This is the time of the year when the smallies start to make their annual pre-spawn migration from the French Broad River into the Little Pigeon River here in East Tennessee. The size and the duration of the run can very from year to year based on a number of factors, but today the bigger fish showed up. Yesterday, the water was very stained and the current was running faster than I like to fish. I picked up only three smallies the entire day. But only twenty-four hours later after the water dropped, the speed of the current was reduced and the water clarity improved it was game on. I caught twenty-five smallies on that seven hour trip with five of them over twenty inches. Those five fish weighed between 4 lb. 5 oz. and 4 lb. 12 oz. The majority of the remaining twenty fish were between sixteen and eighteen inches. For of us who like to fish and guide for river smallmouth on the Little Pigeon River now is the time to enjoy for the next several weeks some of the best fishing of the year.
River Smallie Adventures March 24, 2017 Fishing Report
