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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:34 am, the temperature outside is 67.5 degrees.

A tiny but powerful thunderstorm hovered over Townsend beginning at 6 pm yesterday. 1.86 inches of rain fell at a weather station near our house. That happened over a period of 1 hour. I was working in the boat house on our boat. Lightning and heavy rain kept me there. I climbed into the boat and waited it out, hoping not be be grounded. Areas nearby got less rain, Kinzel Springs .73”, Laurel Valley .48” and Wears Valley .60”.

Today will be warm with a slight chance for thunderstorms. The chance for storms increases tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible tonight and tomorrow. Daily thunderstorms are predicted each day for several days.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 151 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.78 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for the date is 124 cfs. The water temperature is 69.3 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River in Sevierville is flowing at 425 cfs or 2.01 feet on the gauge, and it is still rising.

Be aware that strong storms may cause flash flooding at times and places over the next few days. If the stationary storm that dropped heavy rain here last night, had been located inside the Park, it could have easily caused a flash flood. Watch for stained water, unusual noise or quickly rising water. If that happens, get out of the stream and seek high ground.

Tourists will be swimming and tubing in the Park this weekend, and they may not know. Flash floods strand these people on the wrong banks, and they have to be rescued. It happens more often than you think. It happened a few days ago.

Otherwise, fishing will be good, unless the stream you intend to fish gets blown out. Right now, all streams in the Park, except possibly those in the Little Pigeon watershed are flowing slightly above normal.

Fish the higher elevations where the water is cooler.

Dry flies and nymphs will work. I would use Yellow Sally Stonefly imitations or a foam beetle for my dry fly. For subsurface fishing, use a bead head or weighted nymph, or drift a Green or Pink Weenie as a dropper off your dry fly. A Bead Head Pheasant Tail is usually a good nymph used as a dropper. Other fly patterns may work as well or better.

Fishing is good on the trout and smallmouth bass tailwaters. Check the TVA website for generation schedules, and determine if theirs works with your schedule, on the river you intend to fish.

Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill and shellcrackers are taking flies on the surface and below on the lakes. Cloudy days are best, or go early or late when the sun is off the water. If you are willing to fish at midday, when it is sunny, find areas along the bank that are shaded and cast there. Watch out for the storms.

Watch out for recreation boaters this weekend.

The Townsend City Commissioners passed the first reading of a new tubing ordinance, aimed at tube rental companies. You can read the story on the Daily Times website by CLICKING HERE.  

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

Byron Begley
July 20, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com