Trips and prices

Pre-spawn, Spring Flagship

Trophy Largemouth

The flagship. Sight fishing on foot for one class of fish, on small clear water most Greenville anglers drive past. Fewer bites, bigger ones, and you make the casts while I coach.

We meet and walk the bank of a small, clear lake slow and low, looking for one fish before anybody casts. Most of the job is stealth, and I coach every cast. I rig everything, net the fish and photograph it before it goes back. A good day can be two bites from the fish we came for. Some days the big one follows and will not commit.

Fish: largemouth. Water: small trophy lakes, public parks and small lakes, Reedy River. Runs: pre-spawn, spring, summer, late summer, fall, winter.

Trophy Largemouth rates, set by Mt. Yonder

	One angler	Two anglers
Half day (4 hours)	$300	$400
Full day (8 hours)	$385	$500

"A hellified trip you should definitely book. But it may be tough to get a spot."

Fall

Fall and Winter Trophy Smallmouth

The cold-water trophy window. October and November are the best two months of the year for a big smallmouth here, and they are the two nobody books. Winter runs it deeper and slower.

We wade the French Broad or another river in Western North Carolina, walking to the stretches that run deeper and slower than the water around them, where the smallmouth group up as the water cools. October is jerkbaits and streamers kept moving; by December a fly or lure may sit on the bottom for minutes at a time. The cold is when the biggest smallmouth tend to get caught.

Fish: smallmouth. Water: French Broad River, WNC rivers. Runs: fall, winter.

Fall and Winter Trophy Smallmouth rates, set by Mt. Yonder

	One angler	Two anglers
Half day (4 hours)	$300	$400
Full day (8 hours)	$385	$500

Summer

Summer Creek Smallmouth and Bartram's Bass

The niche trip. Wet wading a foothill creek with one rod and a small box, for smallmouth and the Bartram's bass, a fish a few outfitters sell trips for and most anglers have never held. Poppers and topwater in warm water.

We wet wade a foothill creek north of Greenville with one rod and a small box, walking to the deeper pools, the shoals around them and the overhanging trees. Poppers and topwaters do most of the work, so you watch most of the bites. I rig, unhook and photograph. Most of the fish run small. A few do not: a handful of 3-pound-plus smallmouth have come out of creeks a short cast wide. The Bartram's bass is the native creek bass.

Fish: smallmouth, Bartram's bass. Water: foothill creeks. Runs: spring, summer, late summer.

Summer Creek Smallmouth and Bartram's Bass rates, set by Mt. Yonder

	One angler	Two anglers
Half day (4 hours)	$300	$400
Full day (8 hours)	$385	$500

Spring, Summer

Beginners Bank Bass Fishing Lessons

The low-barrier entry, for people who think they are not a fishing person. Tackle supplied, patience included, success measured in bent rods and confidence. Kids and teens do well here.

We start on a bank close to town, sometimes the Reedy River, with a rod already rigged. Bluegill are the first fish for most beginners and tend to come quick, so the cast, the hookset and the handling get learned on easy fish. Then we go look for a largemouth. I untangle, unhook and take the photo, and the aim is that you can do it without me.

Fish: largemouth, panfish. Water: public parks and small lakes, Reedy River. Runs: spring, summer, late summer, fall.

Beginners Bank Bass Fishing Lessons rates, set by Mt. Yonder

	One angler	Two anglers
Half day (4 hours)	$300	$400
Full day (8 hours)	$385	$500

"A gift to my teen son. One of his favorite gifts ever."