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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 48.7 degrees.

It is going to be mostly sunny every day this week, with highs in the low to middle 80’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Fall-like cooler temperatures and the chance for rain will arrive Sunday and continue through October 11th.

Little River is flowing at 170 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.88 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 85 cfs. The water temperature is 59.0 degrees this morning, and falling.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing a little higher than normal and slowly receding. Cataloochee Creek has receded to about median flow. Water temperatures are good.

Dry flies will work, Nymphs too. A dry and dropper rig is a good choice. Be careful not to spook the trout and you will catch more. It will be sunny today and you will likely do better using dry flies in shaded areas. I have always preferred fishing in the backcountry on the smaller shaded streams when the sun is bright.

I would still be using terrestrial patterns until we have the first freeze and maybe after that. I have caught trout on Green Weenies in November, long after the first freeze.

Lowland rivers are flowing a little higher than normal. Fish the deeper pools with poppers, foam floaters, streamers or nymphs. If the river you are fishing does not have tree canopy offering shade, fishing will probably be best early or late, especially when using top water flies and poppers.

TVA and the Corps of Engineers are going to be generating today at many dams with no breaks. The generation schedule at Cherokee Dam looks pretty good. Check that one out. There may be other options. Visit the TVA website to see what they are.

I would definitely go fishing on the lakes early, at daybreak. Fish the dimly lit banks with poppers, foam floating flies, steamers or swimming nymphs. As the sun gets high, look for shaded areas to fish. Another option is going late, and fish until dark.

Here is a short but very important article on the Gink and Gasoline website. The author describes losing a big brown trout because his hook point was bent. And this serves as a reminder to check your hooks and sharpen them as needed. You can read it by CLICKING HERE.

Most hooks we use to tie flies come out of the box or package very sharp, much sharper than they did decades ago. I remember when the first step in fly tying was sharpening the hook. Most store-bought flies are tied on sharp hooks. But, they can become dull with use. Checking and sharpening may save you from losing the fish of a lifetime.

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

Byron Begley
September 27, 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