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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:57 am, the temperature outside 31.5 degrees.
It rained all day yesterday. We got almost an inch of rain in Townsend.
Today will be sunny with a high temperature in the mid to upper 40’s. Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday will be much warmer, with highs around 60 degrees and lows only dipping to the 40’s and low 50’s at night. More rain is coming Friday night through Sunday. 1.5” of rain is predicted during the period.
Little River is flowing at 850 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 3.23 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 305 cfs. The record flow for this date was 786 cfs in 2010. Little River peaked at 3.82 feet yesterday, which was a record for the date, which was also previously set in 2010.
The water temperature is 42.6 degrees this morning.
The approaching warm front will raise the water temperatures in the Smokies streams this weekend. If it were not for the rain we expect, fishing would be good. If somehow the rain misses us, expect good fishing.
The streams in the Smoky Mountains are high right now. They will recede today and tomorrow. Wading in Little River would not be a good idea today. The current is strong. You could get swept away.
If you are planning to visit the Smokies for a fishing trip this weekend, I would wait to make that call. Watch the weather. Keep an eye on stream flows using the USGS Little River gauge site below.
You will want to see the flow below 2.5 feet. That number is on the high side of good. The water temperature should be in the upper 40’s for the trout to be active. If the water temperature rises into the 50’s, fishing will be good. That could happen.
But, there is a good chance the streams will be too high to fish this weekend.
It is going to be warm next week. Predicted temperatures Monday through Thursday will be warm, day and night. The cumulative affect of the warm days and nights, beginning tomorrow and lasting through at least next Thursday, will be interesting to watch. More rain is predicted after Sunday. So, we could have warm streams that are too high to fish. Time will tell.
We needed the rain. Look at the US Drought Monitor by CLICKING HERE. It will be updated today. I am looking at the February 1st version. Today’s update may look better. It has been very dry in the Southeast. Some areas were in the “Moderate Drought” or “Severe Drought” designations.
The Smoky Mountains were considered “Abnormally Dry”. One spot in Alabama was listed as being in an “Extreme Drought”. To the west, it is the same or worse.
We do not want another drought year. I was starting to worry. The situation looks better, now, through mid-February.
Spring fishing in the Smoky Mountains is coming very soon. We are seeing more fishermen, planning for the weather break and good fly fishing. Business is picking up at the shop.
It won’t be long!
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
February 8, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |