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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:50 am, the temperature outside is 67.8 degrees.

Today and tomorrow will be sunny and warm with no chance for thunderstorms through the period. There is a chance for thunderstorms Wednesday and a low chance Thursday. Rain is expected Friday and through the weekend. That is subject to change.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 319 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.28 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 119 cfs. The water temperature is 65.8 degrees this morning.

All streams in the Smoky Mountains, that have reporting USGS gauge sites are flowing considerably above median flow, which is normally low this time of the year. Flows are great for fishing right now, especially for August.

Water temperatures are warm in the low elevations. Fishing will be best in the mid to high elevation streams. It will be sunny today and tomorrow. Go early or late or find shaded areas to fish. Backcountry small streams are a good option.

Dry flies and nymphs will work. For dry flies, I would pick a foam beetle, Yellow Stimulator, Yellow Neversink Caddis or a Parachute Adams. Try a Green or Pink Weenie, Bead Head Pheasant Tail or any other reasonable nymph pattern, fished as a dropper off your dry, or weighted and alone.

We are enjoying some awesome fly fishing conditions this August, in the mountains.

The trout tailwaters are fishing well. I talked to guide John Oody yesterday. He told me the Clinch River is fishing very well. The lower tailwaters, where you can target smallmouth bass are fishing well too, which is normal in August.

Try the lakes early or late when the sun is off the water. Poppers and streamers will produce for you in shallow water, near the banks. When the sun pops out, go deeper or go home. If it is overcast, fish all day.

The lowland rivers are slowly receding and becoming more wading friendly. Try poppers for smallmouth and rock bass. Go early or late on sunny days, or fish the shaded banks. If the fish are not taking poppers, switch to streamers or nymphs.

My buddy Frank and I will be floating the Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam with guide Hagan Wonn next week. We are all excited. Hagan is a great guide and good friend who Frank and I have both known for many years. We will be fishing for trout, but we may catch some stripers too.

I have been tying flies every day. In fact, I just tied one a few minutes ago.

I love fishing that river. I grew up in Kentucky and I’m always taken back by the beauty of those limestone palisades that we see on those rivers. Sometimes, when floating the Cumberland there, I forget to fish.

I am dreaming about fishing with terrestrials and streamers, for big brown trout. I lost the largest brown trout of my life with Hagan, many years ago. I will never forget that morning. I’ve seen some monsters following my Puglisi Threadfin Shad, from the shadows and dense downed trees along the river.

Guess what? September will be here soon. You know what that means? Cooler days and nights. The lakes and rivers will not be crowded. The Park visitation drops off until the leaves change colors. College football kicks off in September.  

The average high temperature in Townsend in September is 80 degrees. The average low is 55 degrees. Later in the month, we can expect highs in the 70’s and lows in the low 50’s. Won’t that be nice?

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

Byron Begley
August 13, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com