By Ken Kastorff
The warmer months of July and August bring both advantages and disadvantages for fly fishing in the mountains. Fly anglers, who enjoy fishing for different species of fish, look forward to July and August. One advantage is that the warmer water will entice Smallmouth Bass to seek out their hiding spots under overhanging trees and bushes, making it easier to target them with poppers. There is little more exciting than a well placed cast with a popper, letting it sit to a count of five, then twitching gently and experiencing the explosive take of a smallmouth bass. These fish will jump twice as high and fight twice as hard as a similar sized trout. The great thing about western North Carolina is that we have hundreds of miles of rivers and lakeshores full of smallmouth. All of the Tuckasegee River, Little Tennessee River, French Broad River, and Lake Fontana are prime warm water fisheries. As a bonus, they also hold good populations of brim and red eye bass. If you aren’t fly fishing for these species, you are missing out on some of the best fishing in the area.
The disadvantage with the warmer weather is that finding good trout fishing will become more of a challenge. The easy access, delayed harvest rivers will get too warm to hold many trout. Now is the time that anglers will have to search out the upper elevation streams in the Smoky Mountain Park or Nantahala National Forest. There are still many good trout fishing opportunities, you just have to put out more effort to find them. Another options for good trout is checking out Tailwater streams below the power plants in the area. The upper sections of the Tuckasegee River, Hiwassee River and Nantahala River are great options.
The Nantahala River is one of the top 100 trout fishing streams in the country. It can be a challenging river to fish when there is a generation release but that is oft’ times the most productive time. It has a good population of both native brown trout and rainbow trout. The best way to fish these tailwater streams during a generation release is by floating the river. You will cover much more water and usually have much more success. There are several shops in the area that offer guided float trips for both trout and small mouth fishing.
Ken Kastorff is the Owner and Guide at Endless River Adventures located along the Nantahala River in Bryson City, North Carolina.