trout throughout Eagle Creek.
Winter is a good time for trout fishing, so long as you come on the warmer days when the water isn’t at risk of freezing or running a touch too cold for the fish to be active. The fishing on this creek follows wild regulations and is open year-round.