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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:48 am, the temperature outside is 69.6 degrees.

Today will be hot with a 40% to 50% chance for thunderstorms. Higher than normal temperatures will remain through this week. Next week should be cooler.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing low at 89.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.55 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 85 cfs. The water temperature is a very warm 70.3 degrees at the low elevation USGS gauge site near Townsend.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 355 cfs, or 1.92 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 164 cfs. A thunderstorm late yesterday increased the flow but the river is receding now.

Most streams in the Park are flowing at median flow or above today.

The streams are very warm in the low elevations. That will be the case for several days. Plan on fishing the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for water temperatures at or below 65 degrees, for the health of the trout you catch and release.

A stream thermometer is something we should all have while fishing under these conditions.

I would fish above Elkmont or on Lynn Camp Prong. Or, drive to the many other streams in the higher elevations of the Smoky Mountains.

The streams are flowing low, which is normal right now. Stealth is of the utmost importance. Dress to blend with the forest. Fish the choppy water where the trout are hiding from predators. Fishing is good, for early September. The creeks could be much lower than they are now, making fishing tougher for us all. That is not the case today.

My dry fly selection would include foam beetles, Yellow Neversink Caddis or a Yellow Stimulator. I would use a Green Weenie or a Bead Head Pheasant Tail for sub-surface fishing. You might consider using the Weenie or Pheasant Tail as a dropper off your dry fly, or fish them weighted and alone, either by “high sticking” or using a strike indicator.

I heard from customers, all day yesterday, the roads and pull-offs in the Park were packed with people. You can avoid some of that today by hiking into the backcountry, which is what I would do. A ton of our visitors will be returning home today. There may be heavy traffic at times, but possibly less people swimming and tubing in the rivers.

If you plan to fish on a lake today, be careful. Go very early or late. The lakes will be teeming with recreational boaters. There have been some bad boating accidents in America this weekend. Four are presumed dead due to an accident on the Colorado River. Six people were rescued on the Tennessee River after their boat hit a log and began taking on water. Two teens are in Children’s Hospital in Knoxville following an accident on a nearby lake. I’m sure there were many more.

I am going to be off today and re-wiring our boat. It will stay in the boat house today. I’m not getting out there on the lakes, no way! Not today.

Due to a staffing mix-up, Daniel asked me to work in the shop yesterday. That is very unusual, especially since I don’t even now how to run the cash registers. We were the only two there. Normally there are at least three people working in the shop on a Sunday. We were busy too.

Daniel ran the registers and I ran my mouth. We tag teamed helping customers all day. It was fun for me, and Daniel too. It reminded us both of the old days. We have worked together over 20 years, half of his life.

I met some really nice and interesting people, which is not unusual at our shop. If you don’t love helping people who fly fish, and making new friends, working at our store is not for you. It’s not stressful, though it can be hectic at times, especially on a day like yesterday. We tried hard and hope none of our customers had to wait too long for service. Our service level was not up to the standards we prefer, but we did the best we could.

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

Byron Begley
September 3, 2018  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com