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Welcome to the Fishing Report form Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:51 am, the temperature outside is 67.8 degrees.
It will be sunny and warm today, with a high in the upper 80’s. No rain or thunderstorms are expected. Tomorrow will be more of the same, with a slight chance for thunderstorms. Thunderstorms return to the forecast beginning Tuesday, through the end of the week.
Little River is flowing at 87.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.50 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 118 cfs. The water temperature is 70.3 degrees this morning.
Most streams in the Smokies are flowing near normal, which is low in August. The waters are warm in the low elevations. Fish higher where the water is cooler. Trout will be hiding in broken water. Concentrate on riffles, plunge pools and deep runs. Stay hidden and you will catch more trout. Dress to blend in and stay low. Dry flies and nymphs will work for you.
Lowland rivers are flowing at about normal. Smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfishes will be found in the deeper water. Fish shaded areas with top water flies, streamers or nymphs. My preference would be poppers, hair bugs or foam floating flies. I would go early or late.
There are some angler friendly generation schedules offering opportunities to fish several tailwaters today. The trend lately has been, less generation in the mornings, and more in the afternoons. That is the case again today. Check the TVA website to see where and when you can work with their generation schedules on your favorite tailwater.
Lake fishing is probably fair. Go early or late when the sun is off the water. When the sun is high and there is no shade, fish tend to go deep. Cloudy days are always best, especially if you are fishing with flies on or near the surface. Today will not be one of them. I would be launching our boat now and fish until about 10 am, then go home. Start with top water flies then switch to streamers or swimming nymphs if they don’t work.
We are having a bad bear year at our house. Some of these animals have no fear of humans, unlike any I have unintentionally had brief encounters with in the Park. Those are wild.
They have found food at homes or rental cabins. What happened here last night is a prime example. I was rinsing dishes after dinner to put in the dishwasher. A very large bear, one we have not seen before, walked by the back door. Paula saw it first. He walked up to the window outside the kitchen where I was standing at the sink. The bear was five feet away. He looked at me and stopped. I raised my hands upward and waved them. He showed no reaction. Paula opened the back door and screamed at him. He walked to about twenty feet from the house and stopped.
She got her pistol and fired a shot to scare him away. There was no response. I grabbed my pistol and walked out the front door. I heard her fire again. By the time I got to the carport on the side of our house, the bear was gone. Paula told me he just walked away slowly.
We have never fired guns to scare bears away until this year. We usually just watch them walk by and enjoy the experience. Normally, when we open a door, they take off. There are more bears. We know that. Their population has been trending that way for years. I suspect people are being careless and leaving food outside, or worse, intentionally feeding them. That bear last night seemed to be waiting for someone to toss him a donut. If the sound of a high powered handgun won’t send a bear running, I don’t know what will.
For now, unless we are very close to the house, we are going armed, which is a shame. I don’t like living that way. All we can do is try to discourage them from visiting homes. It’s for their own good.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
August 9, 2020
NOTICE: FLY TYER WEEKEND HAS BEEN CANCELLED THIS YEAR.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |