The ones that make it past the first year grow to some trophy sizes. Its visual. Boat Maintenance. Table of Contents show. In May you start seeing smallmouth coming out of the deeper water and will stage anywhere there is structure, safety, good current and food. I appreciate you taking the time to read our reports. New posts. The fish are coming up eating dries in the morning then droppers midday to early afternoon. There is always something to fish for when visiting the NC mountains. We provide everything but a valid NC fishing license. If you werent within a foot of the bank you were catching fish. Iowa's Fishing Report Sign up today for free weekly fishing information from Iowa's fisheries experts. Lets dig in to what has been fishing well and whats ahead for early Summer. Emerging from the mist like an apparition, a boat materializes. I track water temperatures, pressure, weather, water levels, and make notes of every fly or bait that caught fish. 3rd Place John Kistler & Rusty Melton 7.93 lbs! North Carolina is home to the highest mountains east of the Mississippi. How about a great start to 2023! Towards the end of September all the way into November the smallmouth will leave their summer territories and find the deeper water again where they will stay all winter. These guys put a lot of time on the water which is the best teacher of all. With a high around 73F and the low around 48F. There was one day where the water got up to 84 degrees and we threw everything but the kitchen sink at the bass and they just werent responding. Group camp, boat ramp, picnic sites and two campgrounds. Most of the big smallmouth we have caught have come out of areas you wouldnt think they would be holding in unless you caught one there. The main focus is getting the kids hooked on having a good time on the water. Below are just a few pictures from the DH stretches in May. The weather in the spring can be unpredictable so I tell clients we fish conditions not dates on a calendar. There are numerous boat landings, yet most of the river is wild, with forests of tupelo, oak and gum along its shores. If you are interested in hearing more about our bass fishing trips then please give us a call. We look forward to seeing you on the water! The Catawba Tailrace is fishing well and will remain consistent till early June. . Below are some pictures from the Catawba Tailrace this May. Our wade fishing trips take clients deep into the heart of the Pisgah National Forest. Weve been fortunate to catch some really nice trout on the Catawba River this year. The trout fishing in western North Carolina is excellent beginning in March and will continue well into June. Below are some of the biggest fish weve caught out of the Tailrace. Smallmouth will sit in these lines waiting for bugs to drift by. Similar to Lake Mattamuskeet, Lake Waccamaw is shallow. The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina and is home to 4 lakes which include W. Kerr Scott Reservoir, High Rock Lake, Badin Lake, and Lake Tillery. The Catawba Angler offers half day and full day bass charters on the lakes and rivers of western North Carolina. Spring provides some of the best dry fly fishing of the year on our local creeks and rivers. We promise you the best fishing trip in western North Carolina. North Carolina brown trout can get very large and attracts anglers all over the country to try to tango with one. The rainbow trout above was caught out of a delayed harvest stretch north of Asheville. We had a great day of fishing on the Nolichucky River and Bennett reeled in a true trophy river smallmouth. The lake is a shallow coastal lake which is home to largemouth bass. The leaves are have began changing colors in the higher elevations, but expect peak color to be around the end of October. The lake has around 20+ inches in most areas. Hopefully, we'll see you on the water! Saltwater Weekly Fishing Report Week of February 22, 2023 Sabine Lake GOOD. Pjohnson15@hotmail.com 770 366 8845 Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good and getting better. Its flat out hunting for big bass on the fly. The topwater bite has been best from 6am-11am, but we are seeing fish hammer topwater baits all hours of the day. Current fly fishing conditions are great! Improve your nymph fishing by doing this one thing! It was an ideal location for a river smallmouth to be holding. This is trophy hunting using the fly rod because these fish will range anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds. There are different ways to fish a popper: Dead Drift Em, Pop Em, Twitch Em. fish, but hooked up with a true trophy at the end of the day. Fishing Reports. . Fly fishing for smallmouth bass can be the most rewarding thing you can do with the long rod from Spring to Fall. Make sure to check the Lake Mattamuskeet fishing report before you go so you know how to prepare for a relaxing day of fishing here. Smallmouth bass are the hardest fighting fish we have around the mountains of North Carolina. Our half day floats are $300 and our full day floats are $400. The French Broad has been off colored since the beginning of July so I havent gotten the opportunity to fish it that much. The colder days are more challenging than the warmer ones but downsizing your flies on the colder days have been vital to our success. Fishing will continue to be good all winter long on the lower elevation creeks and rivers. Closed to fishing until April 29, 2023. The best fishing will continue to be early morning to midday. NM . We ended up catching a bunch of 1 to 1.75 lb. Tim Caviness and Robert Palmer finished second in the Feb. 9 NCCATS tournament on Lake Tillery, thanks to the big fish of the day, a 