March 20th was the first day of Spring. It’s currently 74 degrees in Asheville. The caddis and march browns were coming off the Tuckaseegee River this past weekend. The Catawba River is loaded with hungry rainbows. The French Broad and Nolichucky smallmouth are in their prespawn phase bulking up for the spawn. The wild trout streams are waking up from winter and offering good fly fishing. Life is good for anglers and guides here in western North Carolina.

We’ve got a few dates left in April, but we are currently booking in May and June so do not hesitate to get on our calendars. I recommend people to book at least 3-4 weeks in advance. We can handle last minute bookings, but if you want a preferred date contact us early.

The French Broad smallmouth were on a crayfish pattern this past week with water temperatures around the mid to upper 40’s.Water temps are 60 degrees currently so fishing will be good until the fish concentrate solely on the spawn.

We have had some stellar days on the delayed harvest waters. Float fishing has been best because we can cover so much more water than wade fishing. The delayed harvest waters will be excellent till the end of May. Check out some of these great fish from our recent floats.

We been wading some new stretches of river which has been fantastic. We were on a local river in McDowell County and got into some excellent brown trout. The are healthy, hard fighting fish which makes for a great day!

As March comes to an end we are heading full steam into April. The Delayed Harvest waters are full of trout and after the first Saturday in April the Hatchery Supported Waters open up. We have some wading and floating opportunities that we haven’t been able to access due to the waters being closed so after the first Saturday in April let’s go chase some fish on some waters that have been closed a month long. Below is a brown trout from a hatchery supported section we are able to float in April and May.