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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:49 am, the temperature is 55.0 degrees.

It will be cloudy this morning and gradually clearing this afternoon with a high temperature around 70 degrees, falling to the upper 40’s tonight. Tomorrow, through Thursday will be sunny with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s. No rain is predicted through the period.

The weather outlook through Thursday is very good. The chance for rain increases Friday and Saturday. We should see good fishing conditions through October 19th, according to the long term forecast, unless we get heavy rain  Friday night and Saturday, which is possible.  

Little River is flowing at 215 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.02 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 73 cfs. The water temperature is 55.2 degrees.

All streams in the Smokies are flowing higher than normal but they are all at fishable levels. Water temperatures are ideal for trout feeding activity in the low to mid elevations and possibly in the high elevation streams too.

Dry flies and nymphs will work.

Lowland rivers are in very good shape, flowing higher than normal but not too high. Fishing in the rivers should improve this week due to warmer conditions that will raise the water temperatures. Smallmouth bass and other lowland river species will be active. Nymphs and streamers will work. Top water flies may also produce as well.

TVA and the Corps of Engineers plan to generate at several dams, off and on, most of the day. Wade fishing will be limited on some rivers. Flows on some tailwaters will be good for boating. Check the TVA website to determine what your options are.

Lake fishing is fair to good. It will be overcast early today, which is a benefit. I would still go early, and fish the banks with top water flies. If they are not working, switch to streamers or nymphs. Water surface temperatures will vary from lake to lake and we have nine of them nearby. We were cruising on the Tennessee River Saturday, in the Fort Loudoun stretch. I watched the water temps often, which were in the upper 60’s. The water was slightly off color.

We had a beautiful but fairly chilly weekend. A lot of people were out, enjoying the Fall-like weather. We were busy at the shop.

I had two consecutive days off this weekend and I felt like I was on vacation. Daniel wrote the fishing report Saturday and Sunday morning. Other people on our team cleaned and sanitized the shop.

Paula and I stayed with some of our closest friends, Jim and Pat, on their farm, Friday and Saturday night. We got up early Saturday morning, left at 8:45 am, towed their offshore boat to Tellico Lake and launched.

It was chilly, in the low 40’s. We drove the boat up the Tennessee River, 40 miles, to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to attend, or at least sort of attend, the Tennessee vs Missouri football game.

We drifted in the boat near the stadium during the game. We listened to the game on the radio, but we could easily hear the announcer, the crowd roar and the band playing, almost as if we were inside the stadium. Fireworks were shot every time Tennessee scored. I didn’t know this, but the fireworks are launched from the opposite side of the river from the stadium.

We set up the dining table and enjoyed a great lunch with good friends.

The “Vol Navy” was limited by social distancing but there were many vessels attending, and some were docked near the stadium. Others drifted in the river like we did. We saw everything from yachts to kayaks on the river. Two Tennessee Wildlife Resources boats, one Knox County Sheriff’s boat, and a Knoxville Fire Rescue boat were cruising around the area, for safety reasons.

The game ended at about 3:00 pm, we drove 40 miles back to Tellico Lake, loaded the boat, and returned to Pat and Jim’s home by 6:00 pm. What a day, one we will never forget! It has been a long time since I had that much fun. Tennessee won the game. The fireworks “boomed” frequently.

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

Byron Begley
October 5, 2020   

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com