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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 7:05 am, the temperature outside is 41.4 degrees.

Today will be partly sunny and very warm, with a high temperature in the upper 60’s. Tomorrow will be warmer, but rain will move into the area in the evening and continue through Friday. It will be windy at times today through Friday. Saturday and Sunday will be dry but cooler.

Little River is flowing at 513 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.70 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 349 cfs. The water temperature is 48.4 degrees.

All streams in the Park are flowing above median flow. They are swift, so be careful wading.

If you go fishing in the Smokies, be prepared for just about anything. You may see hatches at times. The insects could be Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, Blue Wing Olives, March Browns, or other aquatic bugs on the water. And, there are times when you may not see many or any insects at all.

If you do not see much going on, you may still do well using dry flies. Try a Parachute Adams as an attractor, in sizes #12 to #16. If that doesn’t work, use nymphs. Or, swing some wet flies.

If we do not get much rain tomorrow or Friday, fishing may be excellent. I say that, because the water temperatures will soar to within the trout’s preferred range. On the other hand, high water is a possibility. I hope we don’t get much rain. So far this year, we are over double the norm.

I returned from a 4-day fishing trip yesterday afternoon. I met some of my best friends at Lake Cumberland State Park in Kentucky. We rented a cabin there. We all grew up together, dating back over 50 years, and in one case, 60 years. And, we all love fly fishing. We had a great time.

We fished on Hatchery Creek, a one-mile long, man made stream that flows out of the National Fish Hatchery. Fishing was good. We caught all of our trout on nymphs and they were all rainbows. Some were rather large.

I could not believe how much water was churning through Wolf Creek Dam. They are spilling and generating. Right now, the flow below the dam is over 50,000 cfs. Lake Cumberland set an all time record high two weeks ago. TVA is frantic to lower the lake, and all lakes in the Tennessee Valley. Our cabin had a great view of the lake. We could see the lake was high, but it was still beautiful.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont bought some beautiful property that adjoins the Park for expansion purposes. The property is located off Bethel Church Road, which is across the highway from our shop. The tract contains 152 acres and the selling price was $1 million.

I walked all over that property years ago, with Johnny Johnson, the owner. It really is beautiful. I’m glad to see it become part of the Institute, instead of being developed.

You can read more about this on the Daily Times website by CLICKING HERE.

It is always good to be back at home with Paula and back to work. The time changed while I was gone. When I drove to work this morning it was dark. It was dark last week too but not this dark.

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

Byron Begley
March 13, 2019   

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com

Nymphing Tactics - $150
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Euro Nymphing - $100
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