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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 7:07 am, the temperature outside is 38.0 degrees.

Today will be mostly sunny and warm with a high temperature in the low 60’s. Tomorrow, Friday and Saturday will be warmer, with highs in the upper 60’s to lower 70’s. Expect rain Saturday night and early Sunday. Sunday will be cooler.

Little River is flowing at 222 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.05 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 334 cfs. The water temperature is 47.3 degrees and falling.

Fishing may be slow this morning. The water temperatures have been falling since yesterday morning. The water will warm today. Fishing will be best this afternoon. As the water warms further through Saturday, fishing will continue to improve. I think fishing will be very good tomorrow through Saturday and maybe Sunday.

Nymphs will probably work best early today. Dry flies should produce later this afternoon. I would use a Pheasant Tail early, then switch to a Parachute Adams dry fly #14 or smaller later. You may want to drop a small bead head nymph off your dry fly. Or, use a wet fly as a dropper.

Fishing for trout in the lower Little River through Townsend is very good. The river has been stocked and a lot of trout have been caught. I have always used an olive Wooly Bugger when fishing for trout in town. A black bugger will probably work too.

The water level at Norris Lake is at the same point it was last year at this time.  TVA is still sluicing at Norris Dam. Maybe that will end soon.

TVA is still sluicing and generating at Cherokee Dam. They have curtailed sluicing at Douglas Dam. Douglas Lake is at the approximate level as last year on this date.

Center Hill Dam is sluicing and Wolf Creek Dam at Lake Cumberland in Kentucky is still spilling. The water level at Lake Cumberland is three feet above Summer pool and much higher than Winter pool.

Through April, the lakes will be allowed to rise for the recreation boating and fishing season. The lake level at Norris was actually rising last year at this time. If we do not get heavy rain in the Tennessee Valley, some lakes, including Norris, should be on the rise intentionally. That would allow TVA to cut back the discharge at some dams. I hope that happens soon.

It is a beautiful morning in the Smoky Mountains. Puffy clouds are hovering over the mountains. Low fog is blocking some of the mountains from my view. The sun will pop over the ridges any minute.

Since I started working in my office at the shop, and not at home, I am seeing some spectacular sunrises. I get here at about 6:45 and it is dark. When I start working it is still dark. Then, over the next hour, the sky becomes lit at dawn.

Fog moved in and I can’t see any of the mountains now. It will be gone soon.

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

Byron Begley
March 27, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com

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