Gadsden’s Black Creek becoming a fly-fishing hotbed for rainbow trout
Story by Paul South
Photos by Mackenzie Free
Sumitted photos
Frank Roden, it seems, always has a ripping good fish tale. Roden, an expert fly angler and Rainbow City antique dealer known as “the guy with the tie” on the trout streams of St. Clair and Etowah counties, has a great story that illustrates how fly angling has taken off in the area, particularly in the Black Creek Gorge and the streams near Noccalula Falls.
A fly-fishing instructor endorsed by the iconic outdoor brand, Orvis, Roden has seen folks from multiple states fly fish, thanks in part to the City of Gadsden’s restocking efforts, now in its third year on Black Creek.
“There was a man from Hattiesburg, Miss., who was coming to the area and stopped to fly fish one day and once he fly fished it, he we went back home and returned a week later with his family of four in an RV, rented space in a local campground and stayed for a week with his family to fly fish and to visit the Greater Gadsden area,” Roden says.
While the man fished, his family shopped on Broad Street in downtown Gadsden, along with buying the basics – food and fuel.
“He said he would definitely be back to visit because of the things that he saw and the things he and his family were able to get involved with while he was here,” Roden says.
He’s heard a creel full of stories like that, of anglers coming from the Gulf Coast and southern Florida to fly fish. No longer would they have to travel to the Appalachian waters of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
“They said (Gadsden) puts them four hours closer to trout than they were before, Roden says.
The Mississippi fish tale is poetry to government and tourism officials in Gadsden like Hugh Stump, executive director of Greater Gadsden Tourism. For the past three years in November and May, Gadsden has restocked Black Creek with rainbow trout, an iconic North American game fish prized by fly anglers around the world.
Most recently, the city put 1,000 10 to 14-inch rainbows into Black Creek, where the trout season runs from Nov. 15 to May 31. According to an independent economic impact study commissioned by the Greater Gadsden Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, overnight visitors who come to the area to fly fish spend an average of $110.72 per person, while day-trippers spend $50.52 per person. The city realizes more than $6.50 return on investment for every dollar spent promoting fly fishing.
The annual stocking and promotion efforts benefit anglers from Etowah, St. Clair, Jefferson and other nearby counties, who now have fly fishing close to home.
“The idea behind the stocking was to create another amenity for people who are visiting the area,” Stump says. “But it’s also an amenity for people who live here. The (local) Rainbow City Fly Fishing Club has a lot of members, and they don’t have to drive to Georgia or North Carolina anymore to fly fish, so it’s in their backyard.”
The Rainbow City club returns the favor by assisting the restocking effort on a volunteer basis.
Another economic aspect, according to the study, is that 49% of respondents who fly fished Black Creek have a household income of $100,000 or more. And environmental tourism gives Gadsden another lure in its economic development tackle box.
“Ecotourism, like wineries, breweries, fly fishing, that kind of stuff is sustainable. It’s natural,” Stump says. “You don’t have to build a building … It’s there. It’s natural. And we’re just amplifying it for people to enjoy it. That’s what we’re trying to do here in Gadsden.”
He added, “We’re not trying to do just ecotourism. It’s just one facet.”
Gadsden City Councilman Kent Back says the effort has boosted the economy, not just by fishing, but in the city’s revitalized downtown district. While anglers fish, their spouses and children browse in local shops and dine in local eateries.
“We know that’s happening,” Back says.
The city also built cabins near Noccalula Falls that Back says are “really, really nice and moderately priced.
“When you’re in those cabins, you think you’re in Gatlinburg,” Back says.
While a trout permit and an Alabama fishing license are required to fly fish for trout in Black Creek Gorge, anglers will also be able to fish for other species as they always have.
“Technically, fishing of any sort is not allowed in the gorge,” Stump says. “The only way you can fish in the gorge is with a City of Gadsden trout permit and a State of Alabama fishing license. But we’re not busting people’s chops if they’re just fishing for their dinner, because we don’t have any way to really maintain and police that.”
Black Creek offers unique challenges for fly anglers, Roden says. A small stream, the waters are canopied by trees along its banks. Reading the currents can offer a fun puzzle for anglers to solve. And the area is slowly becoming a hotbed for fly fishing. Along with Black Creek, the nearby Sipsey River – Alabama’s only year-round trout fishery – are increasingly popular.
“The interest is building daily,” Roden says.
Roden would like to see the Alabama tourism officials take a page from one of its past efforts, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. A fly-fishing trail would also boost the economies of Alabama’s smaller towns.
“I would like to see a fly-fishing trail developed in Alabama, much the same as the golf trail,” he says.
Roden is one of the area’s most fervent fishing evangelists. “Fly fishing is more than about fishing,” Roden says. “It’s a way of life.”
And along with the economic and environmental benefits, fly fishing Black Creek catches another intangible – joy.
And the colorful catch brings more than just a trophy fish. “Everybody who catches a rainbow has a smile on their face,” Roden says.
