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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:53 am, the temperature outside is 40.1 degrees.

Today will be very warm, with highs near 60 degrees in the low elevations. A strong storm will move into the area today, bringing high winds and rain. One to two inches of rain is possible today, especially in the high elevations. Much of the Park is under a “High Wind Warning”. Wind gusts of 40 miles per hour or greater are possible.

Snow is likely by tomorrow morning. The high elevations may get up to three inches. Snow is expected to be less in the valleys. It will be very cold Sunday and Sunday night. Monday will be clear and cold.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 311 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.29 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 273 cfs. The water temperature is 46.0 degrees this morning.

The streams are warm now, and they will warm further today. Fishing will improve. Trout will be actively feeding on whatever they can find to eat. Aquatic insects may be active too. Water this warm is unusual in January.

One problem is going to be the wind. The weather forecast for Townsend indicates gust to 25 miles per hour. The same forecast for Mount Leconte, describes the wind starting at 30 to 40 miles per hour, increasing to 40 to 60 miles per hour this afternoon, with gusts as high as 75 miles per hour.

You do not want to be in the forest fishing, if these wind expectations are met. Remember, a woman was killed a few weeks ago by a fallen tree on a windy day, while hiking in the Smokies.

Also, between one and two inches of rain is possible, with locally higher amounts, especially in the higher elevations. Streams will likely rise today at some point. According to the National Weather Service, “locally higher amounts will lead to localized areas of flooding”.

Temperatures will fall tonight and into tomorrow. Water temperatures will plunge. Fishing will slow.

Most roads in the Park are open. Some may close today due to fallen trees today. Some roads may be closed tomorrow morning due to snow and ice.

If you go, be careful.

Guides Rob Fightmaster and Jon Oody will be tying at the shop today. This is a free event. All you have to do is show up. Rob will be tying carp flies and Jon will be tying streamers. These guys are pros and you will learn about fly fishing for species that you may not have done before.

I know Rob fly fished for carp often last year. Jon has been targeting stripers for a long time. They are both trout guides too.

So, come by and enjoy your day.

You can visit our Free Tying Demos page by CLICKING HERE, to see the schedule for each Saturday through March 2nd.

I will be at the shop today photographing fly tying tools, to be added to our online store. Right now I’m working on Renzetti tools. I added more yesterday. You can see what I’ve done so far by CLICKING HERE.

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

Byron Begley
January 19, 2019  

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