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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 44.8 degrees.
Light rain is expected today with a high temperature near 50 degrees. Tonight’s low will dip to around 36 degrees. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high in the mid-50’s.
Little River is flowing at 496 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.63 feet on the flow gauge. That compares to median flow of 257 cfs for this date. The river is rising. The water temperature is rising as well. Currently the water temp is 48.2 degrees.
Little Pigeon River is flowing at 888 cfs, 2.62 feet, compared to median flow for this date of 347 cfs. The river is rising slowly this morning.
Oconaluftee River is rising sharply. Current flow is 1,430 cfs, 3.03 feet, which compares to median flow of 464 cfs. The water temperature is 46.9 degrees and rising.
Tellico River is flowing at 403 cfs, 1.84 feet, compared to median flow of 210 cfs for this date.
Cataloochee Creek is receding. Flow there is 275 cfs, 3.19 feet, compared to median flow of 83 cfs. The water temperature is 45.3 degrees.
As you can see, the streams in the Park are all flowing above normal. Some streams may be safe to wade but be careful if you go. They are swift. They will probably start receding soon, as some already have. Fishing may be better later today or tomorrow.
Water temperatures are not bad, especially in the low elevations. And, at this point they are continuing to warm.
Fishing is probably fair, depending on where you go. I think there is a good chance Little River will peak soon and recede. Fish the lower elevations where the water is warmer. Nymphs and streamers will probably work best. There is a chance for a blue wing olive hatch, so be prepared for that.
Tailwater fishing opportunities in our area are not available due to excessive generation and in some cases, sluicing at the dams. The Corps of Engineers continues to spill at Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky.
You might find fair to good fishing on some of the lowland rivers where trout are stocked. That is something I can’t predict. I think most of them will be flowing high but the water is probably fairly warm.
Visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park has broken an all time record this year with one month to go. Estimates put the year’s visitation to the Park at 12 million people. You can read a story about this on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
December 14, 2019
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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A bamboo fly rod made by Walter Babb and 10 dozen flies tied by him will be auctioned off on Saturday December 14th at about 5:30 to 6:00 pm. This auction benefits the Needy Family Fund of Sweetwater Tennessee. This organization is made up of 20 area churches and raises money to buy food for families in need for Christmas. The auction will be held at the Sweetwater Primary School located at 500 Highway 322 East in Sweetwater.
You do not have to be present to bid on the rod or the flies. Call Phil Roy beforehand, at 423-337-1212 to register. You will be given several phone numbers to call in your bid during the live auction.
Below is what Walter told me about these auction items:
“The rod I made for the Needy Family Auction this year is a seven foot, 2 Piece, 4-weight Wayne Cattanach taper. Wayne is the author of Handcrafting Bamboo Fly Rods, one of the teaching books for me. This is a flamed single tip rod with a Hormigo Negro wooden spacer. In Spanish it is called an ant tree. Reel seat, spacer and ferrules are made by Baily Wood of Classic Sporting Enterprises. Also, the rod bag and rod tube are made by REC.
The box of flies are 10 dozen of my favorite nymphs. They include, three types of Tellico Nymphs, the Gray Squirrel nymph, George Nymph, Bead Head Peasant Tail, Atherton’s Medium Nymph, Bead Head Prince Nymph and Mr. Rapidan Emerger. This is my core group of nymphs that I use in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest and in Western North Carolina. I carry a few others for special occasions or hatches.” |
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