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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:10 am, the temperature outside is 63.1 degrees.
The heat wave is over. Today will be sunny cooler, with a high in the mid-80’s. Temperatures will be dropping each day. Monday’s high temperature will be in the low 70’s, with a low in the low 50’s.
It looks like we are finally going to get some rain. We have a good chance Sunday and Sunday night. Showers are likely Monday. They say we’ll get a half of an inch Monday, with locally heavy rainfall possible. Finally!
Little River is flowing at 26..5 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.10 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 79 cfs. The water temperature is 71.6 degrees this morning.
Most if not all streams in the Smokies are flowing very low. To catch trout, you will need to stay hidden from them. They will be hiding in broken water, packed in like sardines. You may need to cast further than usual. Dress to blend with the forest and stay low.
The streams are warm in the low elevations. Fish higher where the water is cooler. Look for temperatures in the 60’s.
The guides I am talking to are hiking with their clients into the backcountry, in the higher elevations.
You strategy will change as the water temperatures fall over the next few days. Actual water temperatures will dictate where you can fish, but you will likely be fishing larger streams further downstream, soon.
Lowland rivers are flowing low and slow. I drove along Little River yesterday, going to a doctor appointment in Maryville. It seemed, the river was not moving at all. Leaves were floating, motionless in the pools. Water is not flowing over Perry’s Mill Dam. The dam pool looked to be several inches below the lip of the dam. A little water was flowing around the dam, so the river was moving, but not much.
Much of East Tennessee is listed as being in a severe drought or a moderate drought. Other areas are still only abnormally dry. You can see the most recent updated US Drought Monitor by CLICKING HERE. Click on your region, then your state for a detailed view. Hopefully, we will see some improvement next week. The monitor is updated every Thursday.
You have some tailwater fishing opportunities today. Check the TVA website from the links below to see if you can work with their generation schedules. Though power demand is extremely high right now, the lakes are very low, compared to normal. TVA would probably be generating more, if they had the water capacity in the reservoirs. Fishing has been pretty good on some of the tailwaters, for trout and smallmouth bass.
Despite the drought, we have been fairly busy at the shop. September was down from the same month last year, but not by much. I expected worse. The year is up quite a bit from last year. This may be our best year ever.
A customer from Florida told me yesterday, it is obvious I love my work, by reading this report. He told me, “It comes out in my writing”. I never think about retiring, though I could at any time. I do love work, especially Little River Outfitters.
There was a time, after selling a company in Nashville and moving here, that I did not work for five years. That started 30 years ago. I was bored to death in my early 40’s. Something huge was missing in my life. I missed business. Paula and I got into the fly fishing business almost 25 years ago. The most compelling reason for that, for me was, avoiding boredom.
So, now I know, I hope to never give up work again. Only health reasons would cause that. I go to doctors on a regular basis, and for someone who is 68 years old, I’m in pretty good shape.
So, you will probably be stuck with me for a long time. I hope so.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
October 4, 2019
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
