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 5:43 am, the temperature outside is 44.1 degrees.
Today will be mostly sunny with a high near 71 degrees and a low tonight dipping to around 49 degrees. Rain will move into the area tomorrow when you can expect a high in the low to mid 60’s with a low tomorrow night in the low to mid 50’s. It will continue to be very warm through Thursday.
I read one forecast this morning that indicted we may get 2 to 4 inches of rain over the next five days. I hope that doesn’t happen. Weather forecasts all agree heavy rainfall is headed our way. If we get the amounts predicted, the streams will be blown out at some point later this week.
Little River is flowing at 294 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.19 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 357 cfs. The water temperature is 45.7 degrees.
Most if not all streams in the Smokies are flowing at or below median flow. Water temperatures are much warmer than normal in early February. We will see those numbers rise over the next few days due to continued warm air and rain.
Fishing will be fair or maybe better than that today.
The long term forecast calls for much warmer than normal temperatures through February 17th.
Trout will be active during the period. Fishing could be good at times when the stream levels are fishable. I think the Spring hatches may begin early this year, like they have in some years recently. That could change of course.
I would use nymph rigs with a weighted fly on the bottom and an unweighted fly on the tag above the anchor fly. I have been tying tiny Wooly Buggers for my anchor flies, weighted with tungsten beads. All of the buggers have been tied on small jig hooks using “slotted” tungsten beads. I am also tying standard nymph patterns on the heavily weighted jig hooks.
You may see aquatic insects on the surface over the next few days. They could be blue wing olives, black stoneflies, midges, and possibly other early Spring mayflies, stoneflies and caddis. I’m not sure what to expect. Water temperatures are going to be much warmer than what we normally see in February.
TVA and the Corps continue to generate all day today at some dams, with breaks in the schedule at others. Visit the TVA website from the links below to see what opportunities are available to you today. I saw some this morning.
I set up a large display in the fly tying department a few months ago, and filled it with euro nymphing hooks and slotted beads. Some of the hooks are 60 degrees jig models while others are barbless nymph hooks. I ordered Hanak competition hooks for the display, as well as competition hooks from Daiichi, Tiemco and Umpqua. The backside of the display is packed with slotted tungsten beads, in many colors, to be used on competition jig hooks. I had a sign made with the words “Euro Nymphing” and mounted it to the top of the display.
It is amazing how many of these items have sold. The display is re-stocked about every other week. Flies tied with these components have become very popular. Anglers are learning to tie these Euro Nymphing flies and adapting their fishing techniques and tackle to what we are learning from fly fishing competitors around the world.
Many of us have been “high sticking” weighted nymphs for decades. The competition techniques are similar but different in some ways.
I think most of us enjoy learning new methods to improve our fly fishing success. I know I have. I know many others who have as well.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
February 3, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
