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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. Fall is in the air. This is the first time in several years that Townsend is really celebrating the season. I've seen more of the big elaborate Fall displays around town. Giant pumpkins, hay bale bears and even a hay bale tractor. It is a good time to be outside in the Peaceful Side of the Smokies.
Today will be a great day to be in the mountains. The weather is clear and cool. The trees are starting to change but they aren't clogging up the streams yet. It is just a good day to be outside.
Little River is flowing at 253 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.13 feet on the gauge. The daily normal is 79 c.f.s. The water temperature is 53 degrees.
Back in 2008 the water was at 18.2 c.f.s. At that level you can hardly say that it is flowing. Those were some trying times. Lots of trout died that year. We are very blessed in the Smokies to have such a protected watershed. The headwaters are all safe from manmade pollutions. The trees are protected from clear cuts. Only naturally occuring events such as floods and droughts can affect the system. Back in 2008 there was a news article which said half of the rainbow trout in the Smokies died from the drought conditions. That seemed like a devasting thing. The next year most fo the trout being caught were fairly small. The little fish were able to survive better in the shallow waters. Two years after the fishing was fantastic. You could legitamately catch good quantities of 12 to 14 inch rainbows in the Park. I saw one angler come in with a photo of a 17 inch rainbow from Abrams Creek. We the big increase in size? Less fish eating the same food.
Back on track... Streams are flowing clear. Cold overnight temperatures are making for slow fishing early in the day. If you want to be out on the river early I suggest nymphs and enough weight to get them to the bottom. If you prefer casting dries, get up, have some coffee and a nice breakfast and hit the stream at the crack of 10. Lower to Mid elevations are fishing good now. You can still hike into the backcountry for the adventure or solitude but don't feel like you need to go looking for better water condtions.
Good dry fly patterns for this time of year are Parachute Adams, Stimulators, Elk Hair Caddis, and of course the Yellow Sally patterns are still doing good.
Nymph patterns are going to be Prince Nymphs and Pheasant tails. Squirmy worms are always a good choice.
We were hearing some tough reports yesterday. The moon was full which isn't helpful. I think on a clear full moon the trout will feed during the night making the next morning slow. Anglers who were out early in the day also had a harder time. Conditions changed quickly from late summer to fall so we have to adapt and change also.
Stop in on your way to the stream. Dave, Dave and Dennis can get you pointed in the right direction. Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Daniel Drake
October 4, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |