Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:40 am, the temperature is 48 degrees.
We are in for a couple of beautiful days with plenty of sunshine and no rain. Today will be sunny with a high temperature in the middle 50’s and a low tonight in the middle 30’s. Tomorrow will be sunny again and slightly warmer with a high in the upper 50’s and a low in the low 40’s. Rain returns to the forecast Wednesday.
Little River is flowing at 454 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.58 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 279 cfs. The water temperature is 52.5 degrees this morning.
Streams in the mountains have receded to fishable levels. Most are flowing higher than normal for this date. Water temperatures are within the trout’s preferred range in the low to middle elevations.
This will be a good nymph fishing day in the Smokies. Try weighted tandem rigs. Streamers may produce for you, especially when casting to post spawn brown trout.
Fishing for stocked trout has improved as water levels are now closer to normal. Try weighted nymphs or rigs. Try streamers too.
You may find smallmouth bass to be sluggish in the lowland rivers. They prefer warmer water but they may be interested in nymphs or streamers.
TVA and the Corps of Engineers will be generating all day at almost every dam I checked this morning. One exception I saw was a break this afternoon at Chatuge Dam. There may be others so check the TVA website to see what is happening at your favorite tailwater.
It looks like the mountain wild trout streams or the stocked trout streams are your best options today. Some of these streams are flowing higher than anglers prefer. We have had a wet December so far. Using the Knoxville Airport as a reference, rainfall has amounted to 3.94 inches this month. Normal is 1.89 inches. The extra 2 inches has made a significant difference in the stream levels during the past 11 days.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
December 12, 2022
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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