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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:51 am, the temperature outside is 35.7 degrees.

Today will be warm and breezy with a high temperature in the low 60’s. Tonight’s low will be around 40 degrees. Rain is possible this afternoon and likely tonight. Rainfall amounts of ¼” to ½” are expected. It will continue to be warm this week with rain predicted this coming weekend.

Little River is flowing at 170 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.93 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 289 cfs. The water temperature is 37.9 degrees this morning.

Fishing will be slow today due to the cold water conditions. However, the water temperature will rise today, so fishing will improve some, this afternoon and over the next few days.

I would fish with nymphs, weighted and drifting near the bottom of the streams. Be on the lookout for a blue wing olive hatch, this week. They may be active. The water is very clear. Stealth is of the utmost importance.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open to visitors, though no services are offered due to the federal shutdown. Bathrooms, campgrounds and visitors centers are closed. The Park is operating with a limited number of employees, only those deemed essential as the others have been furloughed. Enter the Park at your own risk. Emergency services are limited. There are a few rangers working, but not nearly as many as usual.

Most roads in the lower elevations and possibly higher elevations are open. We can’t learn which are open or closed, because websites, including the Road Twitter Page are not being maintained.

If you visit the Park, I would stay in the lower elevations. Snow is a possibility tonight, in the high elevations. Strong winds are also a possibility, this afternoon and evening. That could cause trees to fall on roads. Some high elevation roads may close temporarily due to snow and ice. Roads may close due to falling trees.

Fly fishing in the trout tailwaters may be a good option right now. You will have to work around TVA’s generation schedules. You can check the schedules by clicking on the links below, to see if flows are favorable for the kind of fly fishing you do, either wading or boating.

We wait for Spring, anxiously. It won’t be long.

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

Byron Begley
January 22, 2018

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com