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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:29 am, the temperature outside is 63.3 degrees.

Today will be hot, in the mid to upper 80’s. We have a 50% chance for thunderstorms, mostly this afternoon. Thunderstorms are likely tomorrow and Tuesday.

Little River is flowing at 196 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.94 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 154 cfs. The water temperature is 65.1 degrees this morning.

Fishing is good in the Smoky Mountains. The streams are warm in the lowest elevations. Fish higher and find water that is cooler. The upper Middle Prong or Lynn Camp Prong is a good place to start. Fishing will be good above the Elkmont Campground. You will have to leave the Little River trailhead by 5 pm, when the firefly shuttles begin operation.

Any backcountry stream would be a good choice. The rivers along roads will be crowded with people swimming and tubing. If the sun is shining, you will find shaded water on the smaller backcountry streams.

We are recommending anglers use a Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulator, Yellow Elk Hair Caddis, Black Foam Beetle, Green Weenie, Pink Weenie or Squirmy Worm in red or pink.

There is a chance the stream you intend to fish will be rising and possibly stained this afternoon. If you find that, move to another stream that is not.

Be aware that you could be caught in a thunderstorm that produces heavy rain, wind, hail and lightning. That is typical this time of the year. Watch for rising water where you are fishing. Falling trees and lightning are additional hazards during these storms.

If you are planning to fish a lake today, go early or late to avoid recreation boat traffic. We have many lakes here, more than any area I can think of. But, during the Summer months, many are crowded, especially on weekends. Paula and I only fish on the lakes on week days. We also pick cloudy days to fish, if we can.

I have found, when fishing for warmwater species, with a fly rod, always try to pick cloudy days. Or, go early and late before the sun is on the water.  

A boater, pulling kids on a tube, hit and injured three of them with the boat, on Norris Lake. The three children were hospitalized. A fourth child was not injured. I have been an active boater most of my life and have seen many boating accidents. This one puzzles me. This could have been due to a mechanical steering failure. You can read the story on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE. I hope those kids are OK. What a terrible accident.

Today’s boats have kill switches. These switches are connected to the driver using a cord. They are designed to shut down the motor if the driver falls down or out of the boat. If something is going wrong, you can just pull the red rope! The boat will stop.

The problem is, many boaters don’t use the kill switches. They leave them dangling or remove them.

In our boat, when we are underway, except when going very slow, the kill switch red rope is attached to me. I have left it dangling, by accident, but not often. That one safety precaution, can save your life or the life of others. That is what they are intended to do.

Boats can be very dangerous, or very safe. The choice is always yours, if you are in charge of the boat. Of course, many boating accidents are caused by the Captain, drinking too much alcohol. An impaired boat Captain, is a dangerous thing. Other impaired boaters are dangerous to everyone. You have to watch out for those!

That is one reason we don’t fish from our boat on weekends.

Justify won at the Belmont Stakes and took the cherished Triple Crown. We watched yesterday evening. That was just the third Belmont Stakes race, I’ve watched, when the Triple Crown was won. That is a big deal! The race was exciting.

I grew up in Kentucky on a farm. My family raised horses. I didn’t get too involved in that because I was always boating, fishing or hunting when I was young.

My father and his business partner George had a steeplechase horse that qualified to run in the Grand National race in England. They shipped the horse to England on a ship. George and my father were planning to fly overseas to the race. George would be the jockey. When the ship arrived, the horse was lame and could not run. I suppose he was injured during the journey.

I don’t remember all the details and I don’t recall ever seeing the horse. I think I was on active duty with the Army at the time. I believe the horse was kept at George’s farm in Franklin, Tennessee. What a disappointment that must have been. George died later in a hunting accident on his farm. I really liked George.

Well, go fishing today if you can.

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

Byron Begley
June 10, 2018  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com