Little River Outfitters - Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains

Townsend, Tennessee

Welcome to the Fishing Report. I got back to the shop late yesterday at about 5:30. I sat down and started working on my computer while looking out at the Great Smoky Mountains. I have a great view from here that I enjoy every day. The sky was black. Then the lightning started. The bolts were firing often, hitting the ground somewhere up there. I could barely see the mountains because it was raining hard in the Park. It was like watching a Pink Floyd concert. The wind was blowing here in the valley.

Then from the West behind me another cell hit Townsend. I shut everything down and left the shop for home. I noticed that all the businesses were dark. The power was out. It must have happened about the time I left the shop. When I got home there was no power. Paula said lightning struck near our house. It was raining hard. When the power came back on her computer was fried.

Everything seems to be working fine here. Daniel is up in the Park checking the water.

We got .7 inches of rain here at the shop. The Little River is up and muddy downstream from here. Currently the flow below the “Y” is 153 cubic feet per second. That is above normal for this date. The 43 year record low for July 23 was last year at 39 cfs. Daniel just got back. On the Little River the East Prong is muddy but not too high, the Middle Prong has a little color to it and the West Prong is clear.

Over on the Little Pigeon upstream from Sevierville the flow is 272 cubic feet per second. The 19 year low on this date there was 49 cfs back in 1995. Normal is 139 cfs. The Airport didn’t get any rain.

Both rivers are receding. The water temperature in the Little River is cool. We have rain in the forecast every day for the next 10 and it looks like we are in for a wet spell. These late afternoon pop up thunderstorms are going to happen for a while according to the weather folks. That is what we have been needing.

Fishing will be much improved. It is going to be cool for a few days or at least near normal. That with the increased water flow will be great for fishing. I would still fish mid to high elevation streams early and late. You should do well with ants, beetles, Green Weenies, Bead Head Pheasant Tails, yellow or cream mayfly patterns or any Yellow Sally Stonefly pattern.

Watch out late in the afternoon for thunderstorms for the next few days. Also keep an eye on water levels. If a stream you are fishing in becomes turbid all of a sudden there could be a wall of water coming at you from above. I’ve seen it happen, I know people who have been trapped on the wrong side of the river and people have died here because of flash floods. It may not be raining where you are but it could be somewhere else.

I’m a people person and I guess that’s why I like being in a service business. Actually I guess that’s why I like being in any business. I've been in business 35 years. In business you meet a lot of people, those who work with you and customers. We have the best team here we’ve ever had. Everyone who works here including Ted were customers first. Based on our experience with them as customers we chose to ask them to work here. We have never run an ad to find our staff and we have never spread the word that we are looking. The people we approach have been talked about in the back room but never out in the public. We don’t want people to know we are looking and have someone we wouldn’t want working here apply for a job and get turned down. I singled Ted out because at one time he managed the fishing department at a large store that was one of our competitors. But, Ted was still a customer. Right now 15 people are here to serve you.

The fine folks who work here are just as happy as I am when business is good. When we have a big day there is excitement, not the feeling that “I’m working too hard”. Those are the kind of people who make a business successful. They make the difference.

When Joe McGroom left for the summer to be an intern at another company we started thinking about customers who we could contact. I asked one young man what he was doing for the summer and he said he was working. I bet he never gave a thought about why I asked. Then I thought of David Knapp. David is known as Plateau Angler on our message board. We found a little cabin way back in the woods for him and he came in and took over the fly tying department. He had all the computer software knowledge, typing skills necessary and a degree in math. He has done a great job and you couldn’t ask for a nicer young man. Sadly for me next week is his last. After a quick fishing trip out west he will begin student teaching in Chattanooga. We will be friends forever. I’m going to be working hard for a couple of months until Joe McGroom comes back. He will be a senior at Maryville College and work here on weekends after soccer season. He is captain of the soccer team. Joe is another fine young man.

Another fine young man is a customer and is also very active on our message board. His name is Kevin Thomas. He and his wife are in the Air Force and both are stationed at the airbase near Knoxville. Yesterday Kevin was promoted to Senior Master Sergeant. Kevin told me about the promotion and I invited myself to the ceremony. It was great. I looked forward to it all week. According to Kevin’s commander there were more non-military people there than he had seen. Kevin’s family and friends came out for the occasion. The auditorium was filled with his military friends. Kevin’s Commander mentioned in the ceremony that only 2% of the enlisted men and women in the United States Air Force reach the rank of Senior Master Sergeant which is an E8 if you are comparing to other branches of the Service. And, because of Kevin’s age and ability he has a shot at another promotion before he retires.

It was an honor for me to be there. I was the only person dressed in bluejeans and I didn’t care and I’m sure Kevin didn’t. The whole experience was up-lifting and I felt even more proud to be an American as I am proud to know Kevin, a good American.

They have an interesting tradition in the Air Force. When an enlisted man is promoted two of his friends get on each side and hit him hard in the arm right on the stripes. They do it to make sure the new stripe stays on. Everyone laughs when it is done. We were going through the reception line to shake Kevin’s hand and right before I got to him I told some of his military buddies that we didn’t do that in the Army. We didn’t hit someone who had been promoted. One of the guys asked what we did. I shook Kevin’s and gave him a pat on the shoulder and said, “This is what we did in the Army”. They laughed.

Have a great day and thank you for being here and supporting all of us here at Little River Outfitters.

