Live pool levels for North Carolina's lakes — the Catawba & Yadkin chains, big Kerr on the Roanoke, and the deep mountain lakes Fontana & James. Smallmouth, stripers and walleye country. Every tube shows the full pool, the current level, the lake's two signature fish (hover for the species, click for 2026 tournaments), and a live bite gauge at left. Scroll down for the famous mountain trout tailwaters, the Cape Fear & Roanoke catfish/striper rivers, and the French Broad & New River floats.
Hover a fish for its species · click a fish to search that lake's 2026 tournaments
North Carolina is trout country — cold tailwaters and freestone mountain rivers. The Nantahala & Tuckasegee tailraces, the high-country Watauga, the catch-and-release legend Davidson, and the Smokies' Oconaluftee all hold rainbows & browns. The cylinder shows live flow (cfs): low = wadeable, high = fast water. Hover a trout for the species; tap it for a guide.
Tailrace rivers (Nantahala, Tuckasegee) jump fast on generation — check the release schedule. Freestone rivers spike after mountain rain.
The Cape Fear and Neuse give up flathead & blue catfish, and the Roanoke at Weldon hosts the legendary spring striped-bass (rockfish) run. Live river stage (ft) from NOAA with the action and flood stages marked — rising, stained water turns the bite on. Hover a fish for the species; tap it for a guide.
Smallmouth float water from the mountains: the French Broad through Asheville, the ancient New River, the upper Catawba above Lake James and the far-west Valley River. Live USGS gage height (ft); each tube marks FLOAT, EXPERT and FLOOD. Hover a fish; tap it for an outfitter.
These freestone rivers are flashy — great smallmouth floats at a low-to-medium gage, but they brown-up and push hard after mountain rain.