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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:24 am, the temperature outside is 69.4 degrees.
Today will be hot and sunny, with a high temperature in the upper 80’s to 90 degrees. No rain is predicted today or tomorrow.
Little River is flowing at 30.8 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.28 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 79 cfs. The water temperature is 73 degrees this morning.
Little Pigeon River is flowing at 97.0 cfs, 1.18 feet, compared to median flow of 159 cfs.
Oconaluftee River is flowing close to normal at 178 cfs, 1.25 feet, which compares to median flow for this date of 195 cfs. The water temperature is 68.4 degrees.
Tellico River is also flowing near normal at 69 cfs, .73 feet, compared to median flow of 75 cfs.
Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 36.2 cfs, 2.21 feet, compared to median flow of 43 cfs. The water temperature there is 64.2 degrees.
Not much has changed. Temperatures are still hot. We have had very little rain. Some streams are flowing near normal while others, including Little River, are flowing lower than median flow.
Fishing is still fair. You should fish the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for temps in the 60’s.
Stealth is still essential to your success. Don’t let the trout see you and you will catch more.
Dry flies and nymphs will work. I would use terrestrial patterns.
Lowland river fishing is still fair at best. Fish the deep pools. Go early and late or look for shade. Foam floating flies and poppers will work for smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfishes. Floating in a canoe or kayak is not a viable option on many lowland rivers as some are flowing very low in the upper reaches.
Fish the lakes early or late when the sun is off the water. Cast to the banks with foam floating flies, poppers, streamers or Rubber Legged Dragons. As the sun rises or sets, fish the shaded banks. Watch for gamefish in the jumps, attacking shad when the sun is off the water. A good pattern to use when this happens is a Puglisi Threadfin Shad.
There are some trout tailwater fly fishing opportunities today in the region. Check the TVA website for generation schedules and sluicing, to see if your favorite trout tailwater is fishable. Fishing on the lower tailwaters for smallmouth bass is good.
It looks like we’ll get a break in the heat in about 10 days. The chance for rain is low during that period as per the long term forecast.
Though it is very dry, the US Drought Monitor does not indicate abnormally dry conditions in our area as of September 12th. This has been a very wet year. There are some areas in the Southeast that are abnormally dry or actually in a drought. The drought is not widespread in the Southeast.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
September 15, 2019
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |