Featured Fly Fish
FEATURED FLY FISH ARCHIVE

The Big East Fork of the Pigeon River
Adam Johnson, DBO Staff


Description:

The Big East Fork of the Pigeon river is a rough and tumble mountain stream on the northwest corner of Pisgah National Forest. This water is typical southern Appalachian mountain trout water with big boulders and fast pocket water mixed with deep plunge pools and crystal clear runs. The fish in this river are primarily small wild rainbows mixed with the occasional wild brown in the lower sections and wild native brook trout farther up. Access can be gained at Big East Fork trailhead off of Highway 276. This puts you in close to the lower private land boundary and a trail runs the entire length of the river.

Regulations:

This water is listed as Wild trout water which means you can only use artificial lures, the length limit is 7 inches, and the creel limit is 4 trout per day. Refer to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Regulations Digest for the details.

What to Use:

6ft.6in to 8ft. 2 to 5wt. rods are recommended. Small, lightweight, medium action rods are very popular for this type of stream such as the Scott G series.
Recommended flies for this river in the summer would be Hoppers size16 to 10. Beetles and Ants size 12 to 18 and inch worms size 12 to 14.