Fly Fishing the French Broad River
The French Broad is older than the bones of the mountains it runs through. Believed to be one of the most ancient rivers on the planet, and one of the few stubborn enough to flow north. It pours out of the headwaters around Rosman before swinging by Brevard, rolling right through downtown Asheville, and keeps flowing all the way into Tennessee. It's big, temperamental with the weather, wild, and full of fish.
What's swimming in it
This is smallmouth water, first and foremost. The French Broad grows a world-class population of bronzebacks that crush crayfish patterns and blow up on poppers, averaging around a foot with genuine four to five-pound bruisers in the mix. Then there's the river's apex predator: musky. The fish of ten thousand casts, forty to fifty inches of bad attitude, the kind of fish you throw something big and flashy for all day and forget about right up until one tries to eat your giant streamer boatside. Up in the cold headwaters, you'll also find wild and holdover trout; brown, rainbow, and brook.
When to come
Smallmouth fish best from spring through fall, and summer topwater is about as much fun as you can have with a fly rod. Musky season runs into and through the cooler months. It's a hunt, plain and simple: lots of casting, long stretches of nothing, and then a moment that'll rearrange your insides. Trout up in the headwaters are a cold-water game and are best fished October-May.
How we fish it
This is a float trip down a big river, picking our section by clarity and temperature. We guide for smallmouth on the French Broad and it's typically a mix of stripped streamers, dredged crayfish, and poppers. We aren't afraid to throw spin gear on these trips either. Oftentimes, it simply is the name of the game. Rods, reels, flies, and a guide who knows the water are on us. One price covers one or two anglers in the boat.
Come fish with us
Half day or full day floats and some bank fishing shorter trips are available. Full days come with lunch and more river under the boat. Book online or give us a holler and tell us what you're dreaming about: numbers or one fish of a lifetime. We'll point the boat the right way.
