Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:34 am, the temperature is 30 degrees.
It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the middle 50’s, dropping to the middle 30’s tonight. Wednesday will be sunny and warmer with a high in the low 60’s and a low in the upper 40’s.
Thursday will be warm and wet, with a high in the low to middle 60’s. Rain will continue through Thursday night.
Friday will be cold. There is a slight chance for light snow in the valley. The high temperature will only reach the upper 30’s.
Daniel and I met with Chris, our Simms sales representative yesterday. We were supposed to meet early. He encountered snow and ice on highway 441 from Cherokee, NC to Gatlinburg, and turned around. His drive to Townsend took two hours longer than he anticipated.
Little River is flowing at 461 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.59 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 293 cfs. The water temperature is 43.0 degrees this morning and falling.
Most streams in the mountains are flowing higher than normal. Water temperatures are falling this morning, well below the trout’s preferred range.
You might catch trout if you go. Your best option is to fish with weighted nymphs or tandem nymph rigs. Fishing will be better later today after the water temperatures begin to warm. Fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer.
Fishing for stocked trout in the lower elevations may be fair today, depending on how cold the water becomes and if it warms later today. You will likely do best using weighted nymph or nymph rigs. You may want to try small nymphs and light tippet without using a stripe indicator.
There are pauses in the generation schedules at several dams today, with most being in the afternoon. If you are hoping to fish on a tailwater today, check the schedules at Center Hill, Cherokee, Wilbur, Wolf Creek, Dale Hollow, South Holston and Chatuge dams. You may be able to work in some tailwater fishing time with careful planning.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reports the average rainfall each year in the Tennessee Valley, which spans 41,000 square miles. 2022 was another wet year, with 55 inches of precipitation recorded. According to TVA, 2022 was the sixth straight year with above normal rainfall in the basin.
2020 was the wettest year on record at 70 inches. You can read more about this report on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
January 10, 2022
FREE FLY TYING DEMONSTRATIONS EACH WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY MARCH
We will be holding many free fly tying demonstrations on the weekends over the next two months, some on Saturdays and others on Sunday afternoons. CLICK HERE to see the list of fly tyers who will be demonstrating, including the dates and times. These demonstrations are free. No reservation is necessary. All you have to do is show up at the shop. This schedule could change due to unforeseeable circumstances, including weather conditions, sickness or other causes. Check this fishing report where any cancellations or changes will be posted.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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