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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:32 am, the temperature is 25.7 degrees.
It will be sunny and warmer today with a high temperature in the low 50’s, dropping to the low to middle 30’s tonight. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 40’s and a low in the low 20’s.
Winter is hanging on though we have had very little snow in the valley so far this year. Temperatures now are at about normal. The historical average high temperature here is 48 degrees in January. The historical average low is 25 degrees.
We have had heavy snow and ice in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, especially in the higher elevations. Snow, ice and downed trees have kept some roads closed in the Park but some have re-opened. According to the Park’s Roads Twitter page, Little River Road from Townsend to Sugarlands is still closed. Laurel Creek Road, to Cades Cove is open. Newfound Gap Road is open. CLICK HERE to check for updates on the Twitter page.
Little River is flowing at 275 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.23 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 326 cfs. The water temperature is 38.1 degrees this morning.
Most streams in the Smokies are flowing lower than normal. The water is cold at all elevations. Fishing for trout is slow. Access to Little River is very limited this morning. That may change later today if Little River Road re-opens.
Until the waters warm some, fishing will be slow in the lowland rivers, including where trout are stocked.
Fishing for trout in the tailwaters can be productive during the cold months, if you can find a good generation schedule. Tailwater fishing options today are slim due to prolonged generation at dams in this area. There are breaks in the generation schedules at South Holston, Watauga and Chatuge dams and there may be others. I don’t check every one each morning. You can do that by clicking on the TVA links below to see what tailwater fishing options you have today.
We had a fairly busy weekend at the shop though fishing conditions are not good. So far, January this year has been about the same as last year as far as business is concerned. Our sport and our business is weather dependent. I looked back and last year’s fishing reports for this period. The weather and the stream conditions were about the same as they are this year.
I also looked back at last year’s fishing reports to see when fishing conditions improved. On February 28th, the water temperature in Little River was 51.6 degrees. That is a number we are all waiting for. I looked at the report written on March 15th. The water temperature was 52.3 degrees. There were times during the period when stream flows were higher than we would prefer, but the water temperatures were good.
Spring fishing may be just a few weeks away.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
January 24, 2021
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Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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