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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. The weather is cold this morning. It was 28 F when I got up. This is perfect weather to watch some fly tying demos!

Water levels are very good in the Smokies. The gauge on Little River is giving a reading of 2.08 feet or 232 c.f.s. This is below the daily normal of 287 c.f.s.

Cold overnight temperatures have cause the water temperatures to drop drastically. The water temperaure this morning is about 45F. Just over a day ago the temperature was up to 57. Cooling water generally causes slow fishing.

If you head to the mountains today or tomorrow to fish give it some time to warm up. Stay in the lower elevations and fish nymphs deep. The Double Tungsten Stonefly, Prince Nymphs, Tellico Nymphs and Hares Ears will be good choices. Keep adding weight until you start bumping the bottom.

The tailwaters are still running a lot of water. We don't seem to be able to catch a break on the flows.

We have fly tying demonstrations going on in the Shop today. Mike Wallace is tying classic wet flies. Steve Brown is tying soft hackles.

Tomorrow, David Knapp and Travis Williams will be here. They are both guides with Trout Zone Anglers. Stop by and learn some new patterns but also get some great fishing info straight from the guides. They will be tying from 10am till 2pm.

There is no need to call ahead for the demos, just show up!

You can read more about them and other free demonstrations we are holding this year by CLICKING HERE.

I was going through our Spring preseason orders trying to get everything organized before they begin to show up. Chota's new boots are finally available and will be here soon. They are a re-design of the STL Light boots. The new color is much nicer looking than the old black boots.

We have a lot of new stuff which will be showing up over the next month. We are stocking Winston fly rods again. These are some of the best trout rods you could cast. Nautilus reels is something new we have gotten in. Nautilus are made in Florida. We have lighter weight trout reels in stock now and have some saltwater reels coming. Something else is Abel reels and even Abel nippers. There will be a bigger selection of sunglasses. 2019 is going to be a great year!

One of the biggest change you will be seeing this spring is our conventional tackle department. Byron has ordered a selection of tackle for trout and smallmouth. We will have a much better selection of spinners, lures and conventional rods and reels than we have ever stocked before. I know, we all want to be fly fishing purists...but a spinning rod can be a trip saver when the water is high.

Spring will be back sooner than we know. Now is the time to get all organized and ready.

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

Daniel Drake
February 9, 2019

NOTICE: Great Smoky Mountains head fisheries biologist Matt Kulp will be giving the State of the Park Fisheries Address at the Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited's February meeting. Date: Tuesday February 26th.

The chapter meetings are held at Barley's Restaurant in downtown Maryville, Tennessee. Social hour begins at 6 pm. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. You do not have to be a TU member to attend. Newcomers are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited has partnered with Great Smoky Mountains National Park, voluneering and raising funding, since 1993.

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: info@littleriveroutfitters.com