Our Streams: Tuckasegee River

The Tuckasegee River, also known simply as “The Tuck,” is one of the primary waterways for our river float trips.  In the right conditions and locations (especially in the headwaters) it can also be a great river to Walk & Wade. 

The Tuckasegee begins at the confluence of Panthertown Creek and Greenland Creek south of Cullowhee.  It flows northwesterly through multiple  lakes,  into Swain County and ultimately into Fontana Lake. The river flows through the towns of Bryson City, Dillsboro and very close to the town of Sylva. 

Water levels in the Tuck can vary dramatically based on weather and how much water is being released from dams on the East and West Forks.  After heavy rains, the Tuck often runs too fast and muddy for fishing (in which case we’ll either offer a rain check, or propose a Walk & Wade trip in a smaller stream with less runoff.) Stay in touch with your guide with respect to specific river conditions.

It helps to think of the Tuck in terms of two distinct sections of river: headwaters and tailwaters. The headwaters are upstream in the Dillsboro area. The headwaters have lower volume water flows, so easier wading.  The headwaters are stocked with rainbow trout, brown trout and, unlike the tailwaters, brook trout.  We fish about a 4.4 miles stretch near Dillsboro. 

The tailwaters are downstream near Bryson City as the river widens, deepens and approaches Fontana Lake.  The tailwaters have higher water flows and are stocked with rainbow and browns but not brooks.  We fish about a 2mi stretch near Bryson City. 

The Tuck is renowned for trophy brown trout but it also has very healthy populations of brooks and a lot of big rainbows which keep our clients busy on the river.

The Tuckasegee is a year round fishery but prime time for fly fishing for trout  is October - May, before the water begins to warm up. Fall is a great time to fish the Tuck amidst the beautiful foliage of Western North Carolina. Mild winter days are a great time to be out on the river but we find most clients prefer wade trips in the winter, to keep moving in cooler temperatures.   

We fish wet flies, dry flies and streamers on the Tuckasegee.  Streamers can be very effecting in landing big browns. We see the best action on dry flies in the Spring.

Given the depth of the Tuck, especially in the tailwaters, it’s best to use longer leader to reach fish that tend to hug the bottom in the cooler depths.

Euro nymphing is also a great fly fishing technique on the Tuckasegee River.

Per above, many of our float trips are on the Tuck.  We take Walk and Wade trips in the headwaters primarily but have few spots we wade in the tailwaters as well.

A valid North Carolina fishing license is required to fish the Tuck. 

Bryson City

Dillsboro

Silva

Webster