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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:49 am, the temperature is 65.1 degrees.

It rained off and on yesterday, we had a break later in the evening, and the rain returned last night. Rainfall was light here, with a recorded total of .11 inches yesterday and .23 inches overnight.

We can expect more rain and possibly thunderstorms today and tonight, with a high temperature in the middle 70’s, dropping to the low 60’s tonight. Heavy rainfall is possible today. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a chance for showers and thunderstorms.

Saturday and Sunday should be sunny with highs in the upper 70’s to 80 degrees. Lows at night will fall to the upper 50’s this weekend.

Little River is flowing at 239 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.10 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 74 cfs. The water temperature is 63.0 degrees this morning.

So far, no rivers in the mountains are what we refer to as “blown out”. They are all flowing higher than median flow with some flowing quite a bit higher. That could change today as the ground is saturated and more rain is expected. In fact, it is raining fairly heavy, right now.

Nymphs will probably work best in the mountains. Don’t forget to take a rain jacket.

Lowland rivers are flowing higher than normal. It is possible some could become stained or rise higher today. Wading may be limited in some rivers. I would target smallmouth bass with streamers or nymphs. Due to the higher than normal flows, the fish could be just about anywhere, even in riffles.

There are breaks in the generation schedules at some dams today, giving tailwater anglers some options. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what is predicted at your favorite tailwater today.

Fly fishing on the lakes may be good today. It will be overcast which is a plus. Wind should not be a problem unless you find yourself in the direct path of a thunderstorm. You will get wet. Cast streamers or swimming nymphs to the banks. Vary the depth and rate of retrieval, which is always a good idea. Poppers or foam floating flies may work. Try them too.

I found an interesting read on the Fly Fisherman Magazine website discussing the use of large foam flies compared to the traditional dry flies we used long ago and still use today. You can read it by CLICKING HERE. I like using big ugly foam flies for game fish, including bass and trout, so I have a bias in this discussion. But, I still enjoy using the traditional dries I grew up using.

Paula bought a concrete bird bath this Spring. It is colored and shaped to look like a tree stump and it blends well with the forest where we live. The heavy concrete bowl sits on the heavy concrete base, not attached. I’m surprised a bear has not knocked it over.

Late yesterday, the rain stopped and the sky cleared for a while. Birds flew in to splash and shake like they normally do. It is fun to watch.

We were sitting in the great room. One long wall features an expansive view of the forest nearby. I noticed slight black movement and walked over to the glass for a better view. I saw a bear drinking out of the bird bath, which is perched about 20 feet from our house. It was standing on all four paws, slurping the water out of the bowl.

Then, we saw another bear. These were adults, traveling together, which is unusual this time of the year. As quickly as they appeared, they vanished into the dense forest.

I guess bears don’t turn the bird bath over because they don’t have to. They are smarter than we give them credit for. I bet this happens every day and night.

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

Byron Begley
October 7, 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