Recent fishing report for North Carolina trout fishing.
Spring is here and we are in the full swing of our guiding season. Our tailwater trips have been super productive and we are starting to venture to the high country for wild trout. The second stocking of trout on our local Delayed Harvest waters happens next week so that is exciting as well. Hatchery Supported waters opens up this Saturday so this provides some more opportunities on our float trips and wade fishing trips to catch some bigger stocked trout. This report is going to be a little different in the sense that I am going to report on each trip and then give you the outlook for that fishery over the next month. As always if you are interested in fishing another fishery that I don’t list in this report please call me or text me.
Jerrod and his grandfather booked a trip with me on the Catawba Tailrace on March 22nd. The water was clear coming out of muddy creek and we had a no release flow. I knew it was going to be a good time to fish because for the last three years the Catawba Tailrace has been excellent from the beginning of March to the end of May. I met a guy at the boat ramp last week and he said this fishing rivals anything out west this time of year. I would have to say if you are looking to catch a lot of fish then you do not want to miss fishing this stretch this time of year. Jerrod and his grandfather netted around 65 fish in about a 6 hour time period. We caught nothing but rainbows because they didn’t put browns in this winter because of the hatchery shortage of fish after the flood in August 2021. We did hook into a nice holdover brown on the lower end of the float, but it got off at the boat. It’s good to see at least one brown in that stretch. I know the bigger browns are still there, but these fish are few and far between right now. It’s the thought of catching the biggest brown trout of your life here that brings guides and anglers back every year. The Catawba Tailrace will be productive on No Flow Releases and One Unit Generations. If it’s two units stay at the house. I’ve booked trips on the Tailrace all the way out to the fish of June because we should have suitable water temps until mid june. It’s been a colder spring so this sets us up good for the later half of spring with colder water out of muddy creek and the dam.
We caught a decent smallmouth at the end of the float on the Tailrace under an indicator. We’ve caught a lot of smallmouth in this stretch using the same nymphs that the trout hit.
Brian and I hit a local delayed harvest stretch after a heavy rainfall the night before and it was tough fishing to say the least, but Brian stuck with it and netted some good fish towards the end of the trip. With high flows we tighlined heavy stoneflies and eggs using light tippet. This was the best method during the morning then we switched to midges midday and had some good success fishing then under a dry. The trout on the Delayed Harvest waters get extremely picky after the first two weeks after seeing a million flies and lures so it’s vital to downsize tippet and fish smaller flies. The best success on Curtis Creek has been a brown midge. I’ve always fished black midges and had good success, but it seems the fish like the brown way better. Olive is another color that shouldn’t be overlooked. The delayed harvest fish on the smaller mountain creeks won’t entertain trash flies so be sure to have some natural patterns readily available. The second stocking of the year on our delayed harvest waters is next week so it will be a good time to get out there and catch some bigger trout.
It’s stonefly season! This giant stonefly was crawling across the asphalt before a recent float trip so guess what we threw the entire day? Stoneflies. I had the pleasure of taking my best friend fly fishing for the first time and we had an excellent day dry fly fishing and running nymphs under an indicator. He has never picked up a fly rod before, but was able to get on about 20 fish on a short 3 hour float. The most important thing he picked up quickly was the mend. The mend is very important when fishing from a raft or drift boat. Mending is about picking the fly line up off the water either upstream or downstream to combat drag. Drag and nymph fishing doesn’t go hand in hand. That’s why tightlining is so effective because essentially there is no drag on the fly. Anyways back to our recent float. After a couple of fish to the boat Sami wanted me to try a drift through a productive run. I made one cast and caught a 21 inch rainbow which was the third time I’ve caught this fish in the last four months. This is why catch and release is cool. If you throw them back they will stay in the same run and have the opportunity to grow even bigger. Check out the three pictures below of the same fish. Check out the dorsal fin on the trout it’s a dead giveaway. It’s also gotten bigger since we first caught it in December.
We offer multiple float trips on our local fisheries so if you are interested in getting in the boat with your significant other, best friend, or child then let us know. Below is a picture of my buddies Sami’s first trout on the fly. His smile says it all. Sami and his father run Eddie’s Pizza and Pasta in Marion. If you are looking for the best Italian in the area look no further.
It’s always a pleasure fishing with Jim Sitts. We were able to fish the Catawba Tailrace after having to reschedule due to weather. We had a great day fishing a one unit release. The one unit release is around 1600 cfs which is a good flow. Most of the time I’m using weighted lines for streamers or adding weight to get the nymphs down. When you’re fishing the one unit the first aren’t in the normal holding areas when it’s a no flow release. Focus your attention on the slack seam lines to the right or left of the fast water. If you aren’t fishing the nymphs about 6-8 feet deep your not in the target zone.
I had a good trip on the Catawba Tailrace with Jay and Drew. It was another one unit flow release and we netted about 25 fish. The weather was ideal with it being cloudy and mid 50’s. We were fishing in front of rainstorm which dropped about an inch of rain down in the foothills. This will have the Tailrace out of commission for the next few days. Normally anything over a half of inch will muddy the fishery due to muddy creek. It’s not impossible to catch fish in muddy water but it’s not ideal.
The wild trout streams in North Carolina are fishing excellent right now. There are a lot of hatches going on throughout the day and it makes for some good dry fly fishing. We are targeting fish using dry droppers and single drys. This is one of my favorite trips because you are in some beautiful areas away from the crowds. The wild trout fishing will be good till July when water temperatures get over 70 degrees. Get it while it’s good. We offer half and full day trips for wild brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout.
Smallmouth Season Is Here
We are currently booking smallmouth float trips now until the end of October. This is one of our favorite trips of the year. Catching hard fighting smallmouth on light spinning gear and the fly rod is too much fun. We guide on the best smallmouth rivers in western North Carolina. Give the trout a break this summer and book a trip with us to catch some river smallmouth.
Give us a call to book your fishing charter in the mountains of North Carolina. 828-460-2390.