The Fishing Report 06/17/18 Great Smoky Mountains National Park and East Tennessee Time of Readings 4:54 am Eastern Time Zone : CFS=Cubic Feet Per Second
Water Temperature Little River
Stream Flow
Sunrise
Sunset
Rainfall 2018 YTD Knoxville Apt
Rainfall Normal YTD Knoxville Apt
Townsend, Tennessee - Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina
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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:54 am, the temperature outside is 66.5 degrees.
Happy Father’s Day dads!
It will be very hot again today, with a high temperature reaching 90 degrees. No rain is predicted.
Little River is flowing at 141 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.74 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 159 cfs. The water temperature is 69.1 degrees this morning.
If you go fishing today, and through most of the week, fish the mid to higher elevations where the water is cooler. Yesterday, the water temperature at the USGS gauge, located on Little River, inside the Park, near Townsend, rose to almost 72 degrees. Catching a releasing a trout in water that warm is unhealthy for the trout. Seek cooler water. The water will be cooler in the higher elevations. Look for temperatures in the mid-60’s. You will be cooler there too.
Dry flies and nymphs will work. Try anything that looks like a yellow sally stonefly. They are small stones, and they are active now. Other dry fly patterns will work. Try a foam beetle. One of our customers told Daniel, he tried yellow sally imitations, and caught nothing. He switched to a Parachute Adams and caught trout. You never know. So, try anything reasonable. I would use a Green or Pink Weenie for sub-surface fishing, as a dropper or fished alone.
The streams are flowing lower, more like normal for this time of the year. Stealth is of the utmost importance. Don’t spook the trout. Dress to blend in with the forest. Stay low and don’t cast a shadow over the area you are fishing.
I would venture into a mid to high elevation backcountry small stream. There you will hopefully avoid crowds of swimmers, tubers and rock skippers. You will also find more shaded water. It will be sunny all day.
Some trout tailwaters in our area may have angler friendly flows today, whether you are wading or fishing from a boat. Visit the TVA website, using the links below, and check your favorite tailwater flows. Maybe you can work in some fishing on those rivers today.
I think I would stay off the lakes today, unless you plan to go early or late, to avoid recreation boat traffic. Jack and I are taking the boat to a lake tomorrow morning. We plan to be on the water at daybreak. We will be fly fishing the banks for smallmouth bass. Daniel will write the fishing report tomorrow.
I began my fly fishing journey in 1962. In those days, not as many people fly fished. The writings of Joe Brooks were about all we had at the time, to learn more about our sport. Joe wrote fly fishing books and fly fishing articles for magazines. Joe introduced Lefty Kreh to fly fishing. Joe appeared as a regular on Curt Gowdy’s television show. Joe was an icon in American fly fishing. Most anglers you talk to today, have not heard of him or don’t know much about him. Most fly fishermen don’t know what he did for our sport.
A friend of mine, Joe Congleton began his fly fishing journey back then or earlier. He read Joe Brook’s writings, and probably watched him on television. The two of them spent time together, fishing on Nelson’s Spring Creek in Montana in 1972. Joe Congleton was the last person to fish with Joe Brooks. Joe Brooks died of a heart attack, while Joe Congleton and his wife were driving back to Knoxville, the next day.
Joe Congleton called me several months ago, asking for Lefty Kreh’s phone number and e-mail address. He heard there was an upcoming documentary about Joe Brooks in the works. He sent me some photos of him fishing with Joe. He heard Lefty was involved.
Lefty was ill and has since and sadly to us all, passed away. Joe could not reach Lefty and let me know. I tried to call Lefty and got a recording. I sent Lefty an e-mail and it was returned. Lefty’s e-mail account had been closed.
So, time went on and the documentary was in production. Joe contacted the production company. He and I stayed in touch.
The documentary was shown on three cable channels beginning Friday. Paula and I watched it last night. Near the end of the film, there on on the screen, was Joe Congleton, talking about his last days with Joe Brooks. Joe Congleton never told me he was going to be in the film. I called Joe last night at about 9 pm. I don’t call anyone that late. I’m usually in bed. I was blown away.
I saw a shot of a newspaper article in the documentary, about the fight to save the Little Tennessee River from being covered by water when TVA built Tellico Dam. I saw the words “Snail Darter” highlighted in the article. Joe Congleton was the attorney representing Trout Unlimited in the fight to save the Little Tennessee River. The effort was unsuccessful. It is a lake now. I may be fishing there tomorrow.
This morning may be your last chance to see this 90-minute long documentary and if you can, watch it. It is supposed to be shown at 10 am today, on the World Fishing Network. It may be at another time or network where you live.
This is one great film, about a great fly fisherman and man, who you should learn more about.
One of the movie trailers is below.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.