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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:34 am, the temperature is 62.4 degrees.

It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the low 70’s, falling to the upper 40’s tonight. No rain is predicted today through Tuesday.

Little River is flowing at 291 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.27 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 327 cfs. The water temperature is 56.5 degrees this morning.

We got a little rain last night and most streams in the Smokies rose slightly but they are all in good shape this morning. Most streams are flowing a little higher than normal. Water temperatures are very good in the low to middle elevations. Fishing is good.

Trout are taking most any flies that resemble food. Nymphs, wet flies and dry flies will work. I would use a Parachute Adams with a small bead head nymph as a dropper.

Lowland rivers are flowing at normal levels. Fishing is good for trout where they are stocked. Nymphs and streamers will work best. Smallmouth bass fishing has improved. Use nymphs or streamers for them too.

TVA and the Corps of Engineers continue to lower the lakes by generating and sluicing around the clock at most dams in the region. I noticed they are spilling at Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky. There are no tailwater fishing options today than I could find. I do not check each dam every day so you might find a fishable tailwater if you look further.

I have not fished on the lakes this Spring but as the water warms, smallmouth bass will be or may now be in shallow water. Cast a large black weighted Wooly Bugger to the rocky banks and retrieve slowly. Go early or late when the sun is off the water.

If you have not fly fished for smallmouth bass, you should give it a try. Our rivers and lakes are loaded with them. They fight like crazy. I use a 6-weight rod most of the time when fishing for smallies.

You don’t need to use heavy flies that require a 7 or 8 weight outfit. You could own the perfect smallmouth bass rod and reel and not even know it.  You will need to use heavier leaders and tippet. I almost always use 8-pound tippet. I you go much lighter than that, you will break off even smaller fish, because they are so strong. Adapting to catch these fish will give you many more options close to home.

Will and I spent the day yesterday adding more fly tying materials to the online store. I take care of the photography and he does everything else. Together we work well as a team. Will is a very good writer who has learned to do so using good search engine optimization skills.

I think we have about 1,200 different fly tying items on the online store now, including sizes and colors. We probably have about that many more to go.

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

Byron Begley
April 11, 2021

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com