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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:06 am, the temperature outside is 59.5 degrees.

Today will be partly cloudy and warm with a 30% chance for showers tonight. This is going to be a warm to hot, dry week. Officially, this is the first week of Fall. It is not going to feel like it.

The streams are flowing low. Little River is flowing very low at 35.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.18 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 74 cfs. The record low flow for this date was 23.5 cfs in 2007. The water temperature is 69.4 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 99.4 cfs at the Sevierville gauge. Median flow for this date is 134 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 39 cfs in 1955.

Oconaluftee River is flowing higher, comparatively, than many other streams. Flow is currently 154 cfs, 1.17 feet, compared to median flow of 192 cfs. The lowest recorded flow of this date was 79.5 cfs in 2007. The water temperature is 65.3 degrees.

Tellico River is flowing at 54.2 cfs or .63 feet on the gauge at Tellico Plains. Median flow for this date is 71 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 24.4 cfs in 2016.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 31.2 cfs, 2.17 feet, compared to median flow of 40 cfs. The lowest recorded flow for this date was 17.3 cfs in 2008. The water temperature is 60.4 degrees.

Anglers are catching trout in the Smokies but it’s not easy. You have to stay hidden from the fish, and that may require casting from below the tail of a pool, to the broken water at the upper end, while getting a good drift. I talked to guide David Knapp about that yesterday. He told me, many of his clients have a hard time doing that. It’s not easy.

The water is warm in the low elevations. Fish the higher elevation streams where the water is cooler.

Under these conditions, I think I would just use a dry fly, possibly a Parachute Adams or something else I could see well, from a longer distance. Dress to blend with the forest and stay low.

Lowland river fishing is tough too. Bass and other fish are hiding in the deep pools. Go early or late when the sun is off the water. It may be overcast later today. That would be helpful. I would still use poppers or foam floating flies and possibly nymphs or streamers.

Go early or late if you plan to fish on a lake, unless it is overcast. Cast poppers, foam floating flies, streamers or Dragons to the banks. Watch for gamefish attacking shad on the surface when the sun is off the water.

There are some tailwater trout fishing options today. You might need to travel and be there early. See the TVA generation schedule pages from the links below to make a determination on where to go and when.

Speaking of traveling, I talked to many customers this weekend who traveled long distances to be at our store, to shop or attend our classes. Our beginner fly fishing class is a good example. Of the eight students, three came from Huntsville, Alabama, two from Charleston, South Carolina and two from Kentucky. I didn’t find out where the eighth student came from.

I talked to a customer who drove from Spartanburg, South Carolina yesterday morning. He and his wife shopped, then planned to drive home in the afternoon. Friday, a man from Hendersonville, North Carolina called to see if we had a certain Renzetti vise in stock. He could not find one near his home. He drove over and bought the vise, along with other fly tying materials. He probably spent four or five hours on the road. He left with a big smile on his face. He got what he wanted.

I always ask customers where they are from if I don’t know them. I find it interesting, especially when they drive long distances to visit our store. It makes me feel like we are doing a good job. I think we are.

September has been slower than normal at the shop. I guess less people are fishing in the Southeast. But, they are preparing for better conditions. The fly tying department is our best performing department this month. Other departments do more business, but most of those are down from last year. The fly tying department is performing considerably better than last year. That tells me, though more anglers are not fishing, they are getting ready.

Our business is up quite a bit from last year, since January 1st. February was down, and so is September. Rain caused February to be down. The lack of rain and the heat is affecting September.

I was talking to our Orvis Regional Manager last week. He compared our industry to farming. We are weather dependent. The larger companies like Orvis have the advantage of selling to a larger national or international market. Business can be slow in some regions, but great in others, due to the weather and fishing conditions.

Daniel and I are meeting with our Temple Fork Outfitters sales representative today. Tom is a good guy. He lives in New Orleans or nearby. That man can cast! I hate casting in front of people like that. I feel so inadequate. I don’t worry about it too much. After almost 25 years in this business, I’m used to it.  

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

Byron Begley
September 23, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com