The Catawba Angler specializes in guided smallmouth fishing trips here in western North Carolina.

Hooked up with nice Nolichucky river smallmouth.

Smallmouth Fishing in the mountains of North Carolina.

Our NRS rafts are comfortable and stable to fish out of.

The smallmouth fishing here in western North Carolina is something that every angler should experience once in their lifetime. The fishing takes place on some of the oldest rivers in the world and the blue ridge mountains provide the perfect backdrop. We specialize in guiding for river smallmouth using fly rods or light spinning tackle. Smallmouth do not discriminate whether it’s a well placed fly or lure so we welcome all anglers and skill levels. We guide out of NRS and Outcast fishing rafts which allows clients to ride comfortably and stable. Anglers have the ability to either sit or stand on the raft’s casting platforms. Our guided smallmouth float trips show clients a different side of these mountains. I like to tell clients that “the scenery alone makes the trip. Catching fish is just a bonus.”

What to expect on a guided smallmouth float trip:

We meet clients around 8am in the spring/fall, and as early as 7am in the summer because we normally get a early morning topwater bite. We will communicate to you on the meeting place and time prior to your trip. Please make every effort to be on time because we promise you we will be on time. We normally cover 4-6 miles of river on our float trips. We provide a basic lunch on full day trips which consists of sandwiches and chips, but we ask clients to bring their own drinks. All gear is provided, but if you like to use your own please let us know prior to your trip.
The average smallmouth size we catch is probably around 10-12 inches. The biggest we’ve netted pushed 5 pounds and measured 21.5 inches. These river smallmouth grow around 2-3 inches a year so every fish is valuable not only to us who make a living off of them, but the river systems. Smallmouth bass make hard runs and you can expect the bigger fish to jump. Landing a big smallmouth is very comparable to fooling a large brown trout. It takes skill and patience. The two main rivers we guide on are the French Broad and the Nolichucky. We also have some other sSmallmouth eat other fish and the aquatic life that dwells on the bottom. Our top flies include clouser minnows, game changers, hellgramite and stonefly patterns. Our top lures are flukes, jigs, and topwater plugs. Natural colors are always best when fishing rivers. If I could pick one color it would be green pumpkin because it mimics so many foods that smallmouth eat.

Nice smallmouth caught on a green pumpkin yum dinger.

This crawdad claw was spit out of a smallmouth’s belly while fishing the French Broad.

These soft plastic crawdads are great baits for river smallmouth.

Expect to throw a variety of different baits on our smallmouth trips. We fish moving baits and finesse baits depending on the time of year. Dingy water shouldn’t be overlooked because we have landed some of our biggest smallmouth on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Most fish in off colored water will hold close to the banks where clarity is better.

This French Broad River smallmouth hammered a chatterbait in off colored water.

The smallmouth fishing here in western North Carolina is best from April to November. The winter months are cold and the bass aren’t very active. My favorite month to guide for smallmouth would be June because the bass are eating a variety of different lures. Early June marks the beginning of summer and we all know that river smallmouth and summertime is a great combination. I’ll highlight our best catches from April to November below.

Smallmouth caught in April on Lake James.

French Broad River smallmouth caught in early May.

Nolichucky River Smallmouth caught in May.

20” smallmouth caught the first week of June.

Smallmouth caught in late October on the French Broad River.

A peacock bass caught in Florida. Head south in November to chase bass :)

Smallmouth fishing is a lot of fun! If you’ve never tried it or are looking to catch your personal best give us a call. Guiding is our full time job so we guarantee we are up to date on what’s working on the river or lake. We appreciate all the support from our wives, families, friends, clients and most importantly God because without him none of this would be possible. See you on the water.