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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. It is cool and a little foggy this morning. Across the street they are setting up Child Safety Day. This is a fun event for the kids. It is from 10am till 2pm today. They will have all the fire trucks, police cars, Lifestar Helicopter, bouncy houses, games and other stuff.
The weather today should be beautiful. Highs in the mid 80's and mostly sunny. There is a chance of storms in the afternoon. It is summer still.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY
| LOCATION |
HIGH |
LOW |
| TOWNSEND |
83 |
66 |
| GATLINBURG |
81 |
65 |
| ELKMONT |
79 |
63 |
| CADES COVE |
80 |
64 |
| NEWFOUND GAP |
75 |
59 |
| MOUNT LECONTE |
64 |
55 |
| CHEROKEE |
83 |
62 |
| SMOKEMONT |
77 |
61 |
| BRYSON CITY |
84 |
62 |
| MAGGIE VALLEY |
77 |
62 |
| COSBY |
82 |
63 |
Water conditions in the mountains are very good for this time of year. The gauge on the Little River is giving a reading of 1.89 feet or 173 c.f.s. This is higher than the daily normal of 79 c.f.s. Water temperature is a nice 67.5 F in the lowest elevations. The streams are flowing clear.
Fishing reports this week have been good. Anglers are having solid success across the area. One of our long time customers was down from Kentucky and camping at Elkmont Campground. He said that he never left the campground and had a great time each day.
Sometimes we overlook sections of river because we assume it is too close to the road or too close to people. A lot of anglers think that the further you get away from the road the better the fishing will be. Many times this is true. The more effort you have to put in will get you to areas where most people aren't willing to go. The fish in those obscure, out of the way streams will be much less educated to the tricks of the fly angler. It isn't always necessary to wear the soles off your boots to find good fishing. Some of my favorite sections of river are right next to the roadside.
If you head out fishing in the Smokies today I would start with a dry fly. A #14 Smoky Mountain Candy would be my first choice. I might even tie a green weenie on as a dropper. Elk Caddis, Parachute Adams, and Stimulators are working well also. If you prefer you can fish a nymph sunk deep. Terrestrials like the beetles and ants are a good choice this time of year.
Mid to higher elevation streams have been best. The upper part of Tremont and Lynn Camp Prong are doing good. The Little River above Metcalf and upstream of Elkmont Campground have had good reports also.
I don't entirely understand the TVA website for the flows on the tailwaters. Looking at the page for Norris today it says 0 generators from 10 am till 3 pm but then scrolling down the page it shows an Average Hourly Discharge of 3,185 starting at 10 am. I think that is one reason I mostly stick to the freestone streams. If you go to the tailwaters check the site or the phone number before making the drive.
So far this morning it has been pretty quiet here at the Shop. Today's football came is an evening start which usually means people head to the mountains early but maybe they are getting the tailgating started early.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Daniel Drake
September 22, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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