Byron Begley
July 23, 2008

Respond To: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com


	Townsend, Tennessee Welcome to the Fishing Report. I got back to the shop late yesterday at about 5:30. I sat down and started working on my computer while looking out at the Great Smoky Mountains. I have a great view from here that I enjoy every day. The sky was black. Then the lightning started. The bolts were firing often, hitting the ground somewhere up there. I could barely see the mountains because it was raining hard in the Park. It was like watching a Pink Floyd concert. The wind was blowing here in the valley. Then from the West behind me another cell hit Townsend. I shut everything down and left the shop for home. I noticed that all the businesses were dark. The power was out. It must have happened about the time I left the shop. When I got home there was no power. Paula said lightning struck near our house. It was raining hard. When the power came back on her computer was fried. Everything seems to be working fine here. Daniel is up in the Park checking the water. We got .7 inches of rain here at the shop. The Little River is up and muddy downstream from here. Currently the flow below the “Y” is 153 cubic feet per second. That is above normal for this date. The 43 year record low for July 23 was last year at 39 cfs. Daniel just got back. On the Little River the East Prong is muddy but not too high, the Middle Prong has a little color to it and the West Prong is clear. Over on the Little Pigeon upstream from Sevierville the flow is 272 cubic feet per second. The 19 year low on this date there was 49 cfs back in 1995. Normal is 139 cfs. The Airport didn’t get any rain. Both rivers are receding. The water temperature in the Little River is cool. We have rain in the forecast every day for the next 10 and it looks like we are in for a wet spell. These late afternoon pop up thunderstorms are going to happen for a while according to the weather folks. That is what we have been needing. Fishing will be much improved. It is going to be cool for a few days or at least near normal. That with the increased water flow will be great for fishing. I would still fish mid to high elevation streams early and late. You should do well with ants, beetles, Green Weenies, Bead Head Pheasant Tails, yellow or cream mayfly patterns or any Yellow Sally Stonefly pattern. Watch out late in the afternoon for thunderstorms for the next few days. Also keep an eye on water levels. If a stream you are fishing in becomes turbid all of a sudden there could be a wall of water coming at you from above. I’ve seen it happen, I know people who have been trapped on the wrong side of the river and people have died here because of flash floods. It may not be raining where you are but it could be somewhere else. I’m a people person and I guess that’s why I like being in a service business. Actually I guess that’s why I like being in any business. I've been in business 35 years. In business you meet a lot of people, those who work with you and customers. We have the best team here we’ve ever had. Everyone who works here including Ted were customers first. Based on our experience with them as customers we chose to ask them to work here. We have never run an ad to find our staff and we have never spread the word that we are looking. The people we approach have been talked about in the back room but never out in the public. We don’t want people to know we are looking and have someone we wouldn’t want working here apply for a job and get turned down. I singled Ted out because at one time he managed the fishing department at a large store that was one of our competitors. But, Ted was still a customer. Right now 15 people are here to serve you. The fine folks who work here are just as happy as I am when business is good. When we have a big day there is excitement, not the feeling that “I’m working too hard”. Those are the kind of people who make a business successful. They make the difference. When Joe McGroom left for the summer to be an intern at another company we started thinking about customers who we could contact. I asked one young man what he was doing for the summer and he said he was working. I bet he never gave a thought about why I asked. Then I thought of David Knapp. David is known as Plateau Angler on our message board. We found a little cabin way back in the woods for him and he came in and took over the fly tying department. He had all the computer software knowledge, typing skills necessary and a degree in math. He has done a great job and you couldn’t ask for a nicer young man. Sadly for me next week is his last. After a quick fishing trip out west he will begin student teaching in Chattanooga. We will be friends forever. I’m going to be working hard for a couple of months until Joe McGroom comes back. He will be a senior at Maryville College and work here on weekends after soccer season. He is captain of the soccer team. Joe is another fine young man. Another fine young man is a customer and is also very active on our message board. His name is Kevin Thomas. He and his wife are in the Air Force and both are stationed at the airbase near Knoxville. Yesterday Kevin was promoted to Senior Master Sergeant. Kevin told me about the promotion and I invited myself to the ceremony. It was great. I looked forward to it all week. According to Kevin’s commander there were more non-military people there than he had seen. Kevin’s family and friends came out for the occasion. The auditorium was filled with his military friends. Kevin’s Commander mentioned in the ceremony that only 2% of the enlisted men and women in the United States Air Force reach the rank of Senior Master Sergeant which is an E8 if you are comparing to other branches of the Service. And, because of Kevin’s age and ability he has a shot at another promotion before he retires. It was an honor for me to be there. I was the only person dressed in bluejeans and I didn’t care and I’m sure Kevin didn’t. The whole experience was up-lifting and I felt even more proud to be an American as I am proud to know Kevin, a good American. They have an interesting tradition in the Air Force. When an enlisted man is promoted two of his friends get on each side and hit him hard in the arm right on the stripes. They do it to make sure the new stripe stays on. Everyone laughs when it is done. We were going through the reception line to shake Kevin’s hand and right before I got to him I told some of his military buddies that we didn’t do that in the Army. We didn’t hit someone who had been promoted. One of the guys asked what we did. I shook Kevin’s and gave him a pat on the shoulder and said, “This is what we did in the Army”. They laughed. Have a great day and thank you for being here and supporting all of us here at Little River Outfitters. Byron Begley July 23, 2008 Respond To: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com