which survived the reclamation were fry. It is 

 possible that some of the survivors were late- 

 hatching ova at the time of the reclamation . On 

 the basis of the distance surveyed and excluding 

 natural mortality, it is estimated that at least 

 227 rainbows and 78 longnose dace survived in 

 the 7.5 miles of reclaimed water. Although 

 many of the trout might be removed as immature 

 fish during surveys and by anglers, some repro- 

 duction may occur eventually. 



Several disadvantages were anticipated 

 when the spring-time reclamation of Indian 

 Creek was scheduled and all of them were strik- 

 ingly demonstrated. First, the date for the 

 reclamation had to be set between the expected 

 emergence of rainbow trout fry in late April and 

 the opening of the fishing season in mid-May. 

 Consequently, there was little opportunity to 

 adjust the schedule in the event of unfavorable 

 weather or high water . Second, a late spring 

 would result in cold water. Low temperatures 

 would delay the hatch of trout ova and also re- 

 duce the effectiveness of the toxicant. And 

 third, a wet spring would cause high water levels 

 and abundant seeps and trickles. Thus, the 

 treatment of the stream with rotenone would be 

 complicated. The spring was, in fact, both 

 late and wet . 



ABRAMS CREEK 



Description 



Abrams Creek is one of the longer and 

 larger streams in the park. It is relatively 

 fertile since it flows through limestone deposits 

 in Cades Cove but intensive agriculture in the 

 Cove contributes to some warming and silting 

 of the tributaries and main-stream. A scenic 

 falls, 25 feet high, is located several miles 

 downstream from the Cove and 14.6 miles up- 

 stream from the mouth into the Little Tennessee 

 River. The stream above the falls is referred 

 to as the upper section and that below the falls 

 is known as the lower section. The terrain is 

 rough and an approach to the falls and most of 

 the lower section of the stream can be made 

 only by foot-trails . Access by vehicle to the 

 lower section is limited to one point in the vicin- 

 ity of the public campground which is approxi- 

 mately midway between the falls and the mouth. 



The stream below Abrams Falls is 

 characterized by short cascades and very long^ 

 deep pools . Most of it cannot be waded and 

 this, in addition to the dense, streamside cover, 

 hinders both fishing and survey work. At the 

 campground, the stream averages 63 feet in 

 width at the normal discharge rate of 90 cfs . 

 The gradient is approximately 44 feet per mile . 

 The water is clear, slightly brown, and soft. 

 Its resistivity is 13,700 ohms (at 77° F.) and its 

 estimated content of total dissolved solids in 

 60 ppm . 



The principal game fishes in lower 

 Abrams Creek below the falls were rainbow 

 trout and smallmouth bass. The falls marked 

 the upstream limit for carp, redhorse suckers, 

 freshwater drum, catfishes, sauger, sunfishes, 

 warmouth, rock bass, as well as smallmouth 

 bass. Rainbow trout were stocked about 60 years 

 ago and became dominant in the upper section 

 and in tributaries to the lower section. They 

 occurred much less abundantly in the main- 

 stream below the falls, presumably due to heavy 

 competition from other species. 



King (1942) noted that rainbow trout in 

 Abrams grew faster than in other streams of the 

 park . He added that the trout fishery, especially 

 in the upper section, improved rapidly after the 

 park acquired the land in 1937. Prior to this 

 time, the stream had been badly abused by sein- 

 ing, dynamiting, and bait fishing. Little could 

 be done to improve the fishery in the lower sec- 

 tion other than to stock catchable-size trout and 

 to provide protection from poaching. The suc- 

 cess of these measures was limited, however, 

 by the preponderance of centrarchids and non- 

 game fishes. 



The opportunity to reclaim the lower 

 section of Abrams Creek arose in connection 

 with the creation of Chilhowee Lake on the Little 

 Tennessee River. The Aluminum Corporation 

 of America had a power dam 64 feet high nearly 

 completed on the river at Chilhowee, Tennessee. 

 The 1,690 -acre lake to be impounded by the dam 

 would border the southwest corner of Great 

 Smoky Mountains National Park and inundate 2.6 

 miles of lower Abrams Creek. 



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