If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.
Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:46 am, the temperature is 30.2 degrees.
It will be cloudy in Townsend today, with a high temperature in the middle to upper 40’s, falling to the low 30’s tonight. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high in the mid-40’s. Rain is likely Thursday. Expect a high temperature in the upper 40’s.
Little River is flowing at 178 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.88 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 297 cfs. The water temperature is 38.5 degrees this morning.
Streams in the Smokies are flowing below normal, clear and cold. Fishing will be slow. Try weighted nymph rigs if you go.
Little River Road, Laurel Creek Road and Cades Cove Loop Road and others are open. Newfound Gap Road remains closed due to snow and ice.
Lowland river fishing is slow due to the cold water temperatures.
TVA and the Corps of Engineers are offering breaks in their generation schedules at some dams in Middle and East Tennessee. Check the schedule from the links below on the TVA website. You might be able to work with a discharge at your favorite tailwater, especially if you are boating. You may find some wade fishing options.
Tailwater fishing is probably your best choice right now if you can find angler friendly flows. Water temperatures will be warmer below the dams in some cases, compared to the free flowing streams. It is Winter and I hate writing fishing reports when fishing is slow.
Business at the shop is slow too. We expect that in January. The shop is performing better than last year at this time. The fly tying department is very busy. We enlarged the department last Fall before the beginning of the Winter fly tying season. And, we have done everything possible to keep a good stock of materials and tools, which is paying off. Word is getting around.
The days are getting longer. We are inching toward Fishing Spring. Sometimes that occurs in February. Maybe this will be one of those years.
We are waiting for water temperatures to reach near 50 degrees. When that happens, and the temps are sustained for a few days, the Spring hatches will begin. Quill Gordons, Blue Quills and Blue Wing Olives will be the first major hatches we will see. Trout be actively feeding below and on the surface when water temperatures reach or exceed 50 degrees.
I am always watching the long term weather forecasts in January and February, and like you, I’m hoping for warmer temperatures to kick off the Spring season.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
January 19, 2021
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |