North Carolina Freestone
Pigeon River Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
A beautiful and productive western North Carolina freestone through the Canton area, delayed-harvest mountain trout water with classic Southern Appalachian hatches.
Freestone
North Carolina
1,040 ft
Gauge 03461500
Right now
Live conditions
An expert read, in your pocket
Rivus knows your river right now. Live conditions, what’s hatching, and what to tie on, the moment you open it.
When the day turns and nothing’s working, ask Eddy and change the plan.
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The hatch chart
Pigeon River hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Pigeon by month, straight from the Rivus hatch model.
| Hatch | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #18-22 | ||||||||||||
Midge Midge, #18-22 | ||||||||||||
Quill Gordon Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Blue Quill Mayfly, #16-18 | ||||||||||||
March Brown Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #12-18 | ||||||||||||
Hendrickson Mayfly, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Sulphur Mayfly, #16-18 | ||||||||||||
Little Yellow Sally Stonefly, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Light Cahill Mayfly, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Golden Stonefly Stonefly, #6-10 | ||||||||||||
Isonychia / Slate Drake Mayfly, #10-14 | ||||||||||||
Trico Mayfly, #20-22 | ||||||||||||
Grasshopper / Terrestrial Hopper, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Flying Ant / Carpenter Ant Ant, #16-18 |
How it fishes
A North Carolina freestone
A freestone river runs free off snowmelt and rain, so it swings hard with the seasons. It blows out and browns up in spring runoff, then drops and warms into summer. The hatches track the water temperature more than the calendar, so you time your trip to the flow and the thermometer.
Flow and gauge
Reading the flows
The Pigeon is metered at USGS gauge 03461500. Watch the trend as much as the number: a river that is dropping and clearing fishes very differently from one that is coming up.
Access and regulations
Before you fish
Access and the right to fish are the angler’s responsibility, every time. Public access, private water, and seasonal closures vary along the river, so confirm where you can legally stand and wade before you go. We do not point you to a specific spot.
Read the current rules, license requirements, and any special-regulation water before you go. Regulations change season to season, so check them fresh.
Flow and water temperature from USGS, weather from NWS and NOAA, refreshed hourly. Real-time USGS readings are provisional and subject to revision. The hatch chart and river read are Rivus model output.