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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:37 am, the temperature outside is 31.3 degrees.

Today will be partly sunny and fairly warm. Tomorrow will be warmer, with rain moving into the area. Friday and Saturday will be even warmer. Rain is predicted again Saturday and Sunday. We may get some snow in the high elevations Sunday.

Several roads in the Park were closed early yesterday, due to ice and snow. I could see frozen precipitation on the higher elevation mountains from our house and from town yesterday.

The roads that re-opened yesterday are:
Little River Road from Sugarlands to the Townsend “Y”
US Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) from Gatlinburg to Cherokee
Cherokee Orchard Road
Laurel Creek Road and Cades Cove Loop Road

Watch for ice and snow on these roads.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 354 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.39 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 260 cfs. The water temperature is 42.3 degrees this morning.

The Birdtown USGS gauge on Oconaluftee River is reporting the water there is 40.8 degrees. At Cataloochee Creek, the temperature is 38.7 degrees. Cataloochee Creek is always colder than Little River or Oconaluftee, due to the higher elevation.

Water temperatures are falling at all three locations, which is normal during the Winter at this time of the morning. They will stabilize soon, and probably warm further later today.
I think fishing could be fair today if the water temps don’t drop much further or if they warm later. It may be warmer today than the National Weather Service thinks, on the Tennessee side of the Park. If you look at the predicted high temperature at Cherokee of 50 degrees, compared to Townsend, I see a discrepancy. Cherokee is at a higher elevation than Townsend.

This may be due to the opinions at different National Weather Service offices. Weather predictions for the Tennessee side come from the Morristown office. The predictions on the North Carolina side are decided on at the Greenville-Spartanburg office in South Carolina. So, maybe it will be warmer in Townsend than they say. Or, possibly, it will be colder in Cherokee.

Other weather websites backup my theory that it will be warmer today on the Tennessee side of the Park.

Everyone agrees it will be warmer and wet later this week. Fishing will improve through Saturday, if we don’t get too much rain.

I would use weighted nymphs and streamers. And, I would fish the lower elevations where the water is warmer. Be on the lookout for hatches, possibly blue wing olives or other aquatic insects. I would certainly have some blue wing olive dry flies and emergers in my fly box this week, and all Winter long.

Plan on being at the shop Saturday. Guides Rob Fightmaster and Jon Oody will be conducting free fly tying demonstrations. They will be tying and talking to you at two different locations in the shop, simultaneously. We will have chairs for you. All you have to do is show up. Check out our Free Winter Tying Demonstration Events by CLICKING HERE. Even if you do not tie flies, you can learn about fly fishing by talking to these guys. They are professionals.

About 27 years ago, I was given the task and honor of organizing a new Trout Unlimited chapter, with a goal of supporting Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Fisheries Department. I had just moved here from Nashville and I was building this house. Paula and I were dating but she lived in Nashville. I didn’t know many people here.

All I had was a list of TU members in this area, with support from the Great Smoky Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the State Council. I also got support from Steve Moore and Bart Carter, who were the Fisheries Department at the time. And, we had support from the now retired Park Superintendent, Randy Pope.

It all worked out. It is an interesting story, one that changed my life forever. We came up with the name, Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. I wanted to call it the Abrams Creek Chapter but that didn’t happen. I remember that meeting well. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I brought up the suggestion.   

The next Little River Chapter meeting will be held at Barleys Restaurant in downtown Maryville on Tuesday January 22nd. Social hour starts at 6:00 pm. I will start telling the story of the early years at 7:00 pm. Anyone who is interested can attend, whether you are a TU member or not.

The Townsend City Commission approved changes in court costs and fines last night. You can read the story by CLICKING HERE. Some charges were removed, including possession of moonshine.

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

Byron Begley
January 16, 2019

Fly Tying Classes January, February and March 2019 Taught by Walter Babb and Brian Courtney Beginner to Advanced CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com