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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:16 am, the temperature outside is 35.1 degrees.

Today, through the weekend will be warmer, with highs in the low to upper 50’s and lows in the upper 20’s to mid-30’s. No rain is predicted through Sunday.

Little River is flowing at 127 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.67 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 143 cfs. The water temperature is 41.9 degrees and steady.

Water temperatures are rising in the Smokies streams. The temperature at the low elevation gauge site near Townsend rose three degrees from the low temperature yesterday. That trend should continue through the weekend.

Fishing will improve as water temperatures rise. I don’t know how warm the streams will become, but they will warm further over the next three days.

The water will be warmer in the lower elevations, so I would fish in those areas of the streams. In the Little River watershed, consider fishing the lower Middle Prong, lower West Prong and the East Prong below Elkmont. The streams will be warmer there.

It is a good idea to carry a thermometer in your vest or pack. Check the temperatures as you fish. I don’t know if it is possible, but hopefully we’ll see some water temperatures near 50 degrees at some point this weekend, in those low elevation streams and maybe higher.

Wait and go fishing later. The stream temperatures will be dropping at night, and rising during the day, when the sun is on the water and the air temperatures are warmer.

I would plan on using nymphs. There is always a chance for a blue wing olive hatch this time of the year. Be prepared for that.

Fishing has been good on some of the trout tailwaters so there may be opportunities for you on some of them this weekend. Watch the generation schedules each day on the TVA website. You can use the links below.

In 1991, US Fish and Wildlife Service re-introduced the American Red Wolf into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I had not lived here long, when that happened. That was an exciting time for me and many others.

Some were released in Cades Cove, not far from our home. I remember there was an acclimation pen installed somewhere near Thunderhead Prong. Wolves were supposedly kept there before being released. A metal bridge was built, so biologists could transport food by foot, to the pen. I fished up there often, and crossed that bridge to reach the other side of the Thunderhead Prong. I never saw the pen.

At night, we could hear the wolves howling occasionally. Most reports of sightings were from people who camped in Cades Cove. They heard most of the howling at night too.

The wolves were equipped with radio collars, so biologists could track them. A National Park biologist showed up at our home early one morning. He had tracked a red wolf to our property. He told me, “I think the wolf is down near your barn”. He went down there, armed with a tranquilizer gun to retrieve the wolf. I went to work at the shop and never saw the man again. I don’t know if he captured the wolf.

The re-introduction was eventually declared a failure. Coyotes were quickly populating the Smoky Mountains, cross breeding with the wolves, and competing for food. There are still a few red wolves remaining in the wild, but probably not in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

There are some in captivity, including several at the Knoxville Zoo.

There is a very interesting story about the red wolf and the attempted re-introduction in the Smokies on the WBIR website. You can read it by CLICKING HERE.

As far as I know, I never saw one during those years. I may have, but they could have been coyotes.

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

Byron Begley
November 15, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com