French Broad River water levels are advantageous for fishing

ASHEVILLE – While news that the French Broad River on Sunday reached its lowest water levels since 1895 sounds devastating, there might actually be a bright side. According to some local anglers, the fishing has rarely been better.

"The low water levels are great for fishing," said Chris Manderson, 39, of Asheville.

Manderson has his own float fishing company, The Whitewater Sportsman, and spends nearly every day, whether with clients or out on his own, fishing on the French Broad for smallmouth bass.

Others in the area agreed with Manderson.

"It's been one of the best smallmouth years we've had, for numbers and for size," said Jeff Curtis, co-owner of Curtis Wright Outfitters in Asheville and a 15-year fishing guide veteran of the French Broad. "We've had guys catch 5-pound fish, and that's big (for smallmouth)."

"With the French Broad, it's really low, but it's been fishing really well in the mornings and the evenings," said Shane Buckner, shop manager of the Hunter Banks Co. in Asheville. "Overall, this has been a really good season for us."

Anglers say that during times of lower water levels, the fish tend to school together in bigger groups, rather than dispersing more when the water levels are higher.

"They all pool together, and there's less current," Manderson said, adding that drought conditions will only make good fishing in the short-term.

Great fishing doesn't mean easy fishing

When water levels are normal at the French Broad, it's usually too dangerous to do wade trips because waist-high water might be up to your neck with your next step, Wright said. That hasn't been the case this year.

"With this drought, we've actually been doing some wade trips," he said.

The water levels haven't changed the way that Manderson fishes the river, though it isn't nearly as straightforward as it used to be.

Manderson said that with the water levels as they are, it is "absolutely harder to actually take the raft out."

As a member of the U.S. freestyle kayak team for six years, Manderson believes his paddling and river skills give him an advantage over those without his background when it comes to navigating the French Broad. It's no longer a battle with the river when he's out on his raft, but a battle with the rocks that his paddles scrape against as he tries to navigate the river.

Despite the current difficulties, both Manderson and Wright believe that the river is one of the best places to go fishing.

"If you want to catch a big smallmouth, this is the best place in the state," Manderson said.

Wright took it a step further.

"I would probably go as far as to say it's a world class smallmouth fishery but it's not a well-known one," he said.

Sediment in the river

Even with the statewide drought in North Carolina, inland fishing licenses are still selling well, according to statistics provided by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

"It's safe to say the drought is not having a significant impact on license sales," said Lisa Hocutt, section chief of customer support services at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. "The slight drop in license sales is with nonresident licenses."

Manderson said that while the river is low and rain would be helpful, heavy rains mean the river can be too muddy and dirty to go fishing in for up to three days afterwards.

"When it rains, it silts up due to all the construction," he said.

In some cases, you need only to look as far as the new housing development across the street for the source.

"The No. 1 polluter in the French Broad watershed is sediment," said Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper with RiverLink. "Some of that comes from stream bank erosion and agriculture, but the vast majority is from the growth we're experiencing and the development."

Carson said that another problem with the development are the impervious surfaces that come with it like parking lots and roads. These get covered with oil, gas, fertilizers and various chemicals that run off into the river when it rains.

According to Melanie Williams, the French Broad River Basin Planner with the North Carolina Department of Water Quality, the miles of the French Broad that can be considered "impaired" rose from 130.9 miles in 2006 to 273.8 miles in 2008. Impaired waters are defined as those that "are not meeting water quality standards or uses."

Williams estimated that nearly two-thirds of the 273.8 miles of impaired waters were designated impaired because of turbidity, also known as the presence of sediment in the water.

Manderson said he believes people don't realize how great a resource the river truly is.

"The river is under-appreciated, and people don't realize what they have," he said. "People don't take care of it, and they should."