Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:20 am, the temperature is 50 degrees.
It rained most of the day yesterday. Rainfall amounts were higher than was predicted yesterday morning. 1.17 inches was recorded at one personal weather station in Townsend, while more, 1.5 inches was reported by another station closer to our shop.
We have a slight chance for light rain today but otherwise, it will me mostly cloudy with a high temperature in the low 60’s. The low temperature tonight will be in the low 50’s. Tomorrow will be warmer and wet, with a high around 70 degrees and a low in the upper 40’s overnight. There is a high chance for rain tomorrow and we are under a wind advisory.
Little River rose yesterday but it is receding now. The river is currently flowing at 606 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.81 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 353 cfs. The water temperature is 52.3 degrees.
Most streams in the Smokies are flowing higher than normal. Some are flowing quite a bit higher, including Little Pigeon River and Oconaluftee River. They are all receding this morning.
Water temperatures in the low elevations are within the trout’s preferred range. Fishing will be good though you may encounter flows higher than you prefer. Wading may be limited in some streams. Be careful wading.
Stand in safe water casting weighted nymphs or nymph rigs. Be prepared for fishing with dry flies and emergers. There are a lot of aquatic insects on the water, though hatches will be sporadic. If you see a hatch, with trout feeding on them, tie on a dry fly that mimics the insects you see, with a nymph, wet fly or emerger trailing behind.
Fishing the stocked low elevation rivers is good due to the warm water temperatures. Some of these rivers are flowing fairly high. Wading may be limited. Stand in safe water casting weighted nymphs. You may see top water action so be ready for that.
TVA and the Corps plan to generate or sluice at most dams today. I did see a pause scheduled this afternoon at Chatuge Dam. They will be pushing water through every other dam I checked this morning. They are attempting to lower the lakes. Check the predicted generation at your favorite tailwater and hopefully you can spend some time fishing on your river.
Justin Pugh will be conducting a Free Fly Tying Demonstration at the shop this afternoon between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm. Justin is a professional guide at Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain resorts in Walland. He and the other guides he works with are avid fly tyers. I see them often in the shop and learn from the time spent with them. They are all experts and very nice people.
You do not need a reservation to attend these free demonstrations. Just show up at the shop and learn from these guys.
Next Saturday will be our last Free Fly Tying Demonstration for the Winter season. Our featured fly tyers are Walter Babb and Ray Ball. They will be demonstrating their tying skills and entertaining you from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. You don’t want to miss this one.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
February 26, 2023
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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