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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:13 am, the temperature outside is 39.2 degrees.
It rained overnight. We got .15 inches here and the Knoxville Airport reported .25 inches. We are under a frost advisory. It is too warm at our house for that.
It will be sunny today with a high in the upper 50’s dropping to the low to mid 30’s again tonight. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer, with a high in the upper 60’s. Monday will be sunny and fairly warm again.
Little River is flowing at 485 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.61 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 225 cfs. The water temperature is 49.6 degrees this morning. The river is receding.
Little Pigeon River is rising in Sevierville. Flow is 1,050 cfs, 2.75 feet, which compares to median flow of 404 cfs.
Oconaluftee River is flowing at 1,070 cfs, 2.60 feet, compared to median flow of 475 cfs. The water temperature is 48.4 degrees at the Birdtown gauge.
Tellico River is receding. Current flow is 464 cfs, 2.11 feet, compared to median flow of 232 cfs.
Cataloochee Creek is receding, with a current reading of 187 cfs or 2.90 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 98 cfs. The water temperature is 46.2 degrees.
West Prong of the Little Pigeon River at Gatlinburg is flowing at 202 cfs or 3.96 feet on the gauge.
Most stream levels rose overnight and most are receding. Water levels will continue to fall over the next few days. You should not have any problem finding fishable water in some watersheds. Some streams are swift in places so be careful wading. Little River’s flow is just about on the high side of good. It will be soon.
Water temperatures are on the chilly side this morning, especially in the higher elevations. They will warm some, later today, then chill again tonight. The water will warm further tomorrow and into next week.
I would fish the lower elevations today where the water is warmer. Nymphs will probably work best. Fishing should improve later in the day. The same holds true tomorrow.
This is the re-opening day at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The main roads will be open. Some less traveled secondary roads will stay closed temporarily. I think upper Tremont Road and Elkmont Road will be closed. I read that yesterday.
I know everyone is excited to be fishing in the Smokies again.
The lowland rivers are flowing fairly high. Wading will be limited in some rivers. Nymphs and streamers will work best for trout and smallmouth bass.
I do not see a lot of good news for trout tailwater anglers today. TVA is generating at the dams I checked, though there are some breaks in the flows. With no more rain expected in several days, maybe we will get a better break tomorrow. Check the flows yourself from the links below. Some tailwaters may be fishable today for those wading.
We are busy at the shop and things are going well. Customers are back and we are happy about that. Though we are limiting customers to five at one time in the building, that has not been a problem for anyone so far.
Everyone is social distancing well. We are wearing masks and many of our customers are too. There were five of us working in the shop yesterday. At times we probably had five customers at once. It never seemed crowded at all. I was working in the fly tying department or my office all day. I got to help some customers and talked to friends. It kind of felt normal again.
We do not know what to expect today. I’ve got a feeling there will be plenty of visitors in the Smokies. Some will be men and women fishing. Others will be hiking. A lot of people will be driving around enjoying the scenery. Cades Cove will probably be packed with vehicles. We may have light snow in the higher elevations.
I can’t wait to see and hear what it is like up there and in town. Our businesses in Townsend and other gateways to the Smokies need visitors right now. Our towns rely on tourism and local visitors to be prosperous. People’s jobs depend on tourists. I think this change came just in time. I believe we have learned to be careful.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
May 9, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
