Our Story

River’s Edge Outfitters Cherokee is located in the heart of the Smoky Mountain National Park on the Cherokee Qualla Boundary. With over 3,000 miles of trout streams within an hour radius of our shop, this area boasts some of the best fly fishing on the East Coast. The Tuckaseegee River, the Nantahala River, the Oconoluftee River, the Raven’s Fork, and the Little Tennessee River are just a few of the river systems that we fly fish. Just a few miles from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The North Carolina side of the Smokies contains several world renown fisheries. Deep Creek, Hazel Creek, Forney Creek, Eagle Creek, Raven’s Fork, and Straight Fork are just a few of the wild trout fisheries that lie on the eastern slope of the Smoky Mountain National Park. Looking for trophy trout on the fly? The Raven’s Fork catch and release fly fishing only section is one of the best public trophy water fisheries in the southeast. With most trout averaging 18+ inches this fishery offers the fly fisherman the opportunity to catch trophy trout on one of the most scenic river systems in Western North Carolina. We are a short drive from the Tuckaseegee River Delayed Harvest, Nantahala Delayed Harvest/ Tailwater, and Fires Creek Delayed Harvest.

Our Guides

We guide all the streams on the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail, including the new Fly Fishing Only Catch and Release section of the Raven Fork in Cherokee, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Nantahala River, Tuckasegee River, Little Tennessee River, Cullasaja River, Horsepasture River, Chattooga River, the South Holston and Watauga River. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is our backyard and as such we specialize in guiding backcountry wild mountain trout excursions to Deep Creek, Hazel Creek, Noland Creek, Eagle Creek, Bradley Fork, Straight Fork, Oconoluftee River, Little River and many others.

If you’ve read about a stream in the park and would like to fish it, just let us know, we can make it happen. All of our guides were chosen not only for their skills and local stream knowledge, but for their personalities and abilities to teach. A great guide is someone who not only is an excellent teacher and instructor who seamlessly passes along his/her knowledge, but someone who is a great companion, one you don’t mind spending a day with on the water.

All of our guides are the best in the business and have a wealth of experience in a variety of fly fishing settings. All of the guides have a simple goal: they want you to have fun and learn how to become a better fly fisher. We have chosen to spend our lives fly fishing and invite you to come join us on the water.