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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:06 am, the temperature outside is 66.7 degrees.

It is going to be cooler, finally. Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the mid 80’s. Tonight’s low will be in the low 60’s. Tomorrow and Friday will be even cooler, with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the 50’s. No rain is predicted through Monday.

Little River is flowing at 39.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.21 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 70 cfs. The water temperature is 72.3 degrees.

OK, maybe you noticed. I did. Yesterday morning, flow in Little River was 24.0 cfs. And, the day before, it was 25.5 cfs. Today, it is 39.6 cfs. But, the gauge measurement is lower today, than the previous two days. How did that happen?

The person in charge of the USGS gauge calibrated the equipment yesterday afternoon. If you see a red “*”, on the web pages, that means the equipment was calibrated. They do that several times each year.

I’m not sure if the equipment gets out of whack and needs to be calibrated. I never asked the USGS folks. I do know, the streambed changes. So, more or less water may be flowing, at the same gauge reading due to the shift and changes in the streambed. Anyway, we have more water flowing through at the gauge site than we thought.

By the way, the lowest recorded flow on this date was 24.0 cfs during the drought of 1998. I remember that Fall well. We had been in business for a few years back then.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 97.0 cfs, 1.18 feet, compared to median flow of 127 cfs.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 169 cfs, 1.22 feet, which compares to median flow of 205 cfs. The numbers for this site date back 73 years. The water temperature is 67.3 degrees.

Tellico River is flowing at 61.4 cfs, .68 feet, compared to median flow of 69 cfs. Readings at that site date back 74 years. The record low on this date, at that site, was 24.0 cfs in 1954.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 33.6 cfs, 2.19 feet, and that compares to median flow of 42 cfs. The water temperature is 63.5 degrees.

As you can see, the water temperatures vary by elevation. The streams are cooler in the higher elevations. You need to be fishing where the water is cooler, in the 60’s.

Though some streams are flowing closer to normal than others, they are all flowing low. That is usual in September. You should take care to conceal yourself from the trout. Wear muted clothing and hide as much as you can. Stay low. You will catch more trout if you are not seen by them.

Dry flies or nymphs will work. I would use terrestrial fly patterns. Land based insects are an important food source for the trout in the Fall.

At these water levels, fishing the lowland rivers can be tough. You might find a good spot to fish, but you may need to move further to find another. The fish will be in the deeper pools, or where a riffle enters a pool.

It is going to be sunny today. Fly fish on the lakes early or late, when the sun is off the water.
   
There are a few fishable trout tailwaters today, especially if you go early and choose the right spots to fish. Visit the TVA website from the links below to plan your day. Actually, on some rivers, you should be there right now, waiting for sunrise.

I am working on the online store and will be for several weeks, adding new items we sell. Fishpond has a great new lineup for the coming year. The new gear will be available in early November. I will get them on the online store, but probably won’t make them visible until later in October.

We have a ton of waders and wading boots coming from Simms Friday. I’m looking forward to that. We are getting ready. Our business will pick up when the temperatures fall and we get some rain. I hope that happens soon.

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

Byron Begley
September 18, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com