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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:41 am, the temperature is 68.4 degrees.

It will be mostly cloudy and warm today with a high temperature in the low to middle 80’s. Showers are likely today, with scattered thunderstorms appearing this afternoon. Winds will be out of the south around 5 miles per hour. We have a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms tomorrow, with a high in the upper 80’s.

Little River is flowing at 109 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.64 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 120 cfs. The water temperature is 68.2 degrees this morning.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing near normal. Water temperatures are warm in the low elevations. For the health of the trout you catch and release, fish the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for water temps of 65 degrees or cooler.

Dry flies and nymphs will work. Many anglers are using dry and dropper rigs. My choice for a dry fly would be a rather large terrestrial, a buggy looking land based insect. Trout are anxiously waiting for these food sources that had a bad day by accidently landing in the water. Drop a bead head nymph or Green Weenie off your dry.

Lowland rivers flowing out of the mountains into the foothills are flowing low, but near normal. It is supposed to be cloudy today, which is beneficial to anglers. Smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish will be found in the deeper water. I would try poppers or foam floating flies first. If that is not working, switch to a streamer, nymph or crayfish pattern. Hellgrammite imitations are good choices for your nymph pattern. I was reminded of that by a customer yesterday.

If you are planning to fish on a tailwater today, look at the generation schedules at dams in the area. You will likely find low to no flows early, with turbines running later today. You can work with most of the schedules I saw this morning, whether you are wading or boating. Check the schedule before you go.

This may be a good lake fishing day because it should be overcast. Take a rain jacket. Watch for thunderstorms this afternoon. Wind should not be a problem today. I would start with poppers or foam floating flies. Another rod in the boat would be ready for sub-surface fishing, if the top water bite is slow. That rod would have a #2/0 black Wooly Bugger tied on. I tie mine on jig hooks with the whole hook shank wrapped with lead free wire. I also have a third rod in the boat with a damselfly nymph tied on. Mine are weighted with bead chain eyes. Cast them to the banks, let the fly sink, then retrieve slowly.   

Honestly, if you can’t catch fish on one or more of those three rod and fly combinations, it’s time to cruise slowly around the lake and look at the scenery and wildlife.

Just about every time I drive to work early in the morning, those same two adult wild turkey hens and their offspring are pecking the ground in the field in front of our house, eating insects. The babies look like chickens from a distance. They are beginning to look like large chickens now. Sometimes I count 12 poults.

Finally, I found an article written by an older fly angler like myself, who is right handed, casts right handed and cranks the reel with his right hand. When I started fly fishing in the very early 60’s, that is the way everyone did it, except left handers. Most reels were made for right hand retrieve. Left hand reels were produced but they were rare.  

I never saw a reel that could be reversed from right to left hand retrieve until later in life. I still crank fly reels with my right hand.

Read the article on the Grays Sporting Journal website by CLICKING HERE and find out why.

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

Byron Begley
August 7, 2021

WALTER BABB MADE BAMBOO FLY RODS FOR SALE – CLICK HERE

Walter is selling a selection of over 50 bamboo fly rods. All but one was made by him. The other one was custom made for Walter by Walton Powell. Read the description of each rod on the list and contact him if you are interested in buying one or more than one. Even if you are not interested in a purchase, this web page is very interesting to read. Walter has made over 285 bamboo rods over the past 20-years. You will be working directly with Walter on a purchase and you can test cast the rods before you buy one at his home. Or, call him and he will ship a rod to you. His contact information is on the web page he and I created.

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com