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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:08 am, the temperature outside is 51.4 degrees.
This is going to be a beautiful day, sunny with a high temperature in the upper 70’s. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be sunny and warmer. Rain moves into the area Thursday and Friday.
Little River is flowing at 249 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.09 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 175 cfs. The water temperature is 59.5 degrees this morning.
Most if not all streams in the Smokies are flowing slightly above normal, but at a very good fishable level. Water temperatures are very good for high trout activity. Fishing is very good to excellent.
Trout are taking dry flies and nymphs. Try any yellow sally stonefly imitation, including Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulator, Yellow Elk Hair Caddis and some of many other patterns that mimic the stonefly. Light Cahill and other Sulphur patterns will work. Nymph choices should include Tellico, Bead Head Pheasant Tail, Green Weenie, Pink Weenie and Squirmy Worm patterns.
Lowland river fishing is very good. Trout are active where they are stocked. Nymphs, egg patterns and Wooly Buggers will work for them. Nymphs, streamers, poppers, hair bugs and foam floating flies will work well for smallmouth bass.
TVA and the Corps are generating today at most dams. There is a break in the schedule on the Clinch River at Norris Dam early. Check that schedule to see if you can work with it. We will hopefully see more tailwater wade fishing opportunities in the coming days. Lakes are getting close to the levels preferred by the agencies.
Lake fishing is good. If you intend to fish with flies, go early or late when the sun is off the water. Streamers, poppers, hair bugs and foam floating flies will work. Fish the banks. Watch for game fish breaking on the surface in open water when the sun is off the water. They are following shad to the top to feed. White streamers will work.
I don’t see how we could ask for better fishing conditions, except for less generation at the dams.
May was a very busy month at the shop. Other businesses who sell fishing tackle, bait and fly fishing gear experienced the same thing. Marinas had a great month in Tennessee and probably elsewhere in the south.
Americans want to be outside doing whatever they enjoy, hiking, boating, bicycling, gardening, photography and many other activities.
Everyone in the fly fishing business learned, fly tying was huge this year and it still is. Suppliers can’t keep up with demand. It is hard for me to keep everything in stock, even though I order every week to replenish. What I am doing now is stocking more or “deeper”, so we don’t run out of something.
I am also adding new materials and stocking higher quality materials as an alternative to the less expensive goods that we are still stocking. One good example is CDC. I started buying Trout Hunter CDC. I’ve never seen better CDC. Yesterday, a shipment of extremely fine elk hair arrived. I bought it from Nature’s Spirit. Firehole hooks are on the way here from Bozeman. We have never sold those before. I added more colors of tying thread. I upgraded our rabbit strip selection. More colors are coming, hopefully today.
I am staying on top of our inventory of Renzetti vises and tools. We stock a great selection. Three Traveler C-2003 pedestal vises arrived from Renzetti Friday. I noticed yesterday, one of them sold this weekend. This vise is supposed to be the best selling vise in the world. That one is by far our best selling vise.
I don’t know if this upward trend in the popularity of the great outdoors is sustainable. Maybe it is temporary. Maybe it is not temporary. I have no idea.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
June 1, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
