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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:36 am, the temperature outside is 38.3 degrees.

Today will be sunny and very warm with a high temperature in the mid-70’s. Tomorrow will be warmer, with temps climbing to 80 degrees. Saturday will be partly sunny, with a high around 80 again. There is a slight chance for rain Saturday. Thunderstorms with strong winds and heavy rain are predicted for Saturday night and Sunday. Localized flooding is possible.

Little River is flowing at 332 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.31 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 316 cfs. The water temperature is 49.1 degrees this morning.

Fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains will be very good today, through Saturday. Stream flows are normal for this time of the year. Water temperatures will rise well into the trout’s preferred temperature range. The fish will be very active and feeding.

Aquatic insects will be active too. There will be a variety of species on the water.

Unless a very large hatch of insects occur, the trout will probably not be selective. They will be looking for food, in the water column or on the surface.

The only negative I see, especially today and tomorrow, is bright sun. You may do best early or late, or fish the shaded areas of the streams. It will be warm at night, so water temperatures will not fall much. When the temperatures are like we will be having through Saturday, going fishing later in the day will not be required.

Dry flies will work well at times. Due to the variety of aquatic insects that are active now, I would use a searching pattern, like a Parachute Adams or an Elk Hair Caddis, both in sizes #14 or #16.

Nymphs will produce for you, maybe better than dry flies at times. My favorites are, Prince, Bead Head Pheasant Tail, Tellico or Hare’s Ear. Most any reasonable nymph patterns will work.

I would also have a couple of wet flies, in natural dark colors in my box. Sometimes, trout are taking emergers. A Hare’s Ear Wet Fly is a good choice.

Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) generation schedules today, for Norris Dam and Cherokee Dam, indicates some breaks in generation. Check the TVA website from the links below to see if their schedule works with yours.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) installed a Live Elk Camera at Hatfield Knob in the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. I read about it this morning and waited until daybreak to try it out. Right now, no elk are present. Now, the cam is not feeding video. I tried three different browsers. Maybe it will be working later. This equipment is solar powered and I think it is brand new. CLICK HERE to view the web cam. I hope it works for you. Now it appears to be working. If it is not, try refreshing your browser. Also, the elk come and go, so check back often.

CLICK HERE to read the story about this new elk cam on the WBIR website.

I still wait, anticipating hearing about elk being spotted in Cades Cove. So far, I have not heard anything. Elk were stocked in the Cataloochee Valley. They have migrated. They are seen often at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center near Cherokee.

Eventually, some elk will split from the herds and move into the cove, or that is what I’m hoping for. After that, we should see them in the valley where we live.

I hope you can fish in the Smokies this week. It should be a good one.

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

Byron Begley
April 12, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com