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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:59 am, the temperature outside is 66.4 degrees.

Today will be beautiful in the Smoky Mountains, with partly cloudy skies, cooler temperatures and no chance for rain. Tomorrow will be a little warmer, mostly sunny, with no rain predicted. We should get plenty of rain next week, beginning Monday.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 181 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.89 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 115 cfs. The water temperature is 67.3 degrees this morning.

All gauged steams in the Park are flowing at or above normal today.

Water temperatures are warm in the low elevations. Fish the mid to high elevations where the water is cooler.

Normal flows are low this time of the year. Stealth is paramount to your fly fishing success. Do everything you can to avoid being seen by the trout, including what you wear and how you approach likely fishing spots. Dress to blend in with the forest. Stay low when approaching runs where trout will be hiding.

Trout will be seeking broken water, in runs or riffles behind rocks.

Fishing will be best early and late except when the sky is overcast, and it will be at times today. You can find more shaded water on the smaller backcountry trout streams.

I would use dry flies, likely a Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Sally Stonefly patterns, Yellow Stimulator or a foam beetle. An ant pattern will also produce for you. Since they are usually hard to see, drop one behind a dry fly. If you see a trout take something near the surface, behind your dry, set the hook. The fish probably ate your ant.

Good sub-surface patterns include Green or Pink Weenies or a bead head nymph.

The tailwaters are fishing well for trout and smallmouth bass.

The lakes are fishing well. Go early or late when the sun is off the water for best shallow water fly fishing. Or, pick a cloudy day. We should have some of those next week. If you are fishing at midday, on sunny days, try to find shaded banks or cast to shade on sunny banks.

I would use poppers, Knuckleheads, large Wooly Buggers or Puglisi Threadfin Shad patterns for bass. Smaller poppers or Dragons will work for bluegill and shellcrackers.

You will enjoy today in the mountains. It will be very comfortable for a change. Look at some of those higher elevation temperatures. This is going to be a good fishing day.

I have been working full time, organizing and stocking our fly tying department. I don’t think it has ever been stocked this well. There was one snag yesterday. An order of Metz necks, saddles and hooks were ordered on July 22nd. Somehow, when the order was printed on their end, they only saw one page and filled it. The necks and saddles didn’t come with the order. I called and they shipped the Metz materials yesterday. They should be here by mid-week.

I did get a shipment of nice necks and saddles from Whiting. I order every week. A Wapsi order was e-mailed yesterday. Today I will order Hareline Dubbin and Whiting again. The only way to keep everything in stock is to order weekly.

I have a passion for fly tying and our fly tying department. I am happy to be doing the ordering again.

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

Byron Begley
July 28, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com