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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:38 am, the temperature is 66.0 degrees.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms moved through the area yesterday, affecting stream levels in the mountains. The rainfall total near our home in Townsend was only .19” yesterday.
Showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast for today. There is a chance for heavy rain and strong winds in some storms. The high temperature today will be around 80 degrees and it will be muggy. Rain and thunderstorms are likely every day through Saturday with high temperatures in the low 80’s dropping to the middle to upper 60’s at night.
Little River is flowing at 156 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.83 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 148 cfs. The water temperature is 66.2 degrees this morning.
Most streams in the mountains are flowing slightly above normal with some flowing higher. Little Pigeon River is flowing at 680 cfs, 2.40 feet, compared to median flow of 290 cfs.
Watch for rising water if you are fishing in the Smokies this week. Localized flooding is possible. According to the National Weather Service, “Showers and thunderstorms will produce locally heavy rainfall this week, which may produce flash flooding through Friday”. If you suddenly see stained and rising water while you are fishing, get out of the stream.
Otherwise, nymphs and dry flies are working. Yellow Sally Stonefly dry flies are a good choice. A small Yellow Stimulator would be mine, with a Green Weenie dropper following behind.
Lowland river fishing is good where the rivers are not flowing high or stained. That is certainly a possibility this week. It appears we will have cloud cover most days this week, which is a benefit for anglers. Poppers and foam floating flies will work for smallmouth bass and other species in the lowland rivers exiting the mountains.
Little River looked great through town yesterday. It likely looks good right now. There were a lot of people tubing yesterday. Go early or late to avoid them, or fish further downstream from town.
TVA and the Corps will not be generating much early today at the dams I checked. They are turning on the generators later in the day at some dams with that being the case at Norris and Douglas Dams. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what your tailwater options are.
Fly fishing on the lakes is good, using poppers, foam floating flies, streamers and swimming nymphs. Watch out for the thunderstorms. I would fish closer to the ramp this week, in case I need to run for shore during a storm.
A group of people were feeding a small bear peanut butter in Cades Cove and they got caught. After rangers investigated evidence from a video they were given, the bear feeders were found, they confessed and they were cited. You can read more on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.
You can be fined up to $5,000 and get jail time for feeding a bear in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I doubt if that happened in this case but it could.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
June 9, 2021
On October 21, 2020, many of us lost a very good friend. John Thurman of Norris, Tennessee passed away. John was one of the most helpful and truly kind people I have known. He worked tirelessly teaching fly anglers to tie flies, running the TU Trout Camp for children at the Tremont Institute, and sharing his skills and knowledge as a fly fisherman and entomologist with fellow anglers. John bird hunted and fished all over the United States. He was an avid sportsman, a good friend and family man.
A memorial service for John will be held on Sunday June 13th at 2:00 pm, at the Norris Religious Fellowship Church in Norris, Tennessee. The church is located at the corner of East Norris Road and Dogwood Road across from the Norris Middle School. Park in front or behind the Norris Middle School. Handicap parking is located behind the church.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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