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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 6:56 am, the temperature outside is 28.9 degrees.

Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the upper 40’s. Tonight’s low will dip to the mid-30’s. Rain arrives tomorrow. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch are possible. The high tomorrow will be in the high 40’s.

Warm air will move in for the weekend. We will see high temperatures in the 60’s to near 70 degrees. Lows at night will be in the mid to upper 50’s. There is a chance for thunderstorms Saturday and possibly heavy rain. It may be windy too.

Little River is flowing at 447 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.58 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 389 cfs. The water temperature is 39.9 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 1,110 cfs, 2.90 feet, compared to median flow of 806 cfs.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 1,030 cfs, 2.57 feet, which compares to median flow of 667 cfs. The water temperature is 39.0 degrees.

Tellico River is flowing at 617 cfs, 2.39 feet, compared to median flow of 364 cfs.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 227 cfs, 3.03 feet, compared to median flow of 159 cfs. The water temperature is 36.3 degrees.

The streams are all flowing above median flow and right now, the water is cold. Little River is higher than normal, but not by much. We consider 2.5 feet to be on the high side of good. The problem this morning, is the water temperature.

We will see the water temperatures rise beginning today. Fishing will improve when the water reaches the upper 40’s. Fifty degree plus would be ideal.

If you go today, choose a low elevation stream where the water is warmer. Be prepared to fish with weighted nymphs. Also, be on the lookout for hatches. They may be Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, Blue Wing Olives, and possibly other aquatic insects. Have some adults and emergers or wet flies in your fly box, just in case.

Fishing will be much better this weekend if we do not get too much rain. We will have to wait to see what happens.

The TVA dams are spilling or sluicing, while also generating, to lower the reservoirs.

I am writing the fishing report from the shop. I used to write it at home, much earlier I the mornings. My goal has always been to have the report ready by 8 am.
 
I like the view from my office at the shop. I don’t see the wildlife I see at home, but I can look around and see the mountains. I see mountains from our home, but not from my home office.

It is cloudy, but the Smoky Mountains are vivid. It is a pretty and peaceful morning. I drive here early, and see almost no traffic on the roads.

We will switch to daylight saving time this weekend. After that, it will be dark when I drive to work, for a while. I’m not really excited about that.

We are all hoping for good fishing in the Smoky Mountains this weekend.

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

Byron Begley
March 7, 2019

Fly Tying Classes January, February and March 2019 Taught by Walter Babb and Brian Courtney Beginner to Advanced CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

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