DockDogs at Cherokee

For 2019, Cherokee's fishing season “opening day” will be March 30, and we are offering you 20,000 reasons to get excited about it. Our Opening Day Fishing Tournament requires just an $11 entry fee to compete for $20,000 in tagged fish. You’ll be competing in the rivers on the Qualla Boundary (excluding the 2.2 miles of catch-and-release waters). Tagged fish will be specially stocked for this event, and when you catch one, you redeem it for cash prizes ranging from $25 to $5,000 at the Natural Resources Enforcement Office located at 5175 Sequoyah Trail of Hwy 441. Register anywhere fishing licenses are sold. Fishing will start one hour before sunrise and end one hour after sunset each day. Open to all ages and for all legal fishing methods. Prize redemption will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each tournament day. 

Spend the long weekend with the boys: rainbow, brook, golden, and brown. Your $11 entry fee lets you compete for $10,000 in tagged fish within the beautiful freestone streams of Cherokee, NC; only the 2.2 miles of catch-and-release waters are excluded. Tagged fish will be specially stocked for this event, and when you catch one, you redeem it for cash prizes ranging from $25 to $5,000 at the Natural Resources Enforcement Office located at 5175 Sequoyah Trail of Hwy 441. Open to all ages and for all legal fishing methods. Register for this tournament anywhere fishing permits are sold in and around Cherokee or online at FishCherokee.com. Prize redemption will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each tournament day. 

In honor of Tim Hill, a longtime employee at our very own trout hatchery who sadly passed away far too soon, we’re inviting you to fish and compete in this fun and lucrative tournament in his name. You’ll be fishing for your share of $10,000 by catching beautiful fish in rivers all across the Qualla Boundary (excluding the 2.2 miles of catch-and-release waters), which will be stocked with tagged fish. Tagged fish will be specially stocked for this event, and when you catch one, you redeem it for cash prizes ranging from $25 to $5,000 at the Natural Resources Enforcement Office located at 5175 Sequoyah Trail of Hwy 441. Register anywhere fishing licenses are sold. Fishing will start one hour before sunrise and end one hour after sunset each day. Open to all ages and for all legal fishing methods. Prize redemption will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each tournament day. 

It’s not too late to take home the summer’s biggest trout. And biggest purse. Your $11 entry fee lets you compete for your share of $20,000 in the pristine, freestone streams of Cherokee (excluding the 2.2 miles of catch-and-release waters). For those unfamiliar with tagged tourneys, you’ll discover the waters stocked with fish tagged with different colors. Tagged fish will be specially stocked for this event, and when you catch one, you redeem it for cash prizes ranging from $25 to $5,000 at the Natural Resources Enforcement Office located at 5175 Sequoyah Trail of Hwy 441. Register to anywhere fishing licenses are sold. Fishing will start a one hour before sunrise and end one hour after sunset each day. Open to all ages and for all legal fishing methods. Prize redemption will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day. 

Are you and your best fly-fishing buddy ready to rumble with the top anglers around? Then get your $250 entry fee together for this two-person team competition held exclusively in the catch-and-release section of Cherokee’s “trophy waters” known simply as Raven Fork. This tournament offers a payout* totaling $10,000 for the top teams. To enter this tournament you must first acquire a Cherokee fishing permit (a list of permit-selling locations may be found at FishCherokee.com), then register for the event at River's Edge Outfitter. Additional event details will be discussed on November 1 at 7 p.m. during the opening meeting. Open to all ages. 

*Payout subject to change.