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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:22 am, the temperature outside is 57.0 degrees.
We got more rain yesterday, 1.14 inches at the Knoxville Airport and 1.34 inches in Townsend.
More rain is predicted today and overnight. Rain may be heavy at times. Thursday and Friday will be sunny and warm. We may see a high temperature in the low 80’s Friday.
Little River is flowing at 1,190 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 3.59 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 381 cfs. The water temperature is 53.8 degrees this morning.
Little Pigeon River is flowing at 3,230 cfs, 4.54 feet, compared to median flow of 698 cfs.
Oconaluftee River is flowing at 1,510 cfs, 3.06 feet, compared to median flow of 666 cfs.
Tellico River is flowing at 1,170 cfs, 3.59 feet, compared to median flow of 343 cfs.
Cataloochee River is flowing at 270 cfs, 3.16 feet, which compares to median flow of 148 cfs.
West Prong of the Little Pigeon River at Gatlinburg is flowing at 308 cfs, 4.35 feet, which compares to median flow of 83 cfs.
The streams are flowing high as you can see. You could not wade safely in many if not all of them. With more rain coming today and tonight. Fishing will be slow for a few days.
Lowland rivers are flowing high. Fly fishing for stocked trout or smallmouth bass will be slow.
Though TVA and the Corps of Engineers are generating at most dams today, I did see some breaks at Cherokee, Douglas and South Holston dams. Maybe there is a chance you can work with their schedules and fish a tailwater today. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what you think.
We are still open, taking care of you with curbside service and mail order. We did not serve many customers yesterday because of the nasty weather and bad fishing conditions. We did meet our daily sales goal thanks to mail orders. There were four of us working at the shop.
I designed an e-mail that will be sent out to you this morning.
As a cost cutting measure, I reduced my salary to zero. Everyone else is getting paid.
Just for fun, I visited the Tennessee.gov website to see if I could draw unemployment. I have been paying into the unemployment fund since 1973, for me and many other people. I have never drawn unemployment in my life so I don’t know much about it except, paying in.
I found that I can draw, but I have to start looking for a job and report the details of my job interviews. I can’t do that. I’m working over 60 hours a week, seven days. When would I have time to apply for a job?
I was telling the guys at the shop what I learned. Bill said, “Byron, nobody would hire you anyway”. I added, “If they did, I would be fired in a week”.
Lets face it, I am accustomed to telling myself what to do. And, I have to write everything I tell myself to do down, so I don’t forget. My to-do list looks like an insurance policy. It is actually typed, reviewed and prioritized.
We all laughed. You know what? Laughter is a good thing. We have been doing that a lot at the shop lately and it helps.
Our spirits are high. We are enjoying our work. Everything at LRO is going pretty well. We will all be happier when things are back to normal.
I hope you are doing well too. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for your “well wishes”. That means a lot to us. Stay safe.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
IMPORTANT NEWS - GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK IS CLOSING TODAY AT NOON THROUGH MONDAY APRIL 6TH. FOOTHILLS PARKWAY AND THE SPUR WILL BE OPEN.
"Park closes to Support Regional COVID-19 Preventon Efforts.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that all park areas, except Foothills Parkway and the Spur, will close at noon on Tuesday, March 24 through Monday, April 6, in a continuing effort to support federal, state and local efforts to slow the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The park will continue to assess changing conditions in our region and work with local communities to extend or terminate closures, as appropriate to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, partners and local residents.
All acces to the park, inclluding trails and roads, will temporarily
close in alignment with efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 across the region. This includes Executive Order 117 issued by NC Governor Roy Cooper, Executive Order 17 issued by TN Governor Bill Lee, Executive Order 6 issued by Principal Chief Richard Sneed of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, Graham County travel restrictions, Pigeon Forge, TN Safe-at-home Advisory and requests to close or partially close the park received from Swain County, Sevier County, and Bryson City, NC.
Despite park efforts over the last week to comply with the Centers for Desease Control's (CDC) guidance for social distancing, approximately 30,000 people entered the park daily resulting in congested conditions at popular locations such as Laurel Falls, Newfound Gap, and Cades Cove. Visitors from across the country have flocked to the area due to Spring Break, wildlowers and warm weather conditions. This two-week park closure allows the park to suppert local efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
Byron Begley
March 24, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
