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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:03 am, the temperature outside is 16.5 degrees.

Today will be sunny, much warmer and breezy. Tonight will be warmer than the last two. It will be very warm tomorrow, with rain and it will be windy again. Cold air will creep in tomorrow night, with possibly rain mixed with snow. It will be cold Thursday with a chance for snow showers.

According to the Park’s Roads Twitter page, Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) is still closed.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PREDICTED HIGHS AND LOWS TODAY

Little River is flowing at 685 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.97 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 285 cfs. The water temperature is 37.9 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 1,110 cfs, 2.94 feet, which compares to median flow of 502 cfs for this date.

At the Birdtown gauge, Oconoluftee River is flowing at 1,050 cfs, 2.59 feet, compared to median flow of 532 cfs. The water temperature is 36.7 degrees.

At Tellico Plains, Tellico River is flowing at 727 cfs, 2.61 feet, compared to median flow of 297 cfs.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 193 cfs, 2.92 feet, which compares to median flow of 119 cfs. The water temperature there is 34.5 degrees.

Fishing conditions today are not favorable in the mountains. The streams are flowing high. Water temperatures are cold, though they should rise some today. It will be windy at times.

If you go, you might want to find a small stream at a low elevation. The streams are swift so be careful. The water will be warmer in the lower elevations.

I would plan on using weighted nymphs or streamers. You may not be able to wade much, so stay in a safe place and “high stick” your weighted flies. There is a chance you will see a blue wing olive hatch, so be ready for that with BWO dries and  emergers.

Trout are sluggish when water temperatures are this cold. Their metabolism is running slow. They don’t need much food, if any. As the water warms today, the trout could become more active.

Our fly tying department has gone crazy this year. I ordered materials yesterday and will order more today. Thankfully, though it was a holiday, Renzetti was open yesterday. Leo told me he could ship an order I placed, if UPS was running. He was not sure if they were. If they didn’t go out yesterday, they will today. I ordered four Renzetti vises and many other tools.

Tradd Little from Greenville, South Carolina and Will Davis of Knoxville will be tying at the shop Saturday from 10 am until 2 pm. This event is free. All you have to do is show up. Tradd and Will are young and they are both excellent fly tyers. Plan on visiting the shop Saturday, if you can. You can read more about our Winter Free Fly Tying Events by CLICKING HERE.

You can visit Tradd’s website, “Tradd’s Flies”, by CLICKING HERE. Prepare to be amazed!

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

Byron Begley
January 22, 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