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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:53 am, the temperature is 68.0 degrees.

It will be partly sunny today with a high temperature in the middle 80’s. There is a chance for showers and thunderstorms today, tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night. Some storms may produce significant rainfall and wind gusts today. It will be cooler tomorrow and Monday with highs in the low 80’s.

Little River is flowing at 87.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.54 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 130 cfs. The water temperature is 71.8 degrees at the Townsend gauge.

Other streams in the mountains are rising due to rainfall overnight. Little Pigeon River rose late last night, but is receding now. Tellico River is still flowing above normal. Oconaluftee River is rising quickly. With rain in the forecast, it is hard to tell right now what conditions you may find in the mountains. Little River is flowing very low, though that may change too, today through tomorrow. Most streams are still flowing below or at normal though some are rising. Some streams may continue to rise.

Water temperatures are very warm in the low elevations. Fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler.

Dry flies and nymphs will work. If you find lightly stained water, you may want to use nymphs fished deep.

Lowland rivers are flowing low to somewhat low, but some are rising. It is possible you will find stained water in some rivers at times this weekend. Storms will be scattered, affecting some watersheds while not affecting others. Check the gauges before you go. Poppers and foam floating flies may work. If not, switch to nymphs or streamers. Conditions may change quickly this weekend.

You can find angler friendly wade fishing flows below some dams today, especially earlier. Check the TVA website to plan your day on a tailwater.

Plan to go early to the lakes today and be aware that thunderstorms will be active in the area. Poppers, foam floating flies, streamers or swimming nymphs are all good choices. I would fish fairly close to the ramp, in case I needed to run from thunderstorms.

I suppose it goes without saying, fishing conditions will be variable this weekend. We need rain and I hope we get plenty.

Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.

Byron Begley
July 17, 2021

WALTER BABB MADE BAMBOO FLY RODS FOR SALE – CLICK HERE

Walter is selling a selection of over 50 bamboo fly rods. All but one was made by him. The other one was custom made for Walter by Walton Powell. Read the description of each rod on the list and contact him if you are interested in buying one or more than one. Even if you are not interested in a purchase, this web page is very interesting to read. Walter has made over 285 bamboo rods over the past 20-years. You will be working directly with Walter on a purchase and you can test cast the rods before you buy one at his home. Or, call him and he will ship a rod to you. His contact information is on the web page he and I created.

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com