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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:39 am, the temperature outside is 52.5 degrees.
Storms with heavy rain blew into Townsend at 1:48 am this morning. So far, 1.18” of rain has fallen. Light rain is still falling but this weather front has just about fizzled out.
In a few hours it will be sunny, but cool. Temperatures will not rise through the day. They may fall through the day and they will certainly fall tonight. We are under a freeze warning tonight. Expect a low around 30 degrees. Tomorrow will be warmer, with a high in the mid-60’s and a low falling to only the mid-40’s tomorrow night. Rain arrives again Friday afternoon, continuing through Saturday, along with cooler temperatures. It may freeze again Saturday night.
Little River is flowing at 332 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.31 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 385 cfs. The water temperature is a perfect 57.6 degrees.
Little River is rising. If as much rain fell in the Park, as we got here in Townsend this morning, the rivers will continue to rise for a few hours. I don’t know how much rain fell in the Smokies. My guess is, the Park got plenty of rain. The streams could become very high. I hope not.
The Little Pigeon River just peaked at the Sevierville gauge. That gives me hope that Little River will peak soon. Abrams Creek is rising very quickly. That makes me think Little River will not peak soon. Cattaloochee Creek on the east side of the Park is rising fast.
I don’t know what to say except, wait and see what happens. Check the USGS gauges by clicking the links below. If Little River rises to 2.5 feet, the water is going to be fairly high and possibly stained. If the flow passes the 3.0 mark, the water is going to be very high. Most fly fishermen prefer flows on Little River to be 2.5 feet or below. Some anglers think 2.5 feet is high.
Water temperatures will fall tonight. It is hard to predict how cold the streams will become. They will warm tomorrow and Friday, then fall again Saturday night.
Check the U.S. Drought Monitor by CLICKING HERE. Parts of the Southeast, including here, are in good shape. Drought conditions persist in Coastal South Carolina, mid to South Georgia, South Alabama and South Florida. To our west, the drought is awful, extreme and exceptional in some states. The U.S. Drought Monitor will be updated tomorrow morning.
Have you noticed how much the weather influences our fishing? We notice how much the weather influences our fly fishing business.
Trout season opened in New York this past weekend. I don’t know why they still have a trout season. Low temperatures will dip to the low to mid 20’s every night through the weekend in Roscoe, New York. The water temperature in the Beaverkill River is 37.6 degrees this morning.
I have spent quite a bit of time in Roscoe. That beautiful little town is located in the Catskills. They call Roscoe, “Trout Town USA”. That is appropriate. Fly fishing history in America developed there, and significant people to the sport, lived or fished there long ago. The Darby’s, Dette’s, and Theodore Gordon come to mind. Jim Payne comes to my mind.
I met an older gentleman, on the banks of the Beaverkill a few years ago, who worked for Jim Payne in the rod factory. Walter Babb was there. He and this man talked for hours about bamboo fly rods, and they kept in touch afterwards.
Joan Wulff has a home near Roscoe. I’ve been to her house. Paula has been there more than once. Joan is a great lady. She is short and petite, but she can cast further than just about anyone I have met. She is accurate too. She can pick leaves off a tree with a fly, intentionally. I’ve seen her do it. I pick leaves off the trees with a fly too, unintentionally.
Enjoy the Roscoe, New York website by CLICKING HERE.
Little River is still rising.
UPDATE 2:21 PM - LITTLE RIVER PEAKED AT ABOUT 2.4 FEET. THE FLOW IS ON THE HIGH SIDE OF GOOD. THE WATER TEMPERATURE IS 56 DEGREES. GO FISHING IF YOU CAN.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
April 4, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |