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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:26 am, the temperature outside is 47.7 degrees.
Today and tonight will be warm, with a good chance for showers. Tomorrow and Saturday will continue to be warm, with a chance for showers each day and night. Highs should be in the 50’s with lows in the 40’s.
Little River is flowing at 651 cubic feet per second (cs) or 2.92 feet on the flow gauge. We consider a gauge reading of 2.5 feet to be on the high side of good. Median flow for this date is 339 cfs. The water temperature is 52.2 degrees this morning, within the preferred temperature range for trout.
Little Pigeon River is still flowing fairly high at the Sevierville gauge. Flow is currently 1,440 cfs, 3.24 feet, compared to median flow of 624 cfs for this date.
Oconaluftee River is flowing at 1,670 cfs, 6.22 feet, compared to median flow of 645 cfs. The water temperature is 49.6 degrees.
Tellico River is flowing at 849 cfs, 2.87 feet, compared to median flow of 328 cfs.
Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 402 cfs, 3.50 feet, which compares to median flow of 138 cfs. The water temperature is 47.7 degrees.
The streams are still swift so be careful wading.
I would choose a lower elevation smaller stream to fish. I would start using weighted nymphs. You may see early Spring hatches at times. Be prepared with dry fly patterns and wet flies. You may see Quill Gordon, Blue Quill or Blue Wing Olive adults on the water. You may see other aquatic adult insects.
If you do, switch to a dry fly that resembles what you see. Quill Gordon or Hare’s Ear wet flies may work well too. Try dropping a wet fly off your dry.
Fishing is probably going to be fair over the next few days, until the cold air arrives Sunday. That also depends on how much rain falls today, through Sunday. Heavy rain is not predicted.
Don’t expect perfect fishing conditions quite yet. We need lower flows. Water temperatures will fall early next week. If they fall below the upper 40’s, fishing will slow.
The lowland rivers are flowing very high.
The tailwaters are blown out for now. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is spilling or sluicing at most of the dams, to create water storage capacity in the reservoirs. The lake levels are near or exceeding Summer pool. TVA will lower the lakes back to the low levels they prefer this time of the year, anticipating heavy spring rain and runoff.
I talked to a frequent lake fisherman yesterday. He told me the lake fishing for bass is fairly good. He is an avid tournament fisherman. I don’t think he uses a fly rod. He lives in upper East Tennessee.
Two of the most knowledgeable stream trout fly fishermen I know will be featured at the shop Saturday. They will be tying flies and talking about fly fishing, simultaneously at different locations in the shop. They are my friends, Walter Babb and Jack Gregory. This is the last Winter Free Fly Tying Demonstration. All you have to do is show up. They will be demonstrating between 10 am and 2 pm.
As usual, we will have chairs for you, near the tying tables where they are demonstrating. You don’t want to miss this, whether you tie flies or you don’t. You will learn about fly fishing and fly tying, by watching and listening to Jack and Walter.
Wild turkeys have been gobbling, fanning out and strutting for at least two weeks. It seems like they start earlier every year. Paula saw four gobblers strutting at once yesterday. I see them in front of our house doing the same thing almost every day, lately.
A friend of ours, who is an avid turkey hunter was at our house earlier this week repairing our carport. A propane truck backed into the carport recently. He could not believe how many turkeys he saw and how close they were to him. They don’t get hunted much. One of our neighbors, across the creek is feeding them.
They won’t be so tame when turkey hunting season opens next month. When human hunters arrive in the forest on opening day, the turkeys know something is different. They become very wary. The difference in their demeanor changes drastically, from one day to the next. It is so obvious, like someone “flipped a switch”.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
February 28, 2019
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Fly Tying Classes January, February and March 2019
Taught by Walter Babb and Brian Courtney
Beginner to Advanced
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