The fishing continues to be good on both the French Broad and Little Pigeon Rivers. This stretch of cool weather has knocked back the water temperature in the Little Pigeon to the mid-fifties, but I continue to find smallies throughout the section of the river that I fish that appear to be pre-spawn fish. So it is my sense that the spawning run is continuing and that it is being strung out due to the unseasonably cool weather. I did see fish on the beds in Sevierville a couple of weeks ago when I did some wade fishing. Greg booked another trip with me today and we again fished both rivers with the majority of our time spent on the Little Pigeon. The water was low and clear on the Little Pigeon with the gauge in Sevierville reading 2.1 ft. Over the past week or so it has been difficult to catch any smallies over twenty inches. That size of fish have all but disappeared. I talked to some other anglers on the river who have been experiencing that very same thing. Today would be no exception. Although the bite was good and Greg caught twenty-nine smallies his biggest fish was just under eighteen inches. The majority of the fish he caught were between fifteen and seventeen inches. I am certainly not complaining when your client catches that many fish, but you would think that during this time of year you would see some more nineteens and a few over twenty. In fact, last year during this same week Greg caught a 5 lb. 3 oz., 4 lb. 15 oz. and lost another pig that throw the hook after a spectacular leap that looked every bit as big as the other two. But that was last year. All that aside, it was great having Greg on the boat again and I am happy that he had another successful day on the water.
River Smallie Adventures Fishing Report April 22, 2018
