Smallmouth Bass are steady on the Fly in Asheville, NC
If you have been sitting around the house waiting for
the summertime thunderstorms to pass and the water to clear then you are missing the bite. So far the smallmouth bite has been as expected this summer “HOT”. Although afternoon thundershowers have been dropping massive amounts of rain around the Asheville & Hendersonville areas, the river seems to clear up just enough within a day or two to allow the smallies to resume their usual attack on the fly. Last week I guided two anglers from Charleston, SC in their pursuit of some nice smallmouth bass they had been hearing about. Evening storms the day before had the water clarity off a bit from the week before but these two gentleman were bombing clousers, estaz zonkers, and crayfish patterns like professionals.
If you have fished the French Broad River with any regularity this year you would agree that we have had an excellent spawn this year with vast amounts of fish ranging in the 12-13 inch category. For most anglers boating 10-12 of these guys on the fly equals a good day but for two anglers who are used to fighting 6lb Redfish all the time, this can pose for a bit of a dilemma for us guides. None the less, patience and persistence paid off for these guys and they were able to hook up on several nice fish by the end of the day. If you are sitting around your vise still tying your clear water patterns, get off your rear and get on the water because there is only two more months left before the this bite slows down and the local Delayed Harvest Waters open back up!
Tight Lines!
