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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:52 am, the temperature outside is 51.4 degrees.
Light rain is falling this morning and heavier showers will be arriving soon. We have had .96 inches of rainfall during the past 24 hours in Townsend and about that much at the Knoxville Airport.
Heavy rain is predicted this morning, possibly between one and two inches. We are still under a flash flood watch. Our County Schools and schools in other East Tennessee counties are closed today due to flooding concerns.
Another round of moderate to heavy rainfall is expected Wednesday night and Thursday morning before ending Thursday afternoon. Friday and Saturday will be dry and sunny.
Little River is flow is flowing at 1,200 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 3.64 feet at the Townsend gauge. Median flow for this date is 286 cfs.
Little Pigeon River is rising slowly. Current flow is 2,260 cfs or 3.86 feet at the Sevierville gauge.
Oconaluftee River is flowing at 2,590 cfs, 3.99 feet, compared to median flow of 546 cfs for this date. The river is rising slowly right now at the Birdtown gauge.
At Tellico Plains, Tellico River has rising slightly overnight. Flow is 1,550 cfs or 4.37 feet. Median flow for this date is 309 cfs.
Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 531 cfs, 3.78 feet, and rising slowly right now.
Fishing in the Smoky Mountains is not recommended today due to high water and the chance for flash flooding.
Most roads in the Park are now open.
TVA and the Corps of Engineers are generating at many dams today though there are breaks in the schedules at some. Visit the TVA website from the links below to see the schedules. Keep in mind that some tailwaters may be stained today and generation schedules could change.
At times like this, many of us are happy we can tie flies while we wait for better fishing conditions. I met with Raz Reid, one of our independent sales representatives last week. One of the companies he works for is Renzetti, the manufacturer of some of the finest fly tying tools available. I showed Raz our Renzetti Sales numbers from last year. Renzetti fly tying vises are selling like crazy at our store. He said he had a great year with Renzetti. Lily Renzetti told me the same thing late last year.
Raz told me more young anglers are taking up the hobby of fly tying and that is the reason for the growth. He has probably heard that from his dealers in the Southeast. What I am seeing is, more fly fishing men and women are taking up the hobby, young and older. I don’t know why that is happening all of a sudden, but I am happy more people are participating.
The fly tying department is my favorite department in our store. That is one of the departments I oversee. Because of the high number of small items, the work can be mundane. Weekly shipments from our largest supplier, always has hundreds of items to receive in our inventory system, and put out in the shop for you to see and hopefully purchase. I package all of the spooled items myself. I don’t mind the work at all. I love the end result.
I tied my first fly on my 11th birthday in 1962 and I’ve loved doing it ever since. There is something very special about catching a fish on a fly you tied yourself.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
February 11, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |