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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:38 am, the temperature is 60.8 degrees. It is going to be hot again today, with a high near 90 degrees. There is a slight chance for rain.
Tomorrow through next weekend will be cooler, with highs in the mid 70’s some days. Lows will be in the 40’s and 50’s. There is a 50% to 80% chance for rain tomorrow. It may rain Thursday and Friday. Weather websites agree on the rain tomorrow. They disagree on Thursday and Friday.
Little River is flowing at 31 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.22 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 81 cfs based on 50 years of data. The water temperature is 68 degrees.
Record low flow for this date was 22 cfs in 2007. The record high flow for this date was 649 cfs in 2006.
Because of the heat predicted today, the streams will warm later. I would hike into the backcountry on a mid-elevations stream. The East Prong above Elkmont or higher on Lynn Camp Prong are good examples. The trout will be concentrated in broken water, trying to hide from predators. Dry flies or nymphs will work. Fishing conditions are not good but you should be able to catch some trout.
The water will be cooler this week, starting Tuesday. You should be able to find cooler water in the lower elevation streams. Those streams are larger and usually have more flow. Depending on how much rain we got tomorrow, fishing conditions may improve significantly. The rain is expected to begin in the morning with isolated thunderstorms. The storms should become more widespread in the afternoon. Rain would be a huge relief for our area. I hope it happens. Maybe counties and states nearby will get relief too.
You might try fishing on a trout tailwater today. Smallmouth bass fishing in the lower reaches of tailwaters may be a good option too.
The lowland rivers are flowing low. I’ve never done well fishing these rivers when the water is low. Maybe I should try more often.
I started making Crease Flies yesterday. I almost forgot how. My fingers are coated with Zap-A-Gap. These are made on a 1/0 saltwater hook with a long shank. A 9-weight fly rod casts them perfectly. The first ones look kind of rough. The others are better.
Crease flies work well in saltwater and for fishing the jumps in our lakes. Right now, they are working very well, in the Gulf, fishing for redfish and other species. I got an e-mail from an outdoor fishing writer in Florida last week. He told me I should be making white Crease Flies with chartreuse tails. So, that’s what I’m doing. I’m not an expert. He is. Paula and I will be fishing in the Gulf, often, this Fall.
We normally use just a handful of flies, when fishing in the Gulf, from the Florida Panhandle down past the Big Bend area. They are: Sand Shrimp, Gold Copperhead, Puglisi Minnows, Crease Flies and when fishing in grass, Gold Spoon Flies with weed guards.
I tie everything that requires weight, using large Bead Chain Eyes. They are easier to cast than those with heavy lead eyes. You do have to wait longer for them to sink. We don’t use Clousers, but we probably should. Paul asked me last week why we don’t use Clousers. I don’t know. I guess we never needed to.
Our saltwater fly selection is getting low. So, for the next few weeks, I’m going to be tying more. I always take a small fly tying kit and materials to tie Sand Shrimp when we go to the coast. That is the fly we use most. That is the one I don’t want to run out of.
Fishing on the coast, in the Panhandle is very good right now. Home rental rates have fallen. Their tourist season is over.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
September 25, 2016 |
