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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:39 am, the temperature is 67.3 degrees.

Today will be mostly cloudy with a high temperature in the low 80’s and a chance for showers and thunderstorms. Tomorrow’s forecast is almost identical. Rain is likely Sunday night and Monday as temperatures drop to a high in the middle to upper 70’s Monday. The days and nights following Monday will be cooler, with highs in the 70’s and lows in the upper 40’s to low 50’s. Fall is coming next week and it is going to feel like it.

Little River is flowing at 119 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.68 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 70 cfs. The water temperature is 65.7 degrees this morning.

Streams are still flowing higher than normal but normal in September is low. Water temperatures are cool at most elevations. Fishing for trout is good. Stealth and presentation are essential to your success. Dress to blend with the forest. Get a good drift and you will catch more trout. Dry flies, nymphs or a dry/dropper rig are working. Fish the broken water where the trout are hiding. Terrestrial fly imitations are good choices. Mine would be a buggy looking dry fly with a bead head nymph or Green Weenie dropper.

Lowland rivers exiting the mountains are flowing low but higher than usual in September. It will be overcast today which is a good condition for fishing these rivers. Fish the deeper pools and runs for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish. Poppers, foam floating flies, nymphs streamers and crayfish patterns should be in your fly boxes.

TVA and the Corps of Engineers will be generating at most dams later this morning, or in some cases, all day. Plan your tailwater day around these expected flows using the TVA website to find an appropriate flow for the type of fishing you will be doing, boating or wading.

Due to the predicted overcast conditions, this will probably be a good lake fishing day. There is a chance for rain early and thunderstorms later today. Winds should be calm. Cast to the banks with poppers, foam floating flies, streamers or swimming nymphs. It is a good idea to have one fly rod rigged for top water fishing, and another set up for subsurface use in your boat. Switch back and forth until you determine what works best for you. Cloudy days are better if you prefer fishing with poppers or foam floating flies.

I saw more trees turning colors yesterday. Leaves are dropping from the trees. Our leaf blower here at home is getting a lot of use lately. Fall weather conditions are coming soon. Water temperatures will be falling to the trout’s preferred range in the low elevations, allowing us to fish the larger rivers next week. Brown and brook trout will be preparing to spawn soon.

Fall can be an excellent time to fly fish in the mountains, especially if we do not have low water in the streams. The scenery is beautiful in the Fall as leaves change colors. It is normally comfortable in October.

I do remember one weekend in October, years ago, Paula and I were backpacking in the Smokies at a low elevation on the West Prong of Little River. It snowed, and the snow was fairly heavy. It can happen but it is more likely in the higher elevations.

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

Byron Begley
September 18, 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