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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:50 am the temperature outside is 55.8 degrees.

It rained yesterday, off and on. Rainfall in Townsend amounted to .89” at one station and .50” at another. The Knoxville Airport reported a total of .69”. I was worried, we would get more, and the streams in the park would rise much higher. That did not happen. I don’t think the high elevations got as much rain as we did here. Little River stopped receding, and rose a little, but now it is falling again.

It will be mostly sunny today and through the weekend. No rain is expected until maybe Sunday night. Tomorrow will be hot, and may set a record for the date. If you are fishing in the mountains, it won’t matter to you.

Little River is flowing at 502 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.68 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 245 cfs. The water temperature is 57.6 degrees today in the low elevations. That is perfect. The water will be cooler in the high elevations.

Little River will recede today and through the weekend. I like to see the gauge reading at 2.5 feet or lower. We will reach that early this weekend, maybe today. Then, the rivers will recede further. I think fishing is going to be good in the Smoky Mountains this weekend.

There will be plenty of water. Flows will be higher than normal for this time of year. But you will be able to fish and likely do well.

Nymphs may work best early on, specifically today. Add some weight to get them down. But, dry flies should work well too. Tie on a Parachute Adams, Stimulator, Yellow Neversink Caddis, and have at it. You will find what the trout are feeding on by trying different things.

I would fish smaller streams today, then possibly move to the larger rivers tomorrow or Sunday. The water is still swift so be careful wading in the fast moving current or in deep water.

I know many of you are planning your weekend trips. I’ve been hearing from you. Fishing conditions will be more favorable now, than I expected two days ago.

We are now a Tenkara USA dealer. I saw the new display of rods, line, flies, accessories and even a Tenkara landing net at the shop yesterday. The guys at the shop are planning Tenkara classes, taught by Rob Fightmaster and David Knapp. Below is a video made by Tenkara USA. I’m taking two weeks off beginning today. When I return, I’ll put the Tenkara rods and accessories on our online store. You can call the shop at 865-448-9459 to order now. Ground shipping is free.

The rain we have been blessed with, ended the drought in Tennessee. States to our south and east have shown improvement, though the drought still persists in most. It’s not as bad as it was and certainly not like we saw last Fall. CLICK HERE to see the updated U.S. Drought Monitor that was released yesterday. Click on your region for a more detailed view. Then, click on your State to see even more detail.

I have not taken two consecutive weeks off in over 20 years. Daniel will be writing the Fishing Report. I plan to fish, almost every day. I got our boat ready last night. It has been at the dealer having some important parts replaced in the engine and I brought it home Wednesday. The boat is ready to hook up and go. The kayaks and kayak trailer are ready too. Our tackle is organized. Paula and I are going to do some fishing! Maybe I’ll run into you somewhere.

I will be 66 years old in July. My life is changing. I still plan to work full time, for hopefully many years. The major change in my life will be, I am going fishing more than before.

I’ll be back in mid-May, waking up early and writing this report for you and me. I really am going to miss doing this. It has become a daily habit over the past 10 years. I will not be checking or answering e-mail during the period.

I hope you have a great early to mid-May and thank you for being here with us.

Byron Begley
April 28, 2017

Respond to: Byron@littleriveroutfitters.com