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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:32 am, the temperature outside is 45.1 degrees.
It will be sunny again today with a high temperature in the low 70’s dropping to the upper 50’s tonight. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high in the low 80’s. Saturday will be partly sunny with a high in the upper 70’s. We have a chance for showers Sunday. One of the weather websites indicate we may have some scattered thunderstorms. That is not mentioned on the National Weather Service website. It will be sunny and cooler Monday with a high in the upper 60’s.
Little River is flowing at 1,320 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 3.78 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 347 cfs. The water temperature is 50.9 degrees this morning.
All streams in the Smoky Mountains are flowing too high to safely wade today. I looked at all of the gauges and I don’t see any good fishing opportunities in the Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is temporarily closed so I guess it doesn’t matter.
The freestone streams are receding in the mountains. Because the Park is closed until April 6th, we should focus our attention to the National Forests. Both Cherokee National Forests are open as far as I know. There are many National Forests surrounding the Great Smokies in North Carolina. There are miles and miles of trout streams in these forests. Do some research and look for new opportunities. You might be surprised.
When the lowland river water levels become fishable, there will be more places to fly fish for trout and smallmouth bass.
We have tailwater fly fishing for trout, smallmouth bass and other species to look forward to. Check the anticipated generation schedules from the list below over the next few days. I didn’t see any this morning. We have had a lot of rain lately. TVA and the Corps will keep the lake levels within their operating guide, to prepare for future rain. But, at some point, the tailwaters will be another option.
What about the lakes? Fly fishing in shallow water is improving as the waters warm. Anglers are catching fish on the lakes right now in the Southern US. Soon, the fish will be feeding on the surface here. Maybe they are now. If you have a boat, canoe or kayak, go to a lake nearby, wherever you live. I enjoy fly fishing on the lakes. I especially love tying warmwater flies. Here, we have 9 impoundments to choose from and more depending on how far we are willing to drive. You may have less or more depending on where you live. Find out what you have available if you don’t know.
It is beautiful here right now. Paula cleaned and stored our four bird feeders. Bird feeding is over for us, because the bears are active. Last evening, the birds were still flying to and landing on the posts that held the feeders for them all Winter. They look confused and disappointed. The birds will be fine now.
The redbud trees are gorgeous here right now. The trees in the forest around our house are showing their colors, unobstructed by the other trees that have not grown leaves. The redbuds at the shop are blooming, though they have not reached their full potential display.
Wildflowers are blooming. And, we have sunshine, something we have not seen much of lately.
There is nothing quite as inspiring as Spring in the Southern Appalachians. I love living here. It is nice to be inspired today.
Today is especially nice for me because I have decided not to work. I’ve been working seven days a week for a long time. I plan to rest, here in my home office. I will be back at the shop tomorrow. You probably noticed the fishing report is a little late today. I didn’t get out of bed until 6:15 am. It has been months since I did that.
My office here is also my fly tying room. I have a large desk devoted to flies and a closet next to the desk for tying material storage. I’ve got a TV and a sofa in here. Heck, I may take a nap. I may take two naps. There are three large windows in here, with two facing the forest behind our home. I may see a bear. I will definitely see wild turkeys. That is a daily occurrence. Daniel told me yesterday, having a day off will be good for me. We’ll see.
Paula, on the other hand is going to continue her mission to rid our land of invasive mimosa trees today, before they bloom and spread. She has been working on this for a while. She began last Spring.
The Gator is loaded with tools, including her chain saw. Yep, she has her own chain saw. I gave it to her as a Christmas gift. We have other chain saws but they are gasoline powered. Hers is powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries. These electric chain saws have come a long way. Hers is a Stihl.
She is sawing them down, drilling holes in the stumps, and filling the holes with some kind of salt. She is capping the holes with something. I think it is wax. The removed trees end up on the neighborhood burn pile and the stumps are left to rot.
So, that is how we are going to spend our day. Paula is going to be outside working and I’m going to be a lazy bum.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
March 26, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
