This past weekend the Great Smoky Mountains National Park benefitted from the 2010 Troutfest in Townsend, TN. The profits from the event were around $30,000 to go to the park’s fisheries department. The money will specifically help the park to restore streams and the native Brook Trout which is the only species of trout native to East Tennessee. It was decimated by the logging industry and the introduction of other competing species of trout such as Rainbow and Brown Trout.
Troutfest was created by The Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited seven years ago and have grown the festival into what it is today. Just from last year the number of vendors has doubled. They also play a huge part in restoring the Brook Trout beyond the festival. They have helped raise more than $2.5 million for Brook Trout restoration.
There will be about 40 miles total of streams that are proposed for total restoration and they hope to have the streams restored and stocked with enough Brook Trout to allow fishing within three to five years. Read Full Story from WBIR.
Fishing in Tennessee is definitely on the rise! Plan your fly fishing adventure today!