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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:17 am, the temperature outside is 52.3 degrees.
It will be sunny and warm again today with a high temperature in the low 80’s. We have a chance for showers and thunderstorms tonight and early tomorrow morning. Sunny skies will prevail later tomorrow morning and through the day.
Little River is flowing at 525 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.68 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 255 cfs. The water temperature is 55.0 degrees this morning.
Little Pigeon River is flowing at 1,030 cfs or 2.73 feet at the Sevierville gauge. Median flow for this date is 440 cfs.
Oconaluftee River is flowing at 1,040 cfs, 2.57 feet, compared to median flow of 516 cfs.
Tellico River is flowing at 64 cfs, 2.11 feet, which compares to median flow of 277 cfs.
Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 260 cfs, 3.13 feet, compared to median flow of 111 cfs.
West Prong of the Little Pigeon River in Gatlinburg is flowing at 141 cfs or 3.67 feet.
The freestone streams in our region are flowing higher than normal, and some are still flowing quite high. They are receding slowly and that will continue today. Most of these streams are not fishable because the Park is still closed. Further downstream, in the lowland river sections, the water is swift in many rivers. Be careful wading. Wading will be limited. Fishing will be fair to good depending on which river you choose.
You may want to try fishing in the Cherokee National Forest. It may be crowded. I saw more traffic and people in Townsend yesterday, than I have seen all year. It was a beautiful day and many people were out enjoying the scenery as well as fishing in the lowland rivers. If I did not know better, I would have thought the Park was open. Most major roads in the park will open Saturday. You will be able to fish in the Smokies starting next weekend.
It looks like TVA and the Corps are generating and in some cases sluicing at most dams in our region. I did not see any wade fishing opportunities on the tailwaters but I did not check them all. Look yourself before planning your day.
Lake fishing is improving. Water levels at many lakes are receding to full pool. As the waters warm, fishing will improve in shallow water. I would use streamers for bass and Dragons for bluegill and shellcrackers. I would also try foam floating flies and poppers. Fish may be attracted to top water flies, if the water is warm enough. It will be sunny today. Go early or late. People tell me the lakes are crowded.
We are busy at the shop. Customers have become accustomed to our curb service. Mail order activity remains very strong. We are still planning to open Wednesday, to no more than 5 customers in the shop at one time. We will be wearing masks and social distancing. We expect customers will social distance too. It will be our job to make sure everyone does. Doing so will keep us compliant with orders from our Governor while providing a safer experience for you and us.
I don’t think there is any doubt, there will be a lot of visitors going to the Park next weekend. Many of those people will be driving through Cades Cove. Many others will be hiking and fishing.
Next Saturday is going to be an interesting day.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
May 3, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |