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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 68.5 degrees.

The high temperature recorded yesterday at the Knoxville Airport was 95 degrees. That beat the prior record for the date of 91 degrees, set in 1941.

The heat will remain until Friday. Expect highs in the low to mid 90’s through Thursday. High temperatures in the low to mid 80’s are expected this weekend, with lows at night in the 50’s to low 60’s. Next week, we should see highs in the 70’s with lows in the 40’s to low 60’s.

Rain chances will be higher next week, beginning Sunday.

Streams in the Smokies are flowing very low. Lowland rivers are low. Lake levels are low. We need rain and cooler temperatures.

Little River is flowing at 34.4 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.17 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 79 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on October 1st was 16.8 cfs in 2008. The water temperature is 73.4 degrees this morning, at the low elevation gauge site near Townsend.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 85.6 cfs, 1.13 feet, compared to median flow of 141 cfs. the lowest recorded flow on this date was 39 cfs in 1949.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 160 cfs, 1.19 feet, compared to median flow for this date of 210 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 66.9 cfs in 2008. The water temperature is 68 degrees.

Tellico River is flowing at 43.0 cfs, .60 feet, compared to median flow of 81 cfs. The record low flow on this date was 17.0 cfs in 1926.

It rained late yesterday in the Cataloochee Creek watershed. The river level spiked up, but it is receding now. Flow is currently 36.2 cfs, 2.21 feet, compared to median flow of 41 cfs. The lowest flow on this date was 16.4 cfs, in 2017. The water temperature is 63.3 degrees.

Fishing conditions seem to be comparatively better on the North Carolina side of the Smokies. Though the streams are all flowing low, it has been much worse in the past. Fishing is not good, but you can catch trout and many seasoned anglers are. They know how to fish in low water conditions. They do everything possible to not be detected by the trout.

The water is very warm in the low elevations. To avoid killing trout that you release, fish the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for temperatures in the 60’s.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has postponed their usual fall trout stocking in the lowland rivers until conditions improve. If they stocked in rivers where the water temperatures are in the 70’s, like they are now, fish mortality would be high. They are waiting for cooler water temperatures, which we will have soon. They may also wait for higher water too.

The lakes are low for the most part. The lowland rivers are low. Fishing could be fair at best, but not what we expect in early October.

There are fishing opportunities on some of the tailwaters. Check the TVA website to see what is available for you today.

Believe it or not, our business really picked up in late September. I suppose anglers are preparing for better fishing conditions. Our best performing department in September was the fly tying department, which was up about 60%. I’ll crunch the final numbers this morning.

That department has been performing very well all year. I spend a lot of my time ordering and receiving materials, hooks and tools. It is a time consuming process, because there are so many small items that I buy from several sources. And, I package all the spooled items which takes a lot of time. We take fly tying very seriously at LRO.

We are having trouble getting Tiemco hooks right now. Our suppliers are out of stock in some sizes and models. It has been that way for at least two months. I think a lot of those hooks are going to fly tying factories overseas. They are tying flies that will be sold next year.

From what I have heard, the fly fishing industry is having a good year. We are for sure.

I am looking forward to next week! It is going to be much cooler and hopefully wetter.

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

Byron Begley
October 1, 2019  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com