ON THE RISE!
Spring time in North Carolina is a guide’s dream. Water temperatures are rising and so is the metabolism of the fish. Our streams will begin to see caddis, stoneflies, and mayflies which allows us to fish dry flies which is exciting after nymph fishing all winter. The trout will leave their winter holding spots and begin to feed on these hatches in the shallower water and tailouts of pools. One of my favorite flies to fish in the spring with clients is the parachute adams because the fly has excellent visibility and mimics a variety of different bugs this time of year.
Trout taken on a parachute adams. This fly should be in every anglers fly box this time of year.
Remember hatches are based on water temperature so if the temperature is cold in the morning it can be best to wait till midday or evening to fish so the water temps warm up.
Our wild water streams can produce excellent dry fly fishing this time of the year! We guide on three wild trout water streams right here in McDowell County and catch all three species of wild trout in them.
Wild rainbow trout taken on the fly!
Wild brook trout caught on a March guide trip.
Wild brown trout!
The wild trout streams do not yield big fish, but what these fish lack in size they make up for it in beauty. This fishing takes place deep into the Pisgah National Forest. We are fortunate to have obtained the necessary permits to guide here last Spring.
The Catawba Angler has permits to take clients on wild trout streams in the Pisgah National Forest.
Delayed Harvest Waters Open in March
Delayed Harvest waters are creeks and rivers that receive trout stockings from the NCWRC. The waters will provide the best trout fishing of the year! We guide on Curtis Creek, Mill Creek, and the Catawba River which have delayed harvest sections. We specialize in guiding on the Catawba River and offer float and wade fishing trips. The float trips allow us to cover more water and fish the sections wading anglers cannot get to, so keep that in mind when booking your fishing trip. Expect to catch good quantities of fish and don’t be surprised when you catch that 20” trout you’ve always been after. There are some huge trout that get put in the Catawba. Check out some of our pictures from the Catawba below after they stock in March!
Large brook trout caught on a delayed harvest wading trip last spring.
Father and son trip on a delayed harvest stream.
Monster brook trout caught in a delayed harvest section on one of our trips last spring.
The Catawba holds some big rainbows too!
Another big brook trout!
Float Trips Down The Catawba
Hooked up on the Catawba!
Our float trips allows us to hit those hard to reach places that wade anglers can’t fish.
Great fish landed on one of our float trips down the Catawba.
Hard to beat a day of trout fishing from one of our rafts!
The best time to fish the delayed harvest waters is after the first stocking in March and all the way through the end of May! The regulations only allow anglers to fish single hook, artificial flies/lures, and the fish must be released to keep the fish around. The delayed harvest waters do not fish very well after May because anglers are able to keep a certain amount of fish, so book your trips before then to get in on the action.
As soon as the fish are stocked they tend to hit anything and everything. We normally fish worm and egg patterns then switch to more natural patterns once the fish get smarter.
Lake James In The Spring
Lake James is arguably one of the best lakes in western NC to have a chance at catching a good sized smallmouth and largemouth bass on the same trip. The crystal clear waters and the mountain scenery surrounding the lake is unmatched by any other lake in the area.
Fishing in late March, April, and May is hard to beat on Lake James. Most anglers enjoy fishing before and after the spawn when the bass feed aggressively. This makes the larger fish vulnerable because they tend to hit about anything that is casted in front of them.
We are fortunate to have Kelsey Minish apart of The Catawba Angler and he will be your guide on Lake James. Last year he placed fifth in the Carolina Bass Challenge which brings some of the best anglers to the lake to compete in a bass fishing tournament, so that was quite the accomplishment. Check out some of the quality fish that can be found on Lake James.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass populations are good on Lake James.
Lake James Largemouth caught on one of our trips.
Pound for pound you cannot beat the fight of a smallmouth.
Smallmouth Float Trips
Smallmouth fishing in late March and early April can be really good on the river! We don’t guide for numbers but we look to hook our clients up with a few of the biggest! The fish are aggressive this time of year and look for larger baitfish and crayfish. If you have never fished for smallmouth from a raft then let us show you why it’s our favorite type of fishing! Check out some of our catches from March and April.
Big smallmouth caught in early April on a spinnerbait!
Big river smallmouth caught in late March on one of our float trips.
We offer light spinning tackle and fly fishing trips for big river smallmouth.
Catawba Tailrace Caddis Hatch
The Tailrace provides great dry fly fishing in March because the black caddis make their appearance. I was on the river last week and saw some sporadic hatches! The fish aren’t keying in on them yet, but I will update this post once they start. Check out the Caddis I saw last week below.
Black Caddis on the Catawba Tailrace. 2/25/20.
Black stones and streamers are always good choices for the Tailrace.
Enjoy More Pics From This Time Of Year
