Fly Fishing Abrams Creek – A Mountain Limestone Spring Creek

Abrams Creek Smoky Mountains

A mountain limestone spring creek, huh? I thought limestone spring creeks were usually found in gentle valleys – not in ancient mountain ranges? Well they are, usually, but Abrams Creek is different.

Abrams Creek Description

Abrams Creek was named after the Cherokee Chief of the town of Chilhowee named Abraham. It flows underground through limestone depressions for almost three miles before emerging at Cades Cove. From Cades Cove, Abrams Creek flows approximately 12 miles to Chilhowee Lake. Along the way 18 smaller tributaries empty into Abrams Creek, the largest of which is Anthony Creek.

Abrams Creek Limestone Geology and Fish Food

As do many of the best trout streams in America, Abrams Creek located high in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park supports a diverse population of aquatic insects and some of the largest rainbow trout in the park due to the fact that it flows through limestone geology.

Abrams Creek flows through through Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Geologically, Cades Cove is an isolated mountain valley known as a "limestone window” created by weathering and erosion over the course of millions of years.

Limestone windows are normally flatter than other mountainous valleys, and are typically coated with rich, fertile soil as is the case for Cades Cove.

The combination of limestone geology and rich soils adds buffering capacity and nutrients to the water of Abrams Creek enabling it to maintain a neutral pH (good for trout) and support a diverse population of macroinvertebrates including stonefly, mayfly and caddis nymphs.The pH of Abrams Creek is 7.8 to 8.4 making it far more fertile than most of the other streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The rainbow trout in Abrams Creek are among the largest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to the alkaline water and the diverse population of aquatic insects it supports.

Abrams Creek Map and Access

From Sugarlands Visitor Center follow the signs to Cades Cove ~ 24 miles on Little River Road. Follow Cades Cove Loop Road for ~ 5 miles and turn right (just past Marker #10) onto the gravel road following the sign to the Abrams Falls Trail Head. Click on the blue icon on the Google map above for driving directions to the trail head parking area.

The best trout fishing is from the Abrams Falls Trailhead in Cades Cove downstream to the Abrams Creek Campground. Emerging from Cades Coves, Abrams Creek takes on a the characteristics of limestone spring creek for several miles before reverting to a freestone stream as it flows some 12 miles to Chilhowee Lake.

Abrams Creek Trail Map (click to enlarge)

The spring creek section of Abrams Creek is accessible from the Abrams Falls Trail en route to Abrams Falls, one of the most popular waterfalls in the park.

Before reaching Abrams Falls, Abrams Creek leaves the trail in several places forming horseshoe bends that are up to a mile long (see inset map). Fishing Abrams Creek in these areas requires a bit of bushwhacking and at least a half day if not a full day but is well worth the effort.

Happy fishing!

Additional articles about fly fishing Abrams Creek:
Fly Fishing Great Smoky Mountains - Abrams Creek by James Marsh
A Short Fishing Trip to Abrams Creek by R&R Fly Fishing

[box type="note" style="rounded" border="full" icon="none"]Visit our Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fly Fishing Guide for information on fishing other trout streams in the park.[/box]

References:
Photo by Scott Basford distributed under creative commons license

Related Articles:

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fly Fishing Guide
• [Mapping] Smoky Mountains National Park Trout Streams
• West Prong Little River
• Great Smoky Mountains – Little River Fishing
• Great Smoky Mountains – Fly Fishing Hazel Creek