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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:40 am, the temperature outside is 74.1 degrees.

It was dark when I drove to work this morning but it is getting lighter now. The sky is overcast.

Scattered thunderstorms affected the Smokies yesterday afternoon and last night. The Airport reported .27 inches. We got .10 inches at our house. I think we got more here in town.

Today will be cooler, in the mid-80’s. We have a slight chance for thunderstorms this afternoon. Tomorrow and Friday will be mostly sunny and warm, with highs in the mid-80’s and lows dipping to the mid to upper 60’s.

Little River is flowing at 80 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.59 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 115 cfs. The water temperature is 72.7 degrees right now, at the low elevation USGS gauge site inside the Park near Townsend.

The Little Pigeon watershed was affected by rain yesterday and overnight. The river is currently rising. Flow is 222 cfs, 1.57 feet, compared to median flow of 280 cfs.

Rain fell last night in the Oconaluftee watershed. The river is flowing at 253 cfs, 1.46 feet, and that compares to median flow of 283 cfs. The water temperature at the Birdtown gauge is 69.6 degrees.

Tellico River rose overnight. Currently, flow at the Tellico Plains gauge is 212 cfs, 1.38 feet, compared to median flow of 106 cfs.

Cataloochee Creek got a shot of rain overnight. The stream is flowing at 63.0 cfs, 2.37 feet, compared to median flow of 59 cfs. The water temperature is 65.3 degrees this morning.

We have some streams flowing above normal and other that are not. Overall, most are close to normal. Water temperatures are very warm in the low elevations. Fish the higher elevations streams today where the water is cooler. Look for temperatures in the 60’s.

Don’t forget to be stealthy so the trout don’t see you.

Dry flies would be my choice unless I were fishing one of the rising streams this morning. A black foam beetle with a Green Weenie dropper is an excellent combination during the late Summer months. Other fly patterns will work too. Yellow Sally stonefly patterns are good choices.

Lowland river fishing could be good depending on the conditions where you plan to fish. I would like to out there right now. It is early and overcast. Some lowland rivers could be stained.

Lake fishing would be excellent this morning, due to the overcast skies. I would be there now, casting poppers or foam floating flies to the banks. If these clouds disperse later, try to find shaded banks near wooded cover.

I noticed a couple of favorable tailwater generation schedules but not many opportunities unless you plan to float. The links below will send you to the TVA website, where you can search for a tailwater to fish today.

I’m packing up three computers to take to Knoxville in a few minutes. I’m going to be computer-less today. One computer is a new iMac. Another is this one, a 27” iMac. The third is my PC laptop that I use for ordering merchandise. Allen at MCS is going to set up the new one to act like the old one and transfer software subscriptions from the PC to the new Mac.

Allen is a Mac professional. He has been keeping my Apple computers running for 20 years. I highly recommend him. His phone number is 865-689-6601. I mentioned Allen in yesterday’s report, and one reader e-mailed me for his contact information.

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

Byron Begley
August 14, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com