Long Float on the French Broad around Biltmore House

As promised – here is the long float that we do on the French Broad River searching for Small Mouth Bass! This is a great six hour float with most of the time spent beside the Biltmore House property. At points on the float you get to see the Biltmore House and then, further down, the Inn on Biltmore.

The put in is very easy to manage – it’s basically a long dirt/gravel slope into the river. The take out is pretty steep, but there are steps to help you with your footing. If your boat is very heavy I would suggest that you have some help in getting the boat out.

View French Broad Float – Long in a larger map

Pontoon Rowing on the French Broad River

Here is a quick video from our friend Adam Reed of our last float on the French Broad River fishing for Small mouth bass. Thanks for sending this along Adam!

French Broad Fishing Report Aug15 2009

Adam, Steph, and myself floated the French Broad today from Sandy Bottoms to Hominy Creek. The fishing for smallmouth bass was slow today. The river was low and the water was fairly stained. We put in about 10:00 and floated until 4:00 PM. The sun was brutal after about 1:00. My legs got FRIED!

There had been several thunderstorms the week prior to us fishing. All of the storms were very short lived, but a lot of rain came down. I think that was a major factor in the fishing as the water was not as clear as I would have liked. The strange thing is that the water level in the river was actually quite low. There were several times that I bottomed the pontoon out on rocks and had to push my way off them.

We did take a few fish on the bottom. A couple came up to swat at some top water lures. One small panfish was taken on top water. Very little action in the first four hours of floating. The stained water and heat played a huge role in the fishing being off.

We will keep watching the weather, and when things look better we will put the boats back out there. I can’t wait to hook into a few more small mouth!

Short float around the Asheville Airport

There have been a number of people that ask about where I float on the French Broad River – so I decided to share a few of them with you.  This is my “short float” – it takes about 3 hours depending on how much fishing you do (and how the smallmouth are biting!).

I put in at Westfeldt Park and take out at Glen Bridge Park.  The total shuttle time is about 10 to 15 minutes.

This is a great little float around the Asheville Airport.  The water is very flat with only a few rocky shoals to deal with.

I hope you find this map helpful.

View French Broad Float – Short in a larger map

French Broad Smallmouth fishing is hot!

We floated the French Broad River again this weekend.  Both the weather and the water was perfect for some Small Mouth Bass action.   We put in at Sandy Bottoms and floated through the Biltmore Estate, taking out at the Hominy Creek River Park.  Everybody caught several smallmouth with a good number of them taken on top with buzz baits.  But the picture below is the big one caught this weekend.  Certainly the biggest smallmouth that I have ever personally caught.  Cant wait to float again.

Make sure that you check out the other fishing reports from the French Broad River.

Fishing Report: French Broad River

Took Stephen out for a quick float around the Asheville Airport on Friday (7/10/2009).  We put in at Westfeldt Park and took out just a few miles downstream at Glenn Bridge Park.  Total float was about two hours.

The river was off color from the recent rains.  It was not possible to see the bottom of the river in all but the most shallow sections.  And as most of us know this is simply not good for small mouth bass fishing.  We tried some top water buzz baits to no avail.  Once again a diving rapala did the job.

We both took one small mouth, and Stephen picked up a bream to boot.  Not the best fishing ever but the float was great.

We will watch for the water to clear up and head back out to try our luck for more small mouth.

Chasing Small Mouth Bass on the French Broad River

Wow! The 4th of July was a great day to chase small mouth Bass on the French Broad River. I took Steph out for her first float on the pontoon. Pictures attached and a fishing report follows:

It has been over a week since the last significant rain, so the river was running low and exceptionally clear. The river bottom was viewable in all but the deepest holes. The temp was in the high 70’s. Skies were somewhat overcast. We put in at Sandy Bottoms at approx. 3:00 PM for the 5 hour float down to Hominy Creek.

The action started almost immediately! The fishing was the best I have ever seen on the French Broad. Bream were very active and so were the small mouth. I landed my first smallie about 10 minutes into the float.

Overall, I caught about 7 small mouth with two of them in the two to three pound range. Both of the bigger fish put on one heck of an aerial display making numerous jumps before I got them in.

The fishing was best on top. A Heddon Tiny Torpedo (both in green and white) was the go to lure for the day. The biggest small mouth bass was taken on a black/silver Rapala DT-4.

Can’t wait to go again, especially if the weather continues to hold and the river stays clear.

Steph did a great job – the oars are a funny thing to get used to. By the end of the trip she was rowing like a pro. Like I mentioned at the top, I have attached a few pictures of the trip.

Travis rowing the pontoon for the first time

Today was a great day! Travis got his first chance (of many…) to row the pontoon. We had a ball fishing at Lake Julian. No fish caught, but just take a look at his face! He was one happy young man. A few more trips to the lake and he will be ready to float the river with me. Make sure that you look below the pictures for a video of him “man handling” the oars.

Small Mouth Fishing on the French Broad River

A few pictures from our float trip last weekend. I’ll do a little better at a write up about it later.

Bender and Wes: Just let me know when you want to go again!

NHHS Poker Run

The Band Booster Committee of North Henderson High is going to hold a Poker Run on July 11th, with a rain date of July 18th. The registration for the ride will be held at the school, starting at 7:00 am and go until 9:00 am with a $20 entry fee. A hot dog meal will be provided at the finish line for $3. This meal includes drinks, chips, baked beans, chili and cole slaw. Water will be provided along the route free of charge for each rider. As riders return to North, cards will be collected and placed into an envelop. Upon the return of all the riders, cards will be sorted and a winner will be determined based on the best hand.

1st Place Hand – $250

2nd Place Hand- $50

The Course:
64 E to Lake Lure
74 N to Parkway
Parkway W to 267
267 S to Brevard “280″
280 to 191
191 to 64
64 to North Henderson HS