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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:17 am, the temperature outside is 49.8 degrees.

Today will be sunny and cool. It feels like Fall outside, finally. Tomorrow will be beautiful too. Sunday will be slightly warmer with a fair chance for rain. Rain is in the forecast again Monday and Tuesday.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 474 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.63 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 71 cfs. The record flow for this date is 478 cfs, a record which was probably broken a few hours ago. The water temperature is 62.1 degrees this morning.

Looking at the numbers, Little River may seem very high. Actually, most anglers consider this level to be on the high side of good. What we have are flows usually seen often in the Spring or after big rain events like we had Wednesday. Median flow in October is very low. October is usually our driest month.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 1,880 cfs or 3.59 feet on that gauge. Median flow for this date is 130 cfs. Todays flow set a new record by quite a large margin. The prior record was 639 cfs, set in 1960.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 565 cfs compared to median flow of 191 cfs. Todays flow is not a record.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 113 cfs compared to median flow of 40 cfs.

Today and tomorrow are going to be beautiful and you should try to fish in the Park if you can. It looks like and feels like Fall. No more heat. I think that is over for the year. No more warm water. That’s probably over too.

The air will be very clear. It is chilly in the high elevations. Wet wading will become less popular now. Anglers will actually be wearing waders.

You will find high water wherever you go today. Many streams are safe to wade. Others may not be as angler friendly. They will all be friendlier tomorrow. If you favorite stream is flowing strong, stay near the bank and “High Stick” nymphs.

You can fish the lower elevation, larger streams if you want to. We have shied away from the low elevations for a long time, due to the abnormally warm water.

Brown and brook trout are colored for the spawn season. Some brown trout have been spotted out in the open, during the day. There will be more of that activity to come soon. Trees are changing color. Unfortunately, leaves are also falling into the water. You might catch a few leaves.

The sun will be bright for two days. I think nymphs will work best. Add some weight and get them down. There are many good nymph patterns to choose from. I would probably stick to my old patterns, Prince, Pheasant Tail, Tellico or Hare’s Ear. A Green or Pink Weenie might work for you. Squirmy worms in many different colors may produce as well or better.

I was ordering in the fly tying department yesterday and talked to a young guy who obviously knows what he is doing. He is tying nymphs on jig hooks. This has become very popular. The hook rides up, and is less likely to snag the bottom. Hookups may be better too. I think so. I tie my smallmouth bass Wooly Buggers, on jig hooks. I wrap lead free wire on the hook shank for weight. It works well.

Another fairly new adaptation to nymphing is the slotted bead. Put those on a jig hook, and the bead clings to the bend near the eye. We are selling a lot more slotted beads now. I ordered more yesterday. You don’t have to use a slotted bead. Standard beads will probably work as well.

I am going to be off today. I thought for a couple of days that would not be possible. I got my ordering done last night, just in time. Paula and I are taking the boat to a lake. This may not be much of a fishing day, because the sun will be bright. We’re leaving the fly rods in the boat house. We just want to be on the water, on this beautiful day. I’ve got some big spinning rods in the boat. We may troll for walleye and yellow perch as we cruise around enjoying the Fall scenery. I doubt if we will catch anything, but you never know.

Cold days are probably not far off. An opportunity like this may not happen again this year. Or, maybe it will.

We do best with fly rods, on the lakes, when the sky is overcast. Smallmouth and largemouth bass will be in shallow water, on those days. Maybe we’ll get that opportunity next week.

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

Byron Begley
October 12, 2018  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com