Troutfest 2012

Townsend plays host to another big festival in May (19 & 20), this time welcoming anglers of all ages to Troutfest 2012 – a flyfishing expo/fundraiser. Troutfest organizers say they expect another big crowd this year, upwards of 4,000 attendees.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries Department, Friends of the Smokies Fisheries Scholarship Fund or other youth educational conservation projects all benefit from the money raised through Troutfest. This year, the event looks to be one of the largest held for fly anglers in the Southeast United States.

Throughout the weekend, some of the best fly tyers from the region will be demonstrating their skill and imparting their knowledge on flyfishing. Demonstrations are FREE and the tyers specialize in flies for bass, panfish, saltwater, and trout. Get up close and talk with such notable fly tyers as Mike Adams, Walter Babb, Ray Ball, Troy Basso, Jack Gregory, Rex Wilson, and more.

Notables including Lefty Kreh, Bob Clouser, Jason Borger, Zach Matthews as well as other fly fishermen will be featured in free seminars both days. This is a great chance to meet and talk shop with a few of the legends in the sport.

All the year’s new fishing gear will be prominently displayed as national fly tackle manufacturers will be on hand in Troutfest’s national exhibition tent.

Also on hand in the exhibition tent will be local and national fly shops, artists, non-profit organizations and government fish and game agencies including Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited puts on Troutfest every year. The Chapter entity provides funding with other sponsors to underwrite this event. The Chapter holds all funds and disperses profits to Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries Department and Friends of Great Smokies National Park Fisheries Scholarship Fund. Profits will be also be used for youth education fishery programs. Some funds will be retained as seed money for next year’s Troutfest.

Many of the volunteers are LRCTU members but many more come from other non-profit organizations such as other TU Chapters, The Fly Fishing Federation and individuals who are not connected with non-profit organizations. You do not need to be a TU member to volunteer or participate. All donations are tax deductible.

Troutfest 2012 in Townsend, Tn will be held on the grounds of the Townsend Visitors Center.

Townsend Visitors Center
7906 East Lamar Alexander Parkway
Townsend, TN
37882
865-448-6134

Little River Outfitters Townsend TN

Fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains is a outdoor sport loved by many who venture to the national park every year. For weekend anglers and serious fly tiers alike, the one place you should be sure to stop before fishing in any mountain stream is Little River Outfitters Townsend TN! Their staff has a wealth of knowledge on anything that has to do with l0cal fishing, especially around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and they carry all the gear you might need to successfully reel in that prized trout while you’re here.

Since 1994, Little River Outfitters Townsend TN has catered to the Great Smoky Mountain fly fisher. The Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina are crisscrossed with numerous rivers and streams stretching thousands of miles across each state. Little River is a family owned fly shop and fly tying school that has become a destination for Smoky Mountain fly fishers looking to catch the Smokies’ wild rainbow, brown and brook trout. Little River staff can help the saltwater fishermen as well. They’re essentially the strength of the shop. The employees love to fly fish and have the experience to back up their recommendations.

Little River Outfitters started teaching fly fishing and fly tying classes in the mid ’90s. As far as fly fishing instruction goes, in those days it was few and far between. Today, Little River Outfitters has its own classroom devoted to instruction and sponsors events like Troutfest which occur every spring in Townsend. For the serious fly fishermen, or woman, Troutfest is the event of the year as anything and everything fly fishing can be seen, heard, and bought at Troutfest. By the way, fly tying classes at Little River are offered two weekends each month from May through October.

In all, over 800 miles of fishable trout streams make up the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A Tennessee or North Carolina fishing license is all you need to cast your line in any of them. The national park’s mountain streams are filled with populations of rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout. Though brook trout are catch and release only. Just outside the park you can find excellent smallmouth bass fishing in the rivers and streams running out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Additionally, the Tennessee River watershed provides lakes, tailwaters, freestone mountain streams and lowland rivers with some of the finest fly fishing for brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, stripers and panfish found anywhere. Still, Townsend, Tennessee is the perfect base camp for a fly fishing vacation. Little River Outfitters is there to help meet your fly fishing needs along the way.

Little River Outfitters Townsend TN
106 Town Square Drive
Townsend, Tennessee 37882
877-448-3474
Open 7 Days/Week