Float fishing in Franklin North Carolina

The topic of this article will be float fishing in Franklin North Carolina. This is a very efficient and effective method of fishing. Float fishing allows anglers to cover a lot of water and fish spots that get much less pressure than spots available to the public.

Float fishing involves putting a boat in at a spot, floating downstream with the current, fishing along the way. Then at the end of the float, the boat is retrieved and pulled out of the water. Two vehicles are usually used and access points are needed.

Lightweight portable boats are almost always used. Canoes, kayaks, and rafts work very well. Small portable Jon boats can be used, but they do not paddle well. Motors are seldom used, other than in slow, deeper stretches of the river.

The 2 main rivers float fished in Franklin are the Little Tennessee River and Tuckasegee River. The Little Tennesse is mosty bass and bream and the Tuckasegee is a popular trout fishery. I offer 1 angler floats in my raft, mostly on the Little Tennessee River. Anglers looking to fish the Tuckasegee River or that have 2 anglers can call Fish Tales Outfitters in downtown Franklin.

Float fishing in Franklin North Carolina

The Little Tennessee River flows through Franklin, NC and is perfect for float fishing. It is a moderate stream with very few dangerous rapids. It also has a lot of access points and offers good fishing for a variety of fishing.

Float fishing the Little Tennessee River

The Little Tennessee River is an excellent river to float fish. There are really 4 sections to it, the upper river, Lake Emory, the dam to Tellico Creek, and Tellico Creek to Fontana Lake. I will break down each section, focusing mostly on access as opposed to fishing. I have already written a comprehensive article on fishing techniques, just click the link below.

read more about fishing the Little Tennessee River

Float fishing the upper Little Tennessee River

The upper section of the river is narrow and can have decent current, especially if there has been rain. This is canoe and kayak water and anglers can expect a blockage or two. The first access is Small Riverside Park off of Riverside Drive n Otto. Then several miles down river is Prentiss Bridge with a nice launch. From there it is a long float to the pull out at the community college.

This section has fair fishing. It is best when the current is slow to moderate and it does get muddy. In the upper stretches there are trout. As you go downstream, panfish, smaller smallmouth bass, and rock bass are more numerous. There will still be a few trout. The deeper holes on the outside bends are the best spots. Ultralight tackle and small lures or flies work well.

There is a short float from the community college to the Tassee Shelter off the Greenway. It is a nice 2 hour float. The hill at the college is steep. The launch at Tassee Shelter is very nice. I catch a fair amount of yellow perch in this stretch, along with panfish, bass, and the odd trout.

Fishing Lake Emory

Lake Emory is created by a dam on the river. It is from around where the Cullasaja River comes in to the dam. There is a very nice surfaced ramp right in the middle of town. There is another access right at the dam to portage around the dam.

Read more about fishing Lake Emory

The lake usually has light current. Anglers can put in at either spot, paddle upriver and easy back down. This way only one vehicle is required. I have a 15 foot skiff that I use to take clients out on the lake. There are no restrictions regarding motor or boat size, but the lake gets very little pressure, even on weekends.

Lake Emory fishes like most small lakes. There are no herring. Most of the fish are caught close to shoreline cover. There are plenty of smaller trees. There are tons of small panfish in the lake. I like Beetle Spin lures, topwater plugs for bass, and fly fishing with poppers for bream.

Fishing the lower Little Tennessee River

The Little Tennessee river from the dam at Lake Emory to Fontana Lake is classic smallmouth water! There are two distinct stretches; from Emory dam to Tellico Creek and Tellico Creek to Fontana.

The section from Lake Emory dam to Fontana Lake is a really pretty stretch of water. It is not too wide with mild rapids evenly spaced out. It is perfect to drift in a smaller boat. There is a portage path behind the dam with parking. The path is narrow and a bit steep. Canoes, kayaks and small rafts are an option. Larger 3 man rafts are tough to get down to the water. This is a nice, easy 3 to 4 hour float. There is a nice mix of riffles with a lot of deeper holding water.

The next access is the 28 bridge. There are two options here. One is the public access area locally called “Franklin beach”. There is some same and a nice swimming hole. The other is just down river at Great Smoky Mountains Fish Camp and Safaris. Anglers can take out or put in for a small fee. They also have several private properties down stream and run shuttles. 4 and 8 hour floats are available.

The next access is at Cowee Mound Viewing site. It is good for kayaks and canoes, but a bit tight for a raft. It is an easy walk from parking to the water. The next spot is Queen Branch. It is a fairly long walk to the water from the parking lot, good for light canoes and kayaks.

Tellico Creek to Fontana Lake

The Little Tennessee River changes in character around the mouth of Tellico Creek. It gets much wider with a lot of riffles and rapids. This area is best fished with a classic river raft or even hard drift boat.

Access is virtually unlimited all along Needmore Road, There are a ton of pullouts where anglers can launch or take out. Also, there are 4 dedicated sites for launching vessels that are evenly spaced about 4 miles apart. Three are on the west side; Tellico Creek, Rattlesnake, and Panther Creek. There are two on the east side off of 28, Brush Creek and Sawmill Creek.

I really like fishing jerk baits in this area. The current can be swifter and anglers using a faster lure can cover more area. It is best to focus on the slower, deeper pools. Topwater such as the Whopper Plopper, white fluke baits, spinnerbaits, and Ned rigs also work well.

Float fishing the Tuckasegee River

The Tuckasegee River, or “the Tuck” as it is called locally, is heavily stocked with trout. Access to the river is excellent, with paved launches every 4 miles or so from the town of Tuckasegee all the way to Bryson City. There are several Delayed Harvest sections where success is a virtual certainty. Here is a link to the map below, Tuckasegee River access points.

The river has trout throughout the length, though as previously mentioned, the DH sections get most of the fish. These are catch and release, single hook, no bait sections from Oct 1 to the first Saturday in June. The rest is hatchery supported, open most of the year except March 1 to the first Saturday in April. Most anglers fly fish, but lures and bait can be used depending on area fished and date.

Other spots to float fish in Franklin, NC

There are a couple of trout streams that can be float fished in Franklin as well. There is a launch and pickup at Parker Meadows sports complex where anglers can fish Cartoogechaye Creek. Further downstream there are launches at Veterans Park. Very shallow draft boats are required and some spots will need to have the boat carried over.

The lower section of the Cullasaja River can be floated. There are access points along River Road and some private campgrounds. This is mostly trout water, but rock bass, smallmouth bass, an bream can be caught further down.

In conclusion, this article on float fishing in Franklin, North Carolina will help anglers catch more fish!