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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:46 am, the temperature is 39.7 degrees.

We have a chance for showers this morning and a high temperature today in the mid to upper 40’s. A low temperature tonight is predicted to be in the mid-30’s in the valley with a low chance for light rain. Snow is expected in the higher elevations today and tonight.

Little River is flowing at 359 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.37 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 228 cfs. The water temperature is 42.8 degrees this morning.

Fishing will be mostly slow in the mountains due to the chilly water conditions. If you go, use heavy nymphs. High sticking or Euro nymphing may produce a few strikes, especially from larger post spawn brown trout. Fish the low elevations where the water is warmer. These conditions are not ideal for angling.

Lowland river fishing will be slow for smallmouth bass. Stocked trout may be somewhat active. Pistol Creek and the pond in downtown Maryville has been stocked with trout. They may be catchable. Nymphs will probably work best.

There are breaks in the generation schedule at a couple of dams today, specifically, Norris and Center Hill. There may be others. You may find some tailwater fishing opportunities today, especially if you are boating.

It is going to be chilly on the lakes. It will be overcast and wind won’t be a problem today. I don’t know if you will catch fish but you could try. This could be a good trout or striper day, depending on which lake you choose. We have nine impoundments nearby.

I drove to the shop at about 7:00 am yesterday morning, worked a couple of hours then came home, taking the day almost off. I was about to pull into one of our driveways and a bobcat ran right in front of my truck. That was a big bobcat! Paula and I were sitting in the house, looking outside and a small bobcat walked by the back door a few weeks ago. It walked by again, from the other direction with a dead squirrel in his mouth. I actually watched a bobcat kill a squirrel outside my home office window a year or so ago. I was standing in the window watching from just a few feet away.

Once, we watched as a bobcat climbed a tree behind our house, chasing a squirrel. The squirrel won.

These wild cats love to catch squirrels.

You may have seen the photos below before that I took from my home office window. This cat was waiting for squirrels to come down from the trees one morning. I was just a few feet away and I could see his torso moving has he breathed. The cat yawned often. It was there for a while and I thought at one point it was going to fall asleep. After a while, he gave up and walked away. The last photo was taken by our neighbor from their house.

I was pulling our boat out of the water at a ramp on one of the lakes. Two guys pulled up in their boat to the courtesy dock. They recounted seeing a bobcat swimming across the lake. They drove their boat close to the cat and watched. I asked why they did not dip it out of the water with their landing net. I would like to have seen that from a distance. We all laughed.

Most people never see a bobcat. We don’t see them often. When we do, it is an event. They are out there.

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

Byron Begley
December 20, 2020

 

Buy a Walter Babb made bamboo fly rod or his beautiful 10- dozen flies for charity.

“Due to Covid-19, there will not be a Needy Family Fund Auction this year. I made a rod and tied some flies for the Auction this Spring, so I will be selling them and the proceeds will go to the Needy Family Fund.

Th rod is an 8’ 0” 2 piece 6-weight Stan’s Blackfoot, a great taper from Stan Smartt. This is a single tip rod. The price is $850 plus sales tax.

There is also a box of 10 dozen of my favorite nymphs and wet flies. The price is $253.95 plus sales tax if you are a Tennessee resident.

If interested, call Walter Babb at 423-337-6772. I have many other rods, in case someone wants a rod for lighter lines or a shorter small stream type rod.”

Walter   

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com