Steve –
You want to go to Townsend, which is on the Gatlinburg side but nowhere near as crowded. Go over to LittleRiverOutfitters.com, which is a sponsor of this site. Byron and Paula Begley are great people with, I swear to you, the nicest fly shop you will ever set foot in. That thing is about as close as a fly shop can come to perfect.
Good luck,
Zach
Absolutely true! Took my first trip to the smokies last fall.I walked into LRO expecting to get gouged but instead walked out with some flies ,leaders and a map with highlighted areas to fish for less than I spent on food that day.I was floored at how nice they are there.