The best fishing of the year is right around the corner!
March is less than two weeks away and I couldn’t be more excited. This winter has been a cold one, but the good news is that the days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer. March provides some of the best trout fishing of the year due to the fact that multiple creeks and rivers will receive their first stocking of fish. This provides excellent wade fishing and float trips on numerous delayed harvest fisheries throughout the mountains. The wild trout streams in the area will be another hot ticket with fish rising to dry flies. Last year the second week of March brought out some of the best blue quill and quill Gordon hatches I’ve ever seen and I am confident this year will be very similar. The best fishing will be on the Catawba Tailrace as we will be chasing the best hatch of the year down there which are the caddis. The fish down there will be eagerly eating bugs on top which is quite a phenomenon to witness. It’s hard to pinpoint the best dates because we cannot predict the weather, but in years past the best fishing has taken place the first week of March through the second week of April. We target the browns and rainbows down there using emergers and dry flies. If you have ever wanted to fish the Catawba Tailrace then now until the end of May is the best time to go. Last year between March and June we boated 5 fish over 20 inches which was our best year of guiding down there since 2017. Contact us and we will be happy to show you a cool fishery that doesn’t get a ton of pressure unlike other tailwaters in the Southeast. We are going to be offering some new trips this year so be on the lookout for those in the upcoming months.
Towards the of March we will be throwing big flies and baits for pre-spawn river smallmouth. If you are looking for quality fish instead of quantity then a smallmouth float trip is for you. This time of year the bigger smallmouth are packing on the pounds to prepare for the spawn. Speaking of smallmouth, 2022 is looking like it’s going to be a low water year so it’s best to leave the freestone trout alone starting in late June through the beginning of September because lower water levels mean warmer temperatures. The higher elevation creeks will be fine early morning and so will the tailwaters in East Tennessee, but when it’s hot it’s best to chase bass. We have great success from March all the way into November chasing smallmouth so give us a call and we would love to show you how much fun these river smallmouth can be on the fly or spinning gear.
2021 was our best year to date in terms of fishing and the number of trips we ran, and I would like to personally thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ because without him none of this would be possible. I am excited to see what this year has in store for us and I look forward to fishing with new clients and welcoming old ones. See you on the water!
Matt Evans
Owner/The Catawba Angler
