Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:37 am, the temperature is 68.9 degrees.
Scattered thunderstorms moved through the area late yesterday. Rainfall totals amounted to:
.48” Townsend Old Tuckaleechee
.72” Townsend Fox Hollow
.29” Cades Cove
.31” Cherokee, North Carolina
.43” Gatlinburg
Showers and thunderstorms are likely today and again tonight. Some storms may contain strong gusty winds and heavy rain. Thunderstorms are likely tomorrow. It will be cooler this weekend. The high temperature today will be in the middle to upper 80’s with a high tomorrow in the low to middle 80’s.
Little River is flowing at 242 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.12 feet on the gauge. The river is currently rising. Median flow for this date is 131 cfs. The water temperature is 71.8 degrees this morning.
Little Pigeon River is flowing high at 2,880 cfs or 4.27 feet at the Sevierville gauge which is a record for this date. The river just peaked a few minutes ago and for now, it is receding.
Oconaluftee River is rising. Flow is 649 cfs or 2.17 feet, compared to median flow of 327 cfs.
Tellico River is rising quickly this morning. Flow is currently 293 cfs, 1.57 feet, compared to median flow of 134 cfs.
Other streams in the mountains are flowing higher than normal. Some rivers, including Little River are at fishable levels for now. There is a chance you will encounter rising and stained water today. Water temperatures are warm in the low elevations. Fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Dry flies and nymphs should work in some streams. If the water is high or slightly stained, you might want to try streamers to catch larger trout.
Lowland river fishing should be good depending on where you decide to go. Some rivers are flowing high and may be stained.
Today will be mostly cloudy, which is good if you are planning to be fly fishing on the lakes. You may see game fish attacking schools of shad due to the low light conditions. If not, fish the banks and cover with poppers, foam floating flies, streamers or swimming nymphs. Watch out for thunderstorms. Winds will be calm today except in thunderstorms.
There are tailwater fishing options for you today. There will be little to no generation at many dams this morning. There is generation planned at most dams later today. You can work with these schedules by going early and picking the right locations on the rivers to fish. Check the TVA website to help you plan your tailwater fishing day.
The US Drought Monitor released Thursday painted a totally different picture than the one released just a week ago. Large areas in the Southeast US are now considered to be abnormally dry or in a drought. Counties in Tennessee bordering the Southern Appalachians are listed as abnormally dry. That may change and show improvement on the report updated next Thursday. CLICK HERE to visit the US Drought Monitor website. Click on your region then on your state for a detailed view.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
July 9, 2022
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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