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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:47 am, the temperature is 63.1 degrees.

Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the low 80’s and a low chance for thunderstorms this afternoon. Tomorrow will be slightly warmer, with a chance for thunderstorms. Saturday will be partly cloudy with a higher chance for storms.

Scattered thunderstorms blew through the mountains yesterday, improving stream flows. Little River is flowing at 173 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.89 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 115 cfs. The water temperature is 66.2 degrees this morning at the low elevation USGS gauge site near Townsend.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing higher than normal. Little Pigeon River is flowing at 536 cfs, compared to median flow of 284 cfs. Oconaluftee River is flowing at 512 cfs. Median flow is 310 cfs. Tellico River is flowing at 174 cfs, compared to median flow of 112 cfs. Cataloochee Creek is flowing near normal at 57.9 cfs, with median flow for this date at 60 cfs.

Water temperatures are fairly warm in the low elevations this morning. Fish higher later today where the water is cooler.

Trout are taking dry flies and nymphs. A dry and dropper rig is a good choice. Try a buggy looking terrestrial dry fly with a small bead head nymph or Green Weenie dropper. Fish the broken water where the trout are hiding.

Lowland rivers flowing out of the Park are at normal to slightly higher than normal levels this morning. Smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish can be caught on poppers, foam floating flies, nymphs, streamers and crayfish imitations. Fish the deeper pools. Fish the shaded areas in deeper water. I would go early or late.

TVA and the Corps will be generating all day at some dams in the area, including Appalachia, Norris and Cherokee dams. Their schedules at other dams indicate low to no generation early, with the turbines running later today. View the schedules on the TVA website from the links below to plan your day on one of the tailwaters in our area.

Fly fishing the lakes will be best early or late when the sun is off the water. Hit the banks with poppers, foam floating flies, streamers or swimming nymphs. Watch for schools of baitfish with larger predators feeding on them, when the sun is low.

River and lake fishing for smallmouth bass is a very popular fly fishing activity in Tennessee. We are blessed with many miles of free flowing lowland rivers, tailwaters and lakes, and abundant populations of smallies. Josh Pfeiffer, Gary Troutman and the other guides at Frontier Anglers specialize in floating clients down the rivers, offering them the thrill of catching smallmouth bass, which are known for their tough fight and never giving up. Fly fishing for smallmouth bass is often “sight fishing” which is definitely a thrill. You can visit the Frontier Anglers website by CLICKING HERE. I have floated tailwaters with Josh and Gary and enjoyed some great fishing and “fish talk” with them over the years.

I found a great article this morning on the Fly Fisherman website named, “Trout Tactics for Smallmouths”. If you are at all interested in fly fishing for river bass, you should read the article by CLICKING HERE.

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

Byron Begley
August 5, 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