The French Broad River consistently produces 4 pound smallmouth year after year on our guided bass fishing trips. S2O Designs solution to accomplish the multiple objectives features the creation of two release points or notches in the dam for recreational release flows and boaters to navigate into the Long Bypass Reach a Main Channel that will convey water continuously into the reach, and a Recreation Bypass Channel that will provide a safe route for boaters during recreational releases. For more information check out the website below. These fish thrive in cold mountain creeks that can only be reached by foot. Locked padlock Poppers have been the fly of choice on both rivers. Stoneflies. Badin Lake is the clearest lake in the Yadkin Chain and runs within the Uwharrie National Forest which offers some unique scenery for a Piedmont Lake. Below are some pictures from the Catawba Tailrace this May. The closest fishing to Asheville is the French Broad River. S2O Design & Engineering heads Great Falls-Dearborn Diversion Bypass Project, design solution will open the Catawba's Long Bypass Reach for boating for the first time in over 100 years.. I want to thank him for my wife for getting up at the crack of dawn with me before heading to the river. We ended up catching a bunch of 1 to 1.75 lb. Here is list of general fly pattern recommendations for the Catawba River: Ventures Fly Co. offers a great selection of dry flies, nymphs and streamers that will catch fish just about anywhere. The takeout ramp in Glen Alpine is currently under construction so this section of river will be shut down for two months. The last river that is worthy of mentioning in the bass fishing guide in North Carolina is the Pigeon River. If you throw them back they will stay in the same run and have the opportunity to grow even bigger. 22 inch brown trout caught by Jim Muse. Its hard to beat catching smallmouth on top water bugs. They stock some big brown, brook, and rainbow trout in Curtis so a lot of clients that we take fishing normally catch their personal best here. Once the water temperatures get around 70 degrees on the trout streams we will solely focus on the warm water species such as smallmouth, largemouth, and carp. Ive always fished black midges and had good success, but it seems the fish like the brown way better. The water temperature was 59 when we started and 63 when we finished. 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. Learn More Remember to still use light tippet this time of year. Dont let the cold, wind, or rain stop you from getting out there and fishing because there are always fish to be had. There might not be a lot of fish biting in the summer because of the warmer temps and the lower water levels, but throughout the rest of the year, people have pretty good luck. Its visual. Weve had a lot of fun catching prespawn smallmouth, but their is nothing better than the post spawn smallmouth fishing in May. Seasonally, North Carolina is fairly temperate. Add some weight because a sinker can save the day. As part of the recent Catawba River Agreement and FERC re-licensing of the Catawba River for hydropower, a multi-million-dollar effort was launched to return water to the river for new recreational opportunities and to restore aquatic life and lowland habitat downstream of the dam. United States. If you are looking for the best Italian in the area look no further. The best colors to use are black and white. Sinkers: If you are fishing a deep run and arent catching fish its probably because your flies arent getting down fast enough. The delayed harvest creeks and rivers are full of trout and will receive their second stocking the first week of April so there are plenty of great wade fishing opportunities to seek out. 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. We are currently booking smallmouth float trips now until the end of October. S2O Design is led by engineer, Olympian, and three-time World Cup Kayak Champion and Freestyle Kayak Champion Scott Shipley. There are alot of fish in the river right now so let us take you to them and show you how to be a better angler. Visitors can find some lodging in the area, especially along the I-40 corridor. Fishing has been consistent on the French Broad and Nolichucky Rivers. As that temp drops the fishing will continue to get better and better. Check out the two fish below we caught in January of 2021. In creating this solution, S2O Design engineers and hydrologists completed conceptual designs, 1D and 2D computer modeling, construction documents, and construction visualization renderings. September has come to an end but it was definitely a month to remember. When these smallmouth spread out in the summer they could be anywhere. The best fishing of the year is upon us so dont hesitate to contact us. Its been one of the best smallmouth seasons weve ever had so Im very thankful for that. One of the coolest things I get to witness guiding the same rivers year after year is seeing the smallmouth bass in the French Broad sipping mayflies. Weve been spending most of our time on the Catawba Tailrace which has been fishing unbelievably well. Be sure to check the stream conditions before heading out to fish the Catawba River. Topwater will continue to be good the rest of the summer. Most of the time Im using weighted lines for streamers or adding weight to get the nymphs down. The best midge colors have been black, brown, and olive. These fish are less pressured and more willing to eat during this time. Ive been on the Catawba Tailrace all week and the fishing has been lights out. S2O Design also commends American Whitewater, who represented paddling interests across the basin during the FERC relicensing process and was responsible for spearheading the effort to open up this reach of the Catawba River to boating. The smallmouth bite is good all summer. Springtime dry fly fishing in