If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.
Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:42 am, the temperature is 53.1 degrees.
This will be another beautiful day. It will be mostly cloudy with a high around 70 degrees and a low tonight in the mid to upper 50’s. Showers are likely tomorrow, with a high in the mid-60’s. Friday will be warmer, in the mid-70’s. Showers are likely Friday.
Little River is flowing at 93.8 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.56 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 74 cfs. The water temperature is 57.9 degrees.
All streams in the Smokies are flowing slightly above normal this morning. Normal this time of the year is low. Water temperatures are very good at all elevations. Trout are actively feeding. Dry flies or nymphs will work for you. Stay hidden from the trout and you will catch more. Dress to blend with the forest.
Lowland rivers are flowing low though most are at slightly higher levels than normal for September. It should be mostly cloudy today, giving you a better chance for success, even on the open rivers. Cast poppers, foam floating flies or hair bugs in the deeper pools and runs. That should work.
I do not see many wade fishing opportunities on the tailwaters today. There are some, especially early. Boating may be a better option below several dams. Check the TVA website to see what your options are today.
This may be an excellent lake fishing day, if the forecast for mostly cloudy skies is accurate. The two weather websites I refer to every morning agree on that. Winds will be light. There is only a slight chance for rain. You may do well using top water flies, poppers, hair bugs or foam floating flies. If not, switch to streamers or swimming nymphs.
The weather websites agree we will be getting rain tomorrow, tomorrow night and Friday. Heavy rain is possible tomorrow night.
We could use some rain, which would improve fishing this weekend in the mountains and on the lowland rivers. Rainfall in September has been light. Last year was worse. At this point, we only had a trace of rain in September. We experienced a short drought in the early Fall last year.
According to TVA, which has been keeping rainfall records for 130 years, last year was our second wettest year. We got a total of 66.5 inches in the 41,000 square mile Tennessee Valley. Our wettest year was 2018. The rainfall total that year was 67.02 inches. Right now, we are ahead of last year in rainfall totals at the Knoxville Airport, by over 3.5 inches.
We have had two floods this year. The water level in Little River exceeded flood stage twice, once in February and another later in the Spring. The February flood peak was the highest the river has been since the big one in 1994. We will never forget that flood.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
September 23, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
