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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:31 am, the temperature outside is 70.3 degrees.

Today will be cooler, with a high temperature around 80 degrees. It is going to rain too. We have an 80% chance today. Thunderstorms are possible. There is a good chance for thunderstorms tomorrow and Sunday. You may get a break Saturday.

Little River is flowing at 178 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.88 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 130 cfs. The water temperature is 68.4 degrees this morning.

Though heavy rain is not expected, except maybe in some isolated thunderstorms, there is a chance you may encounter high or stained water in the Smokies, today, tomorrow or Sunday. These scattered thunderstorms are typical during the Summer months. Actually, they are our friend. These stream flows, if sustained by scattered storms, will provide for better fishing.

Right now, the streams in the Smoky Mountains are flowing at a very good level for this time of the year. I hope these storms continue all Summer.

If you do find stained or high water, drive to another drainage. For instance, one prong of Little River may be flowing high, while another may not.

Expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies over the weekend and through Monday. Those are perfect conditions for fly fishing. Many fish avoid shallow water when the sun is shining bright. They must feel the need to hide. I love cloudy days. I don’t fish on weekends, so I’m looking at Monday for my next adventure on the water.

If you go, most reasonable dry flies and nymphs will work. I would choose something that resembles a yellow sally stonefly, because they are active all Summer long. We all recommend a Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulator or Rob’s Hellbender.

Rob Fightmaster designed his Hellbender Yellow Sally imitation and they are tied by Holly Flies, a Pennsylvania company we have done business with for many years. It is a great fly. Rob is a local fly fishing guide and he teaches fly fishing at our school. You can visit his website by CLICKING HERE. I always highly recommend Rob as a guide to customers, along with a few others. Rob is a great person to spend the day with. We have been friends for a long time.

It is hard to beat a Green Weenie, as a subsurface fly during the Summer months. Another is a Pink Weenie or what we call a Barbie Bug. Brook trout love Barbie Bugs. I like to fish a weenie alone and weighted. Since the green version is very easy to see in the water, I have noticed several trout chasing one down the stream at one time, like they are fighting over it. Everyone loves to have trout fighting over their fly.

The tailwaters are fishing well for both trout and smallmouth bass. Check the TVA website from the links below to view the generation schedules. Hopefully you can work with their dam releases over the next few days.

The lakes are fishing pretty well right now. Pick a cloudy day for your comfort and better fishing with flies. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are active. I would use a weighted Wooly Bugger, Byron’s Knucklehead, BoogleBug Poppers and definitely a small Puglisi Threadfin Shad. Depending on the lake you fish, you may find bass and bluegill spawning. Jack and I did Monday.

I’m looking forward to more rain. I have a passion for overcast days. It looks like I will be very happy for a while.

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

Byron Begley
June 21, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com