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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:39 am, the temperature outside is 68.4 degrees.

It will be hot today in the foothills. The high temperature is predicted to be 91 degrees in Townsend, 87 at Elkmont and 81 degrees near Newfound Gap. The high temperature at Mount LeConte is predicted to be 72 degrees.

Rainfall predictions are low today and tomorrow, but rise to 40% to 50% Thursday and 60% to 100% Friday. We will probably see thunderstorms Friday and possibly 1” of rain.

It will be much cooler by the weekend. Expect a high of 82 Friday and 84 Saturday.

Significant rain fell in Townsend Sunday night with three weather sites reporting rainfall near 2” or more. Great Smoky Mountains National Park got less, 1.2” at Sugarlands, .55” at Newfound Gap and .75” at Mount LeConte.

Streams rose in the Smokies Monday morning but receded quickly.

Little River is flowing at 87.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.64 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 137 cfs. The water temperature is 71.8 degrees this morning.

We are hoping, the cooler predicted temperatures and a better chance for rain will improve fishing by the weekend. Fishing conditions are better now than they have been in a while, mostly because of the higher stream flows.

If you go fishing today, find cooler water in the mid to high elevation streams. I would fish above Elkmont Campground on the East Prong or hike upstream on Lynn Camp Prong. Drive up Newfound Gap Road and fish the West Prong of the Little Pigeon and its tributaries. There are many streams in the backcountry, at higher elevations, where the water is cool.

Dry flies or nymphs will produce for you. Due to the low water, stealth is important to success. Dress to blend into the forest. Don’t wade much. Trout will be hiding in choppy shaded water.

I would use Yellow Sally Stonefly patterns or terrestrials for my dry fly. Sub-surface patterns, including Green Weenies, Squirmy Worms or any reasonable nymph pattern will produce.

These are not ideal fishing conditions, even in the higher elevations, because the streams have receded to low levels again, though not a low as they have been. They will recede further until we get more rain. I would rate fishing as “fair” to "good" right now.

Lake fishing is fair for fly fishermen early in the mornings. Paula and I plan to be on a lake at daybreak tomorrow, and off the water about 11 am. We will be using poppers, dragons and Puglisi Threadfin Shad imitations.

TVA will be generating most of the day at Norris and Cherokee Dams. Wade fishermen may be able to work with some generation breaks at dams. Check the TVA website to make that determination.

July is about gone! Townsend is a resort town, with many young visitors retreating to the mountains here, during the Summer months. Many of the young visitors have children. Well, that is about to change. Kids go back to school in August, in most parts of the Country, some as early as next week. When that occurs, we see a remarkable decline in visitation in our town until Fall. We still see visitors on weekends, but during the week, not so much.

Fall brings cooler temperatures and older visitors, especially in October, during the leaf change. August is typically cooler than July. It is not cool enough to encourage older visitors, who have more flexible schedules. So, starting next week, there will be less traffic and the tourism business will be slower. Business people here know it, and expect it.

The downside to this period, August through October is, we typically have less rain. It is dryer. Some years, the streams in the Smokies are flowing low during the Fall months. Hopefully, this year will be different.

There will be less recreational boaters on the lakes next month. After Labor Day, weekday traffic on the lakes is very light. Rates at marinas and resorts drop in mid-September. That is a good time to visit lakes. Paula and I often take a week-long trip to a lake resort during the Fall and we will this year. I am looking forward to that.

We keep our boat in a covered slip at a marina and go fishing every day. We launch the boat once when we arrive and take it out when we leave. Now that is convenience.  

Sometimes we go to the Florida Panhandle during the Fall. Fishing is good, rates are low, and there are few people to share the ocean and bays with. Sometimes the blackflies eat you alive.  

Fall will be here soon and we are looking forward to it. Tennessee is a great place to visit during the Fall and we plan to be here this year.

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

Byron Begley
July 25, 2017

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com