34.0-pound blue catfish. The best fishing is below Waterville dam and into East Tennessee. We grew up two miles from this creek so this is our home water. We are on the water every day and we are doing our best getting back with clients as soon as possible. Fish over 10 pounds have been caught in Jordan Reservoir. August 18, 2022. The biggest smallmouth weve ever guided a client into has come from the Nolichucky. If I could predict when the smallmouth turn on to topwater Id be a rich man. 1000 Islands/Lake Ontario . Weather conditions are not optimal, but there is still opportunity to land some trout. Lake Tillery is a reservoir between Badin Lake and Blewett Falls Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region of North Carolina. The bass below hit a popper after we stalked it for a few minutes eating mayflies in less than 2 foot of water. We were fortunate to run a few trout fishing trips after rainstorms because the water temperatures were in a suitable range for the fish. Seclusion: We rarely see anyone else on the wild trout streams. The stretch runs through small sections of private land that isnt accessible by foot so these areas yield a bunch of fish. These lakes are named the Catawba River Chain of Lakes. Prepare for success with accurate data about the type of fish that are caugh in Lake Tillery, learn what baits are used, and fish smarter with weather forecasts. January 9, 2023. Worms, shrimp and cut bait are some of the favorite baits for catfish fishing in Lake Tillery. View All | Fishing Gallery | Hunting Gallery | Photo of the Week . Norwood Campground offers 86 campsites surrounded by hardwood trees. Continue reading. Weve had our best success on the Catawba River since there is more flow on it than the smaller mountain creeks. We are big on teaching then catching at our guide service because youve got to be able to do things the right way before you start catching. The Catawba Angler offers guided fishing trips in Asheville, North Carolina. I also want to thank him for the clients he allows me to fish with because its a cool experience getting to show people the fisheries I have grown up on and fished my whole life. We caught a lot of smallmouth on top using hardbaits and soft plastics. Aquatic invasive species continue to pose a threat to Crystal Lake; species established include Eurasian Watermilfoil Table of Contents show. There are more wild rainbow trout in the wild trout streams than any other species. The last river that is worthy of mentioning in the bass fishing guide in North Carolina is the Pigeon River. Weve been having to run very light tippet and downsize our flies this year due to low flows and spooky fish. Another river worth mentioning when talking about bass fishing in North Carolina is the Nolichucky River. The heavy racked buck was shot early morning at 210 yards. The weather is perfect this time of year with the later start times so give us a call to book your fishing adventure in the mountains of NC. Zack & Greg Gooch 2nd with 9.81 lbs! Its our goal to help you become a better angler on the water. This has allowed me to form patterns certain times of the year and it gives me the proper baits to start with instead of going out there guiding by the seat of my pants. "Before dawn, fish buzzbaits around the grass. In order to fish the bottom of the river well you got to be willing to fish slowly. Skip to main content Henry's Fork Anglers Cart (0) (208) 558-7525 Fly Shop Hours: Hours change seasonally. The Catawba, Tuckaseegee, and Toe Rivers will be receiving its first stocking of 2023, the first week of March so trout fishing here in the mountains is about to be lights out. Abiquiu Reservoir. We look forward to seeing everyone again next spring! The mission of this organization is to bring hope and the love of Christ to youth through free guided fly fishing trips. I enjoy taking people to the delayed harvest to boost their confidence before chasing wild trout because it can be a humbling experience. The French Broad and Nolichucky rivers produce trophy smallmouth year after year. These fish are beautiful and live in some of the coolest areas in the state. This time of year we throw big jerkbaits and crankbaits for big river smallmouth looking to fatten up before the spawn. The water has been lower so its pushing the bass in isolated areas looking for that higher oxygen content. The lake draws many anglers from the Piedmont and coastal plain region looking to catch both smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. The French Broad River is finally at a fishable level so we were able to take a trip there and it fished excellent. The reality of it is that most of the time thats not the case here in the mountains of NC. Here you wont find the crowds like you do on the tailwaters in East Tennessee or the Tuck. If you are looking to float a tailwater without the boat traffic give the Catawba Tailrace a try sometime between November and June. Norwood, NC in neighboring Stanly County uses as its town motto "Gateway to Lake Tillery". Forums. We will be fishing low water till into the fall so I expect the topwater bite in August, and September to be good. The crowds are nonexistent this time of year so come enjoy the river to yourself. FISH LAKE (Steens Mountain): rainbow trout, brook trout. A lot of times Ill run wool as an indicator since it is such a delicate presentation. Share. 8 oz. Less is more when it comes to retrieving smallmouth flies during the summer time. Normally if we get a good cold front to come through that cools the water off then clients can be more aggressive on popping and the twitching of the bugs. 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