By James (“Josh”) Lane
When the summer heat beats down, a great place to stay cool is Calderwood Lake! Located on US 129 North, a short thirty-minute drive from Robbinsville, Calderwood is an often, overlooked gem. This lake is the third lake in a chain of lakes on the North Carolina side of the Little Tennessee River system. Built in 1930, and owned and maintained by Tapoco, a subsidiary of Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America). It may seem a little confusing, but the lake level is controlled by the Tennessee Valley Authority or (TVA). This lake has defiantly been here for decades, and has a lot of history.
For someone who has never been to Calderwood, it’s an adventure. Basically, a big river, having only one channel, you really can’t get lost, but don’t let the thirty-acre reservoir fool you. For the trout fisherman, it’s a great place! This lake is located in NC and Tennessee, so both fishing licenses will work. The state line can be located just a quarter mile down stream at the mouth of Slickrock Creek.
One thing about Calderwood is its cool temperatures. When July heats up, I always make a few trips there. The water temp stays in the low forties, and due to warmer air temperatures, it creates an eerie fog. It is primarily a trout lake. Trout of ten pounds or better have been caught; although, most trout will be in the 14 to 16 inch range. Also being down stream from Lake Fontana, other types of fish exist and thrive here as well. There are some beautiful bluegill and colorful, big and aggressive smallmouth bass.
Most fishermen target bass near the dam, where the water is a little warmer. One technique that I recommend for trout is a Carolina Rig. There is a sand bar located straight out from the boat ramp. I anchor on the sandbar, and Carolina Rig a night crawler, or corn. The trout school in this lake, so it’s a waiting game. I grew up fishing this lake with my uncle, who learned this technique from some fishermen from Tennessee. He passed it on to me. One particular memory I have from my teenage years, was camping at the “magazine”, an old concrete structure where dynamite was stored during construction of the dam. We had fished till noon, without a bite! My uncle Donald said “ Let’s go eat a sandwich at the camp, we’ll come back, they’ll bite sometime today”. We went back, about an hour later, and a school of trout had moved in. We caught both our limits of nice rainbows in about 15 minutes! So, you have to have patience, they will bite using this method. When July and August heats up, and you’re looking for new water, give Calderwood a try.
Josh Lane is a native of Western North Carolina in the town of Robbinsville. He is a long time avid fisherman and enjoys hiking, backpacking, writing and singing gospel music.