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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:13 am, the temperature outside is 38.7 degrees.
Today will be sunny with a high temperature in the low 40’s. Tonight’s low will dip into the mid-20’s. Expect highs in the 40’s and lows in the 20’s to low 30’s through Saturday night. Sunday will be warmer with a fair chance for rain.
Little River is flowing at 124 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.76 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 258 cfs. The water temperature is 37 degrees this morning.
Fishing will be slow this week, at least through Saturday. Warmer temperatures and rain Sunday and Monday will raise the water temperature, maybe enough to improve the fishing some.
If you go, use nymphs, weighted. The trout will be sluggish. Some post spawn brown trout could be active.
If you can work with TVA’s generation schedule on the Clinch River, go fishing there. Tailwaters are good choices for trout anglers during the Winter months, when the water is cold in the freestone streams.
Winter is a good time to tie flies, preparing for next Spring. I tied a dozen cress bugs last week, to take to Kentucky. Some friends and I met there Sunday to fish on Hatchery Creek. We rented a cabin at Lake Cumberland State Park. I left the dang flies on my tying desk at home. They didn’t make the journey. It did not matter. Those trout were hitting about anything we tied on. I searched for those flies the whole time we were there.
I read this morning, Tom Morgan Rodsmiths has opened a new shop in Bozeman, Montana. Tom Morgan, the former owner of R.L. Winston Rod Company, passed away this Summer. Tom and his wife sold Rodsmiths before his death. You can read the story on the Angling Trade website by CLICKING HERE.
Tom Morgan had never made a fly rod before buying R. L. Winston.
I found another interesting article about a trout farmer in Cherokee, North Carolina. He is using solar power and insect attractors to lower his operating costs. The article appears on the Indian Country Today website. You can read it by CLICKING HERE.
There is an old trout farm upstream on the spring creek that runs through our property here. I talked to the owner recently, about a beaver problem we have, but I didn’t find out if he is still raising trout.
Years ago, the farm was in operation under the name “Terry’s Trout Farm”. A restaurant prepared and served fresh trout. It was a very popular place to fish and eat. Terry and his wife Gail, sold the farm to Larry, the current owner. He operated under the name Tuckaleechee Trout Farm for several years. Then, one day, the sign was taken down and the business closed.
I assumed he continued raising trout to sell to local markets. I don’t know that for a fact. Now that the leaves have fallen, I can see the ponds when I drive by. Everything looks about the same as before.
Years ago, I frequently bought live rainbow trout from Terry. I would transport them in a cooler downstream to this property to be released. My buddy Frank and I made two battery powered trout feeders from deer feeders. They were suspended over the creek in two locations. Built in timers fed the trout twice a day. The trout stayed near the feeders, waiting for the early morning and late afternoon meals. There were trout as large as 22” in the creek.
Paula and I were dating. She caught her first trout on a fly rod in the creek. I think it was about 16” long. She has been fly fishing ever since.
The artificial fishery attracted people onto the property. That became a problem so I ceased feeding and the large trout moved on. There has always been a population of small trout in the creek. I don’t know for sure if they escape from the trout farm, or populated through natural reproduction.
That project was a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll do it again some day.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
December 14, 2017
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |