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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:27 am, the temperature outside is a 35.4 degrees.
It rained most of the day yesterday. Townsend got 1.18” while the Knoxville Airport reported .84”.
Today will be cloudy with a high temperature in the mid 40’s. Tonight, through the weekend will be colder, with highs in the upper 30’s to the mid and low 40’s. Lows at night will dip into the 20’s. There is a slight chance for snow showers Friday and Saturday.
Little River is flowing at 291 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.30 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 227 cfs. The water temperature is 48.9 degrees this morning.
Today offers a chance for fair to good fishing in the Smokies, especially in the low to mid elevations. The water is somewhat warm. This may be the last day we see that for a while. Stream flows are high, but not too high. Today will be the day to go this week.
Water temperatures will plunge this week, after today. Fishing will slow.
If you go, start with nymphs and possibly stick with them. You may see some black stoneflies or blue wing olives on the water. If trout are rising to them, switch to a dry fly.
You have a shot at a big brown trout. Watch for them. They will be hungry.
You should be stealthy. Those big browns got that way by being careful. Don’t let them see you.
Get a good drift. Make sure your nymphs or dry flies are moving at the same speed as the current, “without drag”. Drag is a description fly fishing uses to describe the movement of your flies, either slower or faster than the current. If your flies are dragging, the trout will suspect foul play, and reject your flies. The longer you can keep your flies drifting at the right speed, the more trout you will catch, period.
I found a short but very informative article on the Gink+Gasoline website on the subject of drag free drifts. Read it by CLICKING HERE. What it tells us is, “Keep your fly line off the water”. Your fly line is larger than your leader. Current pulls your fly line. Your leader and tippet cut through the current, and does not cause your flies to drag as much.
Learn to get drag free drifts and you will be a better fly fisherman.
I ran into Greg yesterday. He told me he got yesterday’s newsletter. He also told me he has an old G-Series Scott fly rod. I have a couple myself. Those are fine fly rods, some of the best made, especially when used on small streams. They are an excellent Smokies fly rod.
The Scott G-Series has been re-designed, using newer materials, designs and construction techniques. Scott has eliminated or at least reduced the lateral wobble, that causes inaccurate casts. The rod is lighter. This rod has been the “talk of the fly fishing world”. You can read a very good article and watch a video on the Fly Fisherman website by CLICKING HERE. It’s a great article about this iconic fly rod, and describes the improvements you will find in today’s G Rod.
We sell them. You can learn more by CLICKING HERE to see the rod on our online store. Greg reminded me, the G Rods cost a lot more than they did when he bought his first one from us. They sell for $845. Are they worth it? Cast one at the shop, and you make that call.
We may still have openings in Saturday’s beginner fly tying class. I’m not sure we do but you can call the shop at 865-448-9459 to find out.
I would do it for you now but there is nobody at the shop this early.
This is an all-day class that costs $85. We supply everything, even lunch. If you want to learn the art and hobby of fly tying, this is a great way to start. The class is taught by Walter Babb and Brian Courtney.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
December 6, 2017
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
