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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:03 am, the temperature outside is 60.6 degrees.

It is going to be hot this weekend, with highs above 90 degrees today and near 90 degrees tomorrow. There is a chance for afternoon thunderstorms tomorrow.

Water levels in the Smokies are at about normal for this time of the year. Normal is fairly low.

Wherever you go fishing, stealth is very important. Don’t let the trout see you. Dress to blend in with the forest. Do not cast a shadow over the area you intend to fish. That will spook the trout. Stay low, and hide. This will help your fishing in the Smokies. These trout are wild. They survive by begin scared of everything, like their parents and grandparents.

Most reasonable fly patterns will work. I would use Yellow Sally Stonefly or foam beetle imitations for dry fly fishing. Try a Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulator, Rob’s Hellbender or many other yellow sally patterns. For sub-surface fishing, it is hard to beat a Green or Pink Weenie. Brook trout like the pink version.

It is a weekend. There will be many visitors in the Park, especially on the roads or in the streams along the roads. Walk into the backcountry and you will see less people.

The water will be warm, especially in the lower elevations. Fish the mid to high elevations streams and you will do better. It will be sunny today. Find shaded streams or fish shaded areas.

There will be generation breaks on some of the tailwaters in the area today. A cold trout tailwater would be a great place to be on a hot day. Check the TVA website to see if you can wade or boat fish on one of these rivers.

If you want to fish a lowland river for warmwater species, go early and late for better fishing. I would use poppers or foam topwater flies.

I don’t fish lakes on weekends, because I hate crowds. There will be many recreation boaters on the lakes. Jack and I are going to a lake Monday. We will be dodging thunderstorms all day. But, it will likely be overcast much of the day, I think. I hope. I have always found top water fly fishing to be best on cloudy days.

We will be on the lake at daybreak. Daniel will be writing the fishing report Monday.

Jack told me he watched the Joe Brooks documentary last night and said it was great. Paula and I plan to watch it tonight.

Tennessee Valley Authority, Little River Watershed Association and Conservations Fisheries, Inc. held a “stream school” on Little River for Boys and Girls Clubs yesterday. There, the children learned about aquatic habitat, fish, water quality, vegetation and biodiversity in rivers.

You can read an article about the school on the Daily Times website by CLICKING HERE.

Watch the video reporting of this event on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.

Stay cool if possible and drink plenty of water if you are outside today.

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

Byron Begley
June 16, 2018

Joe Brooks Documentary Schedule:

Dates and times in our area, given by the producer. These may not be correct where you live. Look the schedules up online yourself to be sure when they are shown.

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

Sportsman Channel
Friday June 15th 8 pm (EST)

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com