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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:16 am, the temperature outside is 66.7 degrees.
Today will be another beautiful day, mostly sunny with a high temperature in the mid to upper 80’s. This weather pattern will continue tomorrow, with a fair chance for afternoon thunderstorms. It will likely be warmer by the weekend, with highs in the upper 80’s to 90 degrees, and increased chances for thunderstorms.
Little River is flowing at 253 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.11 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 131 cfs. The water temperature is 66.4 degrees this morning.
Most streams in the Smokies are flowing near normal for this date. Water temperatures in the low elevations will be warm. Fish the mid to higher elevations to find cooler water.
These are ideal Summer fishing conditions, very much like normal. Except for some periods of high and stained water, this has been a great Summer to fish in the Smoky Mountains. Rainfall has been higher than normal. We all love wet Summers.
Fishing will be best early and late when the sun is off the water. Or, you could hike into the backcountry, to fish smaller and more shaded water. You will find less swimmers and tubers in the backcounty. I would pick a hike up the East Prong of Little River above Elkmont, or hike to Lynn Camp Prong to catch brook trout.
It will be cooler in the higher elevations, and more comfortable for you during the coming hotter days later this week. Take plenty of water to drink, or have a water purifier in your vest or pack. There are many miles of trout streams in the higher elevations. There are hundreds of miles of wild trout streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I would use terrestrial patterns and flies that resemble a yellow sally stonefly. I would certainly have and use Green or Pink Weenies. You can fish those as a dropper off your dry fly or fish them alone and weighted. It is hard to beat some sort of beetle pattern during the Summer months. Terrestrials are a major food source for trout during the hot months.
Stealth is paramount to success. Don’t let the trout see you. Wear muted clothing and hide as much as you can. Make short casts in choppy water and get a good drift.
The lakes have been fishing fairly well. Go early or late when the sun is off the water. Jack and I fished during midday on July 3rd. The temperature reached the low 90’s that day. We caught smallmouth and largemouth bass on the banks at midday, but we had to cast to shade, which was hard to find at times. I don’t think I’ll do that again. I’m going to stick to my “early or late” preference from now on, until it is cooler.
Some buddies of mine and I are going to float one of the tailwaters later this week, fly fishing for smallmouth bass. Once we start the float, we will be committed for the day. I bet we’ll stop and swim in the river at least once to cool off. We usually do. We will be fishing with Josh Pfeiffer and Gary Troutman. These guys are smallmouth bass experts. Just about everything I have learned about fly fishing for smallies, came from them and Jack.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
July 9, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
