Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:55 am, the temperature is 36 degrees.
It will be sunny and cool today with a high temperature in the upper 60’s. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer with a high in the middle to upper 70’s. We can expect a warm day Sunday, with rain showers possible in the afternoon and more likely Sunday night.
Little River is flowing at 41.0 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.24 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 87 cfs. The water temperature is 55.8 degrees at the low elevation USGS gauge site near Townsend.
All streams in the Smokies are flowing very low. Water temperatures are within the trout’s preferred range at most elevations. Water temperatures are falling quickly this morning.
Fishing will be best later when the water temperatures bottom out and begin to rise. Most trout will be hiding in broken choppy water. Fishing will be best in the lower elevations and in the larger rivers that have higher flows. Nymphs will work for sure and dry flies may too.
Staying hidden from the trout is essential to your success. Dress to blend with the forest. Use light tippets and smaller flies. You may need to make longer casts to avoid being seen by the trout.
The lowland rivers flowing out of the mountains are very low. I drove to Maryville yesterday to get a flu shot, and I got a good look at the low water along the route from Townsend to Walland. I have not seen the river this low in a while. The same is true in other lowland rivers.
If you are fishing for stocked trout, they will be found in the deeper pools and runs. Little River was stocked this week, in Townsend. They have been stocked in Gatlinburg, Cherokee and Tellico River and many other lowland rivers. These fish can be caught on streamers, nymphs, midge pupa, egg patterns and squirmy worms.
If you plan to fish for smallmouth bass, they will be holding and cruising in the deep pools. Streamers and crayfish patterns are good fly choices for the smallies.
Fishing on the lakes will be best early or late when the sun is low. I would cast weighted streamers and swimming nymphs to the banks and cover. Let them sink and retrieve slowly. It is supposed to be breezy today, with gusts as high as 20 miles per hour. This is probably not a good lake fishing day.
TVA and the Corps will be generating for long periods today at many dams. Check the schedules at Center Hill and South Holston Dams. You can work with those schedules. There may be others.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a busy place right now. The Fall colors are beautiful. It will be sunny and nice today and tomorrow. Visitation in the mountains will be high.
We have some cold temperatures in store for us next week beginning Monday. We may see temperatures in the upper 20’s at night Tuesday and Wednesday. It should warm up again by next weekend.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
October 14, 2022
Note: We have a very large and well stocked fly tying department located on the second floor of our shop. Our fly tying materials and tools can also be found and bought on our online store with Free Shipping.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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