As 2020 comes to a close, I’d like to thank God, my wife, and clients who supported me to make this year very special. I am very thankful that I get to make a career out of taking people fishing on the creeks and rivers I have been fishing since a kid. The best thing about being a fishing guide is being able to create memories on the river with new and old clients. Satisfied and happy clients at the end of a hard days work keep me motivated to be the best possible guide I can be. I take a lot of pride in providing the best guided fishing experience in western North Carolina. It’s always a pleasure getting to see families and friends come closer together on one of our guided trips. With that being said I’d like to share some of the memories we made out on the water this year.
First fishing trip of 2020 with my wife. Jan. 1, 2020.
First fish of 2020. Wild brown trout on Curtis Creek took a dry fly. Jan. 1, 2020.
Courtney and I decided to hit the Curtis Creek wild water stretch in Old Fort, NC on the first day of the year. We fished later in the afternoon using a royal wulff dry fly. We caught multiple fish that day including some wild rainbow trout. Anytime you can entice a wild trout to take your fly off the surface it’s considered a successful day.
We netted 67 trout in a half day float on February 1, 2020.
Daniel Grindstaff and I put 67 trout in the net on a four hour float down the Catawba River. We euro nymphed the entire time and it was a technique I was able to incorporate on all the future trout float trips the rest of the year. This was the most fish I seen on a four hour trip all year long. What a day!!
Mr. Atkins with the first 2020 twenty inch fish. Mar. 13, 2020.
The Atkins brothers had non-stop trout and bass action on the river in March. This was the first 20” trout that came to the net on a guided trip in 2020. It was great to share the river with the Atkins brothers by making memories with fly rods in hand.
Mrs. Webb with an absolute bruiser of a brook trout we caught while floating on one of our main rivers for trout. April 8, 2020.
Guide Kelsey Minish holding up a big bag of largemouth caught on Lake James. April 14, 2020
My wife’s biggest smallmouth of 2020. This kicked off the 2020 smallmouth season. We caught some absolute monsters this year and cannot wait to see what 2021 holds. April 15, 2020.
April is an unbelievable month to book a guided fishing trip because you have the potential of catching trout and smallmouth on the same float or wade trip. April is by far the best month to fish Lake James for big bass as well.
My personal best brown trout of 2020 came on May 5, 2020. I’ve seen some really big fish in this stretch over the past few years. We offer half day guided trips here.
Catching a trout over 20” inches is a respectable catch anywhere. This fish was caught out of the Catawba River in Old Fort. It was a holdover that came out of an upstream delayed harvest creek. This fish actually came on my last cast! Great memory for 2020.
Mr. Small with a river smallmouth caught out of the North Toe River. This was an amazing day of fishing in muddy water. We caught a bunch of healthy post spawn bass. May 30, 2020.
Forget the forecast and trust your local fishing guide. Kurt and I stayed in constant communication over the week leading up to our trip and decided to fish a different river because of the rainfall in Asheville. We were actually going to fish the French Broad but it was blown out, so he met me with his father-in-law on the North Toe. We made the best out of not so ideal conditions and put some great fish in the net. As a guide it’s my job to figure out the best techniques to put clients on fish in any type of water clarity or weather conditions. We eventually figured out what the fish wanted this day.
6.5 pound largemouth caught on Lake James. This was Jeff’s personal best bass! To top it off he caught it on a topwater plug. June 6, 2020.
Rocky holding a 20” smallmouth he caught on the fly on one of our full day float trips! This was the biggest smallmouth we caught on the fly rod all year long. What a fight!! June 12, 2020.
Rocky and I was just about to park the raft for a lunch break, but I told him to make one more cast in this back eddy before we did. Rocky made a perfect cast and hooked into this monster river smallmouth. This fish fought like a big smallmouth should have making some impressive jumps. The North Toe River holds some monster smallmouth and we were fortunate that this one came to play on this sunny day in June.
Another monster river smallmouth that came to the net on a float trip on June 6th, 2020. These fish are fish of a lifetime, especially on a fly rod.
Manning and I had a great day chasing bass on the Catawba. July 13, 2020.
Manning is a long time bass angler, but had never caught a smallmouth on the fly. We were able to put him on multiple hard fighting smallmouth on the Catawba River. It’s always a pleasure putting new clients on their first fish. We had great conversation and fishing this day on the water.
Nothing better than putting kids on their first fish! We take pride in teaching the future generation of anglers. July28, 2020.
Jacque caught his first trout with us on August 7th, 2020. He was ecstatic and then went on to catch 14 more fish this day. Seeing the smiles on his face after each fish was priceless.
The Harrison family making memories on the water. August 20, 2020.
There is no better way to spend time with your family than to take them on a fishing trip. Todd brought his three kids and wife to fish with us. We had an absolute blast teaching the kids how to fly fish and how to find crawdads in a cool mountain stream on a warm summer day.
Toby Mallik caught this beast on Sep. 11, 2020. This was the biggest smallmouth of the year. What a fish!
Toby is a very skilled fly angler and I was fortunate to fish with him a few times in 2020. I had missed this exact fish on a trip earlier in the week and so I prepped Toby to get ready. I positioned the boat upstream of where I saw the fish and the rest was history. Toby delivered a cast right off the bank and it wasn’t a second before this fish swarmed on the fly and Toby came tight with it. This was Toby’s personal best smallmouth and I couldn’t have been more happy for him to catch it with my assistance. These are the moments I’ll never forget.
Biggest wild fish of the year caught by a client. This 18” wild rainbow trout put up one heck of a fight. Sep. 23, 2020
Mr. Kuenze caught this rainbow trout while smallmouth fishing on the North Toe River on Oct. 3, 2020.
Mr. Alfele caught this stocked rainbow trout on Oct. 13, 2020. This was his first trout ever!
October brings us some excellent trout fishing! Delayed Harvest waters are stocked full and it’s a great time to book a trip to chase some large trout on our mountain creeks. Mr. Alfele fought this big fish on a 3 weight and it ran him upstream and downstream before coming to the net. The leaves begin to change the second week of October so the scenery is just as good as the fishing.
The French Broad River in Asheville was low and clear in October and it provided some excellent smallmouth bass fishing. Oct. 20, 2020.
Personal best smallmouth! Oct. 23, 2020.
October provided some of the best smallmouth fishing of the year. The rivers were low and clear and the smallmouth were fattening up for winter. We caught some very good fish on the French Broad and Nolichucky rivers.
My wife and I catching peacock bass in Naples, Florida. We love fishing together! I wouldn’t trade these memories for anything. Nov. 12, 2020.
My first snook on the fly! Nov. 8th, 2020
My girl showing off her redfish and ring! Nov. 8, 2020.
Andy Still put 40 fish in the net on the Catawba Tailrace on Dec. 7, 2020.
Catawba Tailrace Brown Trout Dec. 13, 2020.
Jim put 20 fish in the net stripping streamers in high water on the Catawba Tailrace. Dec. 23, 2020.
The Catawba Tailrace fished unbelievable this December and will continue to fish well till late Spring 2021. We are fortunate to have this tailwater in our backyard to chase nothing but brown trout and the occasional striper.
Jack caught his personal best largemouth and smallmouth with guide Kelsey Minish on Lake James. Dec. 11, 2020.
Mr. Hubbard caught the last fish of 2020 at Lake James! What better way to finish out the year with a big largemouth and smallmouth. Dec. 29, 2020
Thanks to everyone who made this year special! I look forward to fishing with old friends and new clients in 2021. Let’s go fishing and make some memories that last a lifetime. See you on the river!