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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:15 am, the temperature outside is 70.3 degrees.

Today will be partly sunny, with a chance for thunderstorms this morning. It should be cloudy this afternoon. Thunderstorms are more likely Monday.

Little River is flowing at 525 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.69 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 118 cfs.

The smaller and higher elevation streams are more angler friendly and those are where you should go today. The larger rivers along roads will probably be packed with swimmers and tubers.

If you are interested in fishing for brook trout, hike to Lynn Camp Prong. The Middle Prong of Little River or the East Prong above the Elkmont Campground are good choices. There will probably be a lot of traffic in Cades Cove. That would rule out Abrams Creek for me today.

There are hundreds of miles of good trout streams in the Smoky Mountains. I would choose a smaller stream requiring a short to long hike, to find cooler shaded water and somewhat less people swimming and skipping rocks. This is a weekend and it is close to a holiday. This is tourist season.  

Little River is still flowing strong today, at a level that is on the high side of good. Still use caution when wading. And, watch for stained and rising water. A thunderstorm upstream could send high water toward you.

Dry flies and nymphs will both produce. As usual in the Summer, I would use any Yellow Sally Stonefly dry fly pattern, or a floating foam beetle. Green or Pink Weenies would still be my choice for a sub-surface fly. Other reasonable fly patters may work well. The trout will be searching for food.

Most lowland rivers are probably clear now. Fly fishing for smallmouth bass and other warm water species will be good. The current is strong in lower Little River. You will have to pick your spots to wade. I would use poppers or streamers.

The lakes are fishing fair to good. Lake levels at the ones I checked this morning are at full Summer pool and some are slightly above.

TVA will be generating quite a bit today at their dams. Check the expected flows on your favorite tailwater before going.

This may sound crazy but I’m going to do it anyway. I love fly fishing on lakes. I love our boat. I always find fishing to be best on lakes, when fishing in shallow water, early, late or on cloudy days. When the sun is high, fishing has always been slower for me. I don’t like using sinking fly lines. But, I still like being on the water, fishing.

Last night, I clamped some rod holders on the boat, one at the bow and one aft. I visited Dick’s Sporting Goods Friday, and bought some lures and plugs. Until then, I did not own any. They had a sale that was nice, buy 5 plugs that had been discounted, and get 5 free. I left the store with a bag full of plugs and soft baits and $80 less money. Paula and I are going to try trolling, with spinning rods.

I have not used anything but a fly rod in fresh water since the 70’s. We do have some medium/heavy spinning rods we use in the ocean. I’m going to rig them for trolling.

Now, when the sun is high, we can just putt around a lake, trolling. There is no telling what we will catch, maybe walleye or stripers. We may not catch anything. But, it will be fun trying and it does not seem like it will take much effort. The investment was $80. I already had the rod holders. We’ll just sit there enjoying the scenery, relaxing, while waiting for one of the rods to bend double.

When fishing slows down near the shore, we just putt around the lake anyway. Why not catch a fish, or try?

I can’t wait to give this a shot. It may be early this week. We don’t fish a lakes on weekends.

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

Byron Begley
July 1, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com