ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Hurricane Helene tore up the Swannanoa River east of Asheville, but it also knocked a hole in a century-old wall that had kept some fish out of the river’s upper reaches. State biologists now say smallmouth bass and russet darters have moved back upstream of the Lake Craig Dam.
The dam had stood in the river for about 100 years. In surveys over the last decade, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission did not find either species above it. When Helene’s floodwater broke away part of the structure, a path opened, and fish swam through.
The storm hit the region on Sept. 27, 2024, and sent catastrophic flooding down both the French Broad and the Swannanoa, the two rivers that meet in the valley where Asheville sits. The damage to homes and roads was enormous. For fish, the change at Lake Craig worked out better.
The commission had been planning to stock the two species above the dam itself. Luke Etchison of the commission said nature got there first, and the fish are now building populations on their own. He said the russet darter is a useful signal, because large numbers of them usually point to cleaner water, and having bass in the upper river can help sensitive animals such as mussels recover.
Anglers stand to benefit too. Etchison said smallmouth bass suit the warm water the Swannanoa has been running, which could add a new target for people who fish close to town. The commission already stocks a long list of trout streams within a short drive of downtown Asheville.
Wildlife staff are working with Warren Wilson College and local residents to track fish in the river and add species if needed, and Etchison said the episode makes a case for dams designed to hold up during big floods.
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