The Little River system is among the largest and most varied watersheds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Within its bounds one can find everything from roadside fishing for some of the Park’s largest brown trout, to tiny backcountry streams choked with rhododendrons and native brookies. Wild rainbow trout are also abundant throughout.
The Little River system can be broken down into its component ...

branches or “Prongs”. Little River Rd. (Hwy 73) follows the East Prong from where it flows out of the Elkmont Campground to where it meets the Middle Prong (Tremont) and West Prong at the “Y” just inside the Townsend entrance to the Park.
The roadside section of the East Prong offers smallmouth bass in its lower reaches. The best trout fishing begins near the series of giant plunge pools known as “The Sinks”, with the largest rainbows and browns frequently found between the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area and Elkmont Campground. Above the campground the stream narrows and is more rugged in character.
The Middle Prong of the Little (known as Tremont) is similar in nature to the East Prong above Elkmont Campground. Both follow old logging railroad beds up their respective mountain valleys, both are medium-sized streams by Smokies standards, and brook trout are present for those anglers who want to invest the time hiking into the backcountry to reach them.
The West Prong of the Little is low-gradient, small stream offering tighter casting conditions for feisty, wild rainbows. The West Prong (and its tributary Laurel Creek) flows along the road leading to Cades Cove.