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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:11 am, the temperature outside is 69.6 degrees.

Today will be hot again, with a high temperature in the upper 80’s. There is a 30% to 40% chance for thunderstorms this afternoon. Tomorrow and Friday will be somewhat cooler, in the low 80’s. We have an 80% chance for thunderstorms tomorrow and Friday.

Rain fell in the Little River watershed, inside the Park after midnight. The river rose quickly from 1.8 feet to 2.4 feet. It is receding now. The water may be temporarily stained in one or more of the three prongs. Rain fell in the Little Pigeon drainage as well and the river is rising.  

Currently, Little River is flowing at 328 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.30 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 135 cfs. The water temperature is 67.8 degrees at the low elevation USGS gauge site.

It will be healthier for the trout and offer better fishing for you, to fish the mid to high elevation streams. Look for water temperatures in the mid-60’s or cooler. The temperatures will rise during the day. Fishing will be best early and late.

Tomorrow, through the weekend will bring a high chance for rain each day except Saturday. Heavy rain is not expected except in thunderstorms. It will be a little cooler too.

If you go today you may find some fairly high water, and temporarily stained water, especially on the west side of the Park. The North Carolina side does not appear to have been affected by the storms that blew through after midnight. Some streams may be fine while others may be stained. This is typical of Summer weather in the Smoky Mountains. Streams fluctuate up and down rather fast.

You should always be aware that a stream can rise quickly by a foot or more due to a thunderstorm upstream. The first hint of an event like this is often turbid water. If you see that, get out of the stream or move to the bank of your choice. Choose the bank that offers the easiest route back to your truck. If you pick the wrong bank, you might be trapped for a while.

Terrestrial insects are active and they offer trout a good source of food during the warm months. A foam beetle dry fly is always a good choice this time of the year. Yellow stonefly patterns in small sizes should work well for you. Green and Pink Weenies are great sub-surface patterns to use.

The trout and smallmouth tailwaters are fishing well. Check the TVA website from the links below to see if their generation times will work for you.

A Georgia woman killed a rabid bobcat with her bare hands two days ago! The cat attacked in her driveway. You can see in the video, she was cut, bruised and had broken fingers. The woman is undergoing treatment with the rabies vaccine. Read the story and watch the video on the CNN website by CLICKING HERE.

We have bobcats living and roaming around our house but we rarely see them. I did photograph one over two years ago from my home office window. Some of the photos are below. This one was waiting for squirrels.

We saw a bobcat chase a squirrel up a tree behind our house one morning. The squirrel got away. The bobcat came down the tree, clinging to the bark, head first. I would have never thought that was possible.

Bobcats are very reclusive and I have never considered being attacked by one. I guess it can happen.

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

Byron Begley
June 20, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com