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 thunderstorms have been dropping massive amount of rain around the Asheville and 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 gentlemen were bombing clousers, estaz zonkers, and crayfish patterns like professionals.
If you have fished the French Broad with any regularity this year you will agree that we 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 on the water 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 several nice fish by the end of the day. If you are sitting behind your vise still tying your clear water patterns, get off your rear and get on the water because there are only two more months left before the bite slows down and the local Delayed Harvest Waters open back up!