western North Carolina! The fish are spooky after seeing a lot of pressure on the weekends. All Rights Reserved. The fishing is fantastic and the scenery is second to none. The Catawba River is a destination for many anglers who enjoy fly fishing. If a wild fish comes up and eats your fly and you set the hook and miss. United States. Give us a call to book your fishing charter in the mountains of North Carolina. Once this happens the bite turns on. Below are just a few pictures from some of the fish we caught in July! The QW data at this station are operated seasonally (April 01 through November 30). The biggest fish was a 18 brook trout that was almost as fat as it was long. The caddis are out and about, but we still havent gotten the blanket hatches we always anticipate so if you are still interested in experiencing some of the best dry fly fishing of the year then give us a call. Weve been fishing dark colors in water with less than a foot of clarity. We had a phenomenal day on the water this year and we managed to catch 51 total fish. These trips are fun because we can post up on fish and use different tactics to catch them. Earlier in the day the nymph and streamer bite was consistent till the sun was directly above us. Dead drifting these big bugs is very similar to drifting flies to tailwater trout. Check out the fish we caught in October fly fishing Curtis Creek. The days we have been on the French Broad have been tough, but not impossible. Sami and his father run Eddies Pizza and Pasta in Marion. Always fish the conditions. I run size 16-20 midges under the wool and drift the deep slow moving holes. fish, but hooked up with a true trophy at the end of the day. The Pisgah National Forest surrounds Asheville and lies in 14 surrounding North Carolina counties. The best fishing is on days when there is no generation. We are thirty days away from the end of summer (September 22). Book your trip today! Our wade fishing trips take clients deep into the heart of the Pisgah National Forest. Out of all the fish stocked by the state 40% of them are rainbow trout. Lake levels are reported with normal full pond elevation of 100 feet. Smaller topwater flies dominate throughout the summer because youve got cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers, damselflies, and dragonflies. Fish over 10 pounds have been caught in Jordan Reservoir. The Catawba Tailrace is a unique tailwater fishery below Bridgewater Dam in Morganton, North Carolina. There are a lot of hatches going on throughout the day and it makes for some good dry fly fishing. Because of the lack of access and the need for a drift boat, a lot of people default to hiring a local guide, but youre not stuck with that option, thanks to our handy guide. ! Its been a colder spring so this sets us up good for the later half of spring with colder water out of muddy creek and the dam. The Catawba Tailrace is slowly starting to fish better and better. The 30-mile stretch of flatwater on the Catawba River between Lake Wylie Hydro Dam and the upper end of Fishing Creek Lake remains wooded and natural rich in wildlife and history rooted in the Catawba Indian Nation. One way to catch more fish in an unfamiliar river system is to find out what forage is in the river whether it be bugs, minnows, or crayfish and start there. We had a great day and we managed to get a good trout as well. The wild trout streams in North Carolina are fishing excellent right now. Jerrod and his grandfather netted around 65 fish in about a 6 hour time period. October is going to be good for trout and smallmouth. Challenge: In order to catch these fish you must get good presentations with drag free drifts. The fish were smacking topwater baits, but the key was to cast them a foot off the bank. Normally if the crowds are bad you can bounce up to Newberry Creek or the wild water of Curtis Creek and do well throwing dries. The bigger bugs such as caddis, cahills, hendricksons, quill gordons, stoneflies, and sulphurs begin to make their arrival in the spring so there are plenty of insects for the trout to eat. When the water is clear weve been having great success on flies which we will go into detail of what has been working and what we can expect the rest of the summer. The most important thing he picked up quickly was the mend. The Nolichucky has been clear and low so weve been taking the majority of fly fishing clients there. We were fortunate to run a few trout fishing trips after rainstorms because the water temperatures were in a suitable range for the fish. The trout fishing will be excellent on the delayed harvest stretches on the Catawba, Curtis, Mill, and the Toe Rivers. Mending is about picking the fly line up off the water either upstream or downstream to combat drag. Most likely the fins were rubbed off during the time this fish was in the holding walls of the hatchery. The trout on the Delayed Harvest waters get extremely picky after the first two weeks after seeing a million flies and lures so its vital to downsize tippet and fish smaller flies. Some of the best fly fishing is within a short drive of Asheville, North Carolina. We caught most of our fish on the bottom that day which involves a more finesse style of fishing. check out our Whitewater Park Toolkit. Below are some of the tips we used on the guide trip and had some really good success. Overall I think this July has been more productive than Ive seen in years past. The lake is home to some big largemouth bass and is also known as a put and take striper lake where the state stocks 25,000 fingerling every year. Start early and end early. Recent fishing report for North Carolina trout fishing. The Catawba Tailrace is slowly starting to fish better and better. This is why small flies and good presentations dominate. This is our best fishery from November to the end of May. Monitoring location 02146000 is associated with a STREAM in YORK COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA. Whenever the water temperature drops below 60 degrees the bass will start chasing baitfish again and normally you net a lot of big fish during these months. I made one cast and caught a 21 inch rainbow which was the third time Ive caught this fish in the last four months. Ive booked trips on the Tailrace all the way out to the fish of June because we should have suitable water temps until mid june. All fish were caught on a yellow stimulator and a parachute adams. Winter trout fishing here in North Carolina has been excellent. We recently took a client into a wild trout stream and the water temperature was 42 degrees which is uncommon for this time of year, but the fishing was great. Weve all heard of matching the hatch which is good and all, but I would go farther than that and say its even more important to match the movement of the forage you are mimicking. Smallmouth can be picky throughout the season that runs from March to November, but we bounce around from three different rivers to put clients in the best water to catch fish. Trout fishing has been fantastic this month and will continue to be good the entire month of May! We will go into more details about that when the time is right. On our trips you will be paired with an experienced guide that will do everything in their power to make sure you have a successful day on the water. Fall brings beautiful color changes to the brown trout in the Catawba Tailrace. Weve caught a lot of smallmouth in this stretch using the same nymphs that the trout hit. Ready to go? The second stocking of trout on our local Delayed Harvest waters happens next week so that is exciting as well. Weve been bringing alot of fish to the net and seeing some holdover fish as well. S2O Design & Engineering heads Great Falls-Dearborn Diversion Bypass Project, design solution will open the Catawbas Long Bypass Reach for boating for the first time in over 100 years. We take a lot of pride in that our fishing guides are all local to western North Carolina and have fished the NC mountain streams for many years. This time of the year is an excellent time to catch your personal best river smallmouth before they start to spawn. We offer different kayak types and river tubes to use on the scenic & historic Catawba River, South Fork River, or one of the area lakes! This is our best fishery from November to the end of May. Construction on the Great Falls-Dearborn Diversion Bypass began in the spring of 2021 and is expected to be completed by fall 2022. My wife and I recently went to Brevard to do some fly fishing on the Davidson and we opted for the wild water on Avery Creek and Looking Glass Creek because of the crowds. Current conditions of DISCHARGE, GAGE HEIGHT, and STREAM WATER LEVEL ELEVATION ABOVE NAVD 1988 are available. There were lots of laughs and good times had on the lake. Its versatile. Shallow areas and wade-in access usually mean the water gets too warm, so consider that, as well. The state record rainbow trout in North Carolina weighed over 20 pounds and was caught out of a stream 60 miles from Asheville. The state stocks a lot of these fish in the Delayed Harvest streams in the fall and the spring. Below are some fish from the last two weeks. Remember these things when you know the water is going to be up. Our guides passion is sharing the local fisheries that we have grown to love and appreciate with clients from across the United States. Fish slowly and throughly: Slow down and fish the areas where you know the fish are at because they might not bite on the first cast but the twentieth cast. In February of 2020, a 7 pound, 3 ounce smallmouth was caught by Ken Whitesides. There is nothing better than clear water and smallmouth bass in the fall because fishing is great! catawba river tailrace flow release. Just minutes from I-40 and easily accessed from Hendersonville and Asheville, this river is a prime spot for a day trip or a weekend getaway. With construction past the half-way point, both water and boaters will soon be flowing down the Long Reach of the Catawba for the first time since 1907, bringing life and voice back to the rolling granite waves that are the historic Great Falls of South Carolina. Spring is my favorite time to fish Curtis Creek because we get some excellent caddis, March brown, and Hendrickson hatches throughout March, April, and May. Weve been picking fish up in the deeper runs on nymphs and streamers in the riffles. There is nothing better than floating down a beautiful mountain river chasing smallmouth bass on the fly. Normally a half of inch of rain in an isolated area is going to cause the creeks and rivers to present high water conditions. Its flat out hunting for big bass on the fly. Hitting the fish on the nose with smaller flies seems to work most of the time. GNSS2 - Level 2 Quality Survey Grade Global Navigation Satellite System. This section is a tailwater that provides cold water year round that creates the perfect habitat for aquatic life. We will be fishing low water till into the fall so I expect the topwater bite in August, and September to be good. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS The key to having a successful day is finding somewhat clear water. Set includes 40 high quality, hand-tied flies (see list below) and waterproof fly box. If you are looking to catch these fish find a creek above 3,000 feet and go explore it. Tiger trout are extremely rare in North Carolina. Trail Uses Locations Huntersville (NC), Mount Holly (NC) Length 6.1 miles, One Way Difficulty Easy Motorized Vehicles In the winter time Im using 6-7x tippet. If its two units stay at the house. All the delayed harvest waters across western North Carolina have received their first stocking of the year. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 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