If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.

Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:09 am, the temperature outside is 62.4 degrees.

It will be sunny and hot today, with a high temperature near 90 degrees. No rain is expected. Tomorrow and Tuesday will be cooler, in the low 80’s. There is a low chance for rain tomorrow night.

There has been no measurable rain at the Knoxville Airport this month. Since January 1st, rainfall is 12.38 inches above normal.

As a result, free flowing streams in our area are very low.

Little River is flowing at 39.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.21 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 79 cfs. The lowest flow recorded on this date was 24.8 cfs in 2007. The water temperature is 70.3 degrees.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 104 cfs, 1.21 feet, compared to median flow of 140 cfs.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 160 cfs, 1.19 feet, compared to median flow of 210 cfs. The water temperature is 66.2 degrees.

Tellico River is flowing at 55.6 cfs, .64 feet, which compares to median flow of 69 cfs.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 31.2 cfs, 2.18 feet, compared to median flow of 41 cfs. The water temperature is 60.8 degrees.

The streams for the most part are flowing very low in the Smoky Mountains. I have talked to several anglers lately, who returned from fishing in Little River or tributaries to the river. They are telling me, fishing is slow. Others are say they are catching some trout, but fishing is nothing to get excited about. Others are doing fairly well.  

Other streams in the Smokies are flowing comparatively higher than Little River. For instance, Little River is flowing at 50% below median flow this morning. Little Pigeon River is flowing at 25% below median flow. Oconaluftee River is flowing 23.8% below median flow.

I don’t know if these number matter. They are all flowing low. Still, other rivers are flowing higher than Little River, comparatively.

Stealth is essential to your success. You will catch more trout if the fish don’t see you. Dress to blend with the forest and stay low. Trout will be hiding in the broken water in riffles, plunge pools, deep runs or near other cover.

The streams are warm in the low elevations. Fish higher where the water is cooler. Look for temps in the 60’s. Carry a thermometer with you and check the water temperatures.

Our business has been slow this month. I think that is because of the heat and low water in the Smokies and all over the Southeast US, where many of our customers live.

September is always a slow month at the shop. That has much to do with college football on Saturdays. Saturdays are always our busiest days. Some anglers are also hunting instead of fishing. This year, September has been unusually slow. One bright spot in our store is the fly tying department, which has been performing extremely well all year. Evidently, many fly fishers are fishing less and tying more.  

The long term weather forecast indicates we will get a break in the heat in two weeks, with a greater chance for rain in eleven days. Long term forecasts are not always accurate. We could see improvement sooner or later. I hope it is sooner.

Lowland River fishing is probably fair at best. Smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfishes will be in the deep pools, in shaded areas. I would use foam floating flies, poppers, streamers or nymphs.

If you plan to fish a lake, go early or late.

If you can find a tailwater with angler friendly flows, go there to spend your day. There are some trout tailwater fly fishing opportunities today, if you can work with the generation schedules. Generation appears to be sporadic today in some tailwaters. Visit the TVA website from the links below to see if your schedule works with the generation or sluicing at your favorite tailwater.

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

Byron Begley
September 22, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com