Bicycling The best place to bike in the Smokies is Cades Cove. If you don’t arrive on your own bike or carry it on your car, you can rent one from the concessioner there, except in winter. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) loop road is a paved, generally level-to-rolling one-way country road around the cove. It takes you by restored pioneer and settlers’ structures, both log and frame. [Illustration: Fishing Smokies streams and rivers and the nearby TVA lakes is a popular pastime. Most sought after in the park are rainbow and brown trout.] [Illustration: Pictured here is the brook trout. Please take a good look because possession of any brook trout is prohibited in the park.] Along the way are many pleasant streams, hiking trail access points, wooded stretches, and the Cable Mill area with a small visitor center. The scenery is nothing if not glorious. You look out across the rolling, open meadow to the mountains. And you may see herds of deer grazing. In summer bikers have the loop road to themselves—no cars allowed—on Saturday mornings until 10 a.m. Biking conditions elsewhere in the park are not generally good. The Newfound Gap Road is steep, winding, crushingly long, and can be full of traffic. Other park roads tend to be winding and narrow as well. The Cades Cove bicycle concession is located at the campground. Fishing The Smokies offer a chance to fish in rushing mountain streams and rivers. Of the 70 or so kinds of fish in the park, those that can be fished for are smallmouth bass, rock bass, and rainbow and brown trout. The native brook trout is protected and its waters are closed to fishing. Rainbows and brown trout are non-native species and are managed to provide sustained-yield fishing. With a valid Tennessee or North Carolina license you may fish open park waters from sunrise to sunset. A license is required for all persons 13 years of age and older in Tennessee and 16 years of age and older in North Carolina. Buy licenses in nearby towns. Fishing with bait is prohibited. Only single-hook artificial lures may be used. Possession and size limits may vary with stream and species of fish, so check before you fish. In general, _the possession of any brook trout is prohibited_. The National Park Service hopes to restore some native brook trout waters encroached upon by introduced brown and rainbow trout. Local regulations are posted on streams and can be obtained at any park ranger station or visitor center. Or write to the park superintendent in advance of your trip. Birding the Smokies