There’s really no point in spending time in the South if you’re not going to do a little fishing. Luckily, English Mountain Trout Farm is set up and ready to give you the ideal fishing experience. And after you catch your monster trout, they’ll fry it up for you and serve it with classic southern sides.
The trout farm is in Sevierville, Tennessee, just off I-40, outside of Knoxville. It’s an easy stop and the perfect place to grab a super fresh lunch. The farm provides the poles and bait – staff there will even bait the hook for you if you want. You will have to buy a Tennessee fishing license, which costs $5, but the rest is pretty simple. Drop your line and wait for the trout to bite.
Once you catch your fish, you’ve got a couple options. You can pay a flat fee of $16.99 which covers the fish you catch and the lunch they’ll quickly become. If you’ve got other plans, you can pay $4.50 a pound for the trout you reel in and have them packaged to go. For another $1 per fish, they’ll clean it for you. For $2, they’ll butterfly it. That way, if you plan to stop for the night in the area and want to fry up the trout over your own campfire, this is the perfect option. The farm’s website can walk you through it, www.englishmountaintroutfarm.net.
Mining for gems
Before you drop your line – or maybe while you’re waiting for your fish to cook – you can dig around the trout farm for gems. Staff at the trout farm has a sieve near the creek where you and the family can sift through Tennessee dirt looking for gems. And just like with the fishing, you’re guaranteed a good catch. A small bucket of dirt is $10, the medium is $20 and the large is $30. You keep whatever you find.
The English Mountain Trout Farm is the perfect low-key way to spend a Tennessee summer afternoon.
