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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:28 am, the temperature outside is 67.8 degrees.

Much warmer than normal temperatures will continue at least through Saturday. Scattered thunderstorms are possible every day through the period. Cooler temperatures are predicted beginning Monday September 10th.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 90 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.55 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 91 cfs. The water temperature is 69.8 degrees this morning.

The Little Pigeon River is flowing higher, at 276 cfs, or 1.77 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow is 170 cfs. Oconaluftee River is flowing higher than normal at 278 cfs, compared to median flow of 206 cfs.

Wherever you fish in the Smokies you will likely find low flows, which are normal right now. Scattered thunderstorms could raise water levels at any time, so watch for that.

The streams are very warm in the low elevations. Fish the higher elevations where the water temperature is 65 degrees or cooler. I would try fishing above Elkmont or possibly Lynn Camp Prong over the next few days until it becomes cooler in the mountains.

Stealth and presentation of your flies is paramount right now. Dress to blend with the forest. Stay as low as you can while approaching a likely spot, and fishing there. The trout are spooky, especially when the streams are flowing low.

Fish the choppy, broken water where the trout are hiding. Dry flies may work. Nymphs or inchworm patterns may work best. If the sun is on the water, seek shaded water to fish.

My dry fly choices remain the same, Yellow Neversink Caddis, foam beetles or small Yellow Stimulators. Sub-surface patterns should include Green Weenies or Bead Head Pheasant Tail nymphs.

The holiday weekend has past. I heard stories from customers, of the streams being choked with swimmers, especially along roads. That has changed. Park visitation will be low for a while now. When cooler temperatures finally arrive, we won’t see people swimming and tubing in the streams.

Fly anglers are catching trout in the Smokies, but the conditions are not as favorable as they have been all Summer, due to low and warm water.

As the day and night temperatures lower for the Fall, we usually get less rain. Late September and October can be very dry. But, the water temperatures are usually much cooler, allowing you to fish the lower elevations, where the rivers are larger.

Soon, we will see large brown trout appear, preparing to spawn. They will be out in the open in October. Some anglers are seeing and catching them now. I saw several photos of 20” plus browns that have been caught lately, in Little River. That kind of fishing will only improve when the temperatures drop.

Josh Pfeiffer and Gary Troutman, who guide anglers for smallmouth bass, are boating some big fish right now. They are guiding on tailwaters, including the French Broad and Holston rivers. I’ve seen some photos of 20+ inch fish, caught recently. One of their clients contacted me yesterday, relating his story about the large smallies he and a friend caught with Josh. He said they caught “tons” of bass, with some exceeding 20”. You can visit Josh and Gary’s website by CLICKING HERE.

I was off yesterday, adding some upgrades to our boat. I don’t know when you can finish making a boat “perfect”. There is always something to do, always something to spend money on. I’m going to wait a few days for cooler temperatures, then start fly fishing the lakes again.

The perfect boat does not exist. If money was not an obstacle, I would own several motorized boats, along with our kayaks and canoe. I would have a Florida boat for saltwater fishing, a boat for lake fishing larger lakes, and a small fishing boat for skinny water on small lakes. Some anglers own jet boats, for fishing on tailwaters and shallow rivers. That would be nice to have.

Storage is another issue. I need what would be considered a 5-car garage for a boat house, to store them all. If I were younger, and know what I know now, I would have planned differently.

Work is yet another issue. I love work and always have. I would be bored without work. I hope I never have to retire. I could use all of those boats I dream about, without work. I could not fish every day. Fishing is tiring. Wading, loading and hauling boats is physical. My kind of work is not. I can work 10 hours during a day and not be tired at all. Ten hours of fishing wears me out.

So, some day I may build another boat house and add maybe one more less than perfect boat to the lineup, and continue working the rest of my life. Sounds like a good compromise to me.

Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.

Byron Begley
September 4, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com