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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:08 am, the temperature outside is 70.3 degrees.
It will be hot today, with a high temperature reaching near 90 degrees or above. There is a 40% to 50% chance for showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Sunday will be slightly cooler and the chance for thunderstorms is higher, 60% according to the National Weather Service and Weather.com. That prediction may change by tomorrow, one way or the other.
Little River is flowing at 700 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.96 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 106 cfs. The water temperature is 63.3 degrees this morning.
Wherever you go in the Smokies, you will find streams flowing much higher than normal for this time of the year. Normal is low right now. Higher water is preferred. We have flows like this during the Spring months, but they are rare in late June.
The streams have been receding slow. We have had a lot of rain over the past few days. The ground is saturated. This bodes well for future fishing in the Smokies, at a time when the flows are usually very low.
Wading may be difficult and unsafe in some rivers. For instance, we do not hold beginner fly fishing classes, on-stream, when Little River is flowing at 2.5 feet or higher. The current flow is a few inches higher than that threshold. A few inches can make a big difference.
Experienced Smokies anglers know their limits, and can pick areas on rivers to safely wade. Many fly fishermen prefer fishing in Little River when the water is lower than it is now. Others prefer higher water. Some anglers with less experience could wade into strong currents, which would be a mistake. Be careful.
I would fish the higher elevation smaller streams. Nymphs will be a good choice. Dry flies may work well too, in some areas of streams.
Fishing will be good. As the streams recede further today and tomorrow, access to your favorite spots will improve. But, it may rain again, today and tomorrow. Streams could rise again. Be aware that may happen. Watch for stained and rising water. If you see that, go to the bank and be prepared to exit.
Water temperatures will rise today. It would be best for the trout you release and fishing will be better at mid to high elevations streams. Find midday water temperatures at 65 degrees or cooler.
I would use any dry fly that resembles a Yellow Sally Stonefly. A foam beetle is another very good choice. Drop a Green or Pink Weenie off your dry to increase the odds. Or, fish the Weenies weighted and alone. Other dry flies and nymphs will work too. Some may work better than those I prefer.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) lake information and generation schedules are not available this morning. The TVA website is operating, but the pages pertaining to the individual impoundments are not. Hopefully those pages will be restored soon.
The lakes will be crowded with pleasure boaters this weekend and through the 4th of July holiday. Go early or late for better fishing. Because of the TVA website outage, I can’t see the current lake levels or generation schedules.
I think fishing will be good today in the Smoky Mountains. We’ve got plenty of water. Hopefully the predicted rain will miss the Park today and tomorrow.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
June 30, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |