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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:28 am, the temperature outside is 33.4 degrees.

Today is going to be cloudy and cold. Tonight will be extremely cold. Tomorrow will be cold. Then, warm air returns this weekend. Highs in the 60’s with lows in the 50’s are predicted Saturday and Sunday.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 260 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.16 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 188 cfs. The water temperature is 44.8 degrees.

Water temperatures are plunging right now. That will continue over the next few days. The water temperature in Oconaluftee River at Birdtown is 42.4 degrees. Cataloochee Creek’s gauge site is reporting 40.5 degrees.

My experience has been, when the water temperature drops below 40 degrees, fishing slows to a crawl. There is one exception, post spawn brown trout. They are hungry right now.

Stream flows in the Smokies are good, above normal.

This is certainly not a perfect day to fish in the mountains. If you go, take an extra change of warm clothing should you get wet. I would stay close to my truck for the same reason.

I would start with nymphs, heavily weighted and fished deep. Try a streamer. A Muddler Minnow is a good choice. You may see a blue wing olive hatch. I would not count on trout feeding on the surface but it is possible when the water is cold. Personally, I would wait a few days, then go, this weekend. Fishing will be better this weekend.

We are busy at the shop preparing for the launch of a new point of sale computer system. Daniel is in charge, but I am helping. Our launch date is January 2, 2019.

We have a great event planned for you and it is Free. Walter Babb and Jack Gregory will be at the shop, tying flies and talking about fly fishing on Saturday December 15th. They will be there between 10 am and 2 pm, weather permitting. I stress “weather permitting” because when Walter is scheduled to demonstrate at the shop, it usually snows. That is one of the reasons we call him, “Bad Weather Babb”. There are other reasons.

Walter and Jack are two of the most knowledgeable and skilled fly fishing anglers I know. Though they will be tying flies, you can learn from them even if you don’t tie. They will be talking about fly fishing too. What they know is amazing. They are close friends of mine and I saw both of them yesterday.  

They will be stationed at different locations in the store, with chairs set up for you. You can spend part of the day with Jack, and the balance with Walter. They will be demonstrating simultaneously 10 until 2.

Put this event on your calendar and try to be here. All you have to do is show up. There is no charge. I hope it doesn’t snow.

Walter and Brian Courtney are teaching a beginner fly tying class on Saturday December 8th. The class lasts all day. We provide everything you need for the day, including lunch. Call the shop at 865-448-9459 to reserve a spot. It may be sold out. I’m not sure. Call to find out. CLICK HERE to learn more about this class.

If you go fishing today, dress warm.

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

Byron Begley
November 27, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com




Walter made the rod this Fall as a donation for the non-profit Needy Family Auction held in Sweetwater, Tennessee. The auction will be held at 5:30 pm, at the Sweetwater Primary School on Highway 322. You may bid by phone by calling 423-337-1212.

“The rod made for this year’s auction is a 7’ 6” 2 piece 5-weight taper originated by E.W. Edwards. He was an employee of the H.L. Leonard Rod Company, and later formed a brief partnership with Ed Payne and F.E. Thomas, Leonard employees who later started their own rod making business.

Around 1915, Edwards discovered his heat treating process, that flamed the cane to a dark brown and added amazing power to the shaft. During the next four years he and is oldest son, William E. built approximately 1,000 bamboo fly rods.

In 1919, Winchester purchased Edward’s company and convinced him to supervise rod making. High-end Winchesters built during this period were quality rods. The best Edwards Winchester was the 7 ½ ft. model, which became very popular in the Catskills and made that length the popular stream fixture it is today. Winchester low-end rods were not very good, however and after five years as foreman, Edward left to go out on his own.

This is a flamed single tip rod that casts at all distances. I tested it with a double taper line. It comes with a quality rod bag from CSE and a rod tube made by REC. It would be a good mountain rod for the Smokies and anywhere else.

Additionally, a box of dry flies and dry, dropper type nymphs are to be auctioned separately.”

Walter Babb 2018