Finding the water everyone else overlooks. That is the whole idea.
I'm Taylor LeBlanc. I guide for trophy largemouth and smallmouth in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, most of it on foot, fly or conventional, around a full-time job and two young kids. Most of my own fishing happens on a lunch break or in the hour after work, from the bank, sometimes still in my work clothes. That is how I learned the water I could reach: the small lakes within 45 minutes of town, the public parks and the Reedy River. That water holds bigger bass than almost anyone gives it credit for.
Trophy largemouth on that small water is the specialty. Fall smallmouth is the trip I wish more people booked. October and November are usually the best two months for a big smallmouth on the French Broad and the other Western North Carolina rivers, and they are the two months nobody books. It will not fish like the Great Lakes, and you have to put in work to figure them out. The fish nobody targets round it out: carp on the fly and Bartram's bass, a native fish that is still a niche even for the few outfitters who guide for it, and one I care about keeping around.
Five bites instead of fifty
The Upstate is known for its tournament lakes, and that is not what excites me about fishing here. What excites me are the smaller, tucked-away places with clear water and a low number of bass, a few of them giants. The forage is there, shad or stocked trout, and there are fewer bass to eat it, which is a big part of how a largemouth here gets to double digits. The biggest bass also tend to be the most cautious about a bait, so I fish slow presentations that stay in the strike zone longer and try to keep the small fish off the hook. Some days you get skunked, and there are long drives home. On a trophy hunt I will take five bites from the right fish over fifty from whatever is around.
My personal best is a largemouth I have now caught three times: 9.12 pounds in 2023, 10.03 in 2024, and 12.05 the third time, at almost 27 inches. They go back every time, and that is the only reason there was a third time. My best on a fly rod is an 11.35 pound largemouth on a 9 weight, caught from the bank in the hour after work.
How I guide
My trips are on foot, and they move slowly. A big bass in clear water can feel a heavy step before it sees you, and I have watched one turn and stare at a boat from over 50 yards away, so we wear drab colors and watch our footsteps. Most casts are short, and much of the day is spent finding the fish first. I rig everything, rods, tackle, flies or lures, and I bring spare polarized glasses so you can see what I am pointing at. A spin rod is fine if you say so when you book. You make the casts while I coach. Every bass goes back: short fight, one quick photo, straight back in.
What is provided
- Trophy largemouth bass
- Smallmouth bass
- Bartram's bass
- Carp on the fly
Conservation
- Former vice president, Greenville chapter of Trout Unlimited
- Board member, Native Fish Coalition, South Carolina chapter