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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:23 am, the temperature outside is 34.7 degrees.

Today, tomorrow and Monday will be mostly sunny and warm, with highs near to or above 60 degrees. Lows will fall only to the low 40’s tonight and Sunday night.

If you think this weekend is going to be nice, wait until later next week. We should see high temperatures in the mid 60’s to over 70 degrees by Thursday. Lows will be in the 50’s, Monday through Thursday.

Little River is flowing at 271 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.19 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 317 cfs. The water temperature is 41.4 degrees this morning.

Water temperatures will warm to within the trout’s preferred range over the next few days. Fishing will improve every day. We will see the beginning of that today. There is a chance, melting snow will cause the streams to stay cooler for a time, but you may not notice. They can become warmer, but not as warm as they would have without the melting snow. And, temps can fall due to the melting snow.

I can’t predict how warm the streams will be today. I’m looking forward to seeing the stream temperatures rise though, and the will soon.

I think fishing will be fair to good through the period beginning today or tomorrow, and lasting at least through Thursday.

If I had a choice today, I would wait and fish later this afternoon. If I had the choice of fishing today or tomorrow, I would choose tomorrow.

Nymphs will probably work best at first. There are many nymph patterns that will produce for you. I would probably use my standard, long time favorites, Tellico, Prince, Hare’s Ear or Pheasant tail patterns.

You may see aquatic insects on the water at times. As the water warms over the next few days, there is no telling what you will see. Quill Gordons and Blue Quills are a possibility. Blue Wing Olive activity is very likely. Other aquatic insects may show up.

Sometimes, when we have temperature changes, like we are expecting, the water may be warm and the trout are active. And, we see insects on the water, that the trout may be missing. Over time the trout will begin looking up and taking dry flies. If the trout are not feeding on the surface, stick with nymphs, wet flies and emergers.

I hope I’m not being too enthusiastic and optimistic. This is the best fly fishing opportunity we have had in a while, in the Smoky Mountains. Is this the beginning of Spring fishing in the mountains? I think it will be, but I’ve been fooled before, by melting snow or weather.

Watch the water temperatures. When they reach the mid-40’s, fishing will improve. If the temps reach 50 degrees, fishing will be good. From the stream links below, Little River, Oconaluftee River and Cataloochee Creek have temperature probes on their USGS gauges. That will give you some clues. Keep in mind, the water is colder in the higher elevations. The Little River gauge site is at a low elevation.

Jim Parks and Gary Troutman will be conducting free fly tying demonstrations at the shop today between 10 am and 2 pm. All you have to do is show up.
 
Gary is a professional guide and US Coast Guard Captain. He partners with Josh Pfeiffer at Frontier Anglers. Gary loves fly fishing for smallmouth bass and warmwater species. I don’t know, but I bet he will be tying smallmouth flies.

Jim lives in Newport Tennessee. He has been fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains for 41 years. Jim will be tying his four, easy to tie favorite trout patterns, while describing how he uses them.

You can learn a lot from these guys. Attend if you can.

If you want to try fly tying for the first time, we are holding a Free Fly Tying 101 class Sunday, from 2 pm until 4 pm. Call the shop at 865-448-9459 to reserve your spot. The class may be full. I don’t know. It is Super Bowl Sunday. There may be openings available. The only way to find out is call us.

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

Byron Begley
February 2, 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