Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:25 am, the temperature is 36 degrees.
Due to an internet outage at my house, I am writing the fishing report from the shop later than usual. Hopefully that will be resolved today.
It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the middle 70’s with a low tonight in the low 50’s. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high in the upper 60’s, dropping to the upper 30’s overnight. Wednesday will be partly sunny with a high in the upper 50’s and a low in the low 40’s. Rain will return to the area Thursday and Friday.
Little River is flowing at 713 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.94 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 414 cfs. The water temperature is 49.1 degrees this morning.
Streams in the mountains are slowly receding but still flowing higher than normal. They are flowing higher than most anglers prefer. Water temperatures are chilly this morning.
If you go fishing in the Smokies today, wait a while to give the water time to warm. Fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer. You might do best choosing smaller streams to fish. Stand in safe water casting weighted nymphs or tandem nymph rigs. As the water warms later, try dry flies with a dropper. Good fly pattern choices are blue quill, quill gordon, Parachute Adams in several sizes, caddis and stonefly imitations. Drop a nymph or emerger pattern off your dry fly.
Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers will be best later today when the water is warmer. Some of these rivers are flowing fairly high so wading will be limited. Sub-surface flies are good choices, which include mayfly or stonefly nymphs, midge pupa, Squirmy Worm, egg patterns and possibly streamers. Try small Wooly Buggers for your streamer pattern.
Fishing for smallmouth bass in the low elevations will likely be slow until the water warms further.
TVA and the Corps will be releasing a lot of water through their dams today by generating and in some cases, sluicing. They are attempting to lower the lakes to provide more water storage capacity for the anticipated Spring rain. I didn’t see any tailwater fishing options in my search this morning. I guess you could float and fish with streamers in some rivers. Check the TVA website yourself in case I missed something.
We had a busy weekend at the shop. Anglers are feeling the urge, fishing or preparing. We are having an early Spring, at least for now.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
March 6, 2023
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Parking Tags are now required to park your vehicle inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 15 minutes. Tags may be purchased at Visitors Centers, including the center in Townsend. Or, they may be purchased online. You can buy a daily, weekly or annual tag. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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