A short drive south from Asheville puts you in the Bent Creek drainage, with above-average to good trout fishing in that section of stream that runs along the Blue Ridge Parkway between the North Carolina Arboretum and Lake Powatan. East of town, the Swannanoa River is classified as a hatchery-supported stream, and northeast of town, along the parkway toward Mount Mitchell are a handful of streams in the Dillingham Creek drainage, including Carter Creek and Mineral Creek.

Within about a 45-minute drive of Asheville are a few excellent reservoirs, ranging from tiny Wolf Creek on the headwaters of the Tuckasegee River south of Sylva to sprawling Lake James on the Catawba and Linville rivers a short hop down the mountain east of Asheville.

James is perhaps North Carolina's finest overall smallmouth lake in terms of numbers and size, in part because at a lower elevation than most mountain lakes, it stays a few degrees warmer and has a longer annual growing season, and it is a bit more productive or fertile than most mountain reservoirs.

Crappie fishing can be excellent during the summer at Lake James, especially in the area of the Catawba River around "Big Island." Fishing live minnows around laydown trees and boat docks is the easiest way to get started, especially if you remember to find those kinds of places as close to deep water as possible.

In June, a few smallmouth bass will still be relatively shallow, moving out toward their deeper summertime quarters after spawning in the spring. Start on secondary points in major creeks or in the Catawba or Linville rivers. Live shiner minnows have always been a favorite of smallmouth fishermen, especially those who consider big bronzebacks very difficult to catch on artificial lures.

Metal blade baits like Silver Buddies and Sonics can account for smallmouths in deeper water, and in the first week or two after Memorial Day, some fishermen count on some topwater activity, either fishing for schooling smallmouths or fishing soft-plastic jerkbaits like a Zoom Fluke off the end of long points. Guide Stanley Correll (828/205-1429) has put many fishermen on smallmouth bass up to 7 pounds over the past half-dozen years.

Four mountain reservoirs in the Sylva area offer some interesting opportunities. Three of them -- Cedar Cliff, Bear Creek and Wolf Creek lakes -- are toward the headwaters of the Tuckasegee. Cedar Cliff and Bear are both good fisheries for smallmouth bass and walleyes, and Wolf, a tiny lake well up in the highlands, has walleyes and trout.

The other reservoir is Lake Glenville (Thorpe) on the West Fork Tuckasegee. It is the highest elevation reservoir east of the Mississippi, impounding three major tributaries to the Tuckasegee, and it has an excellent smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, bluegill and crappie fishery. Summer trout fishing can be great trolling spoons at night in deeper water. For smallmouth bass, crankbaits fished around rocky points and banks are very productive. Guide Marty Jones (828/421-4569) works Glenville regularly.