Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:46 am, the temperature is 28 degrees.
Today will be sunny and warmer with a high temperature in the upper 50’s, falling to the middle 30’s tonight. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer than today, with a high in the middle to upper 60’s and a low around 40 degrees overnight. Saturday and Sunday will be beautiful, with highs in the low 70’s.
Little River is flowing at 46.9 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.28 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 81 cfs. The water temperature is 46.2 degrees this morning.
All streams in the mountains are flowing lower than normal. Normal is low in October. Water temperatures are cold, even in the low elevations. Yesterday, the water temperature at the Townsend gauge never rose above 50 degrees. Some customers I talked to yesterday reported slow fishing. Trout were somewhat lethargic yesterday, due to the cold water.
We will see the water temperatures rise each remaining day this week, so fishing will improve some. The streams will remain low and slowly recede further as there is no rain expected through the weekend.
Nymphs will probably work best today. Fish the broken water where the trout are hiding. Dress to blend with the forest to help you stay hidden from the trout. Use fine tippets and small flies. Go fishing later today when the water is warmer. Fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer.
Fishing for stocked trout in the streams flowing out of the mountains is fair. Trout will be holding in the deep pools. Yesterday, a customer told me he is staying in a cabin on the river, but there is no water to fish in where he is. Little River has been stocked with rainbow trout. I would go later today when the water is warmer. Use nymphs, egg patterns or squirmy worms drifted deep in the slow current.
I think fishing for smallmouth bass and rock bass in the lowland rivers will be slow today, but improve some over the next few days. Fish in the deep pools with streamers, hellgrammite patterns or crayfish imitations.
Fly fishing on the lakes is fair at best. Today will be sunny which is not a good condition. Winds are predicted to be out of the southwest a 5 to 10 miles per hour. Cast to the banks and cover with weighted streamers or swimming nymphs. Let your flies sink and retrieve slow so they stay deep.
TVA and the Corps will be generating all day at some dams, with long breaks in the generation at others. Check the TVA website to see what tailwater fishing options you have today.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
October 20, 2022
For the first time since 2019, we will be holding our Free Fly Tying Demonstrations on Saturdays. The demonstrations will begin at 10 am and last until 2 pm. You do not need a reservation. Just show up and enjoy. These demonstrations will kick off November 5th, and last through mid-December. Then, they will resume in January.
Mike Adams will be tying on Saturday November 5th. Mike has been and may still be a fly fishing guide in upper East Tennessee. He is a very good fly tyer who has come up with some unique trout patterns to share with you.
Bill Boyd will be tying on Saturday November 12th, with his granddaughter “Half Hitch”. Bill lives in Dayton Tennessee. He has been a regular, with his Dad and wife at many fly tying demonstrations, Troutfest and other fly tying shows. You can learn more about Bill on the Dubbing Teasers website by CLICKING HERE.
Mike Bone will be tying on Saturday November 19th. Mike has been guiding, mostly on the Clinch River and Holston River trout tailwaters for decades. He is also an accomplished smallmouth bass guide. Everyone likes Mike. You will too. CLICK HERE to visit Mike’s website.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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