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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:36 am, the temperature outside is 29.7 degrees.

Warmer air is moving into the region. Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the low 60’s. Tonight will be warmer, with a low in the low 40’s. Daytime highs will gradually become warmer through Wednesday. No rain is predicted until Thursday.

Little River is flowing at 222 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.01 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 112 cfs. The water temperature is 46.8 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 358 cfs, 1.79 feet, compared to median flow for this date of 204 cfs.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 518 cfs, 1.98 feet, compared to median flow of 228 cfs. The water temperature is 45.7 degrees.

Tellico River is flowing at 149 cfs, 1.20 feet, which compares to median flow of 93 cfs.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 89.2 cfs, 2.53 feet, compared to median flow of 49 cfs. The water temperature is 42.4 degrees.

Water levels are good, but most streams are flowing above normal.

The water temperatures are chilly. We will see some gradual warming over the next few days, which will improve fishing in the Smokies. It will be warmer and the sun will  be shining, helping boost the water temps.

You will find warmer water in the lower elevations. I would wait until the water warms later in the mornings before going. The trout will become more active as the water warms.

Nymphs, fished deep will probably work best. Weight your flies with split shot to get them down. I would choose a Tellico, Pheasant Tail, Hare’s Ear or Prince nymphs, though many other reasonable patterns will work as well.  

There are angler friendly flows on some tailwaters in the region. TVA is pulsing on the Clinch River but at most times, flows have been low. I would fish the lower miles of the trout water on the Clinch. Evidently, Norris Lake turned over and warm water was discharged into the river, causing a fish kill on the upper reaches near the dam last week.

Fly Tyers Weekend was a huge success. Tremont Lodge in Townsend is the best place I know of to hold the largest fly tying event in the Southeast. I want to thank everyone involved in making this event happen. Believe me, many people were involved, including over 50 fly tying demonstrators. Thanks to all the fly tyers for donating your time and travel expenses. You ladies and gentlemen were awesome.

Planning for the event began one year ago. Anthony Hipps, who coordinated the fly tyers, did an excellent job, as usual. All of our great staff at Little River Outfitters pitched in, making this event successful.

Thank you to all volunteers who helped make this happen.

Thanks to everyone at Casting for Recovery for serving great food so our attendees could eat at the event and never leave.

And, thanks to all of you who attended this event.

From what I heard and saw, this one beats all of the prior Fly Tyers Weekends.

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

Byron Begley
November 4, 2019  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com