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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:56 am, the temperature outside is 48.6 degrees.

Rain fell in Townsend, beginning just after midnight. So far, about 1/3” has been recorded at a local private weather station. Looking at the radar, I think it is about over.

Today will be warm, topping out at around 60 degrees. We have a slight chance for showers tonight, with possible light snow in the mountains. It will be chilly for a couple of days, then warm some by the weekend, though the nights will be colder. The weekend should be a little warmer, with a better chance for rain both Saturday and Sunday.

Little River is flowing at 496 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.64 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 395 cfs. The water temperature is 48.2 degrees this morning.

If you go today, expect strong current in some streams. Pick your spots to wade and be careful. With the water temperatures rising, fishing should improve somewhat today. The rain that fell and is still falling, may affect the flows. It is too early to tell right now.

Later this week, water temperatures will drop. That will slow the fishing some. Then, this coming weekend, we may see the streams flowing higher again.

I would start with nymphs. Add extra weight and get them down. As the water warms further today, you may see aquatic insects on the water. It is possible, trout will be rising to them. The bugs will likely be Quill Gordon and Blue Quill adults. You may see Blue Wing Olives or other adults on the surface. If trout are rising to them, switch to a dry fly or an emerger. A good emerger pattern for the Quill Gordon is the wet fly with the same name.

I would say, fishing will be slow to fair, but I’m conservative. I don’t want you to be disappointed. Fishing may be better.

Good fishing days are ahead. The longer term forecast indicates warmer days and nights beginning mid-month, 9 days from now.

Hopefully, we won’t have high water during that period. And, the weather could change for the worse, or for the better. Time will tell.

Fly fishing enthusiasts like us are preparing for Spring. We know, because our store is busy. Mail order and in-store sales have picked up. Store traffic is heavier. From home, I see mail orders going out to places, where Spring is far off in the future. Then, there are orders shipping in the Southeast, where fishing will be good soon, if it isn’t already.

The fear of a drought is over in our area, and in much of the Southeast US. The weather pattern has changed. In some cases, we are getting more rain than we want. It is March, and that is what we expect and hope for. It is March, and we expect cold spells. Fishing conditions move up and down in March. Temperature swings and rain come and go. It is March.

I brought our bird feeders in. Bird feeding season is over for me, earlier this year than usual. I know, soon, bears will be showing up. When a bear sees a bird feeder, it is destroyed, immediately.

I’m trying to get rid of the remaining seed, sunflower and millet. When I see wild turkeys in the driveway behind our carport, I walk out with bucket of seed and throw in on the ground. The turkeys run to me like a bunch of hungry chickens. Yesterday, a jake was eating just 3 feet from me.

There is a gobbler, that is fanning and strutting now. He gobbled just 10’ from me a couple of days ago. And lately, he has been fanning at that distance. I heard something I’ve never heard before, because I’ve never been that close to a gobbler that is fanning and strutting. That noise is a low pitched growl or grumble. I heard it again yesterday.

That growl, grumble or whatever it is, must be part of the mating attraction they make to attract hens. It is not something you would hear from a distance of 50 feet.

I’m sure there is a name for it. Maybe avid turkey hunters know how to mimic the sound.

It’s all new to me and I’m glad I have had that experience.

Please enjoy the gobbler photos below. I took these pictures on April 19th, 2017.

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

Byron Begley
March 6, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com