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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:47 am, the temperature is 32.7 degrees.

It will be partly sunny today with a high temperature in the low 60’s, dropping to the upper 40’s tonight. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer with a high in the low 70’s and a low in the low 50’s. Expect rain Thursday with a high in the middle 60’s and a low around 30 degrees.

Little River is flowing low at 96.0 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.61 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 142 cfs. The water temperature is 45 degrees at the low elevation gauge site near Townsend.

I checked other stream gauges in the Smokies and found most are flowing at or below normal today. Water temperatures are chilly this morning, below the trout’s preferred range. We will see water temperatures rise later today. Go then, when the water is warmer. Fish the low elevations where the water is warmer. Nymphs will probably work best for you.

Lowland river fishing for stocked trout will be best later today as the water warms somewhat. Streamers, nymphs, egg pattern and Squirmy Worms should get their attention. Smallmouth bass fishing will be slow, but we may see some improvement over the next couple of days as the water warms.

I read a very good article by Dave Whitlock this morning on the Fly Fisherman Magazine website. The article is titled, “Stream Smallmouth Bass”. You can read it by CLICKING HERE. If you are interesting in fishing for smallies in streams and rivers, this is a good read for you. If you are not interested in smallie fishing, may you should give it a try.

TVA and the Corps will be generating all day at most dams in the area. You should take a look at South Holston and Center Hill dam schedules. Maybe you can work with those. If you are boating you may have more options. Check the schedule at Chatuge Dam. They don’t plan to generate at Watauga, but they will be sluicing. Visit the TVA website from the links below before you go.

When I lived in Nashville, over 30 years ago, I fished on the Caney Fork River below Center Hill Dam often, almost weekly. Some of the best fishing days I had, were in November and December. During those months, I usually caught more brown trout, stripping streamers.

One of my fishing buddies in Nashville back then was Jim Mauries. I learned much about fly fishing from Jim. We were young and energetic, driving about an hour each way to fish the Caney Fork and arriving to fish at daybreak.

Jim owns an excellent fly shop in Nashville called Fly South. Like mine, Jim’s favorite department in the store is the fly tying department. Maybe I developed that same passion by hanging around with him. Jim is an exceptional fly tyer and fly fisherman.

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

Byron Begley
November 16, 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