2011 U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship to be held in Cherokee, NC

This year’s U.S. National Fly Fishing Championships will be held in Cherokee, North Carolina, May 19 – 22, 2011, and features more than 60 of the top anglers from across the country fishing some of the best trout streams and lakes in the nation.

With thousands of miles of prime trout habitat, Cherokee and western North Carolina are the perfect hosts for the 2011 National Fly Fishing Championships. This year’s championship venues include:

1. Calderwood Reservoir
Competition Water – Competition venue will be loche style originating from the public boat ramp located just downstream of Cheoah Dam in North Carolina. Motor boats will be required due to varying generation schedules.
Practice Water – Practice venues include any area lake or reservoir save the competition lake or Queens Creek Lake. Queens Creek Lake will serve as an alternate competition venue.
2. Lower Nantahala River
Competition Water – Competition venue will begin just above Little Wesser Falls upstream of the Nantahala Outdoor Center and end at the double bridges on Winding Stairs Road.

Practice Water – Practice venue will include the lower Nantahala River from the existing Fontana Lake level to below Little Wesser Falls. A second practice venue is located above the double bridges at Winding Stairs Road and extends to the confluence with the Upper Nantahala, located below the Duke Energy Power Plant.
3. Cherokee Trophy Waters of the Raven’s Fork River
Competition Water – Competition venue will be on the Raven’s Fork River and will begin at the Blue Ridge Parkway Bridge (beginning of trophy water section) and extend to the pedestrian bridge at unknown name campground (end of trophy water).
Practice Water – Practice venue will be the Oconaluftee River below the Blue Ridge Parkway Bridge and the Raven’s Fork River above unnamed campground. Please note: a tribal fishing permit will be required to fish the practice waters. Cost is $10/day.
4. The Tuckaseegee River
Competition Water – Competition venue will be on the Tuckaseegee River from the NC Hwy 116 Bridge in Webster, NC upstream to the NC Hwy 107 Bridge.
Practice Water – Practice venue will be on the Tuckaseegee River below the NC Hwy 441 bridge in Dillsboro, NC and upstream of the NC Hwy 107 Bridge (end of Delayed Harvest designated water).
There will also be a small section of practice water located within the boundaries of the state’s designated Delayed Harvest waters. This section will be located from the Little Savannah Creek confluence just above the TSA Water Treatment plant upstream to the NC Hwy 116 bridge in Webster, NC. Please note: There are several private access points along this section of the river, so please respect property owners by using public access points only.
5. Upper Nantahala River
Competition Water – Competition venue will be on the Upper Nantahala River beginning at the confluence of generation canal just beside the Duke Energy Power Plant to White Oak Creek (approx. 4 miles upstream).
Practice Water – Practice venue will be on the Upper Nantahala River and includes all water above White Oak Creek.
Per FIPS guidelines, fishing on competition waters is prohibited 60 days in advance of the tournament (3/21/11)

In an interview with High Country Web Cams, Matt Pegg, Executive Director of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce stated, “this is the first time the national event has been held in the South East. We are very proud of the efforts of this community in hosting such a prestigious event. This is truly a testament to the outstanding fishing waters available in and around Cherokee, North Carolina, and this event puts those waters on a national stage.”

Information for this article provided courtesy of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship.  Please visit these web sites for more information.

High Country Web Cams is a private website dedicated to tourism in the western North Carolina mountains and is wholly owned by Appnet, a North Carolina web design company.

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