If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.
Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:43 am, the temperature is 55.4 degrees.
Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the upper 80’s dropping to the middle 60’s tonight. Tomorrow will be warm again and there is a chance for scattered thunderstorms. Friday and Saturday will be hot, with highs in the low 90’s. Showers are likely Saturday night and Sunday.
Little River is flowing at 170 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.89 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 215 cfs. The water temperature is 60.3 degrees this morning.
Most if not all streams in the Smokies are flowing below normal. Some are flowing only slightly below normal. Water temperatures are good. Fishing for trout is good. Trout are taking dry flies and nymphs.
A yellow sally stonefly imitation is an excellent dry fly to use now. There are many patterns to choose from. My old standby is a #16 Yellow Stimulator. They float well even in choppy water and they are easy for me to see. Nymph choices should include small bead heads, Squirmy Worms and Green Weenies.
Fishing for stocked trout outside the National Park and National Forests is good. Nymphs, midge pupa, squirmy worms, small streamers and Green Weenies will work for you.
Further downstream in the rivers flowing out of the mountains, you will find smallmouth bass. These hard-fighting fish are really fun to fish for and catch. Now that the rivers have warmed, fishing for smallies is good. Nymphs, streamers and crayfish patterns will work for sure. I have also heard reports of smallmouth bass looking up and responding to foam floating flies and poppers.
Fly fishing on the lakes is good. I would launch at daybreak and fish the banks with streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies and poppers. As the sun rises, seek out shaded banks and coves. You can also go late and fish until dark.
There are long pauses planned today at many area dams, offering tailwater anglers lots of options. Whether you plan to wade or float, you should be able to work with most of these schedules.
I talked to guide Josh Pfeiffer yesterday. He is a good friend of mine and an excellent guide. He and his group of guides offer many fly fishing options for their clients. They offer wade fishing trips in the Smokies, float trips on the tailwaters for trout and float trips fishing for smallmouth bass. Josh and I talked about fly fishing for smallmouth bass on the tailwaters. He told me, fishing is good using streamers and on some warm days, the bass respond to poppers and foam floating flies. I have fished with Josh several times, targeting smallies on the tailwaters. I love it. You can visit his website by CLICKING HERE.
A bear knocked over our grill yesterday. That does not happen often. I have seen bears walk by the grill, sniff, and move on. But it has been pushed over before. We do keep it clean. We have only seen one bear around our house this year. We usually see many by this time.
The forest is lush and beautiful. The mountain view from our house is now obscured by trees until late next Fall. Now we live in the cool shade during the hot months.
Ricky, who is painting the front of the shop is doing a great job. He is also a nice guy to work with. If you visit the shop while he is there, you will hear loud music blasting from his radio outside. He loves music and plays electric base in the band at his church.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
May 18, 2022
IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CANEY FORK TROUT FISHERY BELOW CENTER HILL DAM!
The US Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public input as they are planning to update their Water Control Manual for Center Hill Dam. The manual was last updated in 1998. David Knapp, who guides on the Caney Fork and other rivers, brought this to my attention.
According to David, the current manual requires only one hour of generation during a 48 hour period, which is not enough to provide cold water during the warm months. Years ago, before the dam was repaired, seepage helped maintain much needed cool water that is essential for a sustainable trout fishery. David says that is not the case now. If you love fishing the Caney Fork River tailwater, you should look into this and get involved.
The Corps will be holding a public meeting to discuss changes for the new manual on Thursday May 26th from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Smith County Agricultural center in Carthage, Tennessee.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
|
