Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Report 9/27/16

Some much needed rain fell across the Smoky Mountains late yesterday and over night. The unfamiliar, as of late, sound of thunder boomed yesterday evening and almost in an instant rain starting beating down, making this old tin roof sing its magical song. I had way too much work to finish up, or a nap would have definitely been in order. The rains are tapering off now across the region and chances will increase by late evening once again. We did receive significant rainfall totals in the area. Most of the Smokies saw .5 to 2 inches depending on where you look geographically. Some parts of the region saw as much as 5 inches in places. While we didn’t get anything that looked like that inside the Smokies what we did receive will certainly help the streams and the fishing.

Stream flows today have increased across the Smokies. The Little River is 78cfs this morning up from 27cfs the day before. The Oconaluftee River is looking good at 143cfs up from 86cfs the day before.

Cooler air tempratures this week will certainly do wonders for lowering stream tempratures and bringing them back in align with normal Fall conditions. The water will still be low and I don’t see that changing for the next bit. The big news will be lower stream tempratures which will certainly help with dissolved oxygen levels in the water columns. Anglers will see increased feeding activity from the trout and should have some fantastic fishing this week.

The drop in air tempratures will certainly bring about changes in the colors of Fall foliage. Leaves will start turning more this week especially at higher elevations where it is expected to drop into the upper 40’s over night on Tursday and Friday. Fall colors should start to really show over the next several weeks. We are predicted to have a longer then normal color season for this year!

Anglers planning to visit the Smokies should plan to travel very early in the day and prepare for traffic delays in the afternoon and early evenings around crowded ares near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Bryson City and Twonsend are both touted as the quieter sides of the Smokies and see much less traffic and congestion.

Hope you all have a great week and get to wet a line.

Faith, Family, and Fishing,

Fly Fishing the Smokies