Fishing Experts Reveal the Region’s Top Springtime Bites

It’s been a relatively mild, extra wet winter. Ask most fishing guides, and they’ll tell you these conditions make for excellent spring fishing. With that in mind, BRO went to the professionals to get the lowdown on the best places to get your rod bent this season.  

Great Smoky Mountains, Tenn. & N.C.

From hike-in brookie streams to roadside rivers, there’s so much trout water in the Smokies it can be difficult to decide where to fish. The best bet for early spring is to stick with larger waters at lower elevations, said Ian Rutter, of R&R Fly Fishing. Rutter has guided the Smokies for more than a quarter century, and he’s learned to make fishing decisions “one day at a time” in spring’s unpredictable weather.

“In March and into April, we might still have some snow on the ground in