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 6:15 am, the temperature outside is 67.6 degrees.

There is a 40% chance for scattered thunderstorms today. Thunderstorms are more likely tomorrow. High temperatures will be in the mid-80’s most of the week with a chance for thunderstorms every day.

Little River is flowing at 205 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.97 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 153 cfs. The water temperature is 66.2 degrees this morning.

Rain fell in the Little River and Little Pigeon watersheds last night or early this morning. Little River rose to over 2 feet on the gauge but it is receding now. The Little Pigeon River rose from 1 foot on the gauge to over 2.2 feet on the gauge, and it is receding too. You may find stained water in those two watersheds this morning, for a time. Or, they may be clear now.

Other streams in the Park that have USGS gauges, were not affected by thunderstorms yesterday or last night.

This is going to happen in some areas at times over the next few days. While these storms may temporarily render the streams unfishable, flowing high and possibly even dangerous to wade, this is normal and best for fishing in the long run.

The streams are warming. They will continue to be warm in the low elevations. For the health of the trout and your enjoyment, fish further upstream where the water is cooler at midday. Find stream locations where the water temperature is 65 degrees or cooler. Cooler is better.

Dry flies or nymphs will work. Our usual picks this time of the year are: Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulator, Rob’s Hellbender, Yellow Elk Hair Caddis, foam beetles, ants, Green or Pink Weenies and Squirmy Worms. Other fly patterns may work as well or maybe better.

TVA will be generating today at Douglas, Cherokee and Norris Dams. These tailwaters will be flowing high much of the day. Check the TVA website to determine if you can fish, either by wading or boating.

The lakes are fishing well. They have settled down from the high water we have seen lately. Fly fishing will be best close to the surface, early or late. If it is overcast, fly fishing with poppers or foam top-water flies may be good all day.

The lowland rivers may be stained at times over the next few days if thunderstorms track within their watersheds. Nobody knows when or if that will happen, due to the scattered nature of these storms. Otherwise, fly fishing in these rivers should be good. I would use poppers or foam surface flies. If they don’t work, switch to a Wooly Bugger or other streamer. If it is sunny, you will do best early or late.

The Park Service continues to warn visitors about how to prepare for and react to bear encounters. There are more people visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park than ever before. There are also more bears. You can read and watch the video on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.

One of my friends, Joe Congleton from Knoxville, was fly fishing with Joe Brooks in Montana, the day before Mr. Brooks passed away in 1972. Joe sent me some photos of him fishing with Mr. Brooks during that week in Paradise Valley. I saw the photos several months ago.

Joe Brooks introduced fly fishing to the masses during his life, writing and appearing on many television shows. Joe introduced Lefty Kreh to fly fishing. Joe pioneered the saltwater fly fishing sport.

A documentary has been produced on the life of Joe Brooks. It is called, “Finding Joe Brooks”. You can see the movie trailer and read more about the movie by CLICKING HERE. You can read more about Joe on his Wikipedia page by CLICKING HERE.

The documentary will be shown on several channels this weekend. The channels and times are below:

World Fishing Network
Friday June 15th 10 pm (EST)
Saturday June 16th 4 pm (EST)
Sunday June 17th 10 am (EST)

Outdoor Channel
Saturday June 16th 7:30 pm (EST)

Sportsman Channel
Friday June 15th 8 pm (EST)

I will keep this list on the fishing report this week to remind you and me.

Check the listings yourself online to make sure these are correct. This is a documentary we should all watch.

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

Byron Begley
June 11, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com