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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:47 am, the temperature outside is 30.7 degrees.

It will be cold until Thursday. Highs today and tomorrow will rise only to the low 40’s. Low temperatures tonight and tomorrow night will dip into the 20’s. Snow is predicted tonight and tomorrow, with light accumulations in the valley, and higher amount in the mountains, up to 2”.

Snow fell yesterday. All of the mountains from our view were white until dark last night. I’m sure they will be again today.

Highway 441/Newfound Gap Road is closed due to snow and ice.

Warmth returns Thursday. Highs in the upper 50’s to low 60’s are expected through the weekend. Lows will be in the 40’s through the period.

Little River is flowing at 307 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.25 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 349 cfs. The water temperature is 42.8 degrees this morning.

Water temperatures will continue to fall until Thursday. Fishing will be slow in the Smoky Mountains. However, that trend will reverse. We’ll see much warmer water as the weekend approaches. Fishing will improve. Fishing will probably be good. There is a high chance for rain, Friday and Saturday.

It is hard to say what aquatic insects you will see on the water this weekend. Colder temperatures temporarily interrupted our early Spring. What you see, also depends on what elevation you will be fishing. Will the Quill Gordons and Blue Quills be on the water? They probably will in the higher elevations, and maybe in the lower streams. Maybe, later Spring bugs will be hatching in the low elevations. You can probably count on Blue Wing Olives, wherever you are fishing, especially since in will be overcast with rain this weekend. It’s a tough call. There is no telling what you will see.

This week, 25 years ago, the snowstorm of the century dumped feet of snow in the Smokies. Up to 5-feet of snow fell on the highest peaks. I was finally able to get here to my house which was under construction. I parked my truck on Old Cades Cove Road and tried to walk to the house. It was impossible. The snow was over 3’ deep.

It was Spring Break. Hikers and backpackers were stranded in the Smokies. I remember, a group of about 40 college students from Michigan were among those trapped in the mountains. US Army helicopters were called in for rescue operations. Other helicopters were involved in the search from the air. Remarkably, nobody died. Everyone got out. Some had frostbite and injuries. You can see the video, of one helicopter pilot’s account by CLICKING HERE. The story is on the WBIR website.

State Highway 73, from Townsend, into the Park, will be repaved, beginning this week. Laurel Creek Road from the Townsend “Y” to Cades Cove will be repaved.  The completion date is expected to be June 15th. Except on weekends, when traffic is heavier, there will be lane closures through the period. I can’t imagine what that is going to be like.

You can read more about this on the Daily Times website by CLICKING HERE. This will affect traffic entering or leaving the Park and access to the Tremont Road too. Thankfully, both lanes of the roads will be open on the weekends.

So, we wait once again for Spring fishing to return. It’s only 2 days away.

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

Byron Begley
March 13, 2018  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com