Fishing Cliffside Lake in Franklin, NC
Cliffside Lake is a small body of water in western North Carolina. It is 30 minutes from Franklin and 5 miles west of Highlands. It is easily accessed off of Highway 64, Highlands Road. There is a sight on the right while coming from Franklin. The road is good, but is a very twisty mountain road. There are several pulloffs to see waterfalls on the way. There is a $5 fee to enter the park. Here is a nice link to Cliffside Lake on the USDA site. The park is open dusk till dawn and closed in winter. No boats of any kind are allowed on the lake.
There are almost no public ponds to fish in and around Franklin, NC. Cliffside Lake is the closest thing and really is a large pond. A trail borders the lake and is 2.1 miles long. There are many spots to fish from shore. Parking is good and there is a rest room. Also, there is a handicap accessible area with a walk way and small pier. A swimming area is very popular in summer.
Fishing Cliffside Lake
Anglers can catch a variety of species in Cliffside Lake, NC. Many anglers come for the trout fishing. Brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout are stocked in the spring. Fishing for bluegill and sunfish can be very good with the fish often running on the large size. Largemouth bass are present in decent numbers, though they are usually small. Some large bass are in there, but tough to catch.
Trout fishing in Cliffside Lake
As mentioned earlier, trout are the primary target of anglers fishing Cliffside Lake. Trout arestocked in decent numbers throughout spring and early summer. Fishing for trout is closed in March until the first Saturday in April. It is open the rest of the year. Anglers can keep 7 fish with a minimum size of 7″. The best fishing is in spring and early summer. By July trout fishing is tough. There are a few left over in the fall. Cliffside Lake can be a great option when the streams are blown out.
There are several different techniques that anglers can use when fishing in Cliffside Lake. Light spinning tackle is the best choice. I like a 6′ to 6 1/2′ ultralight outfit. Live and prepared baits are the most productive for catching trout. A live nightcrawler is very tough to beat. It can be free lined, fished on the bottom, or under a float. A #8 hook with a small split shot a foot above the hook is the best rig. I like to hook the crawler in the head and let it wiggle naturally. This same outfit and rig is perfect for bluegill and sunfish as well.
Read more about trout fishing in Franklin NC
Prepared baits are popular and effective. Many mimic the food that these trout grow on in the hatchery. Berkley markets a line of trout baits. They come in paste, eggs, and worms. Pautzke Is another company that sells a variety of baits. I like the eggs with the sparkle on them.
Anglers can fish with lures as well. The two best lures are inline spinners and small jerkbaits. Mepps, rooster tail, Panther Martin, Blue Fox, and other inline spinners all work well. 1/8 to 1/4 ounce baits with gold blades are effective. A slow, steady retrieve works best. Alnglers should try different depths.
#8 Rapala Husky Jerk lures are a good jerkbait. The best approach is to cast out and retrieve using hard twitches with a pause in between. Lures allow anglers to cover a lot of water. The best technique is to go to each opening in the lake and make casts from several angles; left, right, and out in the middle. Fly fishing is tough due to the shoreline trees and vegetation.
Bluegill and panfish in Cliffside Lake
The fishing for panfish in very good and really overlooked in Cliffside Lake. They are a great option in summer when trout fishing slows down. By far the best approach is fishing a live worm or piece of nightcrawler under a float near shoreline cover. Bait is available at the Walmart in Franklin and a few other convenience stores. If the water is deeper, anglers can remove the float and allow the bait to slowly sink through the water column.
Anglers can certainly fish for bluegill and sunfish with lures as well. A small inline spinner, a black 1/16 ounce Beetle spin, and tiny plastic curly tail jigs are top lures. They work best with a slow, steady retrieve. Lures are more convenient and do allow anglers to cover a lot of water. They are certainly less messy. Anglers should work any shoreline cover and weeds.
Bass fishing in Cliffside Lake
There are largemouth bass in Cliffside Lake. Most are small but there are decent sized fish in there as well. The usual bass lures produce such as topwater plugs, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastic lures. A 5″ green pumpkin Senko rigged wacky style is a good bet. A 6″ plastic worm Texas rigged and worked around fallen trees is also effective. A whole nightcrawler will catch bass as well.
In conclusion, this article on fishing Cliffside Lake in Franklin NC will help anglers catch more fish!
