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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:37 am, the temperature is 64.4 degrees.
It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the middle to upper 80’s, falling to the low 60’s tonight. No rain is expected today.
It feels good outside. Yesterday was nice. Today will be similar. Though we are experiencing near record high temperatures, the humidity is low by our standards and the evenings are cool. It will be warm to hot this week, but the chance for rain will increase by mid-week. Next weekend should be cooler, with highs around 80 degrees and lows in the upper 50’s.
Little River is flowing at 159 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.87 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 196 cfs. The water temperature is 62.4 degrees at the low elevations USGS gauge site near Townsend. Yesterday, that number rose to about 65 degrees.
Some streams in the Smokies are flowing lower than normal, while others are flowing at normal. Water temperatures are good. Trout are active. Fishing is good.
Dry flies are working well. Choose from a selection of Yellow Sally Stonefly, Elk Hair Caddis, Light Cahill or Stimulator patterns. Stay hidden from the trout and you will catch more. Dress to blend with the forest. Make short casts to broken water and get a good drift.
Lowland river fishing is good for Smallmouth Bass. Water temperatures are well with their preferred range. Nymphs or streamers will work. Poppers and foam floating flies might. I’m guessing they will. Fish the shaded areas or go early and late when the sun is off the water.
Some tailwaters are fishing very well depending on the flows and your timing. There are periods of low flow below some dams at times making it tough for boating anglers and even wading fishermen. Flows below other dams are good. Look at the generation schedules and plan accordingly. You should not have a problem finding a tailwater to fish today in our region.
Shallow water lake fishing is good. The lakes will be crowded today. Go early or late to avoid the boat traffic and sun on the water. Fish the banks with streamers, swimming nymphs, poppers or foam floating flies. Fish the rocky banks for smallmouth bass. Largemouth bass will be near cover. Some panfish may be spawning.
I talked to guide Mike Bone yesterday in the shop. He had a trip cancellation and made the trip to Townsend to buy fly tying materials. I think he was enjoying his day off. It is always good to see Mike. He is a fun person to be around. And, he is an excellent guide, with more fly fishing guiding experience than about anyone I know around here. Like all the guides I know, he is busy this year, working 7 days a week.
Townsend was packed with people yesterday. Traffic was not bad. There were a lot of people walking and biking. There was some sort of walkathon going on early. And, there was the Bigfoot festival that was well attended. It should be more peaceful today in town.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
May 23, 2021
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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