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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:46 am, the temperature outside is 59 degrees.

It felt chilly when I walked out to my truck to drive to the shop this morning. And, it is extremely foggy.

It will be sunny to mostly sunny, without a chance for rain, today through Sunday. High temperatures will be in the low 80’s with lows dipping to the low to mid 60’s through the period.

The streams in the Park are still flowing high this morning, but they are much lower than they were two days ago, when Little River was only 1.5 feet below flood stage. If you go fishing, choose a safe stream. The current in Little River is swift.

There were two tubers rescued yesterday. Evidently they fell off their tubes on the wrong side of the river. You can read the story on the Daily Times website by CLICKING HERE. Neither were wearing life jackets. They should not have been doing that. The author of the article referred to Little River as “The Little Tennessee River”. I think she may be new to the area.

Little River is flowing at 753 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 3.03 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 137 cfs. The water temperature is 61.9 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing strong at 1,300 cfs, 3.11 feet, compared to median flow of 266 cfs for this date.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 827 cfs or 2.31 feet at the Birdtown gauge. Median flow for the date is 286 cfs.

At Tellico Plains, Tellico River is flowing at 390 cfs, 1.88 feet, compared to median flow of 117 for this date.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 208 cfs, 2.97 feet, compared to median flow of 52 cfs.

All streams are receding. You could pick a small stream to fish today, but be careful wading. Choose safe spots. You can stand near the bank and fish some areas, using nymphs. Add weight to get them down, using a high-sticking or Euro nymphing technique.

Lowland rivers are flowing high today. Wading is probably not safe in any of them.

Lake fishing with poppers and flies is good. Go early or late when the sun is off the water. Poppers, Knuckleheads, streamers and Dragons will work.

TVA and the Corps of Engineers are generating at most of the tailwaters today. I took a quick glance at several and didn’t see many opportunities. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what is going on at your favorite tailwater.

I really think the Smokies streams will recede to a good level by the weekend. The cool nights will keep the water temperatures within a good range for trout fishing. We should have some very good fishing this weekend, though the water will be higher than normal. Normal in late July is low.

We can thank the rain this year for the good fishing we have had in the mountains. Rainfall at the Knoxville Airport is 15.81 inches above normal for the year, through yesterday. There have been many days of high water, too high to fish, at times. What we have not seen is extremely low water this year.

A fairly large bear walked within ten feet of me late yesterday afternoon. Thankfully, there were walls and a big glass double door between us. I tapped my fingers on the door and the bear took off. He headed to our new neighbor’s home, which is less than a quarter mile from us. Paula sent them a text, telling them a visitor was coming.

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

Byron Begley
July 25, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com