If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.

Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:41 am, the temperature is 63.1 degrees.

We are going to have three hot days until a cooling off period begins Friday. Expect high temperatures in the upper 80’s to 90 degrees today through Thursday. There is a fairly low chance for scattered thunderstorms today and Thursday.

Cooler temperatures will arrive by the weekend. Showers are likely Friday. Saturday’s high is expected to be in the low to middle 70’s. The chance for rain is lower Saturday. Sunday will be sunny and nice with a high in the upper 70’s.

Little River is flowing at 139 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.79 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 190 cfs. The water temperature is 64.4 degrees and rose to 67 degrees yesterday.

Some streams in the Smokies are flowing lower than normal while others are still flowing at about normal. Water temperatures will be warm through Thursday then cooling some this weekend. I would avoid fishing in the lowest elevations where the water is warmer over the next three days. Drive higher and you will find cooler water. Look for daytime temperatures in the low 60’s or cooler. Fishing will be better and less stressful for the trout you catch and release.

Dry flies and nymphs are working but you have to be careful not to spook the trout. Yellow Sally Stonefly dries are very good choices right now, especially early and late. A small Yellow Stimulator is another. A Light Cahill is a good pattern to have in your fly boxes ready to go. A good nymph to use alone or dropped from a dry fly is a small Bead Head Pheasant Tail.

Yesterday, I saw the first green inchworm or sourwood worm of the year on my truck’s back window. That would tend to imply it is time to start using Green Weenies. The Green Weenie is an extremely effective subsurface fly in the Smokies and just about anywhere else where trout or panfish live. Definitely try these. Fish them weighted and alone or drop you off your dry fly.

Lowland river fishing is good for smallmouth bass. Streamers, nymphs, poppers and foam floating flies will produce for you. Fish the shaded areas of these rivers. I would go early or late when the sun is off the water. Later in the day, I would cast to shaded banks, riffles and runs.

You are going to find periods of no generation at many tailwaters today. Most dams will be pulsing water for short periods. Some will turn on the generators for longer periods, especially later in the day. You will need to carefully plan your day. Visit the TVA website from the links below.

Lake fishing is good in the shallows where we usually use flies or poppers. On sunny days, go early or late. I would be casting to the rocky banks or where there is wooded cover for both bass species. You could be lucky enough to find schools of shad with gamefish feeding on them in the main channels when the sun is off the water. Tie on a small threadfin shad pattern and be very quiet. Keep a low profile by sitting instead of standing. If the lake surface is smooth, it is harder to sneak up on the school of shad without sending them to deeper water. There may be trout (in some lakes), bass or other species under the surface that you can’t see. If you see nervous water, where shad are present, try letting your shad pattern sink deeper.

I tie my own Puglisi Threadfin Shad using white EP Fibers and color them using waterproof markers. Some anglers use Clouser Minnows to mimic the threadfin shad.

Watch for Brood X cicadas. They are appearing in some areas. I have not seen or heard one yet. If they are present and on the water, fish will be feeding on the voraciously. Tie on a black foam floating fly.

I was driving to work yesterday morning at 7:15 am and a bear crossed the road in front of me. He was huge and beautiful. A school bus was coming from the other direction, probably full of kids and stopped to watch the bear climb to the cemetery on Old Cades Cove Road. It was odd seeing a school bus, since local students are not in school. Maybe they were on a field trip, possibly to Tuckaleechee Caverns.

We have not seen many bears at all this year at our home. That does not mean they are not there. Last year was completely different. We saw more bold bears than any year I can remember.

I did meet a large bear very close at our carport early one morning a month or so ago. It saw me and walked off. The bear I saw yesterday was only the second one I’ve seen this year. I have been working a lot and I’ve never seen a bear at the shop.

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

Byron Begley
May 25, 2021

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com