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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:12 am, the temperature outside is 43.7 degrees.

Today will be partly sunny and warm. There is a chance for showers tonight and tomorrow. It will be very warm again Monday and Tuesday. Heavy rain is expected beginning Monday afternoon. Another one to two inches of rain is possible in that storm.

Rainfall was heavy again yesterday. The Knoxville Airport reported 1.66 inches, with 1.55 inches recorded in Townsend. Some rivers and streams in the Tennessee Valley were near or at flood stage.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is spilling at many dams, while knowing that more rain is coming early next week. TVA tracks average rainfall in the Tennessee Valley. They have been collecting data for 129 years. They expect 2018 to end, being the wettest year on record. The prior record was set in 1973 at 65.1 inches for the year. You can read more on the Daily Times website by CLICKING HERE.

I drove along the old road from Sevierville Highway to Walland yesterday. Little River was muddy and out of the banks. I saw a couple of spots, where the river was almost going to pour over the road. With a few more inches in river height, less than a foot, it would have happened. I planned to follow the road to Townsend, but decided otherwise when I reached Walland, after seeing water that close to the road.

Our store is located outside the 500 year flood plain. This week, I got our new insurance policy for the Little River Outfitters building. It now contains coverage for floods and earthquakes. We have had several earthquakes in the area recently. An earthquake shook our house last week. I had earthquake insurance on our house, but not on the shop building. Now we have it on both.

I’ve thought about flood insurance a lot this year, due to all the rain we have had. The coverage I bought has a $25,000 deductible, making the cost more reasonable for both disasters.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 2,090 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 4.67 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 317 cfs. The water temperature is 50.7 degrees this morning, not that it matters for fishing purposes. Little River peaked at near 5,000 cfs yesterday.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 4,780 cfs or 5.53 feet on the gauge, compared to median flow of 538 cfs. I drove along the Little Pigeon River yesterday too. It was roaring! The river peaked at over 8 feet yesterday.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 3,200 cfs, 4.46 feet, after peaking at over 8,000 cfs yesterday at the Birdtown gauge. Median flow is 581 cfs for this date.

Tellico River, at the Tellico Plains gauge, is flowing at 1,530 cfs, 4.33 feet, which compares to median flow of 284 cfs. The river peaked at near 4,000 cfs yesterday.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 857 cfs or 4.36 feet on the gauge. Median flow is 108 cfs for this date. The creek peaked at slightly over 2,000 cfs yesterday.

Little River Road from Sugarlands to Metcalf Bottoms is now open. The road from Metcalf Bottoms to the Townsend “Y” is still closed.

US 441 (Newfound Gap Road) is now open. The Gatlinburg Bypass is open.

Laurel Creek Road from the “Y” to Cades Cove is open. The Cades Cove Loop Road is still closed due to debris on the road.

These roads may open today or possibly some of them. CLICK HERE to see the Park’s Roads Twitter page. Though they are short staffed due to the partial government shutdown, the Park is still updating the page. Thank you!

The streams in the Smokies have receded since yesterday, but they are too high to safely wade and fish. It will take a while for them to be fishable again, especially with the predicted rain early next week.

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

Byron Begley
December 29, 2018  

Fly Tying Classes January, February and March 2019 Taught by Walter Babb and Brian Courtney Beginner to Advanced CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com