By Derek Kinsler
Douglas Lake–
The topwater bite has been amazing in the mornings and late afternoons for black bass and bluegill. The middle of the day when everything else is slow, start cruising the bluffs and listening for cicadas to chase those 10-20 lb carp on topwater. Or find a creek holler and fish slow moving baits for black bass. Crappie are post spawn and running deeper to chase baitfish at depths between 10-20 ft. Look for rocky points and troll with small plugs.
Cherokee Lake–
The water is warming up tremendously, so if you would like to fish top water for some striper and smallmouth you will need to do it at first light or at nighttime with black lights. The baitfish are schooling hard to green lights and the white bass will be there. The striper action has been best in a water depth around 50ft fishing 25 ft deep. Trolling umbrella rigs for striper is a no go this time of year so keep them at home until wintertime. The black bass action is picking up due to the bait movement being so aggressive. Fish brush, humps, and rocky points with soft plastics at a slower than normal speed.
The French Broad–
Small mouth fishing mid-summer is starting to pick back up after the spawn. We have started to see a lot of topwater action early morning then moving to rock piles fishing slow in the afternoon. The bait fish is starting to school up and feed, so it won’t be long until the smallmouth are back on the move. The cicadas are still around the river and the fish cannot resist such a tempting snack. Keep your eye out for a pulsing generation schedule and stay away from heavy flows.
Derek Kinsler is the owner of Smoky Mountain Fishing Company and a Certified US Coast Guard Captain. He grew up in Jefferson County with Douglas and Cherokee lakes within 15 minutes away. He has been fishing these lakes his entire life with passed down knowledge from 5 generations. He takes pride in offering an amazing experience whether you are a first-time angler, or you have been doing it for 50 years. At your first meeting, his number one goal is to provide the best and most memorable fishing trip that you have had to date.