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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:09 am, the temperature outside is 64.6 degrees.

The high temperature yesterday, at the Knoxville Airport, was 96 degrees. That was the hottest day ever, in Knoxville, in October. The prior record was set Tuesday, at 95 degrees.

We have one more day left in this heat wave, today. Expect a high temperature in the mid 90’s again. Tomorrow and Saturday will be cooler, in the mid-80’s. Sunday will be even cooler, in the low 80’s, with a chance for showers. Showers are likely Monday, with a high temperature in the low 70’s. Expect about ½ inch of rain. Tuesday, through the following weekend will be much cooler, with highs in the 70’s and lows dipping to the 40’s.

Little River is flowing at 27.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.11 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 75 cfs. The water temperature is 72.5 degrees this morning.

All streams in the Smokies, that have USGS flow gauges, are low.

They are also very warm in the low elevations. For the health of the trout you catch and release, fish the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for stream temperature in the 60’s.

Many anglers who have been doing well during the past month, have been hiking into the backcountry. They are hiking above Elkmont on the East Prong of Little River, or way up the Middle Prong, either Thunderhead or Lynn Camp Prong. That would be my advice today.

Fishing conditions are going to change soon. The streams will be somewhat cooler this weekend, and much cooler next week. If we get ½ inches of rain Monday, many streams will be flowing higher. You should be able to fish the lower elevations next week.

The critters think it is still Summer. Terrestrial insects are an important food source for trout. I would use flies tied to mimic beetles, inchworms, yellowjackets and ants. The trout are concentrated in broken water and they are hungry. They are also spooky. Don’t let them see you and you will catch more.

Lowland river fishing should improve next week, especially if we do actually get the predicted rain. Today, those rivers are flowing very low. Fish the deep pools early or late for smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfishes. I would still use foam floating flies or poppers. Nymphs and streamers may work too.

I talked to some friends yesterday who have been fly fishing on the lakes. It seems lake fishing is fair. Go early or late when the sun is off the water.

I am also talking to some tailwater anglers that have done well recently. A few tailwaters have been fishing well for trout and smallmouth bass. There are some tailwater fishing opportunities available today. Check the TVA website from the links below to plan your day.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has been setting power demand records lately.

The US Drought Monitor will be updated at 8:30 am. You can visit that site by CLICKING HERE. Click on your region and then your state for a detailed view. Right now, much of the east US, and the southern west is either abnormally dry or suffering from drought conditions. I am expecting a worse report in a couple of hours. Maybe we will see some improvement next Thursday.

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

Byron Begley
October 3, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com