North Carolina Fishing Report

We have had several days of sunshine and mild temperatures. The fish and the aquatic insects both think that it is April.

The Tennessee tailwaters have been on fire. There are lots of blue winged olives on both the Watauga River and the South Holston right now. Fish can be taken on the surface pretty much ALL DAY LONG. For the best success though try dropping a BWO emerger or zebra midge behind your dry fly.

On the Watauga River float trips our guests are averaging a dozen trout or more with some real quality fish getting put in the net.

The river is at an ideal level for floating and is getting very little pressure right now. The South Holston is best when waded right now. Between the blue winged olives and the blackflies you will see trout rising consistantly. The dam releases are sporadic, so be aware of rising water and expect the best fishing during falling/low water.

Small stream fishing around Asheville can be great right now. Pick a nice warm day when the water temps reach the 50's and the fish really turn on. There are some March Brown mayflies and plenty of midges keeping the fish active feeding. The surface activity is sporadic so expect most of your strikes to come from the deeper water on some sort of mayfly or stonefly nymph.

Smallmouth season is right around the corner. With the mild winter we have been experiencing our smallmouth bass should be kicking into their pre-spwn feeding mode over the next couple of weeks. The smallmouth we are catching right now are requiring a slow and deep presentation with a very subtle strike. However, the rewards are unbelievable! Some of the biggest smallmouth of the year will be seen during the pre-spaw n fishing. We are booking trips for spring dates right now, so don't wait to schedule your next fishing adventure.