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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:40 am, the temperature outside is 69.6 degrees.
Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the mid-80’s in the low elevations. Tomorrow will be the same. No rain is expected today or tomorrow.
Little River is flowing at 328 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.30 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 124 cfs. The water temperature is 66.5 degrees this morning.
Small isolated thunderstorms formed in the Park and nearby foothills yesterday evening. Only a trace of rain was recorded in Townsend, Gatlinburg or at the Knoxville Airport. Rain did fall in the Park, mostly on the west side.
All streams in the Smokies that have USGS Gauges are flowing above median flow, but not too high to fish. These flows are more Spring-like. It is possible you could find high water in some streams.
Water temperatures are warm in the lowest elevations. It would be best for the health of the trout, and your fly fishing enjoyment, if you fish in mid to high elevation streams where the water is cool. The water temperatures rise during the day and fall at night. So, you could fish lower elevations this morning, then move higher when the sun is on the water.
Look for water temperatures that do not exceed 65 degrees.
Weekends are especially crowded with tourists in the Smokies. Fishing off the main roads, at least a short distance into the backcountry is what I would do. It will be cooler in the backcountry, especially at higher elevations. Your day will be more enjoyable and you may catch more trout in the backcountry.
We have great flows right now. I can’t believe this is July. Normal flows are low this time of the year.
Dry flies or nymphs, or both in combination will work. Though the streams are flowing higher, stealth is still important to your fly fishing success. Dress to blend in. Get a good drift.
My fly choices would be: Yellow Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulator, black foam beetle patterns and Green or Pink Weenies. You could try other patterns and do well. The trout are hungry and feeding on anything that looks like food.
I would avoid sunny areas on the streams. Fish the shaded areas.
I plan to work today on the fly tying department. I took over the ordering for that department three weeks ago. You will find it stocked well. I plan to re-stock every week. That is what it takes to keep that department cranking. I am having trouble getting good dry fly hackle right now. This is off season for our chicken growers. The harvest is low and the supply is limited. I will be talking to Whiting and Metz this week, to place future orders when they are harvesting roosters again. We do have some nice Keough necks.
I was pulling out of our lower driveway yesterday, going to work at the shop. I saw a wild turkey hen and 6 young poults in the driveway ahead. I drove slow. They were running back and forth, trying to decide what to do. When I got close to them, the hen and her young all flew off, heading down to our barn.
There are many hens with broods around here right now. The poults are the size of small chickens. Last Winter I counted 22 hens in the flock that live near our home. In that group there were about 20 males. Two large gobblers, who I call the brothers, moved in at breeding time. I had not seen them all Winter. I know they are siblings because they do not compete aggressively during the mating season. They are always together. I think they are 4 years old right now.
What if each of those 22 hens have 6 poults? If they did, and they all lived, we would have 132 new turkeys living here, in addition to the adults. I’m sure that didn’t happen. I have seen hens with only two poults. Still, the flock thrives and there is almost no hunting pressure in this area. Some adults probably died due to natural causes, like bobcats and foxes. Others may have wandered off into areas where hunting is allowed.
We live in a subdivision, where a total of four homes are located, on about 50 acres. The subdivision is closed to the public. Nobody comes back here.
The two brothers survived the hunting season. We are going to be covered up with turkeys this Winter, when the birds flock again. When I drive on our private road, I see turkeys almost every time.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
July 8, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |