Greg is good friend and angler from Knoxville who I have guided more than anyone else since I opened River Smallie Adventures. By this time of the year I would had have him after those river smallies on several trips during the prespawn migration on the Little Pigeon River. However, due to scheduling conflicts this was his first trip with me in the spring of 2022. As luck would have it the night before we had just enough rain that would raise the Little Pigeon to “marginal” fishing levels. I wasn’t sure if it would be clear enough to fish but we decided to roll the dice. As I crossed over the bridge on the lower section of the river where I normally fish I could see that the water was too dirty and unfishable. After meeting Greg at the ramp I suggested we drive into Sevierville so I could look at the water downstream from the two tributaries that form the final section of the Little Pigeon before it joins the French Broad several miles downstream. One of the tributaries was nothing but dark brown water while the other was stained but clear enough to fish. The water from that tributary sent a ribbon of fishable water down the west bank of the Little Pigeon though some good spots. I suggested to Greg that we run my Stealthcraft jet boat up to those spots and give it a shot. I’m glad we did. In six hours of fishing he caught 41 smallies. The biggest smallie he caught was just a hair shy of 20 inches. It came in at 19 ⅞” inches and weighed 3 lbs. 15 oz. A picture of Greg with that stout smallie is included in this report.
River Smallie Adventures Fishing Report April 19, 2022
