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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:54 am, the temperature is 69.5 degrees.

The internet speed at our house is running at the speed of “dial up” this morning. This may not be much of a fishing report because I can’t retrieve data quickly. And, it may be so slow I can’t upload the pages. I may have to write this then go to the store to upload the pages. We’ll see what happens.

It will be sunny today with a high temperature near 90 degrees. It will be hot again tomorrow but there is a fair chance for afternoon thunderstorms. Rain and thunderstorms are likely Monday and Tuesday.

Little River is flowing at 96 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.58 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 133 cfs. The water temperature is 69.5 degrees this morning.

Without taking the time to wait for gauge sites to load, I can say for sure, streams in the Smokies are flowing low. Water temperatures are very warm in the low elevations. Fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for high water temperatures in the middle 60’s or cooler.

Stealth and good fly presentation are essential to your success, especially in these low water conditions. Fish the broken water where the trout are hiding. Dry flies and nymphs will work for you. I would use terrestrial patterns. Try a beetle or other buggy looking land based insect for your dry fly and drop a Green Weenie off the dry.

Lowland rivers are flowing low. Fishing will be best in most rivers early or late when the sun is off the water. If you are fishing a shaded river, you may do well all day. Fish the deeper pools and runs with poppers or foam floating flies. If they are not working, switch to a streamer or nymph.

The internet speed is improving. I checked some of the generation schedules at nearby dams. You have wade and boat fishing choices on several tailwaters today, especially early. Generators will be turned on this afternoon at the dams I viewed on the TVA website. Look at the schedules yourself to plan your day.

Definitely fish the lakes early or late when the sun is off the water. Hit the banks with poppers, foam floating flies, streamers or swimming nymphs. As the sun rises or sets, look for shaded banks to fish. When the sun is high, you might try slipping your watercraft into the end of coves where creeks enter the lakes, to find shaded water.

I pulled out of our driveway at 7:00 am yesterday morning to drive to the shop. In the field near our house, I saw two hen wild turkeys with about a dozen of their poults. The young turkeys looked like long legged chickens. Though they are small, they can fly well at this age. It is good to see that many youngsters with only two hens.

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

Byron Begley
July 24, 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