May 16, 2009 Lake James Fishing Report

Here comes the rain with no fish

74 degree water temp / Day before Record breaking cold Front (Just started raining , cloudy)

Fished today with my old commercial  fishing buddy Chris Campbell.  Started out at 1:00 at docks near Dam looking for the deep pattern on smallmouth I found 2 days ago.  Fished 20 or so docks with one smallmouth to show for it.  Caught it on a green tube with a shakey had jig.  Ran down lake toward Mimosa access and tried docks,  with no takers.  Tried several wooded points and secondary coves with with crank baits and spinnerbaits.  Nothing!  Dodged several bad storms.  Ran up lake way back in creeks to the north.  In 15 foot of water found large schools of bait.  Fished a buzz bait with one strike in 5 minutes.  Large electrical storm ran us off before we could pick it apart.  Water temp was almost 76 in back of cove.

Up-Close Outfitters      828-273-0286       www.mappingandguides.com        FISH ON

May 13, 2009 Lake James Smallmouth Bite

Sunny / 10 to 15 mph wind / water temp 69-70 main lake 73 up on flats and creeks

Started out early up on the flat near the linville access.  Fallowed small channel heading in throwing a zara spook.  Landed a 2 pounder off submerged tree in 2 feet of water on channel.  Hit several points and islands with no takers on cranks or spook.  Ran looking for cooler water.  Started fishing docks in cooler deep water on main lake.  Caught several nice smallmouth on several docks in 30 feet near mimosa Landing.  Ran up toward dam and fished seveal more docks on the main lake in 30 feet of water.  This seemed to be the magic ticket.  Fished a watermellon seed green tube on a 1/4 oz shakey head.  The fish were relating to the corner of docks and eating it as it fell.  Seemed every corner of a dock that had these attributes had a nice chunkey 2-5 pound small mouth.  Finished out with well over 20 in under 2 hours.  Ran looking for other patterns.  Caught one other largemouth on a  dock in shallow water on a beaver rigged texas.  Went back to dock pattern out of boredom.  Several still had eggs but not many.  Ended up with 30 or so.  What a day!!!!

5-5-09 Trout Fishing Report for West Fork of the Pigeon in WNC.

We started out at church when you first come into NF off of 110.  Cloudy Skies with the air temp around 60.  Had two clients fishing a giant stone fly and black boddied caddis.  Immediatly starting hitting the caddis.  Missed 4-5 fish in the first few holes.  No taker on the stone fly.  Switched stone fly to a March Brown  size 12.  Caught several on the march brown.  Fish were rising with the cloudy skies and light rain.  With the water being up it was hard to strip fast enough to set the hook.  Rotated all day with the Caddis, March brown and the Light Cahill.  Caought 10 or so with alot more bites.  With the advanced angler it could of been on of those non-stop days.  Fish were stocked while we were fishing.

Up-Close Outfitters         828-273-0286         www.mappingandguides.com

May 9th Guided Fishing Report on Keowee SC

Water Temp 70 at first dam and 76 up river toward Lake Jocassee

Crowded   Fishing is pretty tough right now with the moon being full.  The all day bight, well known in the spawn, is coming to an end and the evening and morning bight is taking its hold.  Started at Dam.  With the water temp at 70 thought there might still be a few bedding and active fish.  Ran the entire length of the dam with jigs and floating worms, no takers.  Moved to a few adjacent coves.  Boats and Jet skies were everywhere.  Fished two coves starting in the back and working toward the main lake.  Still no takers.  Ran up river and fished main lake docks.  Had one bite on a 10 inch worm.  Storm came in and just missed us.  With the wind and rain we had just enough time to fish a windy bank on the main lake with crank baits.  Landed on 3 1/2 pounder just before the storm, ideal situation.  Ran up river toward Jocassee.  Started fishing secondary coves just off the main channel.  (looked for deep small coves with several docks and bluffs)  Started catching a few fish.  Continued this pattern up to dark.  Fished a buzz-bait with no takers.  Caught all the fish on a texas rigged trick worm, watermelon seed.  Ended up with about 13 fish.

Up-Close Outfitters         828-273-0286         www.mappingandguides.com

Lake Keowee Bass Fishing Report

May 7th,

Water temp – 75 up river toward Lake Jocassee and 70 at first dam. 

Fish are in post spawn staging areas.  Look for points and structure near deep water channels.    Started on a point that came out into the bend of the channel.  Caught two nice fish on a 6 inch plastic swim bait in threadfin colors.  Saw several more come after the lure.  Moved down to submerged humps and caught several smaller fish in the main lake.  With the recent rain ran up tributaries to flat in back of cove.  (real muddy water)  Much to my surprise caught one descent fish just outside muddy water in small arm and hooked a nice one on the flat.  It just happened to be the only dock in the area.  Later jumped around to docks  just hitting the first and last dock in a cove.  Managed 4-5 more fish on the end docks adjacent to the main lake.  “Typical Post Spawn”.

Up-Close Outfitters            828-273-0286           www.mappingandguides.com

Lake Hartwell fishing report (may 2-3)

Prefished for 2 days before the Phi Shope bass tourn. on the 1 and 2nd.  Water temp was 69 at dam and 79  up toward the end of the rivers.  Focused most of my attention toward the dam looking for bass that were still spawning.  The first day I cranked a strike king series 5 for most of the day.  Held fast the the KVD rule of fish for no longer than 10 minutes in a spot when pre-fishing for a tournament.  Did very well.  Fish were located in secondary pockets and on points.  Probably caught 17 pounds.  Too bad it was not tourn. day.  The next day went up the river to see what the warmer water had.  The Fish here seemed to be on the main lake as well or close to it.  Found a good stock of fish in the back of creeks close to the main lake.  Evidently on the way to deep water.  Fished a trick worm with 1/8 oz bullet weight.  Did not stick many of the fish, just enough to know where some descent size fish were.  Come tourn. day a cold front had moved through and the fish had moved.  All the prefished spots had completely vanaished.  After 4 hours did start finding some fish again.  Went looking for a bedding 4 pounder I found the first day.  Managed to catch the 2 pound buck.  Thus put together that the fish had moved back to cover (docks) with the cold front.  Managed 10 pound with 5 fish in the last few hours.  Water temp 69-71.  Soft plastic seemed to produce the bigger fish.  No takers on jigs.

Up-Close Outfitters     828-273-0286

Great WNC Lake Fishing Trips to Remember

Enjoy a great lake fishing trip on our new Champion Boat

Come fish on our new 21 foot Champion bass boat in the high mountain lakes of Western North Carolina. Our state of the art equipment combined with our local knowledge of local lakes could give you the smallmouth bass of a life time.

Located in Hendersonville NC, we are an hour from several of the top walleye, trout, and bass lakes in the south.  We pick our clients up at their place of choice and head for Lake Jocassee, Lake Fontana, Lake Keowee, or Lake James.  These lakes are a sight to see for their aesthetic beauty and monster fish producing capability.  We provide meals, drinks, tackle, rods, experience, and some fast fishing action.

Call, Capt. Frank Askew @ 828-273-0286

Equipment	Food	Length	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person
Lake Fishing – Full Day	Yes	Yes	8-9 hours	$225	$250	$275
Night Lake Fishing	Yes	Yes	8-9 hours	$225	$250	$275

Up-Close Outfitters Fishing Guide Service offers premier WNC lake fishing trips with all the benefits included:

Transportation included
All equipment included
Food and Drinks included
U.S Coast Guard certified
Fully insured and current in CPR and First aid
Local knowledge and 20 years fishing experience
Pro tournament fishermen
New 21 foot champion Bass boat with 250 hp Yamaha
Mixed bag of smallmouth, walleye, largemouth, and striper.
We can take care of your Fishing license at time of deposit.
Combination and overnight trips available (boat camping on islands and backpack trips to remote streams.)

Ideal for the experienced angler looking for local knowledge and the beginner wanting tips on tackle, lure presentation, and location of seasonal fish migration routes.

Contact Capt. Frank Askew @ 828-273-0286 for further info, or visit Up-Close Outfitters Website to book your next NC lake fishing trip today!!

Western North Carolina Guides Hunting and Fishing Trips

Plan your next hunting or fishing trip with us!

Up-Close Outfitters are premier hunting and fishing trip outfitters and guides in Western North Carolina.

Residing in near Asheville, NC we are surrounded by prime habitat for many sought after game species. The many high mountain reseviors and lakes regularly rank in the top Small-mouth fishing destinations in the south. Along with Large and Small-mouth Bass, Walleye, Lake Trout, and Striper are caught on a regular basis.

For the hunter, there are over a million acres of national forests within an hours drive of Asheville, NC. We are the only permitted guide service to hunt these forests. We are constantly scouting new terrain, with sub-meter GPS and GIS mapping capabilities, in order to find the prime buck holding areas and countless turkey flocks.

With the amazing landscape the area has to offer, the scenery is hard to beat. Fishing Fontana Lake in early spring is an experience no one could forget. The Smokey National park in the background and 90% of the shoreline national or federal forest creates an amazing backdrop. “When the fish are biting there is no place I would rather be”, says Capt. Frank Askew, a guide and owner of Up-Close Outfitters.

Fishing and Hunting Rates and Packages

TRIP NAME	Equipment	Food	Length	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person
Lake Fishing – Full Day	Yes	Yes	8-9 hours	$225	$250	$275
Night Lake Fishing	Yes	Yes	8-9 hours	$225	$250	$275
Fly Fish- Half Day	Yes	Yes	4-6 hours	$150	$200	-
Fly Fish- Full  Day	Yes	Yes	8-9  hours	$200	$250	-
Deer Hunting – Half Day	Yes	Yes	4-6 hours	$150	$200	-
Deer Hunting – Full Day	Yes	Yes	8-10 hours	$200	$250	-
Turkey Hunt – Half Day*	Yes	Yes	4-6 hours	$175	$225	-
Turkey Hunt – Full Day*	Yes	Yes	8-9 hours	$225	$275	-
Turkey Hunt and Fish Combo – Full Day**	Yes	Yes	8-9 hours	$225	$275	-
Overnight 3-Day Trips**	Yes	Yes	3 day/2 night	$800	$1000	-

* First week of turkey season, add $35 to each
** Overnight camping by boat also available
** $75 Deposit required on all hunting and fishing trips.