The last time I took Robert on a guided trip for river smallies was last June. At that point, the majority of the French Broad River post spawn smallies had exited the Little Pigeon River. Today, was the inverse of that moment in time, with the pre-spawn run just beginning with the French Broad smallies continuing to migrate up the Little Pigeon. I had shared with Robert last summer, how great the fishing can be during the months of March, April, and May on both rivers and was hopeful to duplicate the fantastic fishing, that had occurred over the past weekend. We had consistent weather conditions over the past several days with sunny skies and light winds. Consistent weather conditions is one of the important elements that appear too enhance the bite. On Saturday, the water temperature on the Little Pigeon was fifty-nine degrees. Perfect for triggering the pre-spawn movement of smallies into the Little Pigeon. However, on this day, the water temperature had dropped to fifty-two degrees. With the clear skies over the past several nights near thirty degrees, and daytime highs in the sixties, this seven degree drop in water temperature appeared to slow the bite. Also, we had a light north wind and cold front conditions, which also in my opinion knocked the bite back. Nonetheless, Robert persevered, and did have a productive day on the water. He managed to land fourteen quality smallies and one largemouth. Speaking of largemouth, Robert has done a lot of flyfishing for trout and crappie fishes, so I was shocked to hear him say as I slid the net under his fifteen inch largemouth that that was the first largemouth bass he has ever caught. I was tempted to put the picture of him with his first largemouth in this report, but opted to show him holding a much bigger smallie. I am glad to see that Robert got a chance to experience a reduced version of what the pre-spawn fishing can be like, however, our future plans include additional excursions in April, which is prime time for those river smallies, both on the Little Pigeon, and French Broad Rivers.
River Smallie Adventures Fishing Report March 19, 2019
