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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:59 am, the temperature outside is 27.7 degrees.

We will not know how much snow fell in the mountains yesterday until after 10 am. From what I saw yesterday, the peaks were white. In the valley, the snow was just clinging to the trees with no significant accumulations. I didn’t see any Park road closings listed, except Highway 441/Newfound Gap Road. It is still closed due to snow and ice like it was yesterday.

Today will be sunny with a high temperature in the upper 40’s. Tonight’s low will dip to the low 30’s or upper 20’s. Friday’s high temperature will mirror today, but the low tomorrow night will be much warmer.

Saturday and Sunday will be warmer, day and night with a high chance for rain both days. Expect highs around 60 and lows in the upper 40’s Saturday night.

Little River is flowing at 275 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.17 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 385 cfs. The water temperature is a chilly 41.2 degrees.

I think fishing will be slow today. I don’t see the water temperature rising to the upper 40’s today and certainly not into the low 50’s. Tomorrow may not show much improvement. Saturday will, especially with warm rain feeding the streams. Depending on how much snow accumulation there is on the ground now, in the high elevations, it will melt. That could affect the stream temperatures, as it melts, temporarily.

If I were picking a day to fish this weekend, I would choose Sunday. The water will have warmed some Saturday, but thunderstorms are predicted. Sunday will be cloudy, which is an advantage for anglers. The chance for rain is still high, but in the form of showers, not thunderstorms.

I don’t have a clue how warm the water will be this weekend. There are too many variables. I’m hoping for the best.

Next week looks great. It will be warm, day and night, warming further as the week progresses. Water temperatures will rise into the trout’s preferred range. Aquatic insects will be on the surface, slurped away by trout. Fly fishing for trout in the Great Smoky Mountains will be good again (unless we get heavy rain). Of course, weather changes from what is predicted too. Heck, it could snow next week.

We are always waiting for that perfect day. We have had a few perfect days this year so far. There will be more.

My perfect days are cloudy with light wind out of any direction except east. The days are warm but not hot. A threat of rain is OK. Thunderstorms are not preferred, especially on the lakes in our boat or when we fish from kayaks in the ocean or bays.

I want to see the cows standing. If they are all laying down, fishing is usually slow.

Of course, we don’t want a full moon. The fish feed at night, and they are not hungry when we are fishing. That is what I think, though there is no evidence I’ve seen to prove that belief.

The water temperature needs to be within the fish’s preferred range. That of course depends on what species you are fishing for. In lakes, that range needs to be near the surface to be my favorite day, because I use a fly rod and I hate sinking fly lines. I will use a sinking line when I have to.

Stream or river flows must be angler friendly and not dangerous.

Strong tides are great, if the moon is not full.

Perfect days don’t occur often. So, we go fishing when we can.

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

Byron Begley
March 22, 2018  